Baskhoro Edo P

Chapter 4 : Linguistic Varieties and Multilingual Nations

One language was his ethnic or tribal language, another was the language of his education, another
served as a useful language of wider communication in particular contexts, such as the market-place, or with
outsiders or tourists. This chapter examines the labels and the criteria that sociolinguists use to distinguish
between different varieties or codes in multilingual communities. There are an example about Indian man that
always use different language in every section of his town, this can show us about “Linguistic Varieties”,
actually with this kind of linguistic diversity, it is easy to understand the problems facing the country at the
national level. Sociolinguists have developed a number of ways of categorising languages, according to
their status and social functions. The distinction between a vernacular language and a standard language
is a useful place to start. The term vernacular is used in a number of ways. It generally refers to a language
which has not been standardised and which does not have official status (informal functions), and there are
there are three components of the meaning of the term vernacular: first is uncodified or unstandardised
variety, second is refers to the way it is acquired, and the last is for relatively circumscribed functions.
The term vernacular generally refers to the most colloquial variety in a person’s linguistic repertoire, or simply
we could say if term of vernacular is sometimes used to indicate that a language is used for everyday
interaction. After talking about vernacular, we go to standard variety. A standard variety is generally one
which is written, and which has undergone some degree of regularisation or codification (for example, in a
grammar and a dictionary); it is recognised as a prestigious variety or code by a community, and it is used for H
functions alongside a diversity of L varieties or simply we could said if this a “scholars language” and
absolutely suitable for formal functions. Standard languages developed in European countries during the
fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For example about Standard English that emerged ‘naturally’
in the fifteenth century from a variety of regional English dialects, largely because it was the variety used by the
English Court and the influential merchants of London, as Puttenham noted. We go back to Standard varieties,
Standard varieties actually are codified varieties. Codification is usually achieved through grammars and
dictionaries which record, and sometimes prescribe, the standard forms of the language therefore does not
create confusion over the similarity of pronunciation or can easily find out what meaning is meant, it is easier
for us to distinguish which is fickle, homophone, homograph, and homonym . The development of standard
English illustrates the three essential criteria which characterise a standard: it was an influential or
prestigious variety, it was codified and stabilised and it served H functions in that it was used for
communication at Court, for literature and for administration. It also illustrates that what we refer to as a
standard language is always a particular dialect. Next is World English, simply could defined if world
Englishes is the term for local or indigenous varieties of English that have emerged, particularly those
that have developed in areas influenced by several European country but the most are the United Kingdom
or the United States. Actually it is also the same as the term "New Englishes" or we could say this is a
technique of upturning English into regional languages. This phrase is also known as new varieties of
English, that talk about non-native English, and institutionalized non-native English. Next is Lingua Franca, In
this particular encounter, Latin functioned as a lingua franca – a language of communication between two
people. The term lingua franca describes a language serving as a regular means of communication
between different linguistic groups in a multilingual speech community or it can be said also is a
linguistic term which is intended as a "language of instruction" or "language of association" in a place
where there are speakers of different languages. A lingua franca is a language used for communication
between people whose first languages differ. In some countries, the most useful and widely used lingua franca
is an official language or the national language, but In multilingual communities, lingua francas are so useful
they may eventually displace the vernaculars. Lingua franca often develop initially as trade languages, lingua
francas in many respects are pidgin and creole languages. There is still a connection with the lingua franca,
namely about Pidgins and Creols, Pidgins develop as a means of communication between people who do not
have a common language. So a pidgin is no one’s native language. Pidgins seem particularly likely to arise
when two groups with different languages are communicating in a situation where there is also a third
dominant language. Pidgin linguistic are created from the combined efforts of people who speak different
languages. All languages involved may contribute to the sounds, the vocabulary and the grammatical features,
but to different extents, and some additional features may emerge which are unique to the new variety, the
characteristic of this language is s develop to serve a very narrow range of functions in a very restricted set of
domains. Pidgins don’t have systematically about vocabulary, vowel, affixes, and consonant but pidgins often
borrow words from their source languages and feature a simplified grammar. Attitudes using pidgins language
do not have high status or prestige and, to those who do not speak them, they often seem ridiculous languages,
and next about Creoles it is a opposite from pidgin. A creole is a pidgin which has acquired native speakers,
a creole is a pidgin which has expanded in structure and vocabulary to express the range of meanings
and serve the range of functions required of a first language. Creoles have a clear structure features. Creole
languages, however, do develop ways of systematically signalling meanings such as verb tenses, and these may
develop into inflections or affixes over time. The Creoles method it produces many functions one of them are
many present-day creoles are spoken by descendants of the African slaves in the USA and the Caribbean n. As
mentioned above, the common language of the plantation was generally a pidgin, could be alternatively, a
pidgin that can become so useful as a lingua franca that it may be expanded and used even by people who share
a tribal language. Once a creole has developed it can be used for all the functions of any language – politics,
education, administration, and original literature. Creoles have become accepted standard and even national and
official languages, as illustrated in the next chapter. Once developed there is no evidence in their linguistic
structure to reveal their pidgin origins. We go back talk about Creoles, though outsiders’ attitudes to creoles are
often as negative as their attitudes to pidgins, this is not always the case for those who speak the language. even
in some countries it is thought that e creole express strong loyalty to it as the language which best expresses
their feelings. Despite their huge geographical spread – they are found in every continent – many similarities are
found among pidgins and creoles. But the fact that similarities have been found between pidgins from quite
different geographical regions, and in pidgins where quite different languages have contributed to their
development, suggests things are not quite so straightforward. There is almost as much debate about what
ultimately happens to a creole. There are a variety of answers depending on the social context too even in
societies with rigid social divisions. even though, when a creole is used side-by-side with the standard variety in
a community where social barriers are not insuperable, features of the creole tend to change in the direction of
the standard variety. This process is described as decreolisation. Both of them actually have quite an important
role until the present era, nothing is more right or wrong because they are mutually revolutionizing each other
towards improving language that is easily understood.

Opinion:

After reading chapter four, I felt open-minded about how language can be different from each country,
even though the regions in one country can differ. This chapter has a correlation with my previous semester's
learning about language so I can easily understand the topics presented in this e-book. Apart from that, from
chapter four we know the difference between vernacular, Standard English, World Englishes, New Englishes,
Lingua Franca, Pidgins, and Creoles. For my opinion personally this chapter quite cool because besides being
able to increase our knowledge we can appreciate differences in languages, as this book also says that the
Indonesian language is also a language that comes from Pidgin Malay, so we also learn how to tolerate the use
of "language similarity".