Assignment One. ‘….To View Language As Though It Were An

The article ‘My Two Lives’ which that highlights the concept of ‘Language and Society’ published by the Newsweek, inspires this task. Language is both a system of communication between individuals and a social phenomenon. The area of language and society, sociolinguistics, is intended to show how such factors as class, gender, race, and more govern our use of language. In short, language constitutes humans and their identities. All people either utilize varieties of a language or use two or more languages to respond to a whole range of affective and interpersonal demands; language by depiction must be defined as multilingualism.

Language is an integral part of human existence. It is not only a crucial tool in which we use to convey meaning to others, but also a cultural construct passed down from previous generations that helps to define who we are and how we relate to others. Ultimately language defines our relationships with others, the way we use language is shaped by our own socio- cultural background and also that of whoever we may be communicating with. Self awareness of how our own use of language has been shaped by our background and an understanding of what shapes others use of language leads to better communication, understanding and empathy.

In the chapter, “The Socially Charged life of Language” in Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology, Laura Ahearn (2012) discusses language in relation to social interactions. According to Ahearn, “language is not a neutral medium for communication but rather a set of socially embedded practices.” Ahearn references Ferdinand de Saussure and his understanding of language as a system of rules as well as Chomsky and his interest in discovering Universal Grammar. De Saussure used langue and parole as an explanation of how language works. Langue refers to language, as a specific set of rules while parole is the performance aspect of language in which language functions as “speech arts.” Similarly to de Saussure, Chomsky believes that there is a “competence” or an abstract knowledge that one has about language, and a “performance”, which involves putting those rules into practice (Ahearn 2012).

In this chapter we are introduced to language being a basic resource with which we learn both in oral and written form and become a responsibility of teachers in the primary schooling years to allow this opportunity to be given to all. The debate over methods "autonomous" and “ideological” is discussed where the debate takes into consideration factors from the 20th century emphasising the literacy practice of learning. We are reading that the functional model of language is a social semiotic system used in many ways and the three ways that why this is useful being the role, the nature and learning to construct meanings of language. The chapter emphasises that to play, use, enjoy and adapt language is a goal for our children which can lead to providing the framework for a language program.

Language is a fundamental part of everyday life. Thinking of language as an object implies that it is nothing more than neutral words arranged in a formula, or code which can be interchanged with other words to form new meaning (Davidson 2010, p.247). It doesn’t take into consideration the nonverbal factors, such as body language, tone of voice, etiquette, context and culture that are combined and implied when people communicate verbally. Studying language has been likened to the dissection study of an animal, where some information and knowledge can be gained, but to gain intimate working knowledge of the animal (or language), it needs to be studied in its natural context. (Grugeon and Gardener (2000), Van Oostendorf). Ferdinand

In the above statement, Grugeon and Gardner criticise those who ‘view language as though it were an object’. By describing language as an object, it gives the impression of something static; incapable of growth or adaptation. In the author’s view, to think of language in this way disregards the different meanings that words can have in different social contexts. Language is a constantly evolving tool for communication and while many view it as though it is a constant framework, static and unchanging, the truth is that language is always developing and changing. To get the most out of language we must view it not as a strict set of rules; rather we should view it as the socio-cultural construct that it is. Language and culture are closely

Viewing language is an object is a very practical and necessary way of viewing it, but it is also a very narrow view. To widen our knowledge and to be able to teach language effectively, it must also be viewed as a broader social process.

Thesis Statement: Application of socio-cultural knowledge provides educators a means to teach their students about language as an object's well as proving it to be a social process.

The classroom is an environment that is home to a variety of different languages, with students coming from differing social and cultural backgrounds for the common goal of education. Yet, more often than not in a traditional passive learning environment, these unique voices may not all be heard, with curriculum not always catering to the communicative abilities of everyone in the classroom. This paper will argue that in order to most effectively teach a classroom of students, a teacher must grasp a firm understanding of the socio-cultural nature of language, and apply that knowledge to identify each student’s unique perspectives and meet their needs in education. In order to examine the qualities that make up this socio-cultural nature of language, the relationship between language as an ‘object’ to be analysed and language as a product of social contexts will be assessed. Three key examples will then be discussed in which the knowledge of this socio-cultural nature of language is shown to be important in educating students of their own cultural differences, assisting students in developing their own perspectives and writing abilities, and integral in communicating to student’s in a spoken language they can all understand.

The science that studies the relationship of language with society, from language use to the social structures that the language users live is what defined as sociolinguistics. This study has proven that historically and sociologically, our society is

Language can be observed and deconstructed in many ways. It can be viewed as both an object and a social process. It can be thought of as a set of rules or something physically presented to the world in way of speech, audio or writings. The denotation of language differs depending on the demographic, more specially, culture. It is important to understand and accept all differing varieties of language. Although language is used everyday, it is a very complex tool with many levels.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf

Language is a method of human communication, one of the most important things all humans have in common. In Dillon’s Grammar Repair textbook, she mentions that language is power and those who can exercise its power “possess a greater share of life’s privileges across the board” (1). Language greatly defines the person and how they are deceived by others. In the essays “Mother Tongue,” “The Meanings of a Word,” and “But What Do You Mean?” language is depicted as a controller of our lives in the workplace and our community. The individual’s communication methods dominated their impressions on society.

The study of sociolinguistics has become interesting due to the scope of its study is very wide. Its study is not only about the study of the language itself but also the context where the language is being used and the society who use the language. Therefore, there are many aspects that can be taken into consideration when the study of sociolinguistics is going to conducted. Those aspects are the social context as well as social factors including social distance, social status, age, gender and class. Furthermore, a language also appears varieties such as dialects, registers, and genres.

This essay will discus the aspects of language that make it an object to be analysed, as well as a the features that make it a social process, and its socio-cultural aspects. In this essay the semiotic features of language will be discussed, they include; Haliday’s 7 langugae functions, the Accommodation theory, the types of Englishes, and the cultural aspect of language. The essay will also covers how language can be contextual, dynamic, and on the continuum. Lastly the essay will give classroom examples on how teachers can implement the points covered to the classroom setting.