Understanding Language mind-set

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

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Chapter # 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

Language is the major means of human communication. It is a powerful social force that does more than express intended referential information. It also indicates both personal and social characteristics of the presenter. Depending on the specific listener, a speaker's accent, talk patterns, language, intonation etc. can serve as markers for evaluating that speaker's appearance, personality, social status and character, among other things. Obiols defines attitude as a “mental disposition towards something”, it acts as a bridge between opinion and behavior (Obiols, 2002:31). Ryan define language attitudes as “any affective, cognitive or behavioral index of evaluative reactions toward different language varieties or speakers” (Ryan et al. 1982:7)

Problem Statement

Attitudes in the direction of language diversity can be substitute for attitudes about other persons, the persons who talk that language that are considered negatively. Factors such as the territory the speakers came from, the sociopolitical connections between the dispatching territory and the receiving territory, the causes for emigration, the extent of stay in the receiving territory, and the prospect of returning to the sending territory leverage people's mind-set in the direction of language range. (Romaine, 1980:213)

Aims of the Study

The aim of this study is to compare the language attitudes with regards to English as a second language. The study will also talk about that if speakers are judged differently depending on the language they use. I also want to see which language is judged more positively. (Levi, 2007:27)

Significance of the Study

The study of language behavior is significant for sociolinguistics because it can, as Marina S. Obiols writes: 'predict a given linguistic behavior: the choice of a particular language in multilingual communities, language loyalty, language prestige...” (Obiols, 2002:21). Suzanne Romaine says that the basis of attitude measurement is that there are underlying dimensions along which individual attitudes can be ranged. However, she also points out that “the translation of attitude from the subjective domain into something objectively measurable is a common problem in any research that involves social categorization and/or perceptual judgments” (Romaine, 1980:213) Many experiments have tried to analyze the complex relationship between people's attitudes and their behavior (see Wicker 1969 for an overview), but the conclusions are far from unanimous. (Levi, 2007:27)

The community aspiring to learn English as a Second or Foreign Language ( ESL/ EFL) has expanded quickly over the past ten years (Phillipson, 2003). This has influenced educating and learning English in numerous modes, encompassing a mushrooming of language schools worldwide (Liu, 1998; Phillipson, 2003). In non-English-speaking nations (mostly underdeveloped countries) numerous language schools ...