Chapter 8 Language in Social Context

8.1 Sociolinguistic study of language

　 Language is a very complex phenomenon. In chapter 2－6, it is studied as a system composed of three aspects, namely, sound, lexicogrammar and meaning. The language system is ideally abstracted from all social contexts. Language studies along this line are based on the assumption that a language is internalized in the mind of all the members of the speech community. The task for the linguist is to describe the linguistic competence of the native speaker, overlooking the linguistic performance. This approach to the study of language neglects the heterogeneous nature of the speech community. The consequence is that the language described is to some extent distorted from the language actually used in society.

　 "Sociolinguistics is that branch of linguistics which studies just those properties of language and languages which require reference to social, including contextual, factors in their explanation" (Downes 1998: 9). Defined as such, sociolinguistics covers a wide range of explorations, from analysis of a single speech event to investigation of language use by a public sector. Part of sociolinguistics overlaps with pragmatics, as both disciplines attempt to account for language use. Chapter 7 is concerned with analysis of meaning in context. This chapter examines the correlation between language and social factors and discusses the relation between language and culture, purporting to develop an awareness that a language in social contexts is a complex set of complementary varieties that are used by members of the speech community.