Linguistic Inequality - Problems, Causes, Types(Subjective, Communicative, Strictly Linguistics)
Notes:
Language, culture and identity
Problems of linguistic inequality
Linguistic inequality?
Use of different linguistic items by a speaker for communicating the same message with in different social situation gave birth to the idea of linguistic and social inequality.
People have different levels of linguistic competence and linguistic performance which provide basis for the notion of linguistic inequality.
Cont.
In the same way people with different social and culture background shows the levels of social inequality as well as social status.
There are differences between the grammars of two people, there is no way of knowing which has the higher prestige in society simply by studying the grammars
Types of Linguistic Inequality
Subjective inequality: concerns what people think about each other’s speech
Communicative inequality: refers to the knowledge of how to use linguistic items to communicate successfully, rather than simply with knowledge of the linguistic items themselves (cf. competence vs. performance)
Strictly linguistic inequality: it relates to the linguistic items that a person knows
Causes of Linguistic Inequality
The way we speak or write conveys socially important information, a speaker uses the speech as a sign of social distinction
Linguistic prejudice is the major cause of linguistic and social inequality; Any individual may be a victim of linguistic prejudice regardless of their social & ethnical status, however marginalized groups are often the victims, due to the speech varieties they are using.
Social inequality exists because the lack of wealth in certain areas prohibits these people from obtaining the same housing, health care, etc.
Conclusion
Linguistic inequality breeds social inequality and vice versa.
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