Sociolinguistics REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Some terms are used in this study and they need to be theoretically explained to avoid misconception.

2.1 Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is a term including the aspects of linguistics applied toward the connection between language and society, and the way we use it in different social situations. It ranges from the study of the wide variety of dialects across a given region down to the analysis between the way men and women speak to one another. Sociolinguistics often shows us the humorous realities of human speech and how a dialect of a given language can often describe the age, sex, and social class of the speaker; it codes the social function of a language. William Labov is often regarded as the founder of the study of sociolinguistics. He is especially noted for introducing quantitative study of language variation and mixing, making the sociology of language into a scientific discipline. Sociolinguistics is the study of language as it affects and is affected by social relations. Sociolinguistics encompasses a broad range of concerns, including bilingualism and pidgin languages, and other ways that language use is influenced by contact among people of different language communities e.g., speakers of German, French, Italian, and Romansh in Switzerland. Sociolinguistics also examine different dialects, accents, and levels of diction in light of social distinctions among people. Although accent refers strictly to Universitas Sumatera Utara pronunciation, in practice a dialect can usually be identified by the accent of its speakers as well as by distinctive words, usages, idiomatic expressions, and grammatical features. Dialects reflect and may reinforce class, ethnic, or regional differences among speakers of the same language. Sociolinguistics has become an increasingly important and popular field of study, as certain culture around the world expand their communication base and inter group and interpersonal relations take on escalating significance. The basic notion underlying sociolinguistics is quite simple: Language use symbolically represents fundamental dimensions of social behavior and human interaction. The notion is simple, but the way in which language reflects behavior can often be complex and subtle. Furthermore, the relationship between language and society affects a wide range of encounters from broadly based international relations to narrowly defined interpersonal relationship.

2.2 Bilingualism