• 2021-04-14
    RecognizingtheSummary:Forthefollowingparagraphs,choosethesummaryyouthinkisbest.
    Sociolinguisticsisconcernedwiththeethnographyofspeaking,thatis,withculturalandsubculturalpatternsofspeechvariationindifferentsocialcontexts.Thesociolinguistmightask,forexample,whatkindsofthingsonetalksaboutincasualconversationswithastranger.AforeignermayknowEnglishvocabularyandgrammarwellbutmaynotknowthatonetypicallychatswithastrangerabouttheweatherorwhereonecomesfrom,andnotaboutwhatoneatethatdayorhowmuchmoneyoneearns.AforeignermaybefamiliarwithmuchofthecultureofaNorthAmericancity,butifthatpersondivulgestherealstateofhisorherhealthandfeelingstothefirstpersonwhosays,“Howareyou?”heorshehasmuchtolearnabout“smalltalk”inNorthAmericanEnglish.Similarly,NorthAmericanstendtogetconfusedinsocietieswheregreetingsarequitedifferentfromours.Peopleinsomeothersocietiesmayaskagreeting,“Whereareyougoing?”or“Whatareyoucooking?”SomeAmericansmaythinksuchquestionsarerude;othersmaytrytoanswerinexcruciatingdetail,notrealizingthatonlyvagueanswersareexpected,justaswedon’treallyexpectadetailedanswerwhenweaskpeople“Howareyou?”
    (qtd.fromJudithResnick&LannyLester,Text&Thought,pp.194-195)