10.22.2012

BILLINGUALISM AND POLYGLOSSIA

Before we discuss further definition of Polyglossia, we shall consider the related term in which has close relation to the topic will be discussed. We are going to start with the term Diglossia. 

 1. DIGLOSSIA
 1.1 What is diglossia? 

The French term diglossie was first coined (as a translation of Greek, ‘bilingualism’) by the Greek linguist, Ioannis Psycharis. Charles A. Ferguson in his article “Diglossia” in the journal Word (1959) intensively defines diglossia as follows: “DIGLOSSIA is a relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language (which may include a standard or regional standards), there is a very divergent, highly codified (often grammatically more complex) superposed variety, the vehicle of a large and respected body of written literature, either of an earlier period or in another speech community, which is learned largely by formal education and is used for most written and formal spoken purposes but is not used by any section of the community for ordinary conversation (Ferguson, 1959 in Wardhaugh, 1986)” Ferguson’s definition considers diglossia as a kind of bilingualism in a given society in which one of the languages is “High” variety, i.e. has high prestige, and another of the languages is “Low” variety, i.e. has low prestige. “High” variety is usually the written language, whereas “Low” variety is the spoken language. In formal situations, “High” variety is used; in informal situations, “Low” variety is used (Wardhaugh, 1986). According to Ferguson (1959) in Hudson (2002), “High” variety and “Low” variety are always close genetically-related language. On the other hands, Fishman (1967) in Hudson (2002) introduces the notion that diglossia could be extended to situations found in many societies where forms of two genetically unrelated (or at least historically distant ) languages occupy the H and L niches, such that one of the languages (e.g. Latin in medieval Europe), is used for religious, educational, literacy and other such prestigious domains, while another language (in the case of medieval Europe, the vernacular languages of that era) is rarely used for such purposes, being only employed for more informal, primarily spoken domains (Hudson, 2002). Because of the different notions of diglossia proposed by Ferguson (1959) and Fishman (1967), studies on diglossia have differed with regards to the question of which cases should be considered to constitute diglossia and which should not (Myhill, 2009). According to the preference of the researcher, the reference of the term diglossia may be limited to cases in which H and L are considered to be versions of the same language and H is not the everyday language of anyone in the same country (e.g. Standard Arabic (H) vs. Colloquial Arabic (L) in e.g. Syria), or it may also be used to refer to cases in which H is spoken as the everyday language of some geographically or ethnically distinct group in the same country (e.g. Italian (H) vs. Sicilian (L) in Italy or Standard English (H) vs. Black English (L) in the United States), or it may even include cases in which H and L are different languages (e.g. Urdu (H) vs. Punjabi (L) in Pakistan) (Myhill, 2009). 1.2 Characteristic Features of Diglossia Research on diglossia has concentrated on a number of variables and important questions of the characteristic features of diglossia, such as function, prestige, literary heritage, acquisition, standardization, stability, grammar, lexicon, and phonology of H and L varieties (Schiffman, 2001). 1. Function The functional differentiation of discrepant varieties in a diglossia is fundamental, thus distinguishing it from bilingualism. H and L are used for different purposes, and native speakers of the community would find it odd if anyone used H in an L domain or L in an H domain. 2. Prestige In most diglossias examined, H was more highly valued (had greater prestige) than was L. The H variety is that of ‘great’ literature, canonical religious texts, ancient poetry, of public speaking, of pomp and circumstance. The L-variety is felt to be less worthy, corrupt, ‘broken’, vulgar, undignified, etc. 3. Literary Heritage In most diglossic languages, the literature is all in H-variety; no written uses of L exist, except for ‘dialect’ poetry, advertising, or ‘low’ restricted genres. In most diglossic languages, the H-variety is thought to be the language; the L-variety is sometimes denied to exist, or is claimed to be only spoken by lesser mortals (servants, women, children). In some traditions (e.g. Shakespeare’s plays), L-variety would be used to show certain characters as rustic, comical, uneducated, etc. 4. Acquisition L-variety is the variety learned first; it is the mother tongue, the language of the home. H-variety is acquired through schooling. Where linguists would therefore insist that the L-variety is primary, native scholars see only the H-variety as the language. 5. Standardization H is strictly standardized; grammars, dictionaries, canonical texts, etc exist for it, written by native grammarians. L is rarely standardized in the traditional sense, or if grammars exist, is written by outsiders. 6. Stability Diglossias are generally stable, persisting for centuries or even millennia. Occasionally L-varieties gain domains and displace the H-variety, but H only displaces L if H is the mother tongue of elite, usually in a neighboring polity. 7. Grammar The grammars of H are more complex than the grammars of L-variety. They have more complex tense systems, gender systems, agreement, and syntax than L-variety. 8. Lexicon Lexicon is often somewhat shared, but generally there is differentiation; H has vocabulary that L lacks, and vice-versa. 9. Phonology Two kinds of systems are discerned. One is where H and L share the same phonological elements, but H may have more complicated morphophonemics. Or, H is a special subset of the L-variety inventory. (But speakers often fail to keep the two systems separate.) A second type is one where H has contrasts that L lacks, systematically substituting some other phoneme for the lacking contrast; but L may ‘borrow’ elements as tatsamas, using the H-variety contrast in that particular item. 1.3 TYPES OF DIGLOSSIA There are some types of Diglossia. Joshua Fishman classifies it into two. They are Biglossia and Digraphia. Biglossia can be defined as Diglossia involving two completely separate languages, where the varieties in question are varieties of different languages. Another one is Digraphia. It refers to the use of more than one writing system for the same language (H is for written use, L is for conversational use). Digraphia can be synchronic, meaning that these writing systems are used at the same time for the same language, or diachronic, meaning that the writing system used has changed over time, one writing system succeeding another over time. The best example of synchronic Digraphia is Serbian. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet and an adapted Latin alphabet are both widely used in Serbia in a large variety of contexts and most Serbian speakers are able to read and write in both. Some authorities consider Japanese to be a case of synchronic Digraphia, as it has three different scripts. Other authorities disagree, however, pointing out that all three scripts are part of the same writing system, and have a defined role to play within that system. It is not always easily achieved writing an entire text in three different versions, one in each script. In Serbian this is always possible. An element of synchronic Digraphia is present in many languages not using the Latin script, in particular in text messages and when typing on a computer which does have the facility to represent the usual script for that language. In such cases, Latin script is often used, although systems of transcription are often not standardized. In Diachronic Digraphia, there are many examples where a language used to be written in a script that was replaced later. Examples are Romanian (which originally used Cyrillic then changed to Latin); Turkish (Arabic then Latin), and many languages of former Soviet Central Asia, which abandoned the Cyrillic script after the dissolution of the USSR. Pauwels classifies Diglossia into three; they are Interlingual diglossia, Intralingual diglossia, and Diglossia as a ‘continuum’. Interlingual diglossia is diglossia with two different languages while Intralingual diglossia is diglossia where both derived from same language. Diglossia as a ‘continuum’ is ranging from Rigid Diglossia (clearly defined codes/situations for use) to Fluid Diglossia (lots of overlapping of use). Fasold classifies Diglossia into three; they are Double-Nested Diglossia, Polyglossia, and Code-switching. In Double-Nested Diglossia, there are two Hs and one L (‘lower’ H acts as H and L). In other words, it is subdiglossic situations within major diglossic situations with distinctive difference in varieties of a language (or languages) and their functions. For example, a village situation in India, north of Delhi. The high variety is Hindi and the low variety is called (by Gumperz) Khalapur. Khalapur is spoken by all villagers and is always used in local interactions. Hindi is learned in school or by having lived in the cities. Better educated and socially prominent villagers speak Hindi in matters relating to commerce and politics (ie, outside village matters). Polyglossia is the coexistence of multiple languages in the same area. Polyglossia is also defined as the use of three or more varieties in a community with a function differentiation, a shared language value system and common norms. And Code Switching can be defined as a linguistics term denoting the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation (2 languages used in one situation/sentence). The term code-switching is used when examining how people speak in different situations. Code is thought of as a more neutral way of expressing dialect and there are generally thought to be two codes, a prestige code and an everyday code. The term diglossia is also used to describe a person’s ability to switch from one dialect or code to another. The subtle difference between code-switching and diglossia is that diglossia is thought to be a more intentional changing of dialect due to situation and code-switching is perceived as a more subconscious change. In a diglossic situation, some topics and situations are better suited to one language over another. Joshua Fishman proposes a domain-specific code-switching model (later refined by Blom and Gumperz) wherein bilingual speakers choose which code to speak depending on where they are and what they are discussing. For example, a child who is a bilingual Spanish-English speaker might speak Spanish at home and English in class, but Spanish at recess. 1.4 POLYGLOSSIA Polyglossia is defined as the use of three or more varieties in a community with a function differentiation, a shared language value system and common norms. Polyglossia is defined as the coexistence of multiple languages in the same area. (http://www.wordnik.com/words/polyglossia) Basically polyglossia situations involve two contrasting varieties (high and low) but in general it refers to communities that regularly use more than two languages. Polyglossia is a part of diglossia but in polyglossia it involves more languages used. 2. Bilingualism 2.1 What is bilingualism? The term bilingualism is defined as the ability to use and to speak two languages. Language cannot be divorced from the context in which it is used. It is not produced in a vacuum; it is enacted in changing dramas. Every kind of communication includes one speaker, one canal (the topic) and one listener. Functional bilingualism moves into language production across the encyclopedia of everyday contexts and events. It concerns when, where and with who people use these two languages. For instances: - A child who is beginning to talk, speaking English to one parent and Welsh to the other. - A Danish immigrant in New Zealand who has not had contact with Danish for the last 40 years. - A schoolchild from an Italian immigrant family in the USA who increasingly uses English both at home and outside but whose older relatives address him in Italian only. - A young graduate who has been studying French for eleven years. - A personal interpreter of an important public figure. - The Turkish wife of a Turkish immigrant in Germany who can converse orally in German but cannot read or write it. - A Japanese airline pilot who uses English for most of his professional communication. - A fervent Catalanist who uses Catalan at home and work, but is exposed to Spanish in the media etc and is fully conversant in both. 2.2 Describing Individual Bilingualism Individual Bilingualism can be described in terms of: 1. AGE: This can be classified into two; they are early bilingualism and late bilingualism. Late bilingualism is defined in contrast to early bilingualism, because late bilingualism is developed after the critical period for language learning. In such cases, it is thought that when people acquire their second language through immersion in a community that speaks it, implicit memory plays more of a role, whereas when they do so solely through formal classroom studies, explicit memory is more involved. 2. CONTEXT: This can be classified into two; they are natural/ascribed bilingualism and achieved/secondary bilingualism. 3. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGN AND MEANING: This can be classified into three; they are coordinated bilingualism, subordinate bilingualism, and compound bilingualism. In coordinated bilingualism, children develop two parallel linguistic systems, so that for any one word, the child has two signifiers and two signifieds. One situation in which a child may develop coordinated bilingualism is when the two parents have different mother tongues and each parent speaks only his or her own mother tongue to the child. In response, the child constructs two separate linguistic systems and can handle each of them easily. Another such situation is when relatively young children who have already mastered their mother tongue are adopted by parents who speak a different language. Once again, the distinction between the two languages is crystal-clear for the child. A sub-group of the latter is the subordinate bilingual, which is typical of beginning second language learners. In compound bilingualism, children have only one signified for two signifiers and so cannot detect the conceptual differences between the two languages. Compound bilingualism is what occurs when both parents are bilingual and both parents speak to the child in both languages indiscriminately. The child will grow up to speak both languages effortlessly and without an accent, but will never master all the subtleties of either of them. In other words, the child will not really have a mother tongue. 4. ORDER AND CONSEQUENCE: This can be classified into three; they are incipient, ascendant bilingualism, and recessive bilingualism. The term passive or recessive bilinguals refer to bilinguals who are gradually losing competence in one language, usually because of disuse. As the term “recessive” seems to have negative connotations, we will use the term ‘passive bilinguals’ to describe this group of bilinguals. For example, a Dutch migrant in Australia may find himself isolated from the Dutch speaking community as his daily encounters are with English speaking Australians. Over time, his proficiency level in Dutch may deteriorate due to the long period of non-use. 5. COMPETENCE: This can be classified into two; they are maximalist/ minimalist views and semilingualism. The issue of bilinguals who appear to have limited level of proficiency in both first and second language has dominated some discussions on the issue of degree of bilingualism. The term semilingualism was first used by Hansegard (1968, cited in Baker 2006: 9) to refer to Finnish minority students in Sweden who lack proficiency in both their languages. Hansegard described semilingualism in terms of deficit in six language competences: - Size of vocabulary - Correctness of language - Unconscious processing of language (automatism) - Language creation (neologization) - Mastery of the functions of language (e.g. emotive, cognitive) - Meanings and imagery According to these parameters, a semilingual is both quantitatively and qualitatively deficient in comparison to monolinguals, and semilingualism has been blamed for the low academic achievement of minority children. Over the years, the term has accumulated pejorative connotations and researchers who invoked the use of this concept have been widely rebutted for ignoring the socio-political concerns implicit in the existence of semilinguals. Many authors argued that semilingualism is rooted in an environment which is not conducive to ongoing bilingualism, where the speakers were socially, politically and economically disadvantaged. Therefore, semilingualism is a situation which is engineered by the environment and not a consequence of bilingualism since a monolingual in the same environment would have faced the same degree of struggle in their academic endeavours. Researchers who highlight the correlation of semilingualism to poor academic achievement without carefully separating the symptoms from the cause only serve to perpetuate the negative stereotype of minority children. Equally critical is how this perception translates into educational policies and curriculum for minority children, though the term semilingualism is not fashionable anymore, the idea of low achieving bilinguals who are linguistically competent neither in the first language nor in the second language is still discussed, albeit under a different label. Cummins (1994) acknowledges that labeling someone as a ‘semilingual’ is highly negative and may be detrimental to children’s learning, and proposes an alternative label ‘limited bilingualism’ to describe the same condition. 6. USE/FUNCTION: reflect the view that the language is not an abstract entity, but a tool employed for taking part in acts of communication. It means the ability of a person to use two or more languages as a means of communication in most situations and to switch from one language to the other if necessary. 7. ATTITUDE: Consciousness of Bilingualism Attitudes are more accessible to observation in the context of societal bilingualism, as for example in the case of bilinguals among minority groups, where it is easier to notice that cultural, societal and motivational factors can influence the group’s maintenance or loss bilingualism. 2.3 Bilingual Patterns The ways in which peoples can become bilingual are: 1. Immigration. It involves leaving the country of origin in order to settle, once and for all, in a ‘host’ country 2. Migration. People moved across frontiers in search of work and better living condition 3. Close contact with other linguistics groups is contact between members of different language groups. It may be brought about by urbanization or by internal migration and bilingualism is likely to be found among children as well as adults 4. Schooling. Here, Education can play a very important role in making children bilingual. Education system may deliberately be geared towards fostering bilingualism 5. Growing up in a bilingual family. The children came from families where one parent spoke the language of the wider community and the other parent a ‘foreign language’. 2.4 Types of Bilinguals Skutnabb-Kangas (1984a) suggests a classification of the world’s bilinguals into four groups. She identifies the group as follows: 1. Elite bilinguals. These are peoples who have freely chosen to become so (example, because they want to work or study abroad), and the children who belong to families who change their country of residence relatively often or who are sent to be educated abroad. 2. Children from linguistic majority. These are children who learn another language (example, that a minority group ) at school, such as in immersion programmers or in foreign language classes 3. Children from bilingual families. These are children whose parents have different mother tongues. Bilingualism will be desirable because there are internal family pressures requiring the child to communicate in the language of parent (s). 4. Children from linguistics minorities. These children have parents who belong to a linguistic minority; they are under intense external pressure to learn language of the majority, particularly if the language of the minority is not officially recognized. 2.5 The Relationship between Bilingualism and Diglossia (Joshua Fishman) BILINGUALISM AND DIGLOSSIA: • Occurs when definite roles (of prestige) are established in a society • Everyone understands both (generally) DIGLOSSIA WITHOUT BILINGUALISM: • In past or in less developed countries with great social divide • Each group doesn’t fully understand the other but have no need to BILINGUALISM WITHOUT DIGLOSSIA: • In societies with social unrest or change (e.g. immigrant influx in Western society during industrialization era) • Taught native language for work – this used at home and their native language bought to work •  ‘Pidgin’ versions of both languages; inevitable language shift NEITHER BILINGUALISM NOR DIGLOSSIA: • In small, isolated communities (but rare) with no social hierarchy or immigration • Still words people don’t recognize (e.g. words used by young people to old people). Conclusion In conclusion, diglossia is a situation where, in a given society, there are two languages or varieties of a language, one of high prestige (known as H), which is generally used by the government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige (known as L), which is usually the spoken vernacular tongue. H and L can be either close genetically-related language or two genetically unrelated (or at least historically distant) languages. It is important to note from the outset that diglossia is different from that bilingualism. The key difference is that in a bilingual situation certain individuals (communities, etc.) will use Language A, while other individuals (communities, etc.) will use Language B, but everyone will use the same language for all situations--writing, job interviews, dinner table chats, etc. References Hudson, A. (2002) Outline of a Theory of Diglossia in International Journal of the Sociology of Language – www.international .ucla.edu. Lubliner, C. (2002) Replection on Diglossia in International Journal of the Sociology of Language – www.international .ucla.edu.

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LANGUAGE AND POWER IN SOCIAL CLASS, POLITICS AND ADVERTISING

1. Rationale Language and Power is about how language works to maintain and change power relations in contemporary society, and how understanding these processes can enable people to resist and change them. Both of these terms are closely link to each others. The language used by some people can show the power of them and the person who has power will influence the society by his/her language. For example, the second precident of Indonesia Soeharto using “ken” on his language, he prefers to say “menekanken” instead of saying “menekankan”. People then follow his way of saying the syllable “ken” because Soeharto has a power. The power of Soeharto influence the society. 2. Discussion. Language and Power in relation to the Social Class The main topic that will be explained is the relation between language and power and the social class and the dimensions of the power of language. The social class is economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'stratification’. Further, the most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. The more upper classes have the more power. Social classes with a great deal of power are usually viewed as "the elites" within their own societies. Cody (2002) distinguished social class by inequalities in such areas as power, authority, wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, life-span, education, religion, and culture. The social class here is about the hierarchical arrangement of individuals of a culture that is divided into the division of powers within a society. According to Weber, social class can be divided into three classes, those are upper class, middle class, and lower class. The upper class is the group of people at the top of social hierarchy. The member of this class is commonly having a great power to control the society and also can influence the policy among the society. Having power means that they have access to power through the state, religious orders, etc. Middle class is the people in the middle of a societal hierarchy (falls between the upper and the middle class). The measurement of this class varies significantly between cultures. For example, in United States, a person whose primary income is employed in a blue collar job is considered as middle class. In United Kingdom, people having a good education, owning a family house, and holding a professional post are considered as middle class. Further, the lower class can roughly be considered as those employed in lower job (can be measured in skills, educations, and incomes). Often, the term is used to refer to the unemployment. This people in this class also can be considered as those who spend money primarily for sustenance rather than for lifestyle. In Bali society, the social class is appeared as a custom for the society. The social class in Bali is based on the theory of Varna which means people stratification based on their professions. The concept of Varna is expanded into the concept of Wangsa. The Wangsa in Bali is not about profession. Instead, it is just used as the “marks” of family heredity. Wangsa can be divided into four: Brahmana, Ksatria, Weisya and Sudra. In relation to power, social class among a population results different powers. It means that, every class in a society (upper, middle, and lower, or Wangsa in Bali) has its own degree of power. The upper class tends to have greater power compared to the lower one. It happens because the upper is hierarchically the highest “rank” in the society. The power is also related to the language use in the community. It is a tendency that people in “lower” class will use the more polite language if they speak to the people in “higher” class. It is done to show the respect to the person in “higher” class. An example can be taken from the use of language in Balinese community. As stated before, the Wangsa in Bali is taken as a custom. So that, the language used is also influenced. There is a custom that the people in Sudra, Wesia, and Ksatria will use the more polite language if they speak to the Brahmana. If, for example, a Sudra talk to the Brahmana, he has to use the Bahasa Alus Singgih (the most polite Balinese language) and it is culturally allowed that the Brahman replies it by using Bahasa Kepara (Language used in daily informal conversation). For example: There is a Sudra (Wayan Degeg who are younger than Pedanda) comes to Pedanda’s house asking a good day to build a house. Wayan Degeg : Om, Swastyastu. Ratu Pedanda, niki titiang tangkil wenten sane pacang tunasang titiang. Pedanda : Mai, mai malu negak. Uling dija ragana? apa ane lakar tunasang? Wayan Degeg : Titiang saking Banyupoh. Titiang jagi nunas galah becik santukan titiang jagi negakang kubu. Pedanda : O ne ada dewasa melah anggen negakang kubu … According to the example, it can be said that the language used by the Brahmana is allowed culturally. It is because the Brahmana (who is considered having the highest “rank” in Balinese culture) has the power to do so and he has a role and status as the pries, and also his age was older than the Sudra. It means that, the Brahmana has right to talk in Bahasa Kepara to Wayan Degeg. In contrast, the Sudra has the obligation to talk politely to the Brahmana since he has no power to talk using the “impolite” language. Interestingly, the power in Bali is not always affected by the level of Wangsa. It also appears with the level of intimacy, the age, relation, etc. for the example, there is a Ksatria (Agung, 29.) do a conversation with a Sudra (Kadek Che, 33.) they are close to each other, and they have known each other since they were teenager. Agung : Bli Dek, kengken kabare? Kadek Che : Nah amonean dogen Gung kanggoang, men Gung kengken, seger?mara ya inget mlali mai... Agung : hehehe, biasa Bli dadi nak sibuk hehee, seger Bli, ne mlali kejep dogen nak lakar ka Alasangker mli poh, kadonga ngelewatin singgah dadine. Kadek Che : o...men nyen to kajak? Mai kunden negak malu dini, pang sing ditu jangkak-jongkok. Agung : Pang ba Bli, kejep gen ba, kar ka Alasangker be jani, nyan dimulihne singgah bin. Kadek Che : nah, adeng-adeng gwen Gung... The common understanding about Wangsa and language use in Bali is that the Sudra will never use the Bahasa Kepara to talk to the Ksatria. However, in this conversation, Kadek Che used the Bahasa Kepara to Agung. From this example it can be said that, the power and the language used appears in the conversation is not only restricted by the social class of the participants. There are some other factors that affect the use of power and language in the conversation. The power and the language used is also appears in different conditions or context in which it can be related to Hymes theory that he refers it as S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G Models. (1) Setting and Scene: the physical circumstances of a speech act. Meanwhile, Scene is the "psychological setting" or "cultural definition" of a scene, like the range of formality and sense seriousness. (2) Participants: The participants are the audiences or those who involve in the speech situation. (3) Ends: It is the purposes, goals, and outcomes of the conversation. (4) Act Sequence: It is the order or plot of the event in which the conversation appears. (5) Key: Cues that establish the "tone, manner, or spirit" of the speech act. It can be establish through the intonation, some emphasizing of telling something, or the gesture and movement. (6) Instrumentalities: Forms and styles of speech. Using the many form dialect features or the use of standard grammatical form. (7) Norms: Social rules governing the event and the participants' actions and reaction. (8) Genre: The kind of speech act or event or the kind of story. In accordance to powers, the S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G model can be used to explain the appearance of power in language. (1) Setting and scene: The different setting of the speech can result the different power. For example, a teacher speaking in front of the class may have “power” since he is a teacher for his students. However, in the house he cannot use the power as the teacher for his children. (2) Participants: the teacher may speak to the students in high tone. However, if the teacher talk to the principle, it is impossible for him to use high tone since the principle has the higher power than him. (3) Ends: the purpose of why to use the language and how the power influences the language because of the purpose of using the language. (4) Act sequences: ones may remains silent in a discussion since he has no right to talk about the discussion. However, as the sequence runs and it turns into a discussion that he expert in, then the power can appear since he has right to do so. (5) Key: key is about the intonation, person who has power may talk in high intonation to his subordinate and his subordinate has no right to speak in high intonation. (6) Instrumentalities: people in the “lower” class tend to use the more polite form of language when talking to the “higher” one since he has no power that allows him to use the less polite one. (7) Norm: it is related to the culture of how the power can affect language. For example, the culture in Bali allows Pedanda to speak in Bahasa Kepara to speak to his fellows. (8) Genre: people will use his power if the genre of the conversation allows them use it in an appropriate way. Language and Power in relation to the politics Besides the social context, language and power also occupied in the politics that the command of language becomes a means of power: as political rhetoric and demagogy, as ideology and bedazzlement, as seduction through words, as “persuasion”. For instance, the first president of Indonesia, Soekarna, on his speech about attacking Malaysia ” Kalau kita lapar itu biasa Kalau kita malu itu juga biasa Namun kalau kita lapar atau malu itu karena Malaysia, kurang ajar! Kerahkan pasukan ke Kalimantan hajar cecunguk Malayan itu! Pukul dan sikat jangan sampai tanah dan udara kita diinjak-injak oleh Malaysian keparat itu Doakan aku, aku kan berangkat ke medan juang sebagai patriot Bangsa, sebagai martir Bangsa dan sebagai peluru Bangsa yang tak mau diinjak-injak harga dirinya. Serukan serukan keseluruh pelosok negeri bahwa kita akan bersatu untuk melawan kehinaan ini kita akan membalas perlakuan ini dan kita tunjukkan bahwa kita masih memiliki Gigi yang kuat dan kita juga masih memiliki martabat. Yoo...ayoo... kita... Ganjang... Ganjang... Malaysia Ganjang... Malaysia Bulatkan tekad Semangat kita badja Peluru kita banjak Njawa kita banjak Bila perlu satoe-satoe!” This power of language extends from large political contexts, from the manner of speaking and thus also of thinking that dictatorships and totalitarian orders force upon dominated people. Language and Power in relation to the advertising Not only in social context and politics, language and power has also a deal with advertising that language also affect to the small scenes of everyday life, to the arts of seduction of advertising, the sales tricks of telephone marketing, or the menacing undertones at the workplace or in the family. For example, “apapun makanannya, minumnya teh botol sosro” Sosro advertisement “Lead your Life" (TelkomSpeedy) “Impossible is Nothing" (Adidas) From these three examples it is very clear that language has power on seduction the reader about persuasion. Without a doubt, the power of language consists in the fact that it can be used for rhetorical persuasion. Every attempt to persuade others with and through language is always also an effort to make oneself understood. And regardless of how rhetorically skilled the speaker may be, in the end he inevitably places his words, as language, under discussion. This first interpretation of the “power of language” already shows two things. On the one hand, that language and speaking must be distinguished in the exercise of power. The possibilities of language from the way in which language is actually used in spoken words. On the other hand, the interpretation also gives a presentiment that the power which is exercised through language always already bears within itself the germ of its counter-power. For the language of political demagogues and tyrants can be seen through as language. And by means of language itself. So that language conveys the power of violence or domination and at the same time undermines it. For everyone can take possession of the power of language and in this way see through and unmask the power exercised through language. Seen clearly, the “power of language” is thus not the fraternisation of language with command and obedience; this uses language for goals other than those which are inherent in it. The genuine, inner power of language is rather to undermine this other kind of power. Since ursurpatious and violent rule as well as legitimate rule must ultimately rely on the power of language in order to be exercised, to command and to assert itself, precisely language is the vulnerable spot of the commanding power. For the concealed intentions of a command can be seen through. The command can be obeyed, but it can also be refused; above all, it can be understood and so interpreted or re-interpreted quite as those might like who are supposed to obey it, but who for their part possess the infinitely divisible and epidemically disseminating power of language. The Dimensions of the Power of Language As it is cited on http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/mac/msp/en1253450.htm about the dimensions of the power of language concern on some aspects; - The power of language shows itself not only, and not primarily, in the language of power, of overpowering and repression, but also in its emancipatory potential, in the opening of other and new possibilities of speaking, and so also of thinking and acting. All speech ineluctably refers to a possible contradiction, every “yes” to a possible “no”, every assertion to a possible doubt. A comparable dialectic may also be found where language serves not repression and compulsion, but rather founds, illuminates and corroborates comprehensive and cosmological meaning in aesthetically pleasing, well thought-out forms. This is done above all by mythic or ritualised speech, by means of which man envisages and satisfies himself of the existence of a transcendent and sacred order. Even when in this way a certain social or ruling order is sacralised, mythic and ritualised speech is not another, possibly especially massive, instance of overpowering through language. Man needs the foothold provided by order and social institutions which are established and sustained mainly by linguistic symbolisation. But precisely here the rendering into language has always opened the possibility of the variation and change of given interpretations, and to the extent that mythic grounds are themselves interrogated about their grounds. Sooner or later, the language of myth presses beyond itself to logos: that is, to word and reason, the language of reason, reasonable and accountable speech. - After a long and eventful history, the rule of logos, the reason seeking, reason and counter-reason Weighing Reason, reaches it fulfilment in modern science. This science now speaks with the highest, universally binding authority, world-wide and about everything in the world. Its language is the real lingua franca of the developing world society. Its authority is fundamentally egalitarian and democratic; for it and with respect to it, nothing counts but “the non-violent force of the better argument” (Jürgen Habermas). In fact, however, the language of the sciences is, at least to a good degree, comprehensible and accessible only to the relevant experts. For the bulk of people, on other hand, it is a secret language – also when it is not expressed mathematically but in a very reduced English. In this certainly lies considerable possibilities for the abuse of power, of which many representatives of science, often together with those who hold political or economic power, avail themselves. But the deeper problem consists in the fact that scientific language, as helpful and indispensable as it is for rationally revealing and taking hold of the world tends at the same time to an enormous narrowing of man’s perception of reality. Not only recently but as long as there has been science, people have observed and criticized the extent to which our experience of the world and of ourselves is stunted when it is restricted to what can be expressed in scientific language. - Ludwig Wittgenstein, to whom precisely this restriction seemed imperative, later set against it the insight into language as a “form of life”. A very similar insight, if a different philosophical goal, has its source in Martin Heidegger’s speaking of language as the “House of Being”, where the language here meant is the historically developed, living language in its great and wondrous particularity and variety in general, and the language of poetry, which draws on, extends and goes beyond the historical language, in particular. “Man dwells poetically” (Dichterisch wohnet der Mensch) says, or better hopes, Friedrich Hölderlin, and this sentence brings the power of language to expression in its most important and deepest, at any rate in its most beautiful and freest, sense. Those who speak the same language not only can make themselves understood to each other; the capacity of being able to make oneself understood also founds a feeling of belonging and belonging together. This identity-forming power of language is not a secondary effect through which individuals can form themselves into small or large social groups or with whose help the social cohesion of societies or state and supra-state unions can be fostered; it takes hold much earlier than these. In his process of growing up, in the formation of his person and personality, language is not an element that the individual acquires at a certain point, but rather the acquisition of language is precisely this process in which the individual constitutes himself, not only as individual but also as an independent subject. By means of language he attains to a consciousness of himself and his surroundings. He acquires competencies to act and to make himself understood; in a word, he not only learns to interpret his world, but he also receives his world through and as language. 3. Conclusion - Language and Power is about how language works to maintain and change power relations in contemporary society, and how understanding these processes can enable people to resist and change them - Social class can be divided into three classes; those are upper class, middle class, and lower class. - The language itself becomes a means of power: as political rhetoric and demagogy, as ideology and bedazzlement, as seduction through words, as “persuasion” - Language also affect to the small scenes of everyday life, to the arts of seduction and of advertising. - The dimensions of the power of language cover some important point, namely, first is the power of language shows itself not only, and not primarily, in the language of power, of overpowering and repression, but also in its emancipatory potential, in the opening of other and new possibilities of speaking, and so also of thinking and acting. Second, the language of the sciences is, at least to a good degree, comprehensible and accessible only to the relevant experts. And the last is those who speak the same language not only can make themselves understood to each other; the capacity of being able to make oneself understood also founds a feeling of belonging and belonging together. References Class.html. retrieved on Sunday, December 4, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Hymes http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/mac/msp/en1253450.htm Hymes, D., "The Ethnography of Speaking", pp. 13–53 in Gladwin, T. & Sturtevant, W.C. (eds), Anthropology and Human Behavior, The Anthropology Society of Washington, (Washington), 1962. Language in Culture and Society (1964) Social_classmmmm.htm. retrieved on Sunday, December 4, 2011.

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Politeness and Solidarity

1. The Definition of Politeness 

In our daily life, we have the awareness about which one is polite action and which one is not. Politeness, thus, is an observable and social phenomenon. Whenever we want anybody else to respect and being good to us, we have to show our politeness. In turn, he/she will respond you politely either. We often say “hello! ” to others.All we want to do is to show our good feelings, our friendliness, and our intention to maintain harmonious relationships with them. In general, we act politely in order to show our wishes to start a friendly relation with someone, or to maintain it if it is already existing, or to fix it if it is being threatened for some reasons. To maintain such smooth, harmonious interpersonal relationships expected by every human in every society, politeness serves as an appropriate means. There are ideas by expert about what politeness is. Watts (2003, p. 39) had proposed four definitions of politeness. They are as follows: 1. Politeness is the ideal union between the character of an individual and his external actions (e.g. the language which that individual uses). 2. Politeness is the ability to please others through one’s external actions (e.g. through one’s language usage). 3. Politeness is the natural attribute of a ‘good’ character. 4. Politeness is a socially acquired state of mind that is adjudged to have reached a state of being ‘polished’ and of thereby being in conformity with a set of socially accepted forms of behavior  Kasper (1990) as cited in Huang (2008) said that “communication is seen as a fundamentally dangerous and antagonistic endeavor”. Politeness is therefore defined by Kasper as a term to refer to the strategies available to interactants to defuse the danger and to minimalise the antagonism. Similarly, Brown and Levinson (1978) as cited in Huang (2008) view politeness as ‘a complex system for softening face-threatening acts’. 2. Tu and Vous Talking about politeness and solidarity, there are two forms of pronominal which indicate distinction between the uses of ‘familiar’ and ‘polite’ forms. Those forms are Tu (T) and Vous (V). According to Brown and Gilman (1960) as cited in Wardhaugh (2002), originally in French, Tu refers to ‘singular you’ while Vous refers to ‘plural you’. Historically, plural vous was used to refer to the emperor. At that time, there were two emperors who ruled eastern and western empire. Even though, administratively they were unified. Addressing one emperor means refer to both emperors. Besides, philosophically, the emperor was also said to be plural because the emperor was seen as the summation of his people and could speak as the people representative. Wardhaugh (2002) assumed that “the consequence of this usage was that by medieval times the upper classes apparently began to use V form with each other to show mutual respect and politeness” (p. 260). In further he said that the T which still exists was used by the lower classes in the following time. The lower class used mutual T while the upper classes used mutual V. When they talked to different classes, the upper classes used T and received V. This asymmetrical T/V usage therefore symbolizes a power relationship. Wardhaugh noticed that lately the use of symmetrical V is used not only among the upper class. The polite V-V usage as the reflection of politeness is used spread downward in the society except the lowest class. Therefore, it happens that V-V is used between wife and husband, parent and children, and lovers. When V-V usage reflects respect and politeness, the T-T usage was said to reflect solidarity and intimacy. Wardhaugh had said that “mutual T for solidarity gradually come to replace the mutual V of politeness, since solidarity is often more important than politeness in personal relationship”. Even that today we still see the use of asymmetrical T/V uses, but solidarity is called to replace power that the use of mutual T is found quite often in relationships which previously has asymmetrical uses. A book published in France entitled Savoir-vivre en France (Vigner, 1978 in Wardhaugh, 2002) gives advices to foreigners on the use of tu and vous. They are as follows: 1. Tu should be use between spouses, between brothers and sisters regardless of age, between parents and children, between close relatives, between young people living or working closely together, and between adults who have friendship of long standing, particularly adults of the same gender 2. Vous should be used between strangers, between those who have no ties of any kind, and between inferior and superior. 3. Address Terms Politeness and solidarity are manifested also from the terms used in addressing other. There are some terms used to name or address another such as by title (T), by first name (FN), by last name (LN), by nick name, by some combination of these. There are factors influencing someone choice to address another. The address process goes symmetrically and asymmetrically. Different society has different naming practice. One example which is called to be different from what we are likely familiar with is address terms used by Nuer, Sudanese people. Every Nuer has his/her own personal or birth name, a name given by their parents after the birth. The maternal grandparents also usually give second personal name. Consequently, the child’s paternal kin may address the child by one personal name while the child’s maternal kin by other. There are also special personal names for twins. In the village, males are addressed by their personal names during their boyhood. This name is shift as the boy grows up to be adult that less senior males will address the more senior males by Gwa which means ‘father’. This naming practice is different across culture. According to a study in 1961 done by Brown and Ford, it was reported: a. The asymmetric use of title, last name and first name (TLN/FN) indicated inequality in power b. Mutual TLN indicated inequality and unfamiliarity c. Mutual FN indicated equality and familiarity. d. The switch from mutual TLN to FN is also usually initiated by the more powerful member of the relationship. There are options of addressing other besides the name. They are as follows: a. Addressing by the title alone (T), e.g. Professor, Doctor b. Last name alone (LN), e.g. Smith c. Multiple naming, e.g. variation between Mr Smith and Fred Address by title alone is least intimate form of address because it designates the ranks of occupations such as Colonel, Doctor, or Waiter. They are devoid of ‘personal’ content. We can say then that Dr. Smith is more intimate than Doctor alone that the other person’s name is known and can be mentioned. 4. Politeness of Balinnese Society Through the choice on the use of T/V form as well as address terms, we can show our feelings toward the others, whether it is solidarity, power, distance, respect, intimacy and our awareness of social customs. Such awareness is also shown through the general politeness with which we use language. Politeness itself is socially prescribed. It does not means that we have to be polite in all occasion. The concept of politeness is closely related to the work of Goffman 1955, 1967 on ‘face’ In social interaction we present a face to other and to others’ faces. In interaction, we need to protect both our own face and the face of others to the extent that ever time we meet each other we play a mini drama. Brown and Levinson (1987) in Wardhaugh (2002, p.275) differentiated positive and negative face. Positive face is the desire to gain the approval of others, ‘the positive consistent self-image’ or ‘personality’ …claimed by Interactants. Negative face is the desire to be unimpeded by others in one’s actions, ‘the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, and rights to non-distraction … freedom of action and freedom from imposition. Positive face looks for solidarity, while negative face requires the need to act without giving offense. When we interact with other, we have such a choice whether to use positive politeness or the negative one. Positive politeness is called will lead to moves to achieves solidarity through offers of friendship, the use of compliments, and informal language use. On the other hand, negative politeness leads to deference, apologizing, indirectness, and formality in language use. The example of positive and negative politeness is the use of symmetric and asymmetric pronominal. The concept of ‘politeness’ in language can be seen in balinnese cultures as follows: a. Balinnese culture Geertz studied Balinnese and found out that when Balinnese wants to say something, he/she needs to decide an appropriate speech style: high, middle, and low. The speaker needs to consider social relationship between the speaker and the listener in terms of status and familiarity. Such decision is needed because many words have different variants according to the style. For example: the equivalent to the English word I is titiang in high style, tiang in middle style, and iyang/icang in low style. Geertz as cited in Wardhaugh (2002, p.276) added some interesting observation. He said that “as you move from low to high style, you speak more slowly and softly and more evenly in terms of rhythm and pitch, so that the highest levels when spoken correctly have kind of stately pomp which can make the simplest conversation seem like a greater ceremony. There are factors determining the selection of a particular level which Geertz proposed as follows: 1) Qualitative characteristics of the speaker such as: a. Age b. Sex c. Kinship relation d. Occupation e. Wealth f. Education g. Religious commitment h. Family background 2) More general factors such as: a. Social setting. One would be likely to use the higher level to the same individual at a wedding than in the street. b. The content of the conversation. In general, one uses lower levels when speaking commercial matters, higher ones if speaking of religious or aesthetic matters. c. The history of social interaction between the speakers. One will tend to speak rather high, if one speaks at all, with someone with whom one has quarreled. d. The presence of the third person. One tends to speak higher to the same individual if others are listening. Wardhaugh (2002, p.278) stated three principles that seem to operate. They are: 1. Highest style is use among the old aristocrats or by anyone at the highest levels of society who wants to give the appearance of elegance. 2. Middle style is used by town-dwellers who are not close friends, or by peasants addressing superiors. Village-dwellers would also use this level whit very high superior since they cannot be expected to have any knowledge on the highest style. 3. Low style is the style all children learn first regardless of social class origin, and everyone uses it on some occasion, even close acquaintances of the highest classes. Men and woman are also required to speak differently. Women are expected to be more talkative than man and to err on the side of being over-polite in their words choices. On the other hand, men are required to be extremely careful in manipulating the style of speech because nuanced speech is highly prized. As Bali has modernized, certain changes have occurred. Bahasa Indonesia had spread and dominated the speech on political live since they do not need to use the speak level. It can be inferred that the choices of Balinnese on their language are determined by the need to maintain the existence of social arrangement, not to fulfill the individual’s need to address his/her momentary wants. 5. Considerable Items Related to Politeness. To achieve the goal of politeness, we should consider it from the following aspects proposed by Watts (2003): 1) Considering the social background of the communicator. Generally, the more educated a man is, the more he tendsto show his politeness to other people. The more he knows about the suitable ways to show politeness, the better he usesthem to be polite to others. Besides, the personality of the communicator is also very important here. Good-temperedperson prefers to use “face-saving act” while bad-tempered person prefers “face-threatening act” when they comeacross the “face-losing condition”. 2) According to the communicative circumstances. Communication is a very complicated process. In formal occasions,people tend to use formal expressions to show politeness, especially between the new acquaintances. While in informal states,people tend to be casual to show intimacy even if it is in the very moment they meet. And that doesn’t meanimpoliteness. We can see it through the following example: A man came into a bar and said to the waiter: “Hi! Buddy! Gimme some Whisky, would ya?”Although they have never met before, the man used very casual phrases to enclose their relationship. This is a usual wayto show friendliness to strangers. 3) Considering the social distance or closeness. In situations of social distance or closeness, showing awareness for another person’s face when that other seemssocially distant is often described in terms of respect or deference. Showing the equivalent awareness when the other issocially close is often described in terms of friendliness or solidarity. Even though, there are exceptions. For example, people often use family names to call their close friends, and when these peoplespeak to each other, they will use direct offer or request. But sometimes they use very formal expressions in their speech.Look at the following example:eg.2. Husband to his wife: “ Would you be so kind as to hand the bread over to me?”Surely we know that the wife has just quarreled with the husband and the husband is trying to amuse her in a certainway. Besides all the aspects discussed above, there’s another important point to concern with that is the cultural differences. 4) Cultural Differences Different culture causes different views of values, which affects the criteria of politeness and leads to differences invarious aspects. a. Ways to greet each others and farewells The westerners often greet others with a cheerful “Hello!” or something like “How are you?” If they are talking with astranger, they tend to talk about the weather as a way of greeting. But to Chinese people, they like to ask “ Have youeaten?”,“where are you going ?” , “ What brings you here?” or “ What are you doing here?” All these would beconsidered as interferences to privacy for westerners. When parting, Chinese seldom say “goodbye” as farewells that would be too formal or somewhat distant. Before theyleave, Chinese guests like to say “I have to go now.” “I am going.” or “Stay where you are”, and the hosts are used tosay “Go slowly”, “Come again.” to see them off. While two friends departing after they meet on the road, one of themmay say “ I’ve got to leave.” and the other may say “ Let’ s chat next time”, “ Come to see me when you are free.” Or“I would visit you if I can.” As for westerners, they often say “Goodbye!”,“See you!” when they part. (Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing 1989 in Leech, 2005) b. Ways to praise others Look at this dialogue below: (Seeing a beautiful curtain in an American family, the Chinese wants to praise the room settings) Chinese: “How beautiful the curtain is!” Hostess: “I made it on my own.” Chinese: “Really? I can’t believe it!” The Chinese used surprising tone to show he really liked the curtain, this strategy works well in China, but the hostessfelt insulted. We know the Americans are very confident about themselves. Imagine what they may feel when theirself-esteems are being hurt. The hostess thought the Chinese didn’t believe she was capable of doing it, and her abilitywas doubted. c. Ways to express thanks The ways to express thanks are different in China from western countries. Westerners prefer to convey their thanksdirectly while Chinese like to minimize themselves to achieve the same goal. See the following example: 1) When you praise them, “ How beautiful your dress is! Westerners: “Thanks a lot!” Chinese: “Really? It” s just an ordinary dress.” 2) When they appreciate your help, Westerners: “ You” re really a great help to me.” Or “I can” t imagines how I can manage it without you! Or “Thank you for enduring so much trouble I brought to you!” “I really appreciate your help!” … Chinese: “Sorry to have wasted your time.” Or “Sorry for having taken up your precious time.” Or “I” m not at ease for bringing your so much trouble.” The westerner is trying to maximize the communicator’s help to be polite while the Chinese humbles himself to showgratitude. So it happens when a foreigner praises a Chinese woman for her beautiful dress, if the Chinese woman uses aChinese way to show politeness, her answer might be considered as minimizing the westerner’ s ability toappreciate for he had shown great surprise over such an ordinary dress. 6. Politeness and Solidarity in EFL Teaching Different culture causes different views of values. It affects the criteria of politeness and leads to differences in various aspects.Since there are different views of criteria of politeness in different situation in different culture, it is necessary to serve the language learners the knowledge of different kind of politeness appropriate in certain culture. It enables the students see how people express their intention to build, maintain, or fix certain relationships. Serving the language learners with knowledge of the criteria of politeness which exists in English is more to be emphasized in English Foreign Language Teaching. English Foreign Language learners should have the knowledge of politeness in English itself since it would be different with those in another language. It is to say that certain language has its own politeness criteria. Therefore, students who are learning English whose aim is to communicating the language correctly and appropriately should learn the criteria of language use in their target language. CONCLUSION Politeness is very important principle in language use because it determines the relationship that is going to build up between the speaker and the hearer. Different societies may have different view about the way of being polite. In using French, we cannot avoid to use tu and vous distinction. In communicating in English, we must refer to others and address them on occasion. In speaking in Javanese and Japanese, we must observe the convention having to do with the correct choice of speech level and honorifics. Since there are different views of criteria of politeness in different situation in different culture, it is necessary to serve the language learners the knowledge of different kind of politeness appropriate in certain culture. Even though, serving the language learners with knowledge of the criteria of politeness which exists in English is more to be emphasized in English Foreign Language Teaching. REFERENCES Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2002. An introduction to sociolinguistics. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. Richard J. Watts.2003. Politeness. New York: Cambridge University Press Yongliang Huang. 2008. Politeness Principle in Cross-Cultural Communication(Available in Journal on English Language Teaching, Vol.1 No.1. June 2008) Geoffrey Leech. 2005. Politeness: Is there an East-West Divide? ( Available in Journal of Foreign Languages,General Serial No.160. No.6, November 2005

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