BSL in its Social Context |
Session 3: Formality
Registers
Some communities use very
different forms of the same language in different social situations. When two different varieties of the same language
are used, it is called diglossia. In "pure"
diglossia (first proposed by a linguist named Ferguson), the two language varieties are
similar, and used in separate situations that are understood by language users. In bilingual situations, the two languages are
recognised as being separate and different and their functions are not so rigidly defined,
and often the speakers are not aware that they are switching between the two. One example of a
diglossic language community has been seen in Greece, where classical Greek has been used
for education and high-status occasions, (called "high" variety or
"H") and a vernacular for home situations (called "low" variety or
"L"). This split is less clear now
than it used to be because the languages are changing and the "H" variety is
used much less now. There are several other
languages where this has been described (eg in Arabic and Swiss German). In some cases the grammar is the same for both
varieties but the vocabulary is different, and in others the grammar is different but many
words are the same in both varieties. Importantly,
though, the speakers believe that they are using two varieties of the same language. The original definition
of diglossia (proposed by Ferguson in the 1950s) does not allow the two varieties to be
two different languages, or two registers of the same language (we will talk about
registers later. For now we can accept that
they are the shifts one makes to match all sorts of different social situations). So the two varieties must be quite different from
each other but not too different! The
members of the language community must also believe that the two are different. Since then, other people
have suggested that two totally different languages can be used for the same reasons, just
as the two varieties are used in diglossia. In
other words, you use two completely different languages in H and L situations, rather than
two varieties of the same language (this was proposed by Fishman in the 1970s). This is remarkably common in many countries around
the world. We may also even see it in Britain
among communities for whom English is not their dominant language. Often, there is no
obvious dividing line between the two varieties, so features of H can be seen in L, and
features of L can be seen in H. Often the
High variety "leaks" into the Low variety.
Also, there may be occasions when users deliberately tone down the High
variety and use words or phrases or grammar from the Low variety. Also, Ferguson's theory
of diglossia only allows you to use two varieties. Why
only two? Why not three or four? In some countries, it is possible to use three
languages in three types of situations. In
Kenya English is used for academic, university, civil service, church, etc; Swahili for
business, local government, some broadcasting, secondary schools etc; and a local language
like Ateso for everyday, market-shopping, small radio stations, primary schools.) ? Pause
and make sure that you are clear what we mean by "bilingualism" and
"diglossia". Let's see if there is
evidence of "pure" diglossia, as Ferguson proposed it, in BSL. Some people say BSL and
Signed English (or any national natural sign language, and the signed version of the
spoken language) are used in diglossia. This
theory was argued by a linguist named Deuchar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Other people have thought the same for ASL. Deuchar's research was
done in the Reading deaf club in the late 1970s. She
observed the signing in the social club and in the deaf church there. As a result of her research, she claimed that
there was evidence for diglossia in the language used in the deaf club. She identified an H variety of signing for church
services and L variety for other socialising in the deaf club. The H variety used a lot of fingerspelling, and
occurred in English word order, and might be called some sort of "signed
English". The L variety used much less
fingerspelling and was less influenced by English and showed many more BSL constructions. We might call this more "strong" BSL. Note that this means that Deuchar believed she was
observing two variants of one language. Her
idea was that everyone was using the same language, but that there were two distinct
varieties, and each was used in specific circumstances. Deuchar's work was very
important at the time, but as we look back over twenty years, we might see some problems
with it. Perhaps the biggest problem was that
most of her data on the H variety came from the hearing missioner, not from a deaf person. Another problem is the idea that somehow more
"English" BSL is better because it is called "High" and stronger BSL
is less good because it is called "Low". We
also know that H varieties are not only used in religious settings, but also on
television, at important community meetings, in universities, and so on. We don't know what she would have seen if she had
looked there.
We also know that for
true diglossia to exist, all the users of the language community must use the two
varieties in the same way, for the same purposes. Would
missioner have used strong BSL when he was not running the services? Lastly, we need to ask if there really were two
different varieties that are clear and separate. Maybe
there is a "sliding scale" of stronger BSL or BSL with more English and Deuchar
was just seeing what happened at the two far ends of this line. We do not know the answers to these questions. ? Think
about these questions: (there is no "right" or "wrong" answer, but
just think about them) Are Signed English and Strong BSL
two distinct varieties of BSL, to be used in specific situations? (If they are, maybe we
are seeing diglossia) Are Signed English and Strong BSL
two different languages, that are used in specific situations? (If they are, we are seeing bilingualism) Is BSL one language that has many
varieties that change according to the situation? (If
it is, then maybe we are seeing something more like "Register", which we will
discuss in the next lecture). We really need to try and
decide what we mean by Signed English and BSL. We know that there is an
extreme form of "Signed English" in which everything in English is shown in the
signs. (Everything? How do we sign a speaker's accent? Let's say that
all the grammar and vocabulary of English are signed.) But where is this
vocabulary from? Most of it is from BSL. Of course, there is extra vocabulary that BSL
doesn't have (eg signs for "and" and "the"), but it uses a lot of BSL
vocabulary. Someone learning
"Signed English" has to learn a whole new vocabulary. So it isn't like written English, or
fingerspelling, or Braille or Morse code. All
these can be turned back into English by following a few simple rules. For example, you only need to learn 26 manual
letters, and you can "translate" any fingerspelling into written English (with a
bit of practice!). You can't learn a few
rules to "translate" Signed English into English. So, can we really say that this is
"English"? ? Think
about these questions: (again, you will see that there is no "right" or
"wrong" answer, but just think about them) Should we say that Signed English
and BSL are varieties of the same language because they have the same vocabulary? Or should we say they are two
different languages because they have different grammar? Should we say that Signed English
is not English because it has a different vocabulary? Or should we say that it is a
variety of English because it follows English grammar and English idioms? If you only knew BSL, and did not
know English, could you understand Signed English? If you only knew English, could
you understand Signed English? If it is neither BSL, nor English,
then is it a third language? Maybe it is not really
useful to ask these questions, when we know that languages need not be defined by the
grammar or vocabulary. We know that many
languages are seen as separate languages because people think they are different or want
to see them as different. Similarly, very
different languages might be seen as the same language because the language community
believes this to be true. Perhaps the signer
might think they are using BSL but the audience thinks it is signed English (as we saw in
the ASL study mentioned in an earlier session). So the problem for
diglossia is: is "Signed English" a form of BSL that is very heavily influenced
by English, or is it a separate language? Let's imagine that Signed
English and BSL are variations of the same language: If Signed English is just
a form of BSL, used in "high" (H) registers, and other "stronger" BSL
is used in lower registers (L), then we might have two varieties of sign language used in
Britain that might be used in diglossia. But, remember, that the
varieties are rigidly separated in their use in diglossia.
In other words, H is always used in some situations, and L in others. Is this true with sign language? If there is formal BSL, then we have the L variety
being used in an H situation, which the theory can't accept. The problem with
diglossia is that it suggests that people only switch between two varieties of language,
according to the social situation. We know,
though, that people are constantly changing their language to match the situation, and
that there are almost as many varieties of BSL as there are social situations. This issue is tackled by the idea of
"Register" which we will now discuss. Linguists have known for
a long time that the language used by any member of a language community will vary
according to the social situation. The
variation of a language according to situation is known by several terms, but we will call
it "Register". The features of register
include pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Register is the way that
language varies according to what you are doing. Your
language is different according to : 1. What you are talking about 2. Who you are talking to 3. Why you are talking. 4. What mode of communication you are using (eg
written, spoken or signed). 5. Your
attitude to the situation. So register is the
language variety that is defined by the situation
you are in. [Dialect is the variety
of language used because of who you are
i.e. where you are from and what your social background is.
(We will talk more about dialect in the next two sessions)]
(Some linguists use the
word "register" to mean specialised words used by different groups of people, eg
footballers, doctors, wine-makers or linguists. This
is also sometimes called "Jargon". But
this is just a special case of register because here the way you talk is dictated by the
thing you are talking about.)
Attitude to the social
situation is different for different people. You
might expect someone to speak more formally, politely, and clearly to someone older. But if this person has no respect for old people,
then the language might be very different. For
some Christians, the language in religious contexts is very formal. For others, however, informality is a deliberate
choice. Being able to vary your
language so you can use the register required is an important part of a language user's
skill. If you don't have full
knowledge of a community and its language, you can't use all its registers. If you never go to deaf meetings at the deaf club,
you cannot use that register in the sign language. If
you never meet deaf children, you will not learn the register used to deaf children, and
so on. If you don't go to church regularly,
you won't know church register. We know that BSL changes
according to all these situations. It isn't
always a massive change (not enough to create diglossia), and sometimes it can be quite
subtle, but the changes are there. For much
of the time, one easy variable to look at is vocabulary, because people use different
signs (and words) in different registers, to mean the same thing. Different vocabulary is not the only difference,
though, as we will see in a minute.
? Pause
now and make sure that you are very clear what the idea of "register" means in
detail. One of the ways that
language varies in different situations is seen in situations that are more formal or more
casual. We must remember, though, that there
is a lot of overlap in registers. For
example, it is possible to speak formally to a child or casually to a child. We can identify several
variables in BSL that change according to formality or less formal situations. In more casual BSL the signing
space used tends to be larger and more expansive than in formal signing. Casual BSL uses less
fingerspelling Casual BSL uses a greater variety
of non-manual features, including stronger facial expressions. There is less influence from
English and the sign vocabulary may contain signs that users know are appropriate to
informal conversation, including idiomatic signs and creative metaphors. The signs are less clearly
articulated, so that, for example, a two-handed sign may be made with only one hand, and
may not be articulated at a specific location on the body, but rather in neutral space. There is greater use of signs that
may be considered more like "gesture", for example, a simple shrug, instead of
the sign DON'T-KNOW. · Grammar is more likely to
be just non-manual in casual signing, whereas it often has a manual component too in
formal signing. · Clear localisation and
use of pointing for grammar is more seen in formal signing. The
Five Clocks
Martin Joos wrote a book
called "The 5 Clocks" where he talked about five registers. Joos said there were five main registers, based on
formality. You might want to read Joos' book
for yourself, or there is a very good summary in Zimmer (1989) on your reading list. Joos ideas are especially useful because it
is not easy to know what we mean by formal and informal. Joos' little book was
written in response to the idea of only two styles in diglossia (H and L) or ideas that
there were two ways of speaking (Correctly and Incorrectly). He believed that there were 5 styles of English
usage: intimate, casual, consultative, formal and frozen. (Even that is probably very
limited). He admitted that it was
possible to shift from one style to another during any piece of discourse, but that
speakers/writers never shifted more than one level - unless for a joke. 1) Consultative Register This is the one that is
used between strangers or distant work colleagues. In
other words, people who do not share the same immediate knowledge. It is the everyday style of many middle class,
middle aged, educated Americans. The speaker
has to supply background information about a topic, and does not presume to be understood
without it. The addressee participates
continuously by giving feedback like "oh", "uh-huh", "I see"
and "yes". If the speaker gives too
much information, the feedback like "I know" stops it, or if there isn't enough,
the addressee's feedback will tell that too. So
there is constant adjusting. You can't make
unannounced swings in topics in consultative style, because you have to assume that
background information is not shared. So, if
you want to change the topic, you have to use clear markers that you are doing so, and
fill the person in. This, then, is the sort
of BSL that might be used among strangers.
2)
Casual Register This is for friends and
acquaintances and insiders. It is used
deliberately to get someone to feel part of a group.
If you use formal style, the person feels an outsider. It is characterised by two features of
"ellipsis" and "slang". Slang uses terms that are
well known at the time, but are not likely to last long before they drop out of use. If you use slang (defined this way) you pay the
person the compliment of expecting them to know what you mean, so you imply that they are
an insider in your group. Ellipsis is an even more
distinguishing feature between consultative and causal language. You can leave out most weak words from the
beginning of a sentence, eg "(It would have) been a good thing if..." or
""(The) coffee's cold". Some
ellipsis is phonological: eg "C'n I help?" vs "Can I help?". You can also leave out a lot of background
information because you assume the other person knows it.
In BSL we can see "ellipsis" when the signer produces signs that
are less clearly articulated (eg using fingerspelling without the base hand, or signing
something like DUNNO without contact to the head, or non-manually). Like slang, ellipsis does
the addressee the honour of allowing them to fill in the gaps. This is the sort of BSL
you might use down at the deaf club or on the steps of 22 Berkeley Square, chatting with
friends.
3)
Intimate Register Here, the speakers give
the addressee very little information (this style is usually used between couples or very
close friends or family). The speaker may say
something like "Cat?" or "Cold".
This means something to the addressee who only needs this tiny clue to fit
immediately into the speaker's thoughts. "Cat?"
might mean "Is the cat out? It's your
job tonight to see that she is". "Cold"
might mean "This coffee is cold". This
is best called "extraction", rather than ellipsis because here, in extraction,
you can't recreate the message, because there is no message to recreate. It just means that the thought is communicated,
and you extract the full meaning from it. Tone
of voice will also do the trick here, for example a questioning grunt in the right context
might mean "what time is it?" or "will you go?". In BSL we might get the same thing will a simple
questioning facial expression. Extraction is
often needed in BSL because it often assumes context.
For example, two signers might know who is meant by j-k- and use this
sign but another person (e.g. and interpreter) cannot extract the full information, except
to say that there is someone, something or somewhere called JK It also uses
"jargon". These are words used by
the couple that others don't know, and that no one uses in public. The slang used in casual register may change quite
quickly, but the jargon words in intimate style do not change when they have formed. This might be seen as the
highest compliment possible, because it implies that the addressee knows the speaker
perfectly, so is the ultimate insider. There is no research on
intimate BSL. It is possible, though that
signs may be very reduced, and that there is greater reliance on non-manual features. There are often special "family" signs,
or special names for people. We should remember that some signers may not be able to
control an intimate family register of BSL because their family used English and they were
the only signer. We should also realise that
intimate BSL is more likely to be shared by deaf school friends than intimate English is
between hearing school friends because of the history of Deaf education. This may be changing now, though.
4)
Formal Register This differs from
consultative because there is no feedback. It
must be like this if there is a large group (Joos suggests that six may be the biggest
number in which consultative style is possible). The
style is designed to inform (consultative does some informing, casual may happen to do so
and intimate doesn't do much at all). Because
there is no participation, even the speaker seems to back off and become impersonal. Pronunciation is very clear, and grammar is full
and explicit (no ellipsis), and all background information is clearly given. Because of all this, it needs forward planning. Any participation that there might be comes after
a long section of uninterrupted discourse. The defining features of
formal style are detachment and cohesion. Formal BSL may be used in
a university lecture or in a report to the BDA from the Chair. Usually only one person is speaking/signing and
there is no interaction. This might also
define the way that people sign on television. This
sort of situation, of course, is unusual in BSL. Formal
signing is not as common an occurrence in BSL as it is in English.
5)
Frozen Register This is for print and for
public performance. It has it's own worth,
detached from the speaker. There is no
participation from anyone else at all. It is
usually very dense so that the reader can re-read and get new things out of it each time. This means that it is the style found in
literature and poetry (and may even be the definition of good literature and poetry). Literature is any text that a community insists on
having repeated intact. It should not even
rely on intonation to give it meaning, but the meaning comes just from the words, and the
order they come in. So the frozen style is
the style used in poetry and other texts or chants that never change, and whose importance
lies entirely in the words themselves. In
English, we see frozen style in, for example, church services and prayers, and in legal
situations such as reading someone their rights when they are arrested. (For Trekkers, of course, the Captain's
introduction: "Space, the final frontier. These
are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.... " etc, is in frozen register). Do sign languages have
frozen registers? Probably not in religious
senses because in Britain, at least, the words are in English and translated into BSL, and
there is no official BSL for ceremonies. Maybe
at some deaf meetings there are certain phrases that are coming to be frozen in BSL. In other countries, there might be things like
prayers that are part of a frozen register. It is possible that BSL
poetry would be counted as part of the frozen register because a poem must always be
signed in the same way. It is interesting to note
that frozen registers are seen in many highly literate cultures and in many strongly oral
cultures. BSL might be called an oral
language (because it does not have a literature) but the frozen register is not apparent. This shows again how important it is to think
about a society in relation to the language. There has been very
little research carried out on the ideas of register in BSL, and not much more on register
in other sign languages (but you could have a look at Carmen Chapa-Baixaulis MPhil
dissertation on register variation in Spanish sign language). People know that it is important to get the
register right, and may have a feel for what is right and what is not, but find it
difficult to describe what makes the register appropriate! There has also been very
little research on most registers. Most
research is done on formal or consultative registers, whereas casual is the more common
form of signing. There also needs to
be more research on other registers that are not defined by the formal/informal idea.
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