Example 1
A:B:
Why are all dumb blonde jokes one-liners?So men can remember them.
Jokes like this encode culturally speciflc assumptions, e.g. that blonde typically refers toa woman, not a man, and that the categories 'dumb blonde' and 'dumb blonde jokes'are familiar to the addressee. But the ioke also challenges the assumptions of typical'dumb blonde' jokes, in making men rather than women the butt of the humour.Feminists argue that such challenges are important because they provide alternativesto the dominant social stereotfpe. They help create new grooves for people's thinkinghabits-
Earlier chapters have demonstrated that the way a person speaks generally signalsat least some social information about their background, such as what kind of socialgroup or class they belong to. A person's ethnicity, age and gender are also often reflectedin their linguistic choices. In discussing gender, it became clear that it is possible toview the relationship between social factors and language as rather more dynamic thanis often assumed. Sociolinguists who adopt a social constructionist approach argue thatlanguage not only reflects and expresses our membership of social categories, it also
contributes to the construction of our social identity. So, as she interacts with othersin a variety of social contexts, a young womant linguistic choices actively constructher age, class, ethnic and gender identity. She 'chooses' to portray herself as a young,working-class, Maori woman - or not - according to the linguistic features she uses.
The discussion of sexist language in chapter 12 introduced another perspective onthe relationship between language and society. Language reflects societyt attitudes andvalues, an area that is further pursued in chapter 15. But some researchers in the area
of language and gender have argued that language ll;ray also determine what peoplenotice, what categories they establish, what choices they believe are available, andconsequently the way they behave. In other words, Ianguage may strongly influenceperception and behaviour.
grq,aGIco,rooo,
o,
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AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLINGUISTICS
NGUAGE AND PERCEPTION
Example 2
'. . . it has been said that "bad girls get babies, but good girls get myomata" '.
Surgery is also indicated when . . . hormone treatment has failed to control thes).rnptoms . . .
Since many women erroneously believe that following hysterectomy, theirsexual urge ceases, that coitus is not possible and that obesity is usual, the physi-cian must explain that removal ofthe uterus has no side-effects . ..
. . . hysterectomy is the treatment ofchoice when . . . the patient has completedherfamily...
The operation of choice in all women under the age of 40 . . . who wish topreserve their reproductive function . . .'
As you may have guessed, these quotations occur in a textbook written by a (male)
medical expert for medical students. But they also provide clues about the way doctorsview patients. Perhaps the most obvious feature ofthe text is its impersonal and detachedtone which is achieved through the use of agentless passive constructions (surgery is
. . . indicatedl impersonal nouns (the physician, the patient), and formal devices such
as nominalisations. So, for example, svgery is indicated, rather than docrol.s think thatpeople need surgery when . . . or even I think that .. . This construction also permits theauthor to neatly avoid drawing attention to reasons for the failure of the treatment tocontrol symptoms. Hysterectomy is described as the treatment of choice, allowing theauthor to avoid the issue of vfiose choice. Women are depicted as at least ignorant,if not gullible with their 'erroneous' beliefs, and primarily in their role as potentialchild-bearers, since invasive surgery is to be avoided as lon gas the woman's reproductfue
function needs to be maintained. And the opening sentence presents a patronising,if not insulting, saying as if it is common knowledge, although its technical wordmyomata (benign fibroid tumour of the uterus) indicates it could only have beenproduced by physicians.
330
CHAPTER 13 LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND CULTURE
TltE FAR SIDE" Bv GAR/ tARsoM
r''.nol the
y, theirc physi-
r-o,aocq,oao,:.o,!.oaocoaco
E
*sE'Ee8t-E!iEEr((d9Sis' I=t-.E
}EEfiEreEE85eb9
-itf!qt a (male)
Ey doctorsd detached(*rgery is
rices sucht think thatpcrrnits theletrnent tolowing thet ignorant,E potentialqroductiveetronising,nical wordhave been
"Well, actually, Doreen, I rather resent beingcalled a 'swamp thlng.' ,,. I preler the term
'wetlands-challenged mutant."'
Does this language simply reflect the social context in which it is produced, i.e. the
relationship between the writer and intended audience, and its function ofinstruction?Or does it convey a worldview or perspective which may affect the perceptions of the
students and their behaviour towards the women who consult them? Can language
determine the way we perceive reality?
331
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOC IOLINGUISTIC S
I Verbat hygiene
Example 3
Algela: I was sitting quietly drinking my tea, minding my own business whensuddenly the forepersonburst in and shouted iwhat
are you doing here?g€t back
-to_ work - you know that shipment,s overduei Bloody cheek.
I'm entitled to my tea_break!Jim: You are. She's a vampire - but whatt all this .foreperson,
stuff? I bet youwouldn't use that term for a man. political correctness gone mad eh.
wrbal hygiene is the thoughtprovoking term used by Deborah cameron to describehow people respond to 'the urge to meddle in matters ofl"ngu"g.: ,*or"r. u wide rangeofactivities, from writing letters to the Editor compraining u'boit th" .d.t..ioration,
and'abuse' of language (discussed in chapter l5), through pr"erJf,i.", ura p.oscriptionsabout what constitutes ,proper', ,correct,
and ,u...pi"bi., ,.ug. in u ,ung. of.orrt"^tr,to using language as a political weapon. The discussion of sexilt language in chapter l2illustrated an area where feminists have enthusiastically *grg.J". verbal hygiene,reflecting their beliefs that achieving a change in linguistic us?g'e is itsetfa worthwhileform of public, political action and ionscioJsness raising.
As example 3 illustrates, the deliberate adoption of oiertly non-sexist usages suchas foreperson and chairperson often leads to accusations of ,poiitiJcorrectness,.
whileissues ofpolitical correctness extend well beyond linguistic con.".rr., iinguir'. t..*iro_logy has often become rhe focus of the jebate. Tie c.ipfi.J Ciira..nh Society inNew Zealand now refers to itself only by its acronym CC6. Th. ;; crippled was anacceptable way ofdescribing someone with a_phy.sical disability until relatively recentlyin New Zealand. As elsewhere, the term graduaily grevv to be regarded as tasteless andunacceptable, so the term disabled was iubstituiej. Sut it was ihen pointed out thatdisabled. person defined the individual in terms ofjus, .." .i"Lli".ir,., and one thatwas irrelevant in many contexts, such as chattini to f.i"na. o. *rt.hing television.Those who work in this area now use the phras e ierson with a tlisabtitity.
332
CHAPTER ]3 LANGUAGE, COGNITION ANO CULTURE
For those who do not suffer from a disability, and who have little contact withthose who do, such changes often seem 'precious' word-mongering, substituting one
euphemism for another basically because the concept itself is uncomfortable. Thisdismissive attitude is reflected in exaggerations such as wrtically challenged to refer
to short people, or cosnet;cally dilferent as a way of avoiding the term ugl7. Such
constructions are an obvious source of humour, as in the transformed tide of a well-known fairy tale Melanin lmpoverished and the Seven Vertically Challenged lndividuals.But for those centrally concerned, the issue is not iust one of 'political correctness',
as the parodists claim. It is as important as the issue of the ue of broad or bird to refer
to a woman, or nigger or fiunt for a person of colour. For those who are the butt ofderogatory labels, linguistic interventions usefully challenge taken-for-granted offensiveassumptions.
We have now reached the point where are you being politically correct? m\st be
regarded as a trick question. lfyou say yes, you will be regarded as over-concerned withpolitical orthodory. If you say no, you put yourself in the politically suspect, non-conformist camp. An ironic confirmation of the political power of language! And an
indication, Deborah Cameron suggests, of the extent to which right-wing commenta-tors have captured and redehned a phrase introduced by the liberal left.
Example 4
a All reactionaries are paper tigers.r People ofthe world, unite and defeat the US aggressors and all their running
dogsl
r We should check our complacency and constantly criticise our shortcomings.I Lack of achievement in work may breed pessimism and depression, while
achievement may breed pride and arrogance.
Maoist China provides many further examples ofthe co-option oflanguage for politicalpurposes. Mao was well aware of the power of language in furthering revolutionarygoals, and he took control ofchannels ofpublic communication, including the educa-
tion system, at an early stage. The central text of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76)was a pocket compendium of Quotarions from Chairman Mao Zedong, first producedin 1 964 and labelle d the Linle Red Book by the rest of the world. These quotations came
to permeate everyday life, and the phr ase da yulu zhang' fight a quotation war' becameestablished in the Chinese lexicon. Quotation and counter-quotation were even heardin the market-place as people bargained for goods. Newspapers filled their columns withextracts from Mao's works and with articles stitched together around quotations fromMao. One analysis identified an average of 17 quotations from Mao on just the first twopages of The People's Daily, the government's official newspaper, throughout 1 970. Even
English language textbooks used mainly political material for exemplification. This often
trro,J<lco,lcloo,
=,o,ao?o
o1
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CHAPTER 13 LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND CULTURE
ofparticular groups, then what is the implication ofthe vast array ofderogatory terms
(sometimes called dysphemisms) used for non-white people and homosexuals, forinstance, and especially for male homosexuals? It is important to reflect on the effects
such labels may have on young peoplet attitudes and ways ofthinking about members
ofsuch groups.
JonrI Vocabulary and cognition
Example 5
Frank: Don't throw your cigarette butts in there. Itt dangerous.
Bill: Why not? The label says 'empty'.
Frank Well there's no gasoline in them but theret plenty ofexplosive vapour -so watch out.
This example and those discussed in the previous sections suggest that there is a close
relationship between language and perception. But what is the exact nature of this
relationship? Does language constrain perception or vice-versa? Is thought independ-
ent of language or do the categories of language pre-determine what we can thinlabout or conceive of? Do the categories we learn to distinguish as we acquire language
provide a framework for ordering the world? And if so, is it possible to think outside
that framework? Do different languages encode experience differendy? And how can
we ever tell since it seems impossible to escape from the circle?
The relationship between language, thought and 'reality' has fascinated linguists
and philosophers for centuries. In recent times, the person whose name is most closely
associated with investigations of the relationship between language and thought is
Benjamin Lee Whorf. Whorf was an anthropological linguist who began his career
as a chemical engineer working for a fire insurance company. He first investigated
Native American languages as a hobby, but later studied with Edward Sapir at Yale
University. In the couse ofprocessing insurance claims, he noticed that the particularwords selected to describe or label objects often influenced people's perceptions and
behaviour. So, as example 5 illustrates, around gasoline drums labelled as 'empty',
people would smoke, or even toss in cigarette stubs, despite the fact that they were fullof potentially explosive vapour.
This perception was a graphic illustration of something that Whorf had noted in
his analysis of Native American languages, such as Hopi. Example 6 is a well-known
quotation which summarises his position.
Ero,
,ocor,ctoo,
=.a,aoi,oco,o
CHAPTER 13 LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND CULTURE
Table 13.2 DYirbal noun classes
IVbala
IIIbalam
IIbalan
Ibayi
menkangaroos
POSSUmS
snakes
f,shes
insects
stormsthe moonfishing spears
boomerangs
womenbandicootsdogsplatlpusbirds
edible fruitfruit plants
tubersfernscigarettes
winecake
honey
parts of the body
meat
bees
mudgrass
windnoises
language
Particular types of experience establish associations which determine the class mem-
l"..irp "i tlrl. ra.ms. so, for instance, fish are in class I because they are animate' and
i.n,rJ i-rf"rn*,s are also in class I because they are associated with fish' This also
;;;ffi;fi;, nd stan arc in the same class asfre' However' Dvirbal m1'ths and
citural beli.fs also make a contribution to class allocation' So' contrary to Western
;il;;; ;;on is rn"lt 'nd
hotband of the sun' which is female' Hence the moon
i, in.tu.r"i *itt -"n, while the sun is in class 2 with women' Birds are believed to be the
""t.i rlia"ra r*-an females, and hence they are also in class 2. The system is of course
;il;;;;J ;;; pviruut tp"ut'"tt, "nd
one should not necessarilv expect a speaker
ffiffi;; ;;tl;in i io un outsider' Nor should we expect the relationship between
.;;;;;, ind cultu,al beliefs to be direct' transParent or available to reflection'
ot"? "li, "
c.r-"" speaker would be hard Pressed to explain.why the word Mddchen
meaning'girl' is in the same category as inanimate ob'fects such as books (Buch)' while
;;*htil"tp?"k;;uld have diffi=cultv interPretins the sisiifr:tn:::f th'futt that the
i"3t,.l a"-orrr,.utives rhis vs rhat code degrees of proximity to the speaker''ir.n
,t tt "
t.*l.o-semantic level Aboriginal languages challenge Western preconceP-
tions about Primitive languages, as table 13'3 illustrates'
Ct.urty I&nwiniku hai many more terms to label distinctions among kangaroos
"rrJ*uit"Ui., tttun English does' The reasons are obvious: kangaroos are an important
;;;;;ilGinaipeoplet environment' In cultures which use rice as a staple of
the diet, there are distinct terms not only for different types.ofrice' but also for many
;itr;;; *"yt of cooking rice' Bird-watchers' skiers' geologists and gardeners are
li.iilrfy ,Ui! a f"fcaly fuentify distinctions of importance to them' This suggests an
alternative to whorf's position, then: rather than language determining what is per-
."f""a, f, ft rather the physical and socio-cultural environment which determines the
distinctions that the language develop---f.o- tt i, p...p.ctiveilanguage provides a means ofencoding a community's know-
f.jg., b"fi;fr, und t'"I,.r.., i'"' iti t'ltttt"' Tahitians don't make a distinction between
341
qroalocIt10oo,f,.o,*o:o
o1
o
sPears
water6restars
sun
CHAPTER 13 LANGUAGE, COGNITION ANO CULTURE
[.ess tangible concepts such as kinship further illustrate the complexities ofthe relation-ship between language and culture. In Maori culture, relative age is very important.Even the status of the tribe or irvi to which you belong will be identified in teina and,tuakana terms relative to other tribes. The importance ofthe extended family o r whdnauas an important social unit is also reflected in the kinship system. Kinship labels reflectthe mutual rights and obligations of different members of the whanau towards eachother. In rural areas ofNew Zealand Maori children tlpically grow up in close contactwith their grandparents, aunties and uncles, and they may spend extended periods oftime living in the households of relations other than their parents. These traditionalsocial relationships are reflected in the use of the same term whaea both for a childtmother and for the mother's sisters, while the term pdpd refers not only to a child,sfather but also to his father's brothers. The same pattern holds for terms used to referto a childt siblings and cousins; in these cases gender and relative age are semantic-ally marked, but degree of kinship (as viewed through Western eyes) is not lexicallydistinguished' So the lexical labels identifr those with similar social rights and obliga-tions in relation to the speaker. Clearly, linguistic terminology here reflects importantcultural relationships.
It has been suggested that all kinship systems are likely to encode distinctions basedon genealogy and biology: so parenthood, marriage relationships, sex and generationare distinctions expressed in some way in most systems that have been studied. Butthe precise ways in which they are encoded, and the fineness of the distinctions andtheir cultural significance differs dramatically from one culture to another. In Njamal,an Australian Aboriginal language with no more than 100 speakers in the l950s whenthe data was collected, the complex and intricate kinship system provides insights intothe ways in which the tribe's activities were organised. Like Maori, Njamal has distinctterms for younger vs older siblings and younger cousins. Maraga, for example, refersto a younger brother or sister, and to some younger cousins. And in Njamal, there is aspecific kinship term for every member ofthe tribe, however distantly they are relatedto you. This clearly indicates the importance of kinship relationships in the socialorganisation of the tribe.
Errcry Njamal person belongs to one of two distinct .moieties, (descent groups) andin this tribe your moiety membership is determined by your father. Moiety mimber_ship is signalled explicitly throughout the kinship system, reflecting and reinforcing thefact that for Njamal people, moiety membership is a fundamental distinction of triballife. Shared moiety membership creates obligations to care for people when they needit. Moiety membership also restricts your marriage options since you may only marrysomeone from the other moietr. This makes sense of the fact that some cousins havethe same kinship terms as brothers and sisters, while others do not. you can marry yourfathert sister's children (opposite moiety), but not your fathert brother,s children(same moiety). Thus kinship terms signal your potential marriage partners. Again, thelexical labels serve as indicators ofthe complex mutual social rights and obligations ofcommunity members.
EFo,aloco,ooo6'*oP
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343
AN INIRODUCTION TO SOC IO LINGUIST!CS
$counse PATTERNs AND cULTURE
Example IRobyn Kina grew up in difficult famiiy circumstances in an Aborigiral environment
i. i"rtt"rlr]sy ,h;, age of 19 she had a criminal record' reflecting a number of
""."r","tt *iit the
"police in which she had come off worst' In her mid-20s
.i. ti*a *i t u non-Aboriginal man Tony Black, who regularly beat her up and
sril".t a n.. to ott.r horrific attacks, especially when he was drunk' During an
;;;;; ;;" -"rning, Black threat""td to '"pt Kinat l4-year-old niece who
*i-tirirg *ith tlr.m. (ina stabbed him once in the chest as he came towards her
*itt u.t"ui. .ui..a above his head. She was shocked to see him fall to the ground'
H. ii.Ji, r,otpi ul shortly afterwards Robyn Kina pleaded not guilty to murder
.irr.. .fr" nua ,rot it tendei to kili Black She did not give evidence and no witnesses
*.."."lt"d.eft..oneoftheshortesttrialsinAustralianhistory,Kinawasfoundguilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour'
The intertwiring of language, culture and perception is evident w-hen-1ve examine research
.. p"i,...t "r
i",".u.,iori,oo' Cultural diffeiences between the discourse patterns of
ti"'-ulo.ity "nd -inority culture can often have serious consequences' as the research
of piun" fud.r, .omparing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians' demonstrates'
e""r, ,.a pe.haps especiilly, when both groups apparently use the same language'
*f,*"fff aif-"., patterns of interaction can be a source of misunderstanding''-
n.g".if..t tf ,f,e particular language being spoken' Aboriginal society through-
out;stralia places great importarrce on indirectness; it is important to avoid being
ir,trusive. this involvls giving other people interactional privacy' a crucial mechanism
ir, ".o.i.ty
where therJ is frcquentiy little physical-privary' In discourse' this socio-
.ultr.ul nor* is reflected in a number of ways lf you want information from an
Aboriginal person, it is imPortant to follow the discourse rules Factual information
."l",irig ,; l"*,i.. and time, and how people are related to each other' for instance'
i.'iypii"[y .i"r"a in Aboriginal Engliih using a statement with rising intonation'';.;:;;;;r;;^, the store? Inithe' wlrds, the questioner Presents a proposition for
.o"r6.-"tion or correction. On the other hand, direct questions of this kind are not
u."Jfo. .ti.iting tubstantial' information such as important Personal details' reasons
io. L.h"ring in-a particular way, and so on' A much less direct method is necessary
in this case,"with ihe information seeker volunteering some of their own knowledge
on the topic, and then waiting Patiently until the addressee.is ready to respond' e'g'
I heard there was a big arguflrcttt at th; store yesterday' lt is important to realise that
this is the normal everyday way of seeking information Direct questions are totally
inappropriate in such sltuations, and are likely to be responded to by silence or by a
344
CHAPTER ]3 LANGUAGE, CO6NITION AND CULTURE
formulaic response such as I don't remember or I clon't know. Answers in this case couldbe glossed as meaning'This is not an appropriate way for me to provide informationof that naturel lt is also important to realise that in Aboriginal society, some kinds ofinformation are not freely shared, but may be restricted to those who have the rightto it, and silence is much more common as an acceptable component of interactionthan in non-Aboriginal exchanges.
ln 1992, some years after Robyn Kina was imprisoned, she was interviewed in prisonby TV journalists for documentaries which raised legal and moral issues concerningvictims of domestic violence who kill violent partners in situations of self-defence. Theinformation she gave to the interviewers, David Goldie and Debbie Richards, aboutthe horrific violence perpetrated by Black, and his threat to rape her niece, had neverbeen presented at her trial. Consequently, the jury never knew ofthe provocation andneed for self-defence which led to her fatal knife-attack on Black. As a result ofthe Tvdocumentaries, an appeal was initiated which resulted in the quashing of Rob1,n Kina,smurder conviction, and she was released after five years in prison. The question whichpuzzled people was 'why was she willing to tell a TV interviewer what happened butnot her lawyers?'
The sociolinguistt answer to this question is that Robyn Kina responded to herlawyers in an Aboriginal way. She had no opportunity to establish a relationship with thelawyers, and they did not share information about themselves. providing embarrass_ing details about her personal life was therefore not possible. She certainly could nothandle direct questions about personal matters, and so responded with silence. Atthat point she did not have the abiliry to communicate any other way, and her lawyersknew nothing about Aboriginal ways of communicating. The approach used by the TVjournalists, on the other hand, was very similar to Aboriginal ways of communicating.They established a good relationship with Kina over a period of time, shared informa_tion about themselves, used indirect strategies for eliciting her story, listened patientlyand without interruption, and tolerated long silences. TV journalism does not ul-aysinvolve such time-consuming information-gathering strategies. Robyn Kina was luclcythat this investigative TV programme placed a priority on people feeling comfortableabout telling important stories.
Since non-Aboriginal norms dominate Australian sociery Aboriginal people are oftendisadvantaged and misunderstood or misinterpreted in interaction. This is especially
qt-o,floco,looo,
qJgo
i.ocoaco
345
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOC IOLINGUISTICS
true in institutional contexts such as law courts where direct questions are the norm,and silence can be interpreted as evasive and even as evidence of guilt. Chapter liincluded further examples of cross-cultural differences in ways of interacting. Wherethere is a power imbalance between the groups involved, such differences can createserious communication problems for minority group members.
Cultures described as 'positive politeness' or solidarity-oriented cultures value involve-ment with others, while 'negative politeness' cultures emphasise respect and minimiseintrusion (see chapter 11 for further discussion of these terms). On the basis of thedescription so far, Aboriginal society seems a classic negative politeness culture. In fact,however, Aboriginal society is characterised by high interactional involvement, on-goingserial, open-ended conversations, and places great value on group activities whichbuild solidarity. Things are never as simple as they seem, and the analysis ofinteractionpatterns in Aboriginal communities raises questions about the adequacy ofthe simplenegative/positive politeness Iiamework.
This example also raises questions about the precise relationship between discourseand world-view. Can different discourse patterns be regarded as evidence ofa differentperspective on realityi Research on Aboriginal communities suggests that a feature suchas a preference for indirect ways ofconveying information reflects a distinctive percep-tion of socio-cultural relationships. As Robym Kina's behaviour illustrated, Aboriginalinteractions give personal relationships priority over information-oriented goals; theyprioritise the affective over the referential dimension. Indirectness is an obligatory aspectof respect for the other person when important personal information is at stake. Andlong, non-intrusive silences are tolerated, even when one party is clearly gatheringinformation. It seems conceivable that preferred discourse patterns and linguistic usages
may reflect and even influence a particular view of social reality and socio-culturalrelationships.
NGUAGE, SOCIAL CLASS AND COGNITION
Example 9
(a) Emmie, the daughter ofa Scottish aristocatic family, was enrolled at an English'public' (i.e. private fee-paying) boarding school in the south ofEngland. Atthe end of her first month, she failed all the oral progress tests. The schoolassumed she lacked intellectual ability.
'This is outrageous,' her mother declared, 'she is an outstandingly intel-ligent young woman. What is the problem?'
'Her English is deficient; she can't communicate,' responded her formteacher. 'We can't understand a word she says.'
'Well, that's your problem,' announced Emmie's mother. 'You had betterlearn to!'
346
CHAPTER 13 LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND CULTURE
(b) Middle-class children do well in school-Working-class children don't do well in school.Middle-class children speak a different variety of English than working_classchildren.
Usual conclusion: working-class chihlren should change the way they spealcSpot the faulty logic?
The previous section provided an example ofthe potentialy punitive social implicationsof culturally different ways of interacting, even when both groups are using varietiesof the same language, a topic which is examined further in chapter 15. Others havebeen interested in whether there are possible cognitive implications where groups usedifferent varieties ofa language. Basil Bernstein was a sociologist who askeJthis-ques-tion in the 1960s' Like many educationalists, he was concerned that British childrenfrom working-class backgrounds were not progressing well at school. It was also widelyrecognised that working-class children spoke Engrish differently from middle-classchildren. It was easy to conclude that these two observations were related. Rather thandeducing that teachers tended to favour children who used more standard varieties (anissue explored further in the next chapter), researchers began to examine features ofworking-class children's speech, looking for an explanation there. Unfortunately, theyassumed that the kind of language working-class children used in a formal interviewsituation to a middle-class adult was an accurate representation oftheir sociolinguisticcompetence. In such situations, not surprisingly the children used short, even mono_syllabic, responses which suggested to the interviewers that their linguistic resourceswere 'restrictedi (This issue is more fully discussed in the section on 'ianguage deficit,in chapter 15.)
Bernstein went further, however. He suggested that a .restricted code, might also
constrain the cognitive abilities ofthose who used it. In other words, extending the prin-ciple of linguistic determinism, he argued that the language children use might affectwhat theywere capable ofperceiving and even their thinking abilities. I should first saythat there is no research support whatsoever for such a ciaim. Bernstein himself nolonger holds this extreme position. But unfortunately it had great appeal as a way ofaccounting for working-class childrent lack of school success. It placed the blame onthe children and their language rather than on the schools' failure to adequately identifttheir educational needs-
Bernstein's hnrotheses forced sociolinguists to examine whorft craims about therelationship between language, thought and society really thoroughly. One ofthe bene_fits was a more detailed study ofvernacurar varieties, and a very irea. recognition thatdialect differences were comparatively superficial aspects of language which could notconceivably have consequences for different ways of thinking. Though Bernstein phrasedhis claims with care, they were often oversimplified and misinterpreted. His researchappeared to support a view of working-class children as linguistically deprived, and
trro,-locitlo.D
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347
CHAPTER 13 LANGUA6E, COGNITION AND CULTURE
Et-o,)loo\aoo:.o,ao;ocoJc,
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349
5o'rra": /e Reo Vdqaz;nF. ReprodLced w th permissrol
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOC IO L INGU ISTICS
I Conclusion
In this chapter, I have discussed various ways in which language, thought and cultureinterrelate. Most sociolinguish agree thut t*gurg. irrnu.rr..Sffierceptions of ,realitlThere is little doubt that consistent use of lejorative t"._, fo, I grorrp, for instance,affects people's perceptions ofthat group,s rnemters. This is the i*i. or-grro.nt ugoirrrt(and legislation proscribing) sexiit and .".ir, tu"grug;. Ti"..iJaso psycholinguistic;via3nc.e-ttr1t
tle fstence of parricular."t go.i", i; u i_grrug.-rriuy p..airpo." ,p.uk".,to classifr 'reality' in one way rather than
-another. So, f?'inrr*.", sorting coloureditems into categories is easier when our language provide, airiin.i r.r.ur ruuers for therelevant caregories. Language clearly i"flr;..; i.;.;;;;".',rlh *."r.
I nere rs atso undisputed evid-ence, however, that the physical and cultural envir_onment in which it develops influelces,the vocuUut".y *j g."_mar of a language.l:"g""q:r devilop the vocabulary that their speake" ;;,;i;* ,o label differentkinds ofkangaroo_or to identif| iiffe.ent w"ys "i.."t "g
.f...i_portant, fiequentlyoccurring distincrions tend to get inco.po.ated i"to th."g;;;;;.. The creolisationprocess described in chaprer 4, for exarnpre, indicated d;;;;;. time was initia ylexically marked in Tok pisin as baimbr; Ur, """*rJiii".J-'.1i"-_rrr."tised in theform of a regular prefix [be]. Grammatical gender ls
"roth"r" ro.h category whichoften reflects both physical and culturany imi-,"., ii.tr"tr, with roots deep in,h" -{t:l:ry Tl belief systems of a co__urtry, ; tn;r;;;;;;;,he Aboriginal lan-guage Dfrbal. Culturally important semantic distinction,
"r" thu, typically encodedm many aspects of the structure of languages, even though current users may notalways be able to.consciously articula,. ,hi ,"na.rlying ,;il;. "
When cultural and social change occurs the iiniristic sfstem gener"lly adapts.So, as noted in exercise 7, there was a distinct ,"r^inuri, io, your wife,s brother innineteenth-century Russian, while in moa".n n .riu, it . I h)lr",irot "t "ny,brott,r,
orwife' is used. Other distinctive. orecise Russian ti"rfrlp ,"'r_r L. in-law relationshipshave also been replaced by broader descriptive pfr.rr"'r, ..n".,iig the fact that familystructures have radically changed in Russt over tfr. f".t.""irri and it is no longernecessary to be so precise about these particular r.tutionrt ipr. " '
, On, the other hand, the language and discourse patterns "ur.o.iut.a with a particu-lar culture may not only reflect eiisting so.iul ..l"iionriipr, *frr1ry ,f* influencethe-way one group interacts with another,
". tt. nouyn tiru ca's. rttustratea. wh.ndifferent cultures meet, conflicting discourse .r1., .il;;;i; ;"i.riscommunicationwith potentially severe social consequences. As Whorf pointed out, it is important tobe aware of the extent to which we mayle .or.,."ir.ai lir"iti.'pp.a, uy tt " ,o._,of our own familiar systems of interaction. This chapter has ideniified some of the.o*fl:*. *ly: in which linguistic systems and specihc ,uy, oiuring language canprovide insights into the perceptions, values, uri b.li.f, oi, .o._rnity. The nextchapter describes a.range of ways of analysing discorrr.-r, ,fr" *"y, .f talking whichare appropriate in different sociar and curturar groups in ain ..ri'..nu.r*tionar andinstitutional contexts.
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