Sociolinguistics Sociolinguists Study the Cultural Essay

Lingu francas are languages used b wide groups of people to facilitate communication between cultures that traditionally use separate languages; English is the lingua franca of much of the world, as people from Sweden to China to Egypt learn it to facilitate international communication. Pidgins and creoles are bastardizations of two or more languages from a merging or meeting of cultures.

National and official languages can be established to ease communication within a nation, but they do not always represent the real linguistic situation. Official/national languages require planning for documentation and to ensure that the language will serve the nation's needs. Norway had a difficult time selecting which dialect to make the official language, for example. Linguists play a role in this by helping to track and classify linguistic varietals and determine the effects of official changes.

Regional variation and social variation can both greatly impact linguistic changes due to cultural variations.Language is different in the Southern U.S. than it is in the Northeast, though people in both regions speak English (regional variations), and Hasidic Jews of New York have different language patterns than their nearby non-Jewish neighbors (social variation). Social dialects can also be observed in things like rap culture, "text speak," and more, and some of these can be similar to odes that people can switch between.

Gender and age can greatly achieve the perceived appropriateness or even the applicability of certain language, and language also often makes inherent assertions or limitations about gender and age. Mr. / Mrs. is a basic example of gender differentiation in language, while a word like "mankind" is gender exclusionary. Similar issues can exist for age in many languages......