Linguistic attitudes

Definition

Linguistic attitudes are the beliefs, opinions, and feelings that individuals or groups hold about different languages, dialects, or accents. These attitudes can significantly influence language contact situations, shaping how languages are borrowed, adapted, or resisted in various cultural contexts.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Linguistic attitudes can be positive or negative, influencing how speakers perceive themselves and others based on their language use.
2. These attitudes often stem from social, historical, or cultural contexts, affecting language preservation and change during contact situations.
3. When speakers have a positive attitude toward a particular language, they are more likely to borrow vocabulary and structures from it.
4. Negative attitudes towards a language can lead to its stigmatization and can hinder borrowing processes from that language.
5. Public opinion and media representation can significantly shape linguistic attitudes, impacting the perceived value of certain languages in society.

Review Questions

• How do linguistic attitudes influence the borrowing of language elements in contact situations?
  • Linguistic attitudes play a crucial role in determining whether speakers adopt elements from a contacting language. Positive attitudes towards a language can encourage speakers to incorporate its vocabulary and structures into their own speech, making borrowing more likely. Conversely, negative attitudes may lead to resistance against using elements from a language perceived as inferior or undesirable, thus limiting the potential for linguistic exchange.
• Discuss the impact of historical and social factors on linguistic attitudes and their role in language contact.
  • Historical events, such as colonization or migration, and social factors like class or ethnicity heavily influence linguistic attitudes. For instance, a dominant culture may impose its language on others, leading to negative attitudes towards local dialects. These attitudes affect how communities interact with each other's languages during contact situations, shaping which languages are borrowed or resisted based on social power dynamics.
• Evaluate how public perceptions shaped by media can transform linguistic attitudes and affect language borrowing processes over time.
  • Media plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions of languages and dialects, which in turn influences linguistic attitudes. When certain languages are portrayed positively in media, it can enhance their prestige and encourage borrowing among speakers of other languages. Conversely, negative representation can stigmatize a language or dialect, discouraging its use and limiting opportunities for borrowing. This dynamic shows how media not only reflects but also actively shapes societal values regarding language over time.

Related terms

Language prestige: The perceived status of a language or dialect, often influencing speakers' choices and the acceptance of borrowed elements.

Code-switching: The practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects within a conversation, often reflecting the speaker's linguistic attitudes.

Bilingualism: The ability to speak two languages fluently, which can shape and be shaped by individuals' linguistic attitudes towards both languages.