Key Concepts in Sociolinguistics, Journalism, and Global Languages

Linguistic and Media Definitions

Journalistic Genres and Research Methods

Linguistic Features: Grave Accent and Closed Vowels

The concept of the grave accent and closed vowels relates to how letters represent different sounds. This includes the open letter to Sempra, letters, and one long closed e letters, or they may represent different sounds.

The Interview

The interview (often abbreviated as QE) is a journalistic genre involving a conversation or a dialogue between two people.

Structure of an Interview:

1. Presentation
2. Dialogue
3. Final Comment

The Journalistic Debate

The debate, a journalistic genre, exposes the views of several people who have spare questions, led by a moderator.

The Poll (Survey)

A poll is a set of questions prepared in order to know the opinion of a group of people on a specific issue.

Steps in Conducting a Poll:

1. Set the object of study.
2. Prepare the questions.
3. Formulate questions to a number of people.
4. Clear questions.
5. Interpret the data.

The Self-Knowledge Test

A self-knowledge test is a certain type of questionnaire prepared expressly to assess personality.

World Languages and Sociolinguistics

Global Language Facts

There are over 6 billion people, and more than 5,000 languages are spoken globally.

Major European Languages

In Europe, the majority languages include Russian, German, French, Italian, Catalan, and Spanish. Spanish occupies an intermediate position among these.

Sociolinguistic Terms

Minority Language

A minority language is a sociolinguistic term that refers to any language historically spoken in a territory that is in a situation of linguistic abnormality resulting from a process of language.

Diglossia

Diglossia is a situation that occurs when, in a given society, there are two closely related languages: one of high prestige, which is generally used by government and in formal texts, and one of low prestige, which is usually the vernacular speech. The high-prestige language tends to be more formalized, and its forms and vocabulary often interfere with the vernacular, though often in a changed form.

Language Shift

Language shift is a sociolinguistic term that refers to a process where a language community becomes part of another linguistic community by abandoning their original language.

Language Standardization

Language standardization, in sociolinguistics, is a process through which a sign language is developed and used in areas that previously were already occupied by another language.

Multilingualism

Multilingualism is a sociolinguistic term referring to an individual who can use two or more languages.

Bilingualism

Bilingualism is the ability of a person to use two languages equally.