The paper, Sociolinguistics – Concepts in Action, is devoted to the problem of language communities and their positioning in the life of a social group. The paper is well-structured and well—organized. It creaky defined the purpose and aim of the research and reflects a deep and detailed analysis of the problem. The paper vividly portrays that language has a great impact on society and culture reflecting cultural values and shaping the identity of people. There is a direct correlation between a growing sense of powerlessness and futility in lives and the language people use.
My language choice (Speech Communities) is not accidental. This topic is important for social research and linguistics analysis as part of the broader subject of sociolinguistics. I can say that the more you feel yourself diminished the more you “build yourself up” by using ho language used in communities, showing that you are in some kind of an “in” group, and know what’s going on. It is only natural to try to represent one’s self in the best possible light, but if we study the way people do this we find that, at least as far as the language they use is concerned, this hot or inflated language is somewhat self-defeating.
I chose this topic because it reflects the modern structure of society and requires additional research and analysis. My analysis shows that since people now believe less and less, they have to promise more and more to come out even. In this sense, language is self-defeating for it has created (more than anything else) this skepticism which it keeps attacking and reinforcing at the same time. Language culture is significant for every person because it shapes his/her ideas about good or bad, virtue and evil, personal identity, and self-image. Films and other media provide “models” (literally and figuratively) of experience, but the models are atypical. Language is copied by individuals and penetrated society as a sign of modernity and innovations, stylishness, and cool image.
The paper involves basic definitions of speech communities and presents different opinions on the topic. I discuss that people copy and borrow language patterns from communities in order to “go with the flow” even if some phrases and words are senseless and even rude. In the quest for memorable faces and sales impact, local communities lose upon the public various figures who distort reality considerably — either in terms of their physical endowments or their bizarre qualities. As a result of familial and community upbringing, foreign-born students acquire a self-identity, perceptions of the world, and ways of communicating, thinking, and interacting within the world as they perceive it. The cultural capital of children may or may not be congruent with the beliefs of institutional settings, such as schools, that have evolved their own sense of cultural capital.
The topic of Speech Communities is crucial for TESOL teachers as it helps them to understand the importance of speech communities in the daily lives of learners. Language helps people to be atypical. Problems vanish almost instantaneously, and people who were lonely and desperate become madly sought after just by switching to a certain kind of mouthwash. The use of unique speech patterns is symptomatic of a certain malaise affecting people, which leads them to believe that life must, at all times, be exciting, vital, dazzling, full of “fabulous” experiences that make one into a “fantastic” person. Thus, speech communities make people devalue their lives, since they take a rather absurd conception of what is normal, measure their lives against this false norm, and find themselves wanting. Speech communities influence the identity of people and an idea of style, understanding of personal uniqueness, and value.