Sociolect (pronounced soh-see-uh-lekt (U) or soh-shee-uh-lect (non-U))
In the jargon of sociolinguistics, a variant of a
language used by a particular social group (socioeconomic class, an ethnic
group, an age group etc); a social dialect.
1970–1975: The construct was socio- + (dia)lect (ie by analogy with dialect, idiolect, etc). The prefix socio- was from
the Latin socius (associated, allied;
partner, companion, ally), from the primitive Indo-European sokyo- (companion),
from sek- (to follow). The suffix –lect was adopted
from the terminal element of dialect, thus representing the Ancient Greek
element -λεκτος (-lektos), ultimately
from λέγω (légō) (I say or speak). The plural was sociolects.
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a variation of an
established language, distinguished by a non-standard dialect or a re-allocation
of meaning to elements of an existing dialect and a restricted or extended register). Most sociolinguists restrict the definition
to language used by a socioeconomic class, ethnic group, age group etc but some
(somewhat controversially) include the language sub-sets used almost
exclusively by trades or professions; few sociolinguists agree with the latter
approach and maintain this language of essentially technical terms should be
listed just as jargon. The other
significant difference from most other dialects is that it tends to be social
class rather than geographical origin which substantiates the (unique or shared
(lexical overlap being a noted feature in this field)) linguistic elements.
Sociolects (the companion term ethnolect is sometimes
applied to ethnic-based dialects) as a distinct phenomenon are a recent
addition to the field of structural linguistics. There had long been an interest in dialectial
variations which usually emerged organically in specific geographical spaces and
tended to evolve and become entrenched in when the mobility of people was limited
(although recent research does suggest this effect was over-stated) but what
began in the late 1960s was the distinct branch of dialectology, the study of
different dialects in relation to social society. Unlike the dialects which began and became
associated with a particular geographical space, the idea of the sociolect was
of a speech which conforms to a social group identity, based usually on age or ethnicity
and greatly influenced by socio-economic status. That sounded environmentally deterministic
and at the time that was probably true but what later emerged, especially as new
technologies permitted an essentially instantaneous dissemination of popular
culture to an increasing number of the global population, the earlier sociolinguistic
view that patterns of speech are learned from the surrounding community was
modified: people could now mix & match, picking community with which they
wished to be associated and adopting their linguistic traits.
One of the best known of the genre is Ebonics (the
construct a portmanteau of ebony + phonics), a word re-purposed in the early
1970s by a group of African-American academics, headed by a psychologist, Professor
Robert Lee Williams II (1930–2020). Originally,
linguistic anthropologists used Ebonics to refer to the forms of English-based languages
used by all those descended from black African slaves, particularly those brought
from West Africa to the Caribbean and North America. For generations, scholars had regarded these
variations from Standard English as inferior and essentially a form for the “uneducated”
and the assertion of a redefined Ebonics was a reaction to the negative connotations
which had long pervaded academia. It
proved of some interest to those working in structural linguistics but within
the community of black academics (who turned out to be as diverse and disparate
in their opinions as academics of any race), it was a controversial topic
because of the view that whatever the merits in recognizing that all dialectical
forms (and structurally, in a sense, Standard English was just one of many)
deserved to be recognized as equally valid forks, there was the recognition that
the use and mastery of the standard forms was a fundamental necessity for social
advancement and economic empowerment.
Neither widely embraced by the linguistic community nor recognized
by most lexicographers (although dictionaries in the era were still
substantially in print and acceptance did take longer, mistakes in static
documents impossible to correct), Ebonics for years remained little-known
outside universities although some police departments did use the word, providing
printed guides of phrases used (uniquely it was said) by African-Americans to
communicate among themselves while concealing the meaning from outsiders who
might be listening. These phrases used
words from the vocabulary of Standard English but with a different grammar and
sometimes a re-allocation of meaning. In
this it differed from Nadsat, the
argot or fictional register invented by Anthony Burgess (1917-1993) for the droogs
in A Clockwork Orange (1962), where
the words, although often derived from English, were barely if at all unrecognizable.
It was in 1996 Ebonics became widely known in the US. The Oakland School Board, apparently in an
attempt to gain additional funding for the teaching of English to those for
whom it was not a first language, listed Ebonics as the primary language of the
substantial number of their African-American pupils. The use of the term seems to have been an
attempt to add some academic gloss or gain political favor because the
alternative term “African American English”, had been in use for some years and
technically, meant the same thing although there may have been the feeling
Ebonics carried a favorable political loading.
The board’s view was interpreted as a recognition there was in some
senses a separate community of African Americans and to enable them to operate
in both cultures it was desirable for them to learn Standard (American) English
so they might use both depending on the circumstances, a process called "code
switching".
Valleyspeak (sometimes
shortened to Valspeak) was another interesting form. It was a socially-specific dialect associated
with the stereotypical white, materialistic, upper middle-class, teen-aged girl
(hence “valley-girl” being the archetype) in southern California circa
1980-1987, characterised by the adoption (and sometimes re-purposing) of
existing words and phrases, delivered with an exaggerated inflection. Elements of Valleyspeak spread to other
demographics and for a certain period in the 1980s and 1990s, it was something of
a fad with a peak period from around 1981 to 1985 although some of it has
endured in words and phrases now part of much mainstream speech. The use of “like” as a discourse marker and “whatever”,
deployed to covey general dismissiveness have become endemic and “uptalk” or “upspeak”
(technically the “high rising terminal” (HRT) or “high rising intonation” (HRI),
where declarative sentences can end with a rising pitch similar to that once
associated only with yes/no questions) seems to have been infectious in
younger, less educated demographics. The
source of the term Valleyspeak is said to have been Frank Zappa’s (1940-1993) parody
music single Valley Girl (1982) in
which, behind the music, his teenage daughter Moon Unit Zappa (1967), delivered
a monologue in what would come to be known as Valleyspeak. The form was subsequently spread and
popularized by US pop-culture, especially film and television. Valleyspeak includes:
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