Determining the Interrelationship between Society and Language

Language is considered a social value within this field, which researches social groups for phenomena such as multilingualism and lingual conflict. It has to do with who is ’authorized’ to use what language, with whom and under what conditions. It has to do with how an individual or group establishes their identity through the language available to them. It seeks to understand individual expression, which involves investing in the linguistic tools one has access to in order to communicate with other people. Sociolinguistics, also called micro-sociolinguistics, is, as Hudson (1996, p. 4) states, the study of language in relation to society. Therefore, the focus here is on the structure of language and how society, with its various aspects including social classes, culture, gender, and ethnicity, influences the kinds of linguistic structures we use and the way we communicate. This leads us to conclude that Sociolinguistics studies, for example, how social situations require a change in the way we talk as there is a difference between ’formal’ and ’informal’ speeches, ’discussions’ and ’arguments’, and ’requests’ and ’demands’.