LECTURE 2

LECTS: MULTIPLICITY OF LANGUAGE VARIATION

1. IDIOLECT
The notion of Idiolect
“Idiolect” refers to an individual’s unique variety and/or use of language, from the level of the
phoneme to the level of discourse. This meaning is reflected in the etymology of the word: the
two morphemes idio- and -lect. Idio- is of Greek origin, and means “own, personal, private,
peculiar, separate and distinct,” while -lect refers to a “social variety of a language.” The theory
holds, therefore, that no two people who share a common language have exactly the same
linguistic repertoire. In the same way that the variation exhibited in a person’s language
production is influenced by their dialect(s), sociolect(s) and by register, so too is it influenced by
their personal, idiosyncratic, often habitual linguistic preferences—their idiolect.

A person’s idiolect is all-encompassing in that it includes linguistic features related to;

 dialect and sociolect, for example, while also being influenced by a wide range of other
sources of variation, such as their life experiences; language encounters;
 what they have read and listened to; where they have been schooled; jobs they have had;
 their favourite hobbies and pastimes; and their parents, friends, and teachers.

An idiolect, therefore, is not stable in its entirety. It is fluidly, i.e. while some elements may
persist throughout a person’s life, others may drop out of favour, while new patterns,
preferences, and features may be acquired over time. Despite being generally accepted in
linguistics, the concept of idiolect has received relatively little rigorous or systematic research
attention. However, since its introduction in linguistics in the late nineteenth century, the notion
of linguistic individuality or the role of the individual in language, if not explicitly the term
“idiolect,” has sporadically been the focus of discussion across a range of disciplines in
linguistics. This includes debates over whether idiolect resides in the overall linguistic system of
an individual or in their patterns of usage, or whether the individual plays a role in language
change. In some fields, the advent of large collections of texts has facilitated a testing of the
theory of idiolect. Nevertheless, the concept of idiolect is familiar and mysterious in equal
measure in the linguistics literature. It is a term that has a passing mention or glossary entry in
most introductory textbooks in linguistics, yet it is a theory that is not easily observable or
measurable, and for which there is little agreement and even less empirical evidence.

Origins of the Term “Idiolect”

Notions of linguistic individuality can be traced back to the earliest formalized discussions of
language and linguistics. The most notable of such early studies is Paul 1888, in which all
language originates in an individual mind, and therefore the individual should be the focus of
scrutiny. The role of the individual is also highlighted in Saussure 1983 in the distinction
between langue and parole. Saussure argues that the execution of language is always individual,
and refers to this as speech (parole), therefore distinguishing the language system itself (langue)
from speech actually produced by individuals. In doing so, the work highlights that we can
distinguish what is general and social from what is individual. Sapir 1927 presents individual
linguistic variation as a window through which to analyze personality traits of speakers. This
work seeks to disambiguate elements of speech that are social norms and those that are reflective
of individual expression and personality. Contemporary to that work, Bloomfield 1933, also
draws a distinction between the speech community as a collective and the individuals of which it
is comprised. Bloomfield notes that one of the difficulties in determining which people belong to
the same speech community is that no two people speak exactly alike. The term “idiolect” is
widely accepted to have been first used in Bloch 1948, to refer to “the totality of the possible
utterances of one speaker at one time in using language to interact with one other speaker” (p. 7).
The article specifies that an idiolect is not merely what a speaker says at one time: it is
everything that he could say in a given language at that specific time. Since Bloch 1948,
definitions of idiolect have varied, as some refer to the language system available to the
individual and others to the samples of language actually produced by the individual. Hockett
1958, for example, is similar to Bloch in defining idiolect as “the totality of speech habits of a
single person at a given time” (p. 321), distinguishing habits from observable behavior. On the
other hand, Martinet 1961 defines idiolect as “the language as spoken by a single individual” (p.
105, emphasis not in the original).

Related notions
i). Idioglossia:

An idioglossia is an idiosyncratic language invented and spoken by only one person. Most often,
idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twins, the latter being
more specifically known as cryptophasia, and commonly referred to as twin talk or twin speech.

Children who are exposed to multiple languages from birth are also inclined to create
idioglossias, but these languages usually disappear at a relatively early age, giving way to the use
of one or more of the languages introduced.

Examples:

 June Gibbons (born 11 April 1963) and Jennifer Gibbons (11 April 1963 – 9 March
1993) were identical twins who grew up in Wales. They became known as "The Silent
Twins", since they only communicated with each other. They wrote works of fiction.
Both women were admitted to Broadmoor Hospital, where they were held for eleven
years. The twin sisters were inseparable and their language, a sped-up Bajan Creole,
made it difficult for people to understand them.
 Poto and Cabengo (names given, respectively, by Grace and Virginia Kennedy to
themselves) are American identical twins who used an invented language until the age of
about eight. Poto and Cabengo is also the name of a documentary film about the girls
made by Jean-Pierre Gorin and released in 1980. The girls were apparently of normal
 intelligence. They developed their own communication as they had little exposure to
spoken language in their early years. Poto and Cabengo were the names they called each
other.

ii) Private language argument

The private language argument argues that a language understandable by only a single individual
is incoherent, and was introduced by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his later work, especially in the
Philosophical Investigations. The argument was central to philosophical discussion in the second
half of the 20th century. In the Investigations, Wittgenstein does not present his arguments in a
succinct and linear fashion; instead, he describes particular uses of language and prompts the
reader to contemplate the implications of those uses

The private language argument is of central importance to debates about the nature of language.
One compelling theory about language is that language maps words to ideas, concepts or
representations in each person's mind. On this account, the concepts in one's head are distinct
from the concepts in another's head. One can match their concepts to a word in a common
language, and then speak the word to another. The listener can then match the word to a concept
in their mind. So the shared concepts, in effect, form a private language which one can translate
into a common language and so share.

In order to count as a private language in Wittgenstein's sense, it must be in principle incapable

of translation into an ordinary language – if for example, it were to describe those inner
experiences supposed to be inaccessible to others. The private language being considered is not
simply a language in fact understood by one person, but a language that in principle can only be
understood by one person. So the last speaker of a dying language would not be speaking a
private language, since the language remains in principle learnable. A private language must be
unlearnable and untranslatable, and yet it must appear that the speaker is able to make sense of it.

iii) Intrapersonal Communication

Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within
themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of
unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech.

Intrapersonal communication, also referred to as internal monologue, auto communication, self-

talk, inner speech, or internal discourse, is a person's inner voice which provides a running
monologue of thoughts while they are conscious. It is usually tied to a person's sense of self. It is
particularly important in planning, problem-solving, self-reflection, self-image, critical thinking,
emotions[ and subvocalization (reading in one's head).

Intrapersonal communication provides individuals with the opportunity to participate in

'imaginative interactions', by which they silently engage in conversation with another person,
often as a means of selecting and rehearsing their intended spoken interpersonal communication
with the actual person. Intrapersonal communication also facilitates the process by which an
individual engages in an unspoken internal dialogue between different and sometimes conflicting
attitudes, thoughts, and feelings, often as a way of resolving psychological conflicts and making
decisions.
 2. AGELECT: AGE AS A FACTOR FOR LANGUAGE VARIATION

The age pattern is a typical sociolinguistic pattern based on the age of a speaker. It describes a
characteristic type of age-graded linguistic variation and describes change in the speech
behaviour of individual speakers as they get older. General linguistic tendencies can be
determined for different life stages: adolescence – younger adults (up to 50 years of age), older
adults (over 50 years of age). As adolescents tend to distance themselves from the other members
of the family/society, their language also begins to drift from what they have been taught
previously; they vary their language in a way that is unique to them and their social groups and
networks

There is a relationship between the age of a speaker and the use of a particular linguistic variety
in the form that:

 Adolescents will generally use more non-standard varieties than younger adults (= non-prestige
varieties, often specific ‘anti-prestige’). From adolescence to adulthood the use of non-standard
forms of speech will gradually decrease in favour of more standard forms of speech (prestige
varieties) until a particular stage in late adulthood.
 The frequency of using standard forms of speech will again decrease within older adults and more
non-standard forms (non-prestige varieties) will be used.

 Use of taboo words and subjects, i.e. The term taboo language refers to words and
phrases that are generally considered inappropriate in certain contexts.
 Adolescents’ language is mostly characterized by the use of in-group slang and other non-
standard forms that are considered stigmatized and less prestigious by the general society
(Wardhaugh, 2006). As they transition into the youthful stage, the flexible nature of language also
allows them to continue to vary their language. This situation reaches its peak at the youth (post-
adolescent) stage. During this period, researchers have shown that speakers begging to skew their
language towards a somehow “standardized” language that is descent and prestigious. This is due
to the fact that the speakers are starting to realize that they are soon becoming adults and so need
to behave according to the societal expectations.
 Eckert (1997) argues that language of speakers become even more standard and stable as the
youth transition into the adult stage. At this stage, speakers are under pressure to appear more
 “presentable” by conforming to societal norms and expectations of its members, including that of
the use of “formal” and prestigious language. Eckert opines that this stability is because the adults
(middle-aged) are neither learning the language nor losing it, but rather, they are using it.
However, this state of language again changes among the elderly who prefer the informal and less
prestigious vernacular forms. According to Eckert, this group is no longer in the active workforce
in formal environments that demand the use of formal speech.

And Adults?

 Because adults have had more life experiences and are more experienced speakers in
general, they are able to use language with more purpose and autonomy than younger
people.
 Adults tend to also exhibit more morphological awareness than younger generations,
which allows them to use language with more nuance, and achieve different purposes
more effectively.
 As adults get older, the ability to remember certain words begins to diminish which
can eventually lead to issues with fluency and clarity. Elderly people, in particular,
tend to struggle with communicative fluency as their memories deteriorate.
 This can lead to increased pauses whilst talking and the introduction of more filler
words such as 'umm' and 'err',

Case Exemplars

1. Kiswahili-speaking youths in Busia County, Kenya (Okombo, P.L. (2020)

The youths reported that the kind of Kiswahili they used amongst themselves vary in
form considerably from that used by the middle aged and the elderly. Regarding the
form of Kiswahili, these youthful participants noted that their Kiswahili, which they
speak amongst themselves, consists of features such as uniquely coined vocabulary e.g.
“Beshte” = Friend, common words whose meanings are altered e.g. “Dunga” (Pierce)
= dress neatly, words in short forms e.g. “Ka-” = Kama (like/for example), among
others. The youths reported that this is the form of Kiswahili popularly known as
Sheng. Asked why they speak this kind of Kiswahili amongst themselves, the youths
responded that “it is the language of the youths”, “it is fashionable”, and “it is the
language of town.” This was said to be the opposite of the “Kiswahili cha kawaida”
(normal/regular Kiswahili) which they reported as “the language taught in school”,
“the language of the ‘reserve’ (country side),” and “an old fashion language.”
2. Use of gap fillers and repetition (Abdullah,et al (2028)

The respondents from the group of 19 years old have 164 fillers. On the other hand,
the respondents from the group of 24 years old have 15 fillers fewer than the group
of 19 years old. The examples are as below: “Well..mm.. in my opinion, it has been.
Mm..the most interesting season in the past five season...because...mm...you can see
that season any team can beat any team” (19 years old respondent) “Er... I think...
yes I agree with er.....Qwe. Because it’s very interesting season for me because as
we all know Manchester united has been dominating BPL since many years ago. So
many seasons ago. So er... it’s good to... to see some changes” (24 years old
respondent)

3. Repetitions (Abdullah,et al (2028)

The frequency of the most repeated word and phrases for both groups. The word
‘quite’ is the word that was repeated the most by both groups with the frequency of
six. Both groups also made repetition for the word of ‘really’. On the other hand,
the most repeated phrase for both groups is different in which the adolescents made
repetition of phrase ‘you can see’ and ‘I think’ but the young adult did not make any
repetition of phrase ‘you can see’. However, the young adult group repeated the
phrase ‘I think’ more than the adolescent group did.

NOTE:
A sociolinguist's interpretations of time and age are important factors in determining how
language variation throughout a person's life stages is significant.
In her book The Handbook of Sociolinguistics (1997), Penelope Eckert divided the concept of
age into three categories, they are:
 chronological age - the number of years a person has been alive
 biological age - the level of physical maturity reached by a person
 social age - a person's age as determined by their social standing and life experiences
Examining age-specific language use can be tricky across other cultures as well, as different
cultures may place more significance on different measures of time and age than others. This
could be because different cultural groups will have different life experiences that will
subsequently provide a variety of new opportunities for communication.
Whilst many Western cultures focus mainly on chronological age as a beacon for exploring age-
specific linguistics, some African cultures (for example, within rural Xhosa tribes) might
prioritise social age instead. It is therefore very important to understand cultural ties to language
when investigating how language use develops over a person's lifespan.
3. FAMILECT
A familect is a home dialect in which those living within the same household apply private
meanings to specific words. It reveals the creative and playful nature of language, as a family
decides their own unique verbiage for certain things. These slang words attribute meaning to
words, actions, and events as a way to maintain inside jokes amongst the group members.

These specialized words and phrases, not easily understood by outsiders, which are examples of
private family language, or “familects.” The word “buppie,” for instance, was coined by a 3-
year-old to signal an imminent temper tantrum. This happens when people share a space, their
collective experience can sprout its own vocabulary. This common type of secret language within
family groups is known as a familect, family slang, or kitchen table lingo.

A familect is thus a set of invented words or phrases with meanings understood within members
of a family or other small intimate groups. Familects fall within the intimate register of
communication. Familects gain vocabulary through the words young children create as they
learn to talk, when these words are adopted by the family. Familects also gain vocabulary
through slips of the tongue and word invention.

Familects are a part of the intimate register of language, the way we talk “backstage” with the
people we are closest to. They’re our home slang, where we can be our nonpublic selves in all
their weird glory. Familects can emerge from any type of family: big, small, chosen.

What inspires this family-language invention? In general, sufficient time logged together and
shared experiences as a unit. Children are frequently the architects of new words, especially
while they’re learning to speak. As kids fumble and play with sounds and meaning, their cutesy
word experiments can be picked up by the whole family, sometimes to be passed on between
generations as verbal heirlooms of sorts. Many new familect terms are also forged in the building
stage of close relationships, when couples or friends are creating private ways to show affection
or navigate tricky conversations as they cross the fuzzy boundary from acquaintance to intimacy.

Familects help us feel like family. Private in-group language fosters intimacy and establishes
identity. In a study on the use of idiosyncratic terms among couples, researchers found that
personal language nurtures a feeling of closeness and often appears in attempts for connection or
reconciliation. When people use familect terms, they reinforce the stories, rituals, and memories
that hold them together as a group. “Every time they use that phrase, they are pointing to all the
previous uses of it,” Gordon said. “It reaffirms their ‘familyness’ in a way. It re-creates their
relationship.”
Familect can also be attributed to any group of close friends and even within business groups.
The collective experience of people sharing an environment and growing its own language
together, highlights the emotional connectivity of language. The commonly understood
collection of invented words or phrase meanings within an intimate group is a powerful aspect of
language.

Is this Secret Language Good for Society?

We all have a secret language we use in our home lives. We all have a collection of words and
phrases stemming from living in close quarters with our families over time. Familects can also
occur within a massive family unit, as an extension of home. These family-language terms are
used in the building stages of close relationships. As couples or friends navigate the boundaries
of intimacy, they may use these terms to show affection. The personal meanings of these words
help strengthen our emotional connection to one another. The uniqueness of familects shows the
emotional importance and connectivity of secret languages in shaping our societies.

If the use of secret jargon confirms a person’s inside status within a group, then familects can
serve a similar function. Unlike jargon, which is typical in more professional group dynamics,
familects are often playful and can create a sense of belonging. We all speak differently and in
different contexts depending on the purpose of our conversations. Familects are often closer to
euphemisms than they are to neologisms, as they also tend to have an emotional resonance.

In her book, Cynthia Gordon explains that sharing one’s familect is an act of welcoming
strangers into one’s clan. Fragments of in-group language help us feel connected, reaffirming a
sense of family or close network. It can also help us establish our identity and connect with
others. When people use familect expressions, they reinforce the stories and memories that bind
them together.

Case studies (Kathryn Hymes, 2022)

Amie Ferrier, a 38-year-old fiddle teacher who lives in Grass Valley, California, gave
me quarantum, a “joyful word about our new round bellies,” which she shares with her
husband. They also developed Trumping out, a euphemism for the ramping anxiety
from news overload. “I can ask my husband if he’s Trumping out as a gentle way to
check in and see if he’s ready to put the phone down for the night,” she told me.

Alex Roberts, a 31-year-old graduate student living on Vancouver Island, in Canada,

shared hog, a new word among her housemates that means “a small amount of coffee;
less than a full cup.” She explained that this comes from “a smaller-than-the-others
coffee mug with a little hedgehog on it that my roommates and I found one day.” Hog
has become an established unit of measurement in her house: “I’ve now also asked for
 and been offered half a hog.”

4. GENDERLECT: HOW SEX DISTINCTION AND GENDER

DIFFERENCES AFFECT LANGUAGE VARIATION

A variety of speech or sociolect associated with a particular gender is sometimes called

“genderlect”. Language and gender basically explore two basic issues which are the
representations of gender in language and the conversational characteristics of men and women.
Cross-linguistic examinations have revealed a number of key areas of grammar and vocabulary
where gender is displayed or indicated in various ways, other studies have identified symmetric
male-female differences in many languages, ranging from differences in vocabulary, difference
in linguistic forms e.g. Phonology, morphology and syntax, to difference communication styles,
politeness and directness in language.

Like age, sex is a biological category that serves as a fundamental basis for the differentiation of
roles, norms, and expectations in all societies. These roles, norms, and expectations that
constitute gender, the social construction of sex. Although differences in patterns of variation
between men and women. In her paper Sex and the Power of Speech (2010), Deborah Cameron
talks about how the majority of Western cultures assume female language use to be less direct
and more cooperative and supportive than male language use. In other parts of the world,
however, Cameron says that the roles may be reversed, and it might be men who pride
themselves on diplomacy whilst women are seen as more assertive.

She also references how it is an almost universally held belief that women talk significantly more
than men. This stereotype has basically no research-based evidence, and experiments have
actually shown that in informal situations, there is very little difference between the amount
spoken by men and women. In formal situations, men generally talk significantly more than
women, again showing how tenuous this commonly accepted generalisation is.

Below are some highlights of differences in language use between men and women:

Female language generally exhibits the following features:

i) Rapport talk – show support, build community: “I’m glad everyone had a chance to
participate”.
ii) Supportive – listen and respond to spoken and unspoken conversational clues about other
people’s feelings. For example, “I understand” lets the speaker know they are understood
and not alone.
iii) Tentative – create an impression of less authority and less self-assuredness: “The report is
due today, isn’t it?”.
iv) Conversational initiation – ask questions to get the conversation going: “Did you hear
about ?” “Are you going to……?”.

Male language generally exhibits the following features:

 i) Report talk – focus less on feelings and more on information, facts, knowledge and
competence.
ii) Instrumental function– report to get things done, solve problems, define status: “Finish
that proposal by Monday”.
iii) Advice oriented – when dealing with personal problems they try to offer a solution while
empathizing to show solidarity does not seem helpful or appropriate,
iv) Assertive, certain, direct and authoritative – they use statements of fact rather than
opinion: “That report is due on Monday” rather than “I think that report is due on
Monday”.
v) Dominance or control of the conversation for gaining power.

Lexical and Semantic Differences

 The different sexes have different interests and activities, therefore variation in lexicon
and semantics would be different. For example, women may have an interest in makeup
and so their lexicon will reflect this interest (e.g. bronzer etc.).
 Many have observed that women’s language is characterized by an excessive use of
hyperbole (exaggeration) especially in the form of intensifiers (e.g. Oh my god!).
 Women have been traditionally described as the strongholds of etiquette and euphemism
(e.g. ‘sugar’ as opposed to ‘shit’).
 According to Timothy Jay, American English speaking males swear about three times
more frequently than females and they use stronger obscenities.

Conversational Management
 Women are more likely to hold their own in a more relaxed informal environment.
 Women generally use more question forms in conversation and use more linguistic
hedges such as ‘I think’ and ‘sort of’, more listening noises such as ‘hmm’, and more
paralinguistic responses such as smiling and nodding.
 Some studies indicate that women are more linguistically supportive of interaction -they
work harder to maintain and hold the floor, while men generally introduce new topics.
 Goodwin, Marjorie (1990) observes that girls and women link their utterances to previous
speakers and develop each other's topics, rather than introducing new topics (men). This
can be observed in a study conducted by Koczogh Helga Vanda: “Topic shift is the
second most common function used by both sexes, while men (36.84%) use ‘I mean’
with this function more frequently than women (25.92%).”

Phonological and Grammatical Variation

 The social class: Holmes suggests that “women are more-status conscious than men”
(Holmes, J, 1992, p.164) and that is because women have an inner belief that the way
they speak reflects their social class in society and, thus, tend to speak more properly than
men. So, women “use more standard speech forms as a way of claiming such status”
(Holmes, 1992, p.165).
 Women are supposed to use more HRT (high rise terminal) or up talk. Reasons for this
usage include a woman’s desire to maintain hold the floor (remember that woman work
harder to maintain hold of the floor), and their desire to invite their interlocutor to
participate in the conversation.
  High-pitch voice because of physiological reason, but scientists point out that this also
associates with women’s “timidity”, “emotional instability” and “gentility”
 Lakoff (1975) says that women usually answer a question with rising intonation pattern
rather than falling intonation. In this way, they can show their gentleness, and sometimes
this intonation shows a lack of confidence.
 On the contrary, men like to use falling intonation to show that they are quite sure of
what they are saying. Falling intonation also shows men’s confidence and sometimes
power.
 Women are more likely to make use of discourse particles such as like, you know, sort of,
kind of etc.

In fact, according to Deborah Cameron from The Guardian, women generally exhibit the
following characteristics:

1. Language and communication matter more to women than to men; women talk more than
men.
2. Women are more verbally skilled than men.
3. Men’s goals in language use tend to be about getting things done, whereas women’s tend
to be about connecting with other people. Men talk more about things and facts, whereas
women talk more about people, relationships and feelings.
4. Men’s way of using language is competitive, reflecting their general interest in acquiring
and maintaining status; women’s use of language is cooperative, reflecting their
preference for equality and harmony.
5. These differences routinely lead to “miscommunication” between the sexes, with each
sex misinterpreting the other’s intentions. This causes problems in contexts where men
and women regularly interact, and especially in heterosexual relationships.

5. ETHNOLECT: ETHNICITY AS A FACTOR FOR VARIATION

An ethnolect is a language variety that's associated with a specific ethnic group and is
characterized by distinctive linguistic features. These features can include unique vocabulary,
grammar, pronunciation, and intonation patterns.

Ethnolects are rooted in the original language of the ethnic group, the process of acquiring a
second language, and the local dialects of the area. They're important in ethnic communities
because they highlight the language dialects that are used by people of the same ethnicity.

Some examples of ethnolects include:

 Spanglish: A blend of Spanish and English that's become common in the United States.
Spanglish is a language that's a combination of Spanish and English, and is often spoken
by people who are multilingual and have integrated into both Spanish and English-
speaking communities. It's also known as a mixed, creole, or "non-standard form of either
language".
 Spanglish is characterized by code-switching, which is when speakers alternate between
English and Spanish in a single conversation. It can also include calques and loan words,
such as "Te llamo pa'tras" which means "I'll call you back".
 Chinglish: A blend of Chinese and English that's become common in the United States.
Chinglish refers to the Sinicized English usually found in pronunciation, lexicology and
syntax, due to the linguistic transfer or the arbitrary translation by the Chinese English
learners. Chinglish usually refers to Chinese speaking English in a Chinese way using its
grammar or lexicon that does not sound right to English speakers. Examples include
“Teacher! He use me”, which means “he beat me”. Or “Anna don’t have come to school”
(i.e. Anna didn’t come to school).
 Chicano English, also known as Mexican-American English or Hispanic Vernacular
English, is a distinct dialect of American English spoken by many Mexican Americans,
especially in the Southwestern United States and Chicago. It's a fully developed variety
of English with its own vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and accents, and is not the same as
English spoken by second-language learners. Chicano English is influenced by Spanish,
as well as other English dialects like African-American English and California Anglo
speakers. Examples: use of double negative e.g. ‘Macarena got in the bus before she
realized that she didn't have any change’; Favoring ‘in’ preposition, e.g. ‘We got in our
bikes and rode down the hill’; favouring longer form of expressing possession, e.g. ‘The
car of my brother is red. (rather than ‘my brother’s car is red’.
 African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), a dialect of English spoken by many
African Americans in the United States and Canada. It has its own unique grammar,
syntax, words, and pronunciation. It has many unique features; for example, Tense and
aspect: AAVE uses "be" to mark habitual or repeated events, such as "She be working all
the time". "Done" is used to convey a perfect progressive, such as "He done cooked".
"Gon" or "gonna" is used to mark future events or events that have not yet occurred such
as ‘I gonna do it this week’.
 Yeshivish: A language spoken by Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States
that's a mixture of English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic. Commonly used platitudes
amongst Orthodox Jews are frequently expressed with their Yeshivish equivalent. An
example includes using ‘shkoyakh’ for "thank you",

While ethnolects have been around for centuries, they've become more prevalent in recent times
due to globalization and increased migration. However, some researchers are concerned that the
focus on ethnicity could lead to incorrect stereotypes or overlook other factors of language
development.

6. CHRONOLECT: TIME AS A FACTOR FOR VARIATION

A chronolect, or temporal dialect, is a specific way of speaking determined by time-related

factors. In historical linguistics, a chronolect is similar to a specific stage of a language. Many
chronolects are endangered or extinct. Chronolects fall within historical linguistics, also known
as diachronic linguistics, which is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It
examines the evolution of languages and seeks to understand the causes and nature of linguistic
change.

Historical linguists use a variety of methods to study language change, including:

 Comparative method: Used to identify relationships between languages and reconstruct

prehistoric proto-languages
 Diachronic analysis: Examines changes in language over time
 Synchronic analysis: Examines language at a specific point in time

In the context of the English language, we see milestones from Old English, Middle English,
Early Modern English, Modern English and Post-modern English.

Review questions

1. How is genderlect similar to but also different from sex-lect?

2. Who are the main actors in, and the modus operandi of, sociolect?

3. If familects confine themselves to families, how do they fit in the wider spectrum of
sociolect?

4. How are the private speech and language of the twins part of idiolects?

5. Show features of the language of the social media and their role in marking variation
across age lines of the users.

Read:

Robin Lakoffs (1975) ‘Language and Woman’s Place’

Deborah Cameron (2010) Sex and the Power of Speech.

Online resources:

 Language and age:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373447441_Language_Age
 Language of soccer: a dialect or register?
https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/server/api/core/bitstreams/a41c45c7-f7da-4ce9-
9740-2dccb517d4b5/content
 Where do ethnolects stop?
https://web.stanford.edu/class/linguist156/Eckert_2008.pdf