Language and Ethnicity

• Dialect


  A variety of a language that is spoken in a particular region of a country, containing its own language features such as distinctive words, grammar, and pronunciation
• Idiolect


  An individual's unique use of language, influenced by aspects of their life such as where they live, education, friendship groups, hobbies, etc.
• Ethnolect


  A language variety that is specific to an ethnic group
• AAVE (African American Vernacular English)


  A non-standard dialect spoken mainly by black Americans, featuring unique grammar, accent, and vocabulary such as contractions and double negatives. Despite its cultural richness, AAVE is often stigmatized, leading to linguistic discrimination against its speakers. However, it's crucial to recognize that vernacular varieties like AAVE are valid forms of communication and an integral part of cultural identity for many individuals.
• Pidgin language


  A variety of language that develops due to the mixing of two or more different groups that speak different native languages, usually occurring in a short period of time out of necessity, leading to the development of a simplified version of the languages that can be understood and used by both groups for communication.
• Creole language


  A stable, 'fully-fledged' form of language that often derives from a pidgin language. Creoles tend to have more regularised, 'simplified' grammatical systems, and contain rich vocabularies deriving from both of the original languages. They are learned as the native language of communities.
• Many creoles and pidgins developed during the time of European colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular, 'The Scramble for Africa'. This is when European countries such as Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal expanded their territories by colonising countries across Africa. The languages of both Africa and Europe came into contact with each other. The African people had to understand and use the colonisers' language, as well as each other's native African languages, leading to the emergence of Creoles. These were a mix of European languages, such as English or French, with the native language spoken by the colonised communities.
• Jamaican Patois


  Creole based on English and influenced by West African languages, mainly spoken in Jamaica as a native language. Developed during the era of colonisation in the 17th century when enslaved people learned English varieties spoken by slaveholders. Modern-day Jamaican Patois sounds a bit like English but has different words, grammar, and Jamaican pronunciation.
• Haitian Creole


  Creole based on French and influenced by West African languages, spoken as an official and native language of Haiti and, like Jamaican patois, reflects a history of colonisation. Despite deriving from French, Haitian creole is its own individual language.
• Code-switching


  When a person changes between two different languages or language varieties within a single verbal exchange.
• Holmes: 'In her book "An Introduction to Sociolinguistics," Holmes explores code-switching, which allows speakers to convey emotion effectively by using vocabulary from different languages or linguistic varieties. She notes that even those who aren't fluent in their community's language can still express their ethnic identity through code-switching between English and another language, as seen in second and third-generation immigrants in the UK.'
• Multicultural London English (MLE)


  A variant of English prevalent among young, working-class individuals in London, originating from immigrant communities. Despite its use across various ethnicities, it's especially common in multi-ethnic social networks.
• Kerswill: 'In 2008, Kerswill and colleagues investigated Multicultural London English (MLE), a variant of English prevalent among young, working-class individuals in London, originating from immigrant communities. They suggested that social networks, rather than ethnicity, influence language variation and its interaction with ethnic identity.'
• Ives: 'In Gary Ives' 2014 Bradford study, he interviewed Pakistani-background teenage boys from a school influenced by Pakistani culture. The boys viewed code-switching between Punjabi and English as natural due to their upbringing. However, Ives found that British Asian boys consciously code-switched to distinguish themselves from "freshies" (recent immigrants from Pakistan). They used slang and Punjabi swear words to reinforce their group identity and exclude others from different ethnic backgrounds.'
• Ives: 'In Gary Ives' London study, conducted in a school setting, he interviewed students from diverse ethnic backgrounds to explore words and phrases that distinguished them from other regions. He identified vocabulary such as 'bare', 'calm', and 'hype', comprising Multicultural London English (MLE), used by students of various ethnicities, including White British teenagers incorporating Jamaican/Afro-Caribbean lexis. This study highlighted that language usage was more influenced by geographical location and group identity than ethnicity.'
• Drummond: 'In his 2012 paper, Drummond examined the language of Polish immigrants, dividing them into two groups: those intending to settle in the UK and those planning to return to Poland. Immigrants who wanted to stay tended to adopt the local accent to integrate, while those planning to return retained non-standard features, signaling their allegiance to Polish identity. Drummond concluded that language choices reflected immigrants' attitudes toward their Polish heritage and integration into UK society.'
• Edwards: 'Young people of Jamaican descent in the West Midlands calculated a patois index, an aggregate of the use of patio vs English forms by all participants. Patois features averaged at 5.57% when being interviewed by a white researcher compared to 43.29% when in a black peer group. Thus, ethnicity based language choices depend heavily on the person being spoken to.'
• Sharma and Sankaran: 'Investigated the English of three age groups of punjabi speaking Indians in West London and found that the older generation code switched much more than the younger generation.'
• Decreolisation


  A reduction in the number of creole features in the speech of an individual or community
• Hypercreolisation


  An exaggeration of creole language features found in the 2nd and 3rd generation of immigrants