Cultural and social factors influencing language change and variation

Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguists study the cultural and social factors that influence language change, and the ways that language changes in relation to these factors. All manner of different situations require different language use to say the same thing, and different cultures all have different ways of doing things -- including expressing things through language. All forms of communication can be thought of as language and thus as different ways of expressing the same things. understanding the social factors underlying linguistic changes leads to a better understanding of language itself.

A variety or code is a specific way of using language in a specific social and cultural context. The way someone speaks to their boss is likely different from the way someone speaks to their friends; the different contexts require two different codes. Diglossia literally means "two-tongues," and essentially refers to having two main codes -- usually a formal and an informal manner of speech. Code switching refers to changing back and forth between codes and/or the ability to make this switch, as in when someone at an informal gather answers a business call for example.

Shifts in language use can also occur within communities as social changes occur -- some words become obsolete while others are added. Language loss and death can occur when cultures that use a specific language assimilate into other cultures or otherwise fade away, possibly through the dying off of elders who still use the old language. Technology, cultural mixing, and many other factors can cause language loss and/or death, and protecting minority languages often takes a great deal of very concerted effort and dedication by a few scholars to truly preserving the language through recordings.

Vernacular languages are the spoken languages as populations of common people in a culture use them, while Standard Languages are the forms of language used more officially or in government workings or public spheres. Lingu francas are languages used b wide groups of people to facilitate communication between cultures that traditionally use separate languages; English is the lingua franca of much of the world, as people from Sweden to China to Egypt learn it to facilitate international communication. Pidgins and creoles are bastardizations of two or more languages from a merging or meeting of cultures.

National and official languages can be established to ease communication within a nation, but they do not always represent the real linguistic situation. Official/national languages require planning for documentation and to ensure that the language will serve the nation's needs. Norway had a difficult time selecting which dialect to make the official language, for example. Linguists play a role in this by helping to track and classify linguistic varietals and determine the effects of official changes.