Standard Language, Dialects, and Language Planning
Chapter 18: Standard Language
What is Standard Language?
We focused on the features of one language variety, typically called the standard language. This is an idealized variety, but most people consider it the official language of their community or country.
Dialect Surveys and Norms
One disadvantage of using norms (e.g., “non-mobile, older, rural, male speakers”) in dialect surveys is that the description might reflect a period well before the investigation, not contemporary usage.
Dialect Boundaries
When multiple isoglosses converge, they form a more solid line, a dialect boundary.
Isoglosses
An isogloss marks the boundary of an area where a specific linguistic feature is common among most speakers.
Bidialectalism and Bilingualism
Speakers using different varieties across border areas are bidialectal (speaking two dialects). Many of us grow up bidialectal, using one dialect among family and friends and another in school. In some regions, different languages are used in these settings, making people bilingual.
Diglossia
Diglossia involves two distinct language varieties: a low variety used locally for everyday matters and a high variety learned in school and used for formal situations.
The Process of Language Planning
Language planning is best understood through its stages, exemplified by Swahili’s adoption in Tanzania. Despite other languages and English’s colonial presence, Swahili is gradually becoming the official language.
- Selection: Choosing an official language.
- Codification: Establishing the standard variety through grammars, dictionaries, and written models.
- Elaboration: Developing the standard for all social aspects, including literature.
- Implementation: Government encouragement of standard usage.
- Acceptance: When the majority uses and views the standard as the national language, contributing to social and national identity.
Pidgins and Creoles
Pidgins
A pidgin is a simplified language variety (e.g., English pidgin) developed for practical purposes like trade among groups with frequent contact but different languages. Pidgins have no native speakers. The term “pidgin” likely originates from a Chinese pronunciation of “business.”
An English pidgin uses English as its lexifier language (main word source). These words may differ in pronunciation and meaning from the source. For example, “gras” comes from “grass.”
Existing English pidgins have simple grammar and limited vocabulary. Inflectional suffixes like “-s” (plural) and “-‘s” (possessive) are rare, while structures like “tu buk” (two books) and “di gyal place” (the girl’s place) are common.
Creoles
When a pidgin becomes a social community’s first language, it’s a creole. Tok Pisin and Hawaii Creole English are examples. Creoles develop as the first language of pidgin speakers’ children, having many native speakers and unrestricted use.
A key difference between a creole and a pidgin is that a creole has native speakers, while a pidgin does not.
Creolization and Decreolization
Creolization is the development from pidgin to creole. Decreolization is the shift away from creole usage among those with more contact with a standard variety (e.g., British English in Jamaica).
Decreolization creates a range of varieties, from those close to the standard to those with more creole features. This range is the post-creole continuum.