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Sociolinguistics is how language is used and operates within different social situations and contexts. The way that we naturally know what style of speech to use in an interview, with friends, or at Thanksgiving dinner shows how we naturally understand how to use language to benefit us. Language helps define our identity and we know how to express ourselves to reflect our identity in society.

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Sociolinguistics to me is about how one speaks and how one interprets language. I find it very interesting because I think it is a different experience for everyone and it is almost a sort of puzzle to figure it out. Sociolinguistics has so much to do with ones environment and culture. Sociolinguistics is important because most social interactions are completed with speech. It conveys what someone needs, self expression, communication and so much more. However, I think there are other things in addition to sociolinguistics other than communicating through speech.

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For me, the term sociolinguistics suggests language is a product of your surroundings including everything from education, religion, peers, family, pop culture, etc. Your environment not only effects the way you speak but also they way you perceive language.

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In my mind, sociolinguistics looks at the interplay between society/culture and language. If you are learning a new language, it will be difficult to sound natural in that language if you don’t know anything about the society or culture of the people who speak it. Sociolinguistics has many different topics that fall under it. For example, sociolinguistics could evaluate something like how introducing technology in society changed written language (the abbreviations for words that people use when communicating via text message for example). Sociolinguistics might also examine how our culture shapes the way we use language. For example, some languages are primarily spoken instead of written because of the culture’s rich oral history. In many ways, language and culture go hand in hand and you can’t really have one without the other.

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Having so many different spoken signed languages is what separates us from all other living things. A lot of you have incorporated how culture and language are connected to sociolinguistics, and I think that is a huge part of it, as culture encompasses so many different things.  A language cannot survive without a culture to support it, and sociolinguistics is a result of that connection. This culture could be that of a whole country, just a state, he culture created by a school or within a group of friends.

Language + Culture = Sociolinguistics

I always make a point of telling my students there has to be a "human element" to learning a language, rather than learning just a language from an app or software program (and maybe eventually AI!). Perhaps that human element is sociolinguistics.

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Sociolinguistics is both how language influences the culture it's spoken in, and how that culture influences that language (and dialects within that language.) Speaking of dialects, I found an interesting video on youtube I'd like to share

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Sociolinguistics is both how language influences the culture it's spoken in, and how that culture influences that language (and dialects within that language.) Speaking of dialects, I found an interesting video on youtube I'd like to share

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People perceive others based on many factors, and one is the language they use, the accent they use, or other features of their speech. There's an old documentary called "American Tongues" which is broken into parts on YouTube now, and it interviews Americans in the 80s (I think) and looks at the varieties of English in America at the time. I always think back to this documentary anytime the subject of the ways language influences how people interact.

I've linked a segment of the video below, and it is a little alarming how blunt (and ignorant) the people interviewed voice their opinions about others. As much as we may think we have progressed, I think there are still many people out there who judge people based on the way they speak. (Trigger warning: there is swearing and awful slurs used in this clip by those interviewed).

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You Talk Funny (And Other Opinions) - American Tongues episode #7

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For me, sociolinguistics is the study of how language and society are connected. In particular, it explores the various ways language is influenced and changed by the contexts they are learned and used. For example, the language of school can differ significantly from the language we use at home. Moreover, different communities and subcultures all have their unique language which at times can overlap and intersect and create new ones such as Spanglish or Chinglish.

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I think that sociolinguistics is the language that people use for social communication (as opposed to academic language). The language used in social communication varies a lot and is influenced by factors such as culture, gender, setting and location. For example, I'm a teacher of high school students in a diverse urban area, but I live in the suburbs. I find that the language I use and my style of communication is much different when I'm having a casual conversation with my students, compared to when I am talking with one of my neighbors.

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Sociolinguistics, to me, is how language and society interact and how different people or groups of people may use language differently. I like this illustration because it exemplifies different ways people use language to communicate, and sometimes, we don't even need language to communicate--like the two people shaking hands in the bottom left corner. Social context can dictate how we communicate

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Language is more than the sum of its parts. Understanding the words in a conversation can be only a small portion of what is being communicated. An English teacher friend of mine told me, after being abroad for a year, "I think I understand how to translate what someone has said but then realize later that I didn't really get it. I'm still missing things I can't figure out from the words they use." Social context shapes meaning in large and small ways.

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Language is more than the sum of its parts. Understanding the words in a conversation can be only a small portion of what is being communicated. An English teacher friend of mine told me, after being abroad for a year, "I think I understand how to translate what someone has said but then realize later that I didn't really get it. I'm still missing things I can't figure out from the words they use." Social context shapes meaning in large and small ways.

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Sociolinguistics has been an interest of mine since my undergrad.  Each culture and society has a different way of valuing and using language that is usually very interesting. I can see the link between language and culture everyday with my students in how they choose to express themselves and how that is often different from their native English speaking peers. LB

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When I hear the word Sociolinguistics, I think of my students and how much I've learned about their culture and religion. Getting henna done is mainly for some sort of celebration. Graduation, weddings, ceremonies. This henna was done when it was nearing the last day of school. Done by a parent :)

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Much has been said already, so I'll just add that I think that sociolinguistics explores both the science and the art of a language - so both the "rules" of a language and how people who use the language move inside those rules to create meaning.

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I'm not sure if this is sociolinguistics or not, but my husband who is Russian often will unknowingly switch to English with a Russian accent when he is with his family. He often is completely unaware that he was doing this. He mirrors that which is around him, even though in any other context he wouldn't speak with a Russian accent.

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Code switching is a way to relate, blend in, and sometimes to 'survive' in different contexts. Code switching is something we all do to some extent, whether it's between work vs. home language or talking with family vs. friends. However, it's not equal in how often or to what extent people need to code switch. Based on race and cultural background, some 'need' to more often in order to both preserve important cultural elements of their identity but also "blend in" to unspoken workplace expectations about proper and accepted language.

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Some things I think of include how world-English speakers are influenced by colonization; how in India, many people use "reach" vs. "arrive" and "flat" vs. "apartment." And how also in India the south prefers English over Hindi but the north prefers Hindi over English and the conflict this ensues. I wonder, what is it like for the Somali community who's America-born children are losing their language. I think of the Somali parents I know who've told me they speak Somali to their child only to have them respond in English and the affect this has on their relationship. And how shame can wrap itself throughout ones language abilities and language associations even. Sociolinguistics feels like it would be the culmination of all of these dynamics and the study of them.

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language, society, variation, dialects, regions,  putting aside ideas of "right" and "wrong", a living language, culture, change, code switching and Starr in The Hate that You Give, conversational English, adapting, proper and standard English, English as an international language, "You say "soda" and I say "pop". Why do I only say "Uffda!" when I am around my non-Minnesotan in-laws? Does my car need to be washed, need washing or need washed? Does it matter?

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Variations of language.
Expectations of language use.
Preconceived notions of how language is spoken.
Contextual language.
Popular culture influence on language.
Which group speaks which language.
Language and identity.

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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. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the sociology of language focuses on language's effect on the society. Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with pragmatics. It is historically closely related to linguistic anthropology and the distinction between the two fields has even been questioned recently.

It also studies how language varieties differ between groups separated by certain social variables, e.g., ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, age, etc., and how creation and adherence to these rules is used to categorize individuals in social or socioeconomic classes. As the usage of a language varies from place to place, language usage also varies among social classes, and it is these sociolects that sociolinguistics studies.

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics)

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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.

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THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE IN RELATION TO SOCIETY

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THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE IN RELATION TO SOCIETY

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MEANING
FORM
SOCIETAL NORMS
GROUP NORMS

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Sociolinguistics   is about  the relationship between language and   culture.  There is a undeniable connection between language and culture and this connection  makes people express themselves in a different way  even when using the same language  when they come from different parts of the  same country.    When thinking about sociolinguistics I also  think about how people from the south  area of Romania talk faster  and they are also considered  more  quick -tempered  than people from the center of the country. In the same way, when moving to a different country, your native  language and your culture  affects the way you express yourself, even the way you react to jokes, what makes you laugh. For example, a person  who is  a Romanian language  speaker  might  laugh or smile only when feeling like  he/she has a reason to laugh or smile and this might seem rude  to a person who is from a different culture. Sociolinguistics is  language with the flavor of culture.

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GROUPS
COMPETITION
DIALECTS
STANDARDIZATION
NEEDS
REGION
USAGE
CULTURE
HERITAGE

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SERVICE
FOOD
THANKS
ETHOS

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BELIEFS
SLANG
URBANIZATION
RURALIZATION
COMMUNITY
CONNECTIONS
MISSING THE POINT
GETTING THE POINT
COMMUNICATION
MISCOMMUNICATION

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REGION
COUNTRY
MIGRATION
IMMIGRATION
POLITICS
RELIGION
EDUCATION
AGE
STATUS
MUSIC
MOVEMENT