Speech community
Encyclopedia
Speech community is a group of people who share a set of norms and expectations regarding the use of language.
Speech communities can be members of a profession with a specialized jargon
, distinct social groups like high school students or hip hop
fans (see also African American Vernacular English
), or even tight-knit groups like families and friends. In addition, online and other mediated communities, such as many internet forum
s, often constitute speech communities. Members of speech communities will often develop slang
or jargon
to serve the group's special purposes and priorities.
However, the relative importance and exact definitions of these also vary. Some would argue that a speech community must be a 'real' community, i.e. a group of people living in the same location (such as a city or a neighborhood), while more recent thinking proposes that all people are indeed part of several communities (through home location, occupation, gender, class, religious belonging, and more), and that they are thus also part of simultaneous speech communities.
Similarly, what shared linguistic communication entails is also a variable concept. Some would argue that a shared first language, even dialect, is necessary, while for others the ability to communicate and interact (even across language barriers) is sufficient.
The underlying concern in both of these is that members of the same speech community should share linguistic norms. That is, they share understanding, values and attitudes about language varieties present in their community. While the exact definition of speech community is debated, there is a broad consensus that the concept is immensely useful, if not crucial, for the study of language variation and change.
A person can (and almost always does) belong to more than one speech community. For example, a gay
Jewish waiter
would likely speak and be spoken to differently when interacting with gay peers, Jewish peers, or his co-workers. If he found himself in a situation with a variety of in-group and/or out-group peers, he would likely modify his speech to appeal to speakers of all the speech communities represented at that moment.
(A variation on this concept is code-switching
, which is usually observed among speakers of two or more languages who switch between them based on the content or pragmatics
of their conversation.)
, whose studies of language variation in New York City and Martha's Vineyard
laid the groundwork for sociolinguistics
as a social science. His studies showed that not only were class and profession clearly related to language variation within a speech community (e.g. Martha's Vineyard), but that socio-economic aspirations and mobility were also of great importance.
Prior to Labov's studies, the closest linguistic field was dialectology
, which studies linguistic variation between different dialects. The primary application of dialectology is in rural communities with little physical mobility. Thus, there was no framework for describing language variation in cities until the emergence of sociolinguistics and the concept of speech community, which applies to both rural and urban communities.
Since the 1960s a number of studies have been performed that have furthered our knowledge about how speech communities work and extended its use. Notable sociolinguists who have worked on speech communities include William Labov
, John J. Gumperz
, Lesley Milroy
, and Robin Lakoff
.
and change. Stylistic
features differ among speech communities based on factors such as the group's socioeconomic status, common interests and the level of formality expected within the group and by its larger society
.
In Western culture
, for example, employees at a law
office would likely use more formal language than a group of teenage
skateboarders
because most Westerners expect more formality and professionalism from practitioners of law than from an informal circle of adolescent friends. This special use of language by certain professions for particular activities is known in linguistics as register
; in some analyses, the group of speakers of a register is known as a discourse community
, while the phrase "speech community" is reserved for varieties of a language or dialect that speakers inherit by birth or adoption.
Speech communities can be members of a profession with a specialized jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
, distinct social groups like high school students or hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
fans (see also African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
), or even tight-knit groups like families and friends. In addition, online and other mediated communities, such as many internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s, often constitute speech communities. Members of speech communities will often develop slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
or jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
to serve the group's special purposes and priorities.
Definition
Exactly how to define speech community is debated in the literature. Definitions of speech community tend to involve varying degrees of emphasis on the following:- Shared community membership
- Shared linguistic communication
However, the relative importance and exact definitions of these also vary. Some would argue that a speech community must be a 'real' community, i.e. a group of people living in the same location (such as a city or a neighborhood), while more recent thinking proposes that all people are indeed part of several communities (through home location, occupation, gender, class, religious belonging, and more), and that they are thus also part of simultaneous speech communities.
Similarly, what shared linguistic communication entails is also a variable concept. Some would argue that a shared first language, even dialect, is necessary, while for others the ability to communicate and interact (even across language barriers) is sufficient.
The underlying concern in both of these is that members of the same speech community should share linguistic norms. That is, they share understanding, values and attitudes about language varieties present in their community. While the exact definition of speech community is debated, there is a broad consensus that the concept is immensely useful, if not crucial, for the study of language variation and change.
A person can (and almost always does) belong to more than one speech community. For example, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Jewish waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
would likely speak and be spoken to differently when interacting with gay peers, Jewish peers, or his co-workers. If he found himself in a situation with a variety of in-group and/or out-group peers, he would likely modify his speech to appeal to speakers of all the speech communities represented at that moment.
(A variation on this concept is code-switching
Code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching is the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals—people who speak more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other...
, which is usually observed among speakers of two or more languages who switch between them based on the content or pragmatics
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, and linguistics. It studies how the...
of their conversation.)
History of the concept
The adoption of the concept speech community as a focus of linguistic analysis emerged in the 1960s. This was due to the pioneering work by William LabovWilliam Labov
William Labov born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics...
, whose studies of language variation in New York City and Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
laid the groundwork for sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
as a social science. His studies showed that not only were class and profession clearly related to language variation within a speech community (e.g. Martha's Vineyard), but that socio-economic aspirations and mobility were also of great importance.
Prior to Labov's studies, the closest linguistic field was dialectology
Dialectology
Dialectology is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their associated features...
, which studies linguistic variation between different dialects. The primary application of dialectology is in rural communities with little physical mobility. Thus, there was no framework for describing language variation in cities until the emergence of sociolinguistics and the concept of speech community, which applies to both rural and urban communities.
Since the 1960s a number of studies have been performed that have furthered our knowledge about how speech communities work and extended its use. Notable sociolinguists who have worked on speech communities include William Labov
William Labov
William Labov born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics...
, John J. Gumperz
John J. Gumperz
John Joseph Gumperz is an American linguist and academic. Gumperz was, for most of his career, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. He is currently affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara...
, Lesley Milroy
Lesley Milroy
Ann Lesley Milroy is a sociolinguist, and a professor emerita at the University of Michigan. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom in 1944. She studied and began her work in sociolinguistics in the UK...
, and Robin Lakoff
Robin Lakoff
Robin Tolmach Lakoff is a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.Lakoff's writings have become the basis for much research on the subject of women's language. In a 1973 article , she published ten basic assumptions about what she felt constituted a special women's...
.
Language Variation
The notion of speech community is most generally used as a tool to define a unit of analysis within which to analyse language variationVariety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
and change. Stylistic
Stylistics (linguistics)
Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own...
features differ among speech communities based on factors such as the group's socioeconomic status, common interests and the level of formality expected within the group and by its larger society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
.
In Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, for example, employees at a law
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
office would likely use more formal language than a group of teenage
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
skateboarders
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
because most Westerners expect more formality and professionalism from practitioners of law than from an informal circle of adolescent friends. This special use of language by certain professions for particular activities is known in linguistics as register
Register (linguistics)
In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal...
; in some analyses, the group of speakers of a register is known as a discourse community
Discourse community
The term discourse community links the terms discourse, a concept describing all forms of communication that contribute to a particular, instructionalized way of thinking; and community, which in this case refers to the people who use, and therefore help create, a particular discourse.Some examples...
, while the phrase "speech community" is reserved for varieties of a language or dialect that speakers inherit by birth or adoption.