Variety of Language

Definition Varieties Of Language According To Linguists

1.     While many language would like to view any language as a homogenous entity and each speaker of that language as controlling only a single style , so that they can make the strongest possible theoretical gen realizations , in actual fact that language will be seen to exhibit considerable internal variation, and single- style speakers will not be found.

           (Ronald Wardhaugh, 1986)

2.     All speakers of English can talk to each other and for the most part understand each other; yet no two speak exactly  alike. Some differences are due to age, sex, state of health, size, personality, emotional state, and personal idiosyncrasies. That each person speaks somewhat differently from all others is shown by our ability to recognize acquaintances by hearing them talk.

(Victoria Fromklin, et al 1990)

Similarities:

. Ronald says that the all speakers just have a single- style language.

. Victoria says that until now no speakers has the same style- language.

Differences:

. Ronald analyzed from the style language speakers.

.Victoria looked from age, sex, state of health, size, personality, emotional state, and personal idiosyncrasies.

Varieties of language happen in every language, because no two speaker have the same experience of language although the difference between speaker may vary from the very slight and trials, and this experiences also he lives more or less unconscious level.

There are four kinds of variety:

•         Standard variety is the variety which thought that all varieties of language are good.

•         Regional variety is a variation language which used for a group of people from the same place.

•         Social variety is the varieties of language which used by the group of people from the same class (social stratification).

•         Functional variety is a variation of language which used according to its function .

•         Dialect : A regional or social  variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a way of speaking that differs from the standard variety of language.

•         Idiolect : The distinctive speech of an individual, considered as a linguistic pattern unique among speakers of his or her language or dialect.

The different kinds of language varieties:

1.     Pidgin

A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of different language need to communicate  but don’t share a common language.

Once a stable pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for communication among people who speak different languages..

Example: An example of early Hawaii Pidgin English (HPE) spoken in Honolulu in the late 19^th century:

What for Miss Willis laugh all time? Before Fraulein cry all time.

“What does Miss Willis often laugh? Fraulein used to always cry.”

2.     Creole

When children start learning a pidgin as their first language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community, it is called a creoles. Like a pidgin, a creoles is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language, but has its unique grammatical rules. Unlike a pidgin, however, a creoles is not restricted in use, and is like any other language and its full range of functions. Examples are Gullah, Jamaican Creoles and Hawaii Creole English

1.     English: Let me do it. ( Use of an object pronoun )                                    Creole: Mek ah du it. ( Uses a subject pronoun )

2.     English: Where is she? ( Verb in the middle of the question )

Creole: Da weh ih deh? (Verb at the end of the question )

3.     Regional dialect

A regional dialect is not distinct language but a variety of a language spoken in a particular area of a country. Some regional dialects have been given traditional name which mark them out as being significantly different from standard varieties spoken in the same place. Some examples are ‘Hillbilly English’ (from the Appalachians in the USA) and ‘Geordie’ (from Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK).

               Malaysian                                           Indonesian

                 Malay                                                   Malay

                     Variety                                                 Variety

.

2.     Cakap                                                               bicara        

3. Saiz                                                                  ukuran                                                 

4.     Polis                                                                  polisi

5.     Televisyen                                                        televisi           

6.     Berjinak- jinak                                                 ramah       

 

4.     Minority dialect

Sometimes member of a particular minority ethnic group have their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually alongside a standard variety. This is called a minority dialect. Examples are African American Vernacular English in the USA, London Jamaican in Britain, and Aboriginal English in Australia.

5.     Indigenized variety

Indigenized varieties are spoken mainly as a second languages in ex-colonies with to English proficiency, or may be part of range of varieties used to express identity. For example, ‘Sing’ (spoken in Singapore) is a variety very different from standard English, and there are many other varieties of English used in India. 

6.     Register

Register is a variety of a language use for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting in English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in –ing with a velar nasal instead of an alveolar nasal,( e.g. father vs. dad, child vs. kid, etc. )

7.     Slang

Slang is a marker of in group solidarity, and so it is correlate of human groups with shared experiences, such as being children at a certain school or of a certain age, or being a member of a certain socially definable group, such as hookers, junkies, jazz musicians, or professional criminals.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006 )