1.-What is more common in language uniformity or variability?

       Variability, because language is always changing. Although Latin is an uniform language, because is dead language.

2.-What kinds of variability exist?

Register (context-based variability), dialectal (geographical variability), social (age, sex, etc…), historical (changes of the language through time)...

3.-How do we decide if a particular group of speakers belong to a particular dialect or language?

Because they have in common the same history, geography , economic and politic For that reason they belong to the same dialect or language.

4.-Saussure emphasized the importance of synchronic descriptions of languages rather than diachronic. He and is disciples (structuralists) focused on language at different periods as finite entities. Is this reasonable?

In my opinion is better to focus in diachronic linguistics , because as we say before, language is always changing.

5.- The unattested states of language were seen as transitional stages in which the structure of a language was, as it were, disturbed. This made linguistic change look abnormal. Is it abnormal?

No, it isn’t. Because if all around is changing is reasonable to say that linguistics change too.

6. Milroy (1992: 3) says “the equation of uniformity with structuredness or regularity is most evident in popular (non- professional) attitudes to language: one variety –usually a standard language – is considered to be correct and regular, and others –usually ‘non-standard’ dialects – are thought to be incorrect, irregular, ungrammatical and deviant. Furthermore, linguistic changes in progress are commonly perceived as ‘errors’. Thus although everyone knows that language is variable, many people believe that invariance is nonetheless to be desired, and professional scholars of language have not been immune to the consequences of these same beliefs.”

7.-Can you think of any example of non-professional attitudes to your own language?

People who come from villages, overcoat old people, they haven’t professional attitudes.

8.-Why does Milroy use “scare quotes” around non-standard and errors?

9.-Are non-standard dialects “incorrect, irregular, ungrammatical and deviant.”?

From my point of view , neither standard dialect nor non-standard dialects are incorrect or irregular. They are different but both serve to communicate and that’s the main stuff.

10.-Which of these systems is more irregular? Why?

The first column is correct grammatically. Because in the second column, we do not use  hisself and theirselves. We use himself and themselves.

11.-“… much of the change generally accepted body of knowledge on which theories of change are based depends on quite narrow interpretations of written data and decontexutalized citation forms (whether written or spoken), rather than on observation of spoken language in context (situated speech). (Milroy 1992: 5) Why do you think this is so?

12.-Any description of a language involves norms? Think of the descriptions of your own language. Why is this so? For example: He ate the pie already is considered to be non-standard in which variety of English and perfectly acceptable in which other?

13.-What is the difference between descriptive and prescriptive grammars?

Descriptive grammar: A descriptive grammar looks at the way a language is actually used by its speakers and then attempts to analyse it and formulate rules about the structure. Descriptive grammar does not deal with what is good or bad language use; forms and structures that might not be used by speakers of Standard English would be regarded as valid and included. It is a grammar based on the way a language actually is and not how some think it should be.

Prescriptive grammar: A prescriptive grammar lays out rules about the structure of a language. Unlike a descriptive grammar it deals with what the grammarian believes to be right and wrong, good or bad language use; not following the rules will generate incorrect language. Both types of grammar have their supporters and their detractors, which in all probability suggests that both have their strengths and weaknesses.

14.-Weinreich, Labov and Herzog’s (1968) empirical foundations of language change:

Constraints: what changes are possible and what are not

Embedding: how change spreads from a central point through a speech community

Evaluation: social responses to language change (prestige overt and covert attitudes to language, linguistic stereotyping and notions on correctness).

Transition: “the intervening stages which can be observed, or which must be posited, between any two forms of a language defined for a language community at different times” Weinreich, Labov and Herzog 1968: 101)

Actuation: Why particular changes take place at a particular time.

15.-What do you think the “prestige motivation for change” and the “solidarity constraint” mean? How are they opposed?

16.-Sound change: post-vocalic /r/ in New York/ The change from long ā to ō in some dialects of English.

17.-Actuation: Why did /k/ palatalize before certain front vowels? PrsE: cheese, German käse English/Norse doublets shirt/skirt?

18.-What is the biological metaphor in language change?

Is the fact that language change as can change some biological species like trees or animals.

19.-What is the difference between internal and external histories of a language?

The internal history focuses on sound-change and morphological change while external history focus on the speakers change.

20.-Look up Neogrammarians and lexical diffusion. Why are they often found in the same paragraph or chapter?

21.-Look up social norm- enforcement, childish errors and slips of the tongue. What have they to do with language change?

      * Some information has been taken from usingenglish.com