A Study on Sociolinguistics

Abstract：From the day linguistics has aroused our attention，we have known that the study on language is complicated and should be accomplished from different perspectives.Among the hues of linguistic studies，sociolinguistics is one of the most conventional one for it is closely associated with the language we usually speak.Different from the studies which aim to unveil the mysterious mask of language itself like phonetics，morphology or syntax and so on，the sociolinguistics is an interdisciplinary topic.It is a subject that supported by both sociologists and linguists.And among many branches of sociolinguistics，lingua franca is the brightest one.As the powerful force that facilitates the communication between different cultures and nations，lingua franca has also promoted the process of globalization.This paper aims to have an overview of lingua franca which is a main branch in sociolinguistics.Starting from a brief study of the history of sociolinguistics that includes several development periods，the paper puts its emphasis on the detailed learning of lingua franca which contains the introduction of the general definition of lingua franca，the pidgins and the creoles.At the final part of the paper，there is the specific description of lingua franca in second language teaching and the lingua franca under One Belt and One Road Initiative，which is definitely a new opportunity to spread Chinese to a larger extent.The communication between different countries and cultures is of significant meaning in the world development.Among the many obstacles that hinder the various interactions among countries，the language difference is definitely a big one.Lingua franca as a bridge solves the problems for us.

Key Words：Language Study；Sociolinguistics；Interdisciplinary；Lingua Franca；Communication

1 A Brief Study of Sociolinguistics

1.1 The Mutual Relationship between Society and Language

As an interdisciplinary subject，sociolinguistics is both a branch of linguistics and of sociology.Sociolinguistics studies the effect of any and all aspects of society，including cultural norms，expectations，and context，on the way language is used.It also studies how dialects differ between groups separated by certain social variables.Sociolinguistics also studies multilingual speech communities，social and regional variation，language identity，intercultural communication and language attitudes. As Saussure pointed out for us that： In the cases we are considering，the languages in question are not uniformly distributed： their coexistence in a given area does not rule out the possibility of certain territorial distinctions.For example，it may happen that one language is spoken predominantly in the towns and another in the country； but the relative distribution may not always be clear-out.

Sociolinguistics is such a practical and dual study that it shows us the relationship of language and society.The study of sociolinguistics is of profound meaning for it has not only proved the connections of what we say with where we live.It has also represented the specific facets of these connections.Society is the very basic context for the generation of language.On the other hand，society came into being with the communications between early humans and eventually language was formed.By the study of linguistics，we know more about a society.

1.2 Five Stages of Sociolinguistics

Since the 1960s，linguists have tried their best to give an exact definition to what we call sociolinguistics today.Susan Ervin-Tripp has defined the sociolinguistics as “the systematic study of the relation of linguistics forms and social meanings”； In Hymes view，“The term sociolinguistics means many things to many people，and of course no one has a patent on its definition.Indeed not everyone whose work is called sociolinguistics is ready to accept the label，and those who do use the term include and emphasize different things.” Roughly，there are five stages of the development of sociolinguistics.The first stage was in 1920s—1940s in which major anthropological linguists were regarded as the pioneers of the subject.And the period opened a socially and culturally oriented perspective in linguistic study.The second study was about the Ninth International Congress of Linguistics at the University of California at Los Angles，which was held in 1964，indicates a sudden rising of a new discipline in linguistics-sociolinguistics.The conference was such a peak in the development of sociolinguistics that it marked a new era.All the scholars who thought language use in social context should be treated seriously were gathered together.Then it came to the third stage which was in 1970s.With the various social movements like womens liberation movement and political conflicts，the researchers began to develop an interest in looking at linguistic behavior of different speech communities，expecting to provide a social，rather than a pure structural explanation for their observations.With some weaknesses were found in 1970s to 1980s，criticism towards sociolinguistics was also generated.The major problem facing the field at this time was its inefficiency in theory and methodology development.This was a gradual maturity period.When we compare sociolinguistics research completed in the 1990s with those studies conducted in its earlier stages，we will notice that a variety of changes have taken place.With its emphasis of the correlation with other sciences in a broad sense and also with its further improvement in theory and methodology，this new discipline has gained much acknowledgement and academic reputation and has naturally become a comparatively independent and professional study in the field of linguistics.

2 The Vicissitudes of Lingua Franca

2.1 The History of Lingua Franca

Maybe the preference to utilitarianism is so ubiquitous in our world that the study in linguistics cannot be an exception.Lingua franca hasnt been treated seriously in the past for its relatively less users havent successfully shaped it a mainstream language，which has even directly led the ignorance and a worse attitude towards various lingua francas.And also agitated by the utilitarianism，we have realized that lingua franca is closely associated with the interest of many people，like some million.The characteristics of lingua francas show us their fundamental facets as language.And the role in the identity recognition in separate speech communities has turned creoles and pidgins significant guests in linguistics.As the vane for the world development，lingua franca has been welcomed by the citizens all around the world.

People who speak different languages are forced into contact with each other must find some way of communicating，a lingua franca. From the above，we see Lingua franca was formed by various pushes.In the encounter of different cultures and languages，the urge of communication was generated from curiosities.Therefore，a commonly accepted communication method was needed.The born and definition of lingua francas were vividly exemplified.As defined by UNESCO （United Nations Educational，Scientific，and Cultural Organization） in 1953，lingua franca was seen as “a language which is used habitually by people whose mother tongues are different in order to facilitate communication between them.” Or as Samarin described for the world，lingua francas were trade language，contact language，international language and auxiliary language.Satisfying the communication needs is just one of the superficial functions of lingua francas.

2.2 Pidgins

A pidgin is a language with no native speakers.It is no ones first language but is a contact language.That is，it is the product of a multilingual situation in which those who wish to communicate must find or improvise a simple language system that will enable them to do so.The process of pidginization probably requires a situation that involves at least three languages，one of which is clearly dominant over the others.If only two languages are involved，there is likely to be a direct struggle for dominance.And it is usually considered as a simplified version of the original language.The term pidgin is designed specifically for the foreign language speakers.They get touch with the native speakers and learn about the basic knowledge of a certain language.However，being influenced by their own tongue which is both grammatically and cognitively，the speakers gradually develop a language that is neither their mother language nor the foreign language they got touch with at the beginning.

And from my point of view，the study of pidgin is actually closely associated with the study in second language acquisition，especially the inter-language part.For inter-language is a kind of language between ones first language and second language，therefore we can definitely call it a contact language.The study of pidgins will greatly help the process of language transfer study which provides the practical assistance to the teaching and learning of a new language.

3 ELF in Sociolinguistics

ELF refers to the situation of English as lingua franca.If we want to have an overview of lingua franca nowadays，we have no chance to avoid the flag of strips.With the process of globalization，English has received tumultuous applause worldwide.The rise of English as a global language has much to do with the expansion of the Britain as well as the strong economic power of the English speaking countries.Nowadays，over 10 countries take English as mother language which include the United States of America，Britain，Australia，South Africa，etc.In the whole world，there are over 350million people who take English as their first language.And about 350 million people who take English as second language and use it often.The other 100 million people take English as a foreign language but they can speak it fluently.As predicted，half of the world population shall master English by the year of 2050.

4 Chinese under The Belt and Road Initiative

The One Belt and One Road Initiative is a proposal that proposed by China to facilitate the development of the countries along the old Silk Road lines.China aims to cooperate with these countries to share the natural resources and talents.The smooth realization of the good wishes cannot be separated with the languages.And thanks to the initiative，China has become the ideal place to have further study for many foreign students and Chinese culture is getting more and more popular.Under such circumstances，developing Chinese as the lingua franca for the countries along the line is the fundamental task in the initiative.That is to say，the reinforcing of Chinese language education is both the need of communication and the sharing of resources. And from such a perspective，the study of Chinese as lingua franca can be associated with the research on the language policies of our country.Language is the abundant cultural resources.Language itself and the literature，art customs etc are all the important material that we resolve to build a strong culture.To maximize the function of language，we can not only reserve and spread our traditional culture but also facilitate the interactions between countries and civilizations. With the deeper influence that the Belt and Road Initiative would make，Chinese will definitely be the lingua franca in the world which is of significant position.

5 Conclusion

The development of society is the basic condition and the strong driving force for the evolution of languages.And surely the study on lingua franca will not stop in a long run.Lingua franca as the bridges for the world should be treated seriously and carefully.From the above content of the paper，we may get to learn the successful cases of lingua franca.By exploring its experiences and strategies，we will spare no effort to spread our mother language through the new chance that brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.Lingua franca as a branch of sociolinguistics is very important in the better knowing of language and society.

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作者簡介

孫英萍（1994.12—），性別：女；民族：漢族；籍貫：內(nèi)蒙古通遼；單位：內(nèi)蒙古師范大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院；學(xué)歷：在讀碩士。