linguistics concepts
Definitions of linguistics concepts are a bit harder to find, so here's some help:
Dialect: A variant of a language. If it is associated with a geographically isolated speech community, it is referred to as a regional dialect (Examples: South Boston Dialect, California English, Southern U.S. Dialect). However, if it is spoken by a speech community that is not geographically distinct, it is called a social dialect.
Descriptive Grammar: A grammar that describes the systematic rules of a language as used by speakers of a language.
Prescriptive Grammar: A grammar that prescribes (dictates) and proscribes (forbids) certain ways of speaking and writing in an attempt to establish and maintain a standard of correctness.
Speech Community: People who share a given language or dialect.
Semiotic: Meaning created through a system of signs and symbols in relationship to each other. Semiotics is the study of such a system.
Indexicality: In semiotics, refers to signs and symbols indirectly pointing to specific meanings as understood within a specific semiotic system. Example, eye glasses symbolizing intellect and used to indicate intelligence in a job interview or a public talk, or the f-word used in conversation to index a tough or rebellious attitude.
Dialogism: A concept developed from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin which points to the dialogic nature of all knowledge, emphasizing how any statement by a single person has been influenced and shaped by that person's dialogue with others. The opposite of dialogism is monologism, the understanding of statements as coming from a single, authoritative voice, uninfluenced and unchallenged by other voices. Dialogism has been used to consider the social nature of knowledge construction, challenge the authority of Western "expert" accounts of non-Western peoples, and highlight the multiple and conflicting perspectives that are represented in any individual's statements.
Dialect: A variant of a language. If it is associated with a geographically isolated speech community, it is referred to as a regional dialect (Examples: South Boston Dialect, California English, Southern U.S. Dialect). However, if it is spoken by a speech community that is not geographically distinct, it is called a social dialect.
Descriptive Grammar: A grammar that describes the systematic rules of a language as used by speakers of a language.
Prescriptive Grammar: A grammar that prescribes (dictates) and proscribes (forbids) certain ways of speaking and writing in an attempt to establish and maintain a standard of correctness.
Speech Community: People who share a given language or dialect.
Semiotic: Meaning created through a system of signs and symbols in relationship to each other. Semiotics is the study of such a system.
Indexicality: In semiotics, refers to signs and symbols indirectly pointing to specific meanings as understood within a specific semiotic system. Example, eye glasses symbolizing intellect and used to indicate intelligence in a job interview or a public talk, or the f-word used in conversation to index a tough or rebellious attitude.
Dialogism: A concept developed from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin which points to the dialogic nature of all knowledge, emphasizing how any statement by a single person has been influenced and shaped by that person's dialogue with others. The opposite of dialogism is monologism, the understanding of statements as coming from a single, authoritative voice, uninfluenced and unchallenged by other voices. Dialogism has been used to consider the social nature of knowledge construction, challenge the authority of Western "expert" accounts of non-Western peoples, and highlight the multiple and conflicting perspectives that are represented in any individual's statements.
