British Life & Culture Calendar of Special Events & Celebrations

Halloween

Did you know?: Our ancestors celebrated New Year on November 1st. They celebrated their New Year's Eve on October 31st. Samhain (pronounced 'sow-in') marked the end of the "season of the sun" (Summer) and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold" ( Winter).

The Facts

Neither the word Halloween or the date 31 October are mentioned in any Anglo-Saxon text indicating that it was just an ordinary day a thousand years ago.

From the Medieval period (1066 - 1485) through to the 19th century, there is no evidence that 31 October was anything else other than the eve of All Saints Day.

From the 19th Century to the present

STYLE, CONTEXT, and REGISTER (Sociolinguistics View)

Three different requests for information

ž  From a friend

Where were you last night? I rang to see if you wanted to come to the pictures.

ž  In the court from a lawyer

Could you tell the court where you were on the night of Friday the seventeenth of March?

ž  From a teacher to his pupils in school on the day after Hallowen

I know some of you went “trick-or-treating”...Did you go out last night?

Addressee as an influence on style

(a)    Excuse me. Could I have a look at your photos too, Mrs. Hall?

(b)   C’mon Tony, gizzalook, gizzalook.

Concept of addressee

ž  Relative age

ž  Gender

ž  Social roles

National Languages and Language Planning (Sociolinguistics view)

National Language & Official Language

—  National language:

                it is the main language of political, social and cultural practices, where people use it as a symbol of their national unity.

               

                ex : Swahili in Tanzania, Hebrew in Israel

—  Official language is the language used by governments for formal functions.

                ex : Pilipino and English in Philippines

—  A language can serve both role as national official language

                ex : Indonesian in Indonesia

LANGUAGE CHANGE

•       Variation and Change: The cause behind language change is the variation of use in the areas of pronunciation and vocabulary.

•       Post-vocal |r| its spread and its status: In many parts of England and Wales, Standard English has lost the pronunciation post-vocal r. The loss of r began in the 17^th century in the south-east of England and is still spreading to other areas. Accents with post-vocal |r| are called rhotict, and these accents are regarded as rural and uneducated. On the other hand in cities like New York, pronouncing the letter r is regarded as prestigious

•       The spread of vernacular forms: some times a vernacular feature in some communities as a reflection of ethnic or social identity such as what happened in Martha's Vineyard Island. Labov's 1960 study showed: when the island was invaded by summer tourists, the island community of fishermen changed their

Speech Functions, Politeness and Cross-cultural (Sociolinguistics view)

Speech Functions, Politeness and Cross-cultural

Speech Function

Expressive function: to express personal feelings, thoughts, ideas and opinions, with different choice words, intonation, etc. These expressions are submissive to social factors and to the nature of the expression as negative (I'm very gloomy tonight) or positive (I'm feeling very good today).

¢  Directive function: giving orders or making requests by using imperative statements. An imperative statements may express a strict demand such as saying (open the door) or it can seem less demanding by using the politeness strategy such as saying (open the door, please) or through using question tags in the case of informality between mother and son (Max the TV is still on!)

¢  Referential utterances comment on language itself, e.g. :

Standard variety of Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Language)

·         Indonesian has an orientation rules made refers to dictionary named ‘Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia / KBBI’ that published by opening of fifth Indonesian language congress (Pembukaan Kongres V Bahasa Indonesia) at October 28, 1988. It had been a source reference and trusted to be used by Indonesian People or International People. If there are any problems about words of Indonesian language, KBBI will solve that problems.

·         Indonesian Language as official language is used in formal communication both written and spoken.

·         Writing system and spelling

Indonesian is written with the Latin script. Consonants are represented in a way similar to Italian, although ⟨c⟩ is always /tʃ/ (like English ⟨ch⟩), ⟨g⟩ is always /ɡ/ ("hard") and ⟨j⟩ represents /dʒ/ as it does in English. In addition, ⟨ny⟩ represents the palatal nasal /ɲ/, ⟨ng⟩ is used for the velar nasal /ŋ/ (which can occur word-initially), ⟨sy⟩ for /ʃ/ (English ⟨sh⟩) and ⟨kh⟩ for the voiceless velar fricative /x/. Both /e/ and /ə/ are represented with ⟨e⟩.

·         Indonesian has no tenses or any of the forms of a verb which show the time at which an action happened. But Indonesian has standard grammar rules which had arranged in TTBI (Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia). That Standard covers Phonetic, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics.

Indonesian Language (bahasa Indonesia) is not a pidgin

Indonesian Language is not a pidgin even in early period. In pre-independence of Indonesia, Malay had become lingua franca to communicate by various people with different vernacular in Nusantara (Indonesia Archipelago). So, lingua Franca is not new language and has complex lexical rules and complete syntax. Indonesian language adopted from Malay (Riau Dialect) which has lexical borrows from any other vernacular, such as Javanese language, Arabic, Dutch, and English. Indonesian language has perfect spelling cause it adopted from Riau Malay (it has been preserved long time ago and it has rule and any other function). In the blooming of Riau dialect to Indonesian dialect, the phonetic of Riau dialect in the end of word ‘/e’ or ‘/eu’ has changed into ‘/a’ in Indonesian dialect. Then that Malay was repaired in better phonology, morphology, and syntax. It is important because the aim of lingua franca is to unite any different ethnic, religion, vernacular, gender, etc. Then, Malay (Riau) Indonesian language had been announced at Sumpah Pemuda and established by UUD 45 as National Language.

From the explanation above, actually Indonesia language was not processed like a pidgin. The character of Pidgin is used in certain function, but Indonesian Language is not used in certain function and it has standardized spelling, distinct pattern, high prestige, and still absorbing any other languages in its development in order to enrich Indonesia Language.  So, Indonesia was not a Pidgin.

why Malay became a National language (Indonesia)

Why Malay? The Little brief about Malay.

-          Malay had been used in region of South East Java in the 7^th century years ago. It was proved by “prasasti” which used ‘Old-Malay’ in some areas such Sumatera, Java, etc.

-          The kingdom of Sriwijaya used Malay as a Culture language, in dissemination of Budha. We know that Sriwajaya was the great kingdom toke over the ‘Nusantara’.

-          In other purposes, Malay was dominant, used as merchandising conversation in some area of Nusantara a long time ago.

-          In dissemination of Islam, it most influenced amending of Malay in Nusantara.

-          Malay (Bahasa Indonesia) was suggested by Muhammad. Yamin through the declaration of “Sumpah Pemuda” as Lingua Franca at October 28, 1928.

There were some reasons choosing Malay than Javanese or any other vernacular languages below:

-          Malay Had been used as Lingua Franca in the Indonesian Archipelago (Nusantara)

-          Malay has simple structure to be learnt easily, not difficult developing this language, and it can be influenced any other languages to enrich the language itself.

-          Malay does not use the status social in use, so it will not make disunity.

-          The people of any other vernacular language support Malay as a lingua Franca.

-          Javanese People was sacrifice use Malay as National language of RI for a sublime purpose.

Some Domains of Javanese language has been changed in Indonesian

1.      Some Domains of Javanese language has been changed in Indonesian, especially in some big cities in Middle Java and Jogjakarta, for example: Semarang, Yogyakarta, even in Solo. There are many factors concerning the changing of the use of the language itself such as the big influence of Indonesian language as Lingua Franca, the awareness of using and teaching kromo by Parents to their children is less, etc. So the children (until adulthood) will be confused to speak with other older people or stranger (cause they do not know how to speak to older people using kromo / kromo inggil caused the politeness of Javanese still the first of moral excellent, then they decided to use Indonesia Language to solve their problems because in their mind Indonesia language is the best way to speak politely). In this case, they use “that way” in daily conversation in Traditional market, school, coffee shop, bus station, and any other place. However, the Javanese people are so proud with their language and culture. It is proved most of them still use Javanese language in their daily language conversation and obey the rule / culture to be respect with older people or stranger. 

LANGUAGE SHIFT, LANGUAGE DEATH/LOSS, and LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE

LANGUAGE  SHIFT

—  Pergeseran Bahasa adalah penggunaan bahasa oleh seorang penutur atau sekelompok penutur yang bisa terjadi sebagai akibat perpindahan dari suatu masyarakat tutur ke masyarakat tutur lain. (Chaer dan Agustina, 2004 : 142)

—  Language shift  is a form of full amount language change. (Jendra, 2010 : 141)

—  Language shift occurs may differ for different individuals and different groups, but gradually  over time the language of the wider society displaces the minority language  mother tongue. (Holmes,2001:52)

Language shift in different  communities

a. Migrant minorities

b. Non-migrant communities

c. Migrant majorities

Pandangan Sosiolinguistik Terhadap Bahasa

Pertanyaan:
1) Apakah yang Anda ketahui menganai hakikat bahasa?
2) Sebutkan beberapa pengertian sosiolinguistik!
3) Bagaimanakah pandangan sosiolinguistik terhadap bahasa?

Jawaban:
1) Hakikat Bahasa

Hakikat bahasa menurut Harimurti Kridalaksana dalam Kamus Linguistik edisi ketiga adalah sistem lambang bunyi yang arbitrer, yang dipergunakan oleh para anggota suatu masyarakat untuk bekerja sama, berinteraksi, dan mengidentifikasikan diri. Sementara menurut H. Douglas Brown dalam bukunya Henry Guntur Tarigan “Pengajaran Pragmatik” menyebutkan hakikat bahasa sebagai suatu sistem yang sistematis, barangkali juga untuk sistem generatif; seperangkat lambang-lambang mana s

Regional Variation (sociolinguistics)

Language, as described in books and articles on morphology or semantics, is often described as a uniform entity; however, significant differences can be seen even within one language community, such as a country or state. Such regional variation of languages is also subject to linguistic investigations. General descriptions of languages focusing on pronunciation, or grammar usually provide information about the standard variety of a given language, nonetheless, that does not mean that it is in any respect better than its other varieties. The standard language is chosen for such accounts because it is frequently the official kind and, in the case of English, an idealized version that learners of English as a second language usually attempt to learn.
The accent is one of the most easily noticeable features characterizing a language's regional features. Although it is generally believed that some people speak with an accent and others do not, it is not valid. Every language speaker utters words with some accent, which can tell the listeners where the speaker is from. The term accent is characterized by pronouncing words characteristic of a group of people, showing which country or part of a country the speaker is from. The accent is frequently confused with the term dialect, which denotes aspects of pronunciation, words, and syntax that differ slightly from the standard variety. Although various dialects of one language possess grammar rules and vocabulary characteristics, speakers of different dialects understand each other without significant difficulties.

Pengertian sosiolinguistik

SOSIOLINGUISTIK

Pengertian Sosiolinguistik

·        Sosiolinguistik didefinisikan sebagai ilmu yang mempelajari ciri dan berbagai variasi bahasa, serta hubungan diantara parabahasawan dengan cirri fungsi variasi itu didalam suatu masyarakat bahasa (Kridalaksana,1978:94)

·        Pengkajian bahasa dengan dimensi kemasyarakatan (Nababan, 1984:2)

·        Sosiolinguistik adalah kajian tentang ciri khas variasi bahasa, fungsi-fungsi variasi bahasa, dan pemakai bahasa karena ketiga unsur ini selalu berinteraksi, berubah, dan saling mengubah satu sama lain dalam satu masyarakat tutur (Fishman, 1972:4)

·        Sosiolinguistik adalah cabang ilmu linguistik yang bersifat interdisipliner dengan

what are pidgin and standard language?

1.      What is a pidgin? Is Bahasa Indonesia now a pidgin?

A pidgin is a language which has no native speakers. Pidgins develop as a mean of communication between people who do not have a common language. So a pidgin is no one`s native language. Pidgins seem particularly likely to arise when two different groups with different languages are communicating in situation where there is also a third dominant language.

Bahasa Indonesia is not a pidgin now because BI has more than two hundred million native speakers in Indonesia.

2.      What is meant by Standard languages?

The term standard is even more slippery than vernacular because it too is used in many different ways by linguists. Here is one definition which can serve as a useful starting point.  A standard variety is generally one which is written, and which has undergone some degree of regularization or codification (in grammar and a dictionary), it is recognized as a prestigious variety or code by a community, and it is used for H functions alongside a diversity of L varieties. This is a general definition and it immediately excludes most of the world `s for or five thousand languages. Only a minority of the world`s language are written, and an even smaller minority are standardized in the sense of codified and accepted by the community as suitable for formal functions. It will be useful to look at an example to illustrate that the definition means in particular context.

how to improve conversation in dialect chains

1.       We have learned about cross-continental variation or dialect chains, (you could see example 5 page 129). Give your explanation how to improve conversation in dialect chains!
Answer:

Avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words that will convey only the most specific denotative meaning;  Listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for confirmation of understanding (particularly important if local accents and pronunciation area problem); Recognize that accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly; and Respect the local communication formalities and styles, and watch for any changes in body language. Investigate their culture's perception of your culture by reading literature about your culture through their eyes before entering into communication with them. This will allow you to prepare yourself for projected views of your culture you will be bearing as a visitor in their culture.

2.       Javanese social status is reflected not just in choice of linguistics forms but also in the particular combinations of forms which each social group customarily uses, give your own experience of using Javanese in daily life (Arabic/vernacular for Libyan)

Answer:

I am a man living in both Pekalongan and Semarang. I use Javanese, Indonesian, and English. All Javanese people know that Javanese language has rules / politeness in communication between talking to younger and older, to younger people we use ngoko and kromo is used to talk to older people, even

planning a national language

1.       As introduced in Janet Holmes’ book, there are four steps in planning a national language (selection, codification, elaboration, and securing it position). Do you think that Indonesian also threatened in the same way (following those four steps)?

Answer:

Considering those four steps proposed by Janet Holmes. I believe that Indonesian has also followed the steps.  

a.       First, formulating Indonesian language was chosen instead of choosing any indigenous language to maintain the unity. Riots must happen when an indigenous language is chosen, since there are so many tribes and their indigenous language.

b.      Chosen as the national language, Indonesian is codified by the linguists.

Written in Roman or Latin script, small spelling adjustments were in 1947 and a comprehensive overhaul, called the Updated and Improved Spelling (Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan), was implemented in 1972.

c.       Elaborating the language

At that time Indonesian was the second language for its borders. The language spread throughout the country as it is used in wider communications, inter-tribal communication.  

Furthermore, the most important factor in the spread of Indonesian as a national language was the development of Indonesia’s educational system and literacy. This dramatic growth in

LANGUAGE CHANGES (sociolinguistics)

LANGUAGE CHANGES

1.      There are some reasons which cause the language changes. It can be divided by two: internal reason and external reason. Explain about that.

2.      On the lexical change, there are some examples. Please explain about the example of lexical change.

ANSWER.

1.      There are two reasons, those are internal and external reason:

a.       Internal reason

The internal reasons are referred to the causes of the nature of the language itself. For example: in the past, some linguists have learned that structures and sounds of language indeed tend to change from complex to be simple and from irregular to be regular. Other examples are spelling changes(colour into color, centre become center)

b.      External reason

The external reasons are referred to the situation found in the society using the language

Register in sociolinguistics (javanese case)

1.      The existence of any distinguishable of any styles and registers are really continuously happened especially in certain vernacular language. Share your agreement or your disagreement and explore any reasons relate to this notion based on your own vernacular language (e.g. Javanese, Sundanese Malay, or other vernacular languages).

Answer:

According to my opinion, I do agree that there are many distinguisabilities of any styles and registers in any vernacular languages. Furthermore, there are many reasons relate to this notion such as follows:

a.       Speaker and addressee as the domain of language and conversation causes any complex distinguishabilities of chosen styles and registers; code, variety, dialect, etc.

b.      The norm as attention or care in cultural point of view relates to the language also influence in choosing possibility style whether it is formal or non formal (audience design). (Bernard Spolsky 1998: 33).

c.       Other domain like setting and context also gave influence in distinguishabilities in styles and registers of languages.

Question about Ethnicity

1.     What are linguistics clues to a person’s ethnicity?

·        Short phrases

·        Verbal fillers

·        Linguistic Tags

2.     What is the relationship between ethnicity and social class in relation to the vernacular features of speech?

·        The relationship between ethnicity and social class in reltion to the vernacular features of speech is in most speech contexts, speakers of standard English use shortened or reduced forms of the verb be. In other words, people do not usually say in a complete word. The higher class wiil speak formal in a complete word and the lower class will speak informal

LANGUAGE SHIFT and MAINTENANCE (ex: tegal and semarang)

LANGUAGE SHIFT and MAINTENANCE

Question :

1.    Talking about language shift, we know there are language shift cases in our country. Give your experience about this phenomenon! What is the impact if a language is shifting continuously?

2.    In this globalization era like today there are many foreign languages come over to our country. It is possible from them to shift our own language. For example in some part of Java, there is English which now very popular among people. This actually may threat the existence of vernaculars. But, we can see that there may still communities which can maintain their kind of vernaculars, such as Jogjakarta, Solo, Cirebon, etc. Mention the factors that contribute in maintaining a language and explain briefly each of them!

Answer :

1.    As we know language shift is the replacement of one or more language in community’s repertoire by a language which is socially more powerful. This phenomenon occurs when a community who shares similar mother tongue abandons it, and collectively shifts to speaking another language. It is always preceded by multilingualism. Someone cannot shift to a new language unless he or she learns to speak it. This also happens on me myself. I come from Tegal Javanese. After passing Senior High School past years ago, then I continued my study in another city that is Semarang. Even though, Tegal and Semarang are in one region; Central Java, but they have different code, Tegal use Ngapak Javanese