LANGUAGE AND DIALECT
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Language
has important rules in human life. It is used to interact and communicate with
each other. It is a tool for people to express their feeling and thought. It
enables people to learn and understand their world.
Since
language plays important rule in communication and interaction, many scientist interest
in the study of language. They investigate internal and external language. Look
at language, from internal factors, language analyzed in term of language
structure (vocabulary, syntax, morphology, and phonology) based on linguistic
theories, while look at language from external factors, language is related to
other context (the various function of language and the different social
situation). In which the language is used. The study of language is not only
used linguistic procedure and theory, but also used other science procedure and
theory such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology (A. Chaer and L.
Agustina, 2010:1).
The
investigation of language in relation to the study and theory of sociology (the
study of society) called sociolinguistics. In other words sociolinguistics is
the study of language in relation to society (Hudson, 1980:1). Language is a
system of objects or symbols, such as sounds or character sequences that can be
combined in various ways following a set of rules, especially to communicate
thoughts, feelings, or instructions (Collins English
Dictionary),
and societies who used language as a tool for communication (express feeling
and thought), have different system and rules in their language.
Hudson
(1980) stated that no speaker have the same language, because no speaker have
the same experience of language. The differences between speakers may vary from
the very slight and trivial. In other hand no one brings their own language
into community. It means that everyone learns and shares language in society,
so everyone construct different models relevant to language and society.
There
are social differences between speakers. They learn different systems of
language from an early age. They start to learn language from their parents.
They adapt their parents’ language, but their language will be affected by
their friends or other people around them when they start to interact and
communicate to the society. Their language develops in relation to their social
environment. They enable to speak different to different people. They know how
to use different language in different context.
It
seems that people have different language in different community and social
context. It assumed that different systems and rules (linguistic items or
language structure: Hudson, 1980) that the societies have in their language, leads
to the development of language varieties. Language varieties can be categorized
according to the characteristics of their speakers (dialect) and the characteristics
of their function (Register) (Halliday in A. Chaer and L. Agustina, 2010:62).
Although there are other varieties in multilingual such as bilingualism, diglossia,
code switching, code mixing, borrowing, pidgin, creoles, and standard language,
but this paper will only focus on language and dialect.
People
sometimes find difficulty in deciding whether what they speak should be called
language or merely a dialect of some language. It still confusion for many
people to distinguish between language and dialect. What are the criteria
possibly use to determine a language or a dialect? People sometimes think that
they interact and communicate each other by using dialect to show their identity
and to locate their selves in a society, but sometimes they find that they have
to use different languages in a particular situation, and then people may use
very different kinds of language in some occasion. Sociolinguists refer those
as register. What situation do people use register, and why do they use
register?
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
A. The nature of language and Dialect
1.
Language
Language
is a system of symbol or sign or objects such sounds or character sequences for
expressing of thought and feeling or by means of which a social groups
cooperate (Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager, Henry Sweet, the American
Heritage® Dictionary, and Collins English
Dictionary).
In
relation to the definition above, it can be interpreted that language arranged
in a set of rules to communicate meaning. A set of language rules concern the
theory of language structure that investigated by linguist.
The
concept (meaning) of a symbol is arbitrary but it is a convention. A symbol may
have difference concepts in people mind. People in different societies may have
different concept for a symbol, because they have different regulation in their
society.
The
definition of language above can lead us to the interpretation of language as a
system of communication that enables people to cooperate. It is used to express
their feeling and thought or ideas by interpreting into words. Words are
combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into
thoughts (Henry sweet).
It
seems that language has certain characteristics and functions. The characteristics
and functions of language are determined by many factors. There are some
factors may influence a languages such as individual, speakers, the culture,
geography, social status, gender, etc. Therefore, languages are different in
different people, community, group and society, and every language has a unique
characteristic which differentiates it from other language, but it also has
universal characteristics.
It
is believed that everybody in a society has exactly the same language – they
know the same constructions and the same words, with the same pronunciations
and the same range of meaning for every single word in language (Hudson,
1981:6), it means that people in the same community have the same characteristics
in their language, but language in a society may change as a consequence of the
complete absence of any differences between members of this community is that
language change is thereby ruled out, since such change normally involves a
differences between the oldest and the young generation, so that that when the
former all die only the forms by the latter survive.
Based
on the statement above, we can say that language can be affected by the
speakers of language, and the change of language systems and characteristics in
society is a result of social interaction. The speakers who have different social
backgrounds and different intentions affect the language varieties. Language
varieties divided according to the characteristics of their speakers (dialect)
and the characteristics of their function (Register) (Halliday in A. Chaer and
L. Agustina, 2010:62).
a.
The
characteristics of language according to A.Chaer and L.Agustina (2010):
1)
Language
is a systematic and systemic system. Language has a set rule and all of levels
of it are governed by rules. It is regarded as a system of relations (a set of
interrelated systems). The elements of language (Linguistics items) such as
sounds, lexical, etc.) are arranged into a meaningful language based on a
certain rule of language and its relation.
2)
Language is arbitrary. There is no direct
connection between the symbol and its meaning. Although it is arbitrary but the
relationship between symbol and concept or meaning is a convention. A community
has the same perception about the concept of every symbol.
3)
Language
is Productivity. It is possible to create various new
prepositions by combining already-existing signs and its symbol.
4)
Language
is dynamic. It is subject to constant language. Languages will tend to change
to meet the new conditions. It responds to the different systems of
communication and multi-various social needs that use them.
b.
The
function of language
According to Halliday, there are three
basic functions of language:
1)
Ideational
Halliday states that language serves
for the expression of ... the speaker's experience of the real world...language
also gives structure to experience, and helps to determine our way of looking
at things” it means that it requires some intellectual effort to see them in
any other way than which our language suggests to us. The individuals can speak
about their experiences of the real world as well as their inner thoughts. If
any person can tell about something, it means that they have the capacity to
establish him/herself as subject in relation to others.
2)
Interpersonal
Halliday’s defines the interpersonal
function in the following way: “Language serves to establish and maintain
social relations...Through this function, social groups are delimited, and the
individual is identified and reinforced.” It means that language serves to establish
and maintain social relations and that by enabling a person to interact with
others, language also helps in the expression and development of his own
personality.
Regarding Halliday’s
interpersonal function we can make a link with Jakobson’s
“conative,” “phatic,” and “emotive” functions
3)
Textual
According to Halliday the Textual
function is the ability of the speaker or writer to construct
"texts", or connected passages of discourse.
That are situational relevant and also what enables the listener or reader to distinguish a text from a random set of utterances.
That are situational relevant and also what enables the listener or reader to distinguish a text from a random set of utterances.
He stated that “Language has to provide
for making links with itself and with features of the situation in which it is
used. One aspect of the textual function is the establishment of cohesive
relations from one sentence to another in a discourse.” We can say that this
function relates to Jakobson’s “Poetic function.” He clearly
discusses in his theory that “when dealing with the poetic function, linguists
cannot limit themselves to the field of poetry,” but rather focuses on the
message as such.
2.
Dialect
The term dialect (from the Greek Language word dialektos, Διάλεκτος) is used in two
distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the
language's speakers (Wikipedia).
Different
language communities have certain ways of talking that set them apart from
others. Those differences may be thought of as dialects —not just accents (the
way words are pronounced) but also grammar, vocabulary, syntax and common
expressions. Often a group that is somewhat isolated regionally or socially
from other groups will develop a characteristic dialect (Walt Wolfram).
There
is a great confusion to distinguish language and dialect, although it is
believed that dialect is a variety which used by a group that is somewhat
isolated regionally or socially. Hudson stated that there is nothing absolute
about the distinction which English happens to make between languages and
dialect. Haugen argue that the reason for the ambiguity, and the resulting the
confusion, is precisely the fact that dialect was borrowed from Greek, where
the same ambiguity existed. The distinction of language and dialect in
classical Greece is made to distinguish a number of clearly distinct written
varieties.
A
language may have some different dialects. When some people communicate each
other by using different dialect but they still understand each other, it means
they are using dialect from the same language. When Toraja people talk to
Mamasa people by using different dialect, they will still understand each other
because their dialects are from same language (Bahasa Toraja).
Dialect is a varieties a result of the
different characteristics of their speaker. The speakers of the same language
may use different kind of dialect because they have different regional
(geography) or they have different social status in a society. The differences
of speakers based on geography called regional dialects, and based on social
factors called social dialects.
a. Regional dialects
Regional dialect is the term is used to describe attempts
made to map the distributions of various linguistic features so as to show
their geographical provenance. A language may has some varieties in term of
dialect because the different regional or geography of its speaker. The
differences are in the distributions of various linguistic feature or
linguistics items such as pairs of synonymous words (e.g. in English: elevator
or lift, petrol or gas), or different pronunciations of the same word such as tear with or without /r/. To distinguish
one dialect from others, the dialect geographer may then draw map to show a
boundary for each area. A dialect boundary called isogloss.
b. Social dialects
The term dialect can also be used to describe differences
in speech associated with various groups or classes. It means that social
dialect refers to various speeches of social group or classes. People may have
different dialects because they have different social status or social groups.
Social status or social groups related to social class, religion, and
ethnicity. It seems that people sometimes talk to show their social position
such as their occupation, education, cultural background, origin, caste,
religion, and so on.
B.
THE DIFFERENCESS BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND DIALEC
As stated above that there is still a great confusion to
distinguish between language and dialect because we sometimes find difficult to
determine whether we are speaking a language or dialect. Hudson stated that the
only difference between language and dialect is prestige, a language having
prestige which dialect lacks. He stated that whether some varieties is called a
language or dialect depends on how much prestige one thinks it has, and for
most people this is a clear-cut matter , which depends on whether is used in
formal writing. According to people in Britain habitually refer to languages
which are unwritten.
Steward (in A.Chaer and L.Agustina.2010) listed 4
criteria that may useful in discussing different kinds of languages. They are
standardization, Autonomy, Historicity, and vitality. These criteria may be
used to distinguish certain languages or varieties from others.
a. Standardization refers to the process of language by
which a language has been codified in some way
b. Autonomy refers to the linguistic system of language
which is different from other languages.
c. Historicity refers to the language development in which
language used as an identity of a particular group.
d. Vitality refers to the existence of it’s a living
community of speakers.
Based on the 4 criterion above, steward
distinguished 7 varieties of language
|
THE CRITERIA OF LANGUAGE
|
LANGUAGE
VARIETIES
|
EXAMPLE
|
|||
|
standardization
|
Autonomy
|
historicity
|
Vitality
|
|
|
|
+
+
+
-
-
-
-
|
+
+
+
+
-
-
-
|
+
+
-
+
+
-
-
|
+
-
-
+
+
+
-
|
Standard
Classic
Artificial
Vernacular
Dialect
Creole
Pidgin
|
English
Latin
Esperanto
Texas English
|
(+):
having criteria (-) lack
of criteria
The
table above shows that dialect has vitality and historicity criteria, but lack
of standardization and autonomy criteria. It means that dialect has a
particular community of speakers and they find a sense of identity through
using it, but its linguistic system has the same with other varieties of a language
and it is not codified.
We can
conclude that a dialect is a subordinate of a language, so that we can say that
Texas English is dialect of English. The language name (i.e. English) is the
superordinate term. We can also say that a language contains more than one
dialect, e.g English, French, and Italian are spoken in various dialects. If a
language is spoken by so few people, or so uniformly, that it has only variety,
we might tempted to say that language and dialect become synonymous in some
such a case. However, another view is that it is inappropriate to use dialect
in such a situation because the requirement of subordination is not meet.
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Language
is a system of symbol or sign or objects such sounds or character sequences for
expressing of thought and feeling or by means of which a social groups cooperate and different language communities have
certain ways of talking that set them apart from others. Those differences may
be thought of as dialects —not just accents (the way words are pronounced) but
also grammar, vocabulary, syntax and common expressions. Often a group that is
somewhat isolated regionally or socially from other groups will develop a characteristic
dialect.
There
is a great confusion to distinguish language and dialect, but generally we can conclude that a dialect is a
subordinate of a language, so that we can say that Texas English is a dialect
of English.
REFERENCES
Chaer, A and Agustina, L. 2010. Sociolinguistic: Perkenalan Awal.
Jakarta: PT. Rineka Cipta
Halliday, M.A.K. 1973. Exploration in the
function of language: Arnold p.4
Hudson, R.A. 1980. Sociolinguistics. New
York: Cambridge University Press
Wardaugh, R. 2006. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics; 5th. UK: Blackwell
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