Language: dialects and registers

Language is systematic or rule governed. Although this is true, it is also true that there is often variation in the actual use of any language. All users of the same language do not necessarily use it in the same way. Often the same speaker may use the same language in different ways depending on a number of factors.

A dialect is a variant of a language. If it is associated with a geographically isolated speech community, it is referred to as a regional dialect. However, if it is spoken by a speech community that is merely socially isolated, it is called a social dialect. These latter dialects are mostly based on class, ethnicity, gender, age, and particular social situations. Black English (or Ebonics) in the United States is an example of a social dialect.

Code switching: People may quickly switch back and forth between dialects, depending on the person they are talking to at the time. This pattern is referred to as diglossia or "code switching." Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to alternation between two or more languages, dialects, or language registers in the course of discourse between people who have more than one language in common. Sometimes the switch lasts only for a few sentences, or even for a single phrase.

More broadly defined, code-switching occurs when people alter their speech and behavior so as to fit into different social situations. The most common changes involve vocabulary, levels of casualness or formality, types of clothing, and facial and hand gestures.

Dis ting called language is real funny
We does use it for all kinda ting you see
Sometimes it fancy and sometimes it free
And in did Caribbean is a real potpourri

When it fancy we it formal and real ‘la de da’
When it free we does call it vernacular
Each country down here have it own language flavour
But they each have a standard that they must master.

Language variety

All human societies use language. Some societies use just one and are said to be monolingual. Most societies use more than one language. Such societies are bilingual, trilingual or even multilingual. Sometimes individuals within a society might be bilingual or multilingual. There is a difference between a society that is bilingual and an individual who is bilingual. In bilingual societies such as Canada, provision is sometimes made for equal treatment for speakers of either language. Road signs and other public use of language are often presented in both languages. The bilingual individual usually has to make a choice of language depending on her audience.

Usually the history of a language is the history of the people who speak it. The Caribbean provides good examples of this. It is a complex linguistic area. The original inhabitants spoke, and in places like Guyana and Suriname still speak, a range of indigenous languages brought to the region many hundred years ago. These languages are mainly the Arawaccan or Cariban language groups but there are also speakers of Warrau.

The official languages of the Caribbean are local or regional forms of European languages such as Spanish, French, Dutch and English. In the special case of Haiti, the French-lexicon Creole language, called Haitian, is also regarded as an official language along with French.

It must be remembered that many of the Europeans who came to the Caribbean territories were themselves speakers of non standard dialects of English.

(Required reading: Writing in English Chapters 1-4).