The Birth of Sociolinguistics

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Dell Hymes and Kenneth Burke offer compelling insight into the foundations of sociolinguistics using the key term of "Identification". The paper then analyzes Jay Jordan's scholarly article "Dell Hymes, Kenneth Burke's 'Identification,' and the Birth of Sociolinguistics" and contrasts it to John Baugh's popular press article "Do You Speak American?" The paper shows how, while Jordan's article is based on hard research without taking any one side, Baugh's article on Ebonics is based on the author's opinions and fueled by media exposure and political impact.

Outline:
Background
Issue
Scholarly Article
Popular Press Article
Discussion

From the Paper:

""Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context on the way language is used. Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with pragmatics" (Wikipedia). The study of sociolinguistics offers a view on how subtle or pronounced language variation can be a result of social variables such as ethnicity, religion, status, and level of education (Wikipedia). The importance of the study of sociolinguistics can be applied to a variety of applications; from legal precedence in a court of law to defining the true meaning, or as Kenneth Burke defined, the "identification" of the meaning of words in which context, setting, and other social factors are applied (Jordan)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baugh, John. "Do You Speak American?" Date found: October 10, 2007. http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/AAVE/ebonics/
• Jordan, Jay. "Dell Hymes, Kenneth Burke's 'Identification,' and the Birth of Sociolinguistics." Rhetoric Review. 1995. The Pennsylvania State University. 1995.
• Scott, JB. "Searching for Diversity in Corporate America." Found October 9, 2007. http://diversitysearch.blogspot.com/
• "Sociolinguistics". Wikipedia October 9, 2007. Date found: October 9, 2007 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociolinguistics
• "Sociolinguistic Factors in Speech Identification." No author, no date. Date found: October 10, 2007. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED083616&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED083616

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