On Functions of Dialect in The Mayor of Casterbridge from a Sociolinguistic Pers

Abstract

Dialect is often employed in fiction writing to achieve special effects， as it is a social indicator， carrying social connotations and reflecting aspects of the speaker’s identity. Sociolinguistics is a sub-discipline of linguistics， which examines the relationships between language and society， with the speech variation （especially dialect） and the accompanying social significance or functions as the main focus. Therefore， sociolinguistic theories and research findings may play an effective role in the analysis of functions of dialect in fictional conversations. The Mayor of Casterbridge is considered Hardy’s first masterpiece； some critics regarded it as his greatest tragic novel. One of the distinctive characteristics of Hardy’s style consists in his masterly use of Wessex dialect in his fictional conversations. Based on relevant theories in sociolinguistics， the paper attempts to analyze the functions of dialect used in the fictional conversations in Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge and concludes that the use of dialect is not only successful in conveying a vivid fictional world， adding the local color， mirroring social significance， but is also consistent with Hardy’s social and artistic pursuits.

Key words： The Mayor of Casterbridge； Dialect； Sociolinguistics

INTRODUCTION

Fiction， as an important genre in literature， has been traditionally regarded as the epitome of society， depicting various aspects of social reality， and mirroring social life of a particular period of the times. Language is an indispensable part of society； therefore， social factors may have a great influence on the writing of fiction， and the language used in fiction may bear social marks of a certain society. In fact， the variation and complexity of language， dialect in particular， has been employed in fiction writing to convey subtle information and to produce special effects， which is particularly manifested in the conversations between characters. Speeches of each character are peculiar due to various social factors such as their social characteristics， role relationships between them and different situations. Sociolinguistics is the study of language in relation to society， with the speech variation （especially dialect） and the accompanying social significance or functions as the main focus. Thus， Sociolinguistic theories and research findings may be of help to better comprehend functions of dialect used in fictional conversations. To this end， this paper attempts to analyze the functions of dialect used in the fictional conversations in Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge from a sociolinguistic perspective.

Example 2

“What did ye come away from yer own country for， young maister， if ye be so wownded about it？” （Chapter 8， p.53）

At the Three Mariners Farfrae has joined the townspeople who gather there， and at the request of the tradesmen， he sings a beautiful Scottish song full of sadness and pity. The listeners are moved， and they convince him to sing two more songs. By the end of his songs， the townspeople are attracted by Farfrae， and they try to persuade him to stay. The example here is what Christopher Coney says to Farfrae. The people at Three Mariners are those of relatively higher social standing than those gathering in Mixen lane. The frequenters there are the townspeople like “Billy Wills the glazier， Smart the shoemaker， Buzzford the general dealer， and others of a secondary set of worthies， of a grade somewhat below that of the diners at the King’s Arms”（Chapter 6， p.42）. From the words， the reader can see these characteristics. Compared with the first example， there are relatively fewer dialect markers in this sentence. The core syntactic structure and words indicate the general standard language and only a few dialect markers like “ye” （you）， “yer” （your） and spelling variation such as “maister” （master） imply his social background.

Example 3 “

Hey！ How about the bad bread， Mr. Mayor？”“Will you replace the grown flavour we’ve still got by sound grain？”（Chapter 5， p.37）

The King’s Arms is the chief hotel in Casterbridge， “a spacious bow-window projected into the street over the main portico， and from the open sashes came the babbles of voices， the jingle of glasses， and the drawing of corks” （Chapter 5， p.33）. People in the King’s Arms are of the highest social status and their speeches are standard. According to the network theory， it is a network of multiplexity， in which there is more than one basis for a tie among individuals and individuals may have the inclination to pursue ‘the elite’. These ‘elites’ are among the people who are important to them in everyday life. Therefore， the Standard English used by the people in the King’s Arms suggests their high social standing in Casterbridge.

Just as sociolinguistic studies show， the social values assigned to certain groups in a society will be attached to the linguistic forms used by the members of these groups. The use of particular language variants may be evaluated as socially prestigious or socially stigmatized. The former refer to those that are positively valued due to their association with groups of high social status， whereas the latter carry a stigma because of their association with groups of low social status. By the use of different markers of dialect， Hardy successfully created a vivid fictional world made up of three different social groups， thus adding the local color and enriching the social background where the characters live， which convinces the reader of a sense of reality in the novel.

2.2 Portraying the Social Identities of Different Characters

Individual speech is the social indicator of the speaker including social class， age and gender. Thus， characters speak in different ways due to differences in social status， occupation， education， age， gender， and more importantly， personality having developed on the basis of all the former factors. This causes a challenge to novelists in creation. The reader should appreciate dialects of different speakers due to these factors at phonological， lexical and syntactic levels.

Example 4

“Then is there any house to let―a little small new cottage just a builded， or such like？” （Chapter 1， p.7）

One summer evening， Henchard， together with his wife and child， is walking towards the village of Weydon-Priors in the region known as Wessex. While they rest， a turnip-hoer speaks to them. From him， the family learns that there is no work and no housing available in Weydon-Priors. The difference between the speeches of Henchard and the turnip-hoer here owes something to the convention of Victorian fiction that major characters of intelligence and virtue speak better than the minor characters. However， there are still some markers of dialect or non-standard English such as “builded” and “such like”， which indicates the humble origin of Henchard， a traveling worker.

Example 5

If anybody will tell me how to turn grown wheat into wholesome wheat I’ll take it back with pleasure. But it can’t be done.” （Chapter 5， p.38）

Years later， Henchard becomes the Mayor of Casterbridge. Confronted with the businessmen’s rebuke， he answers in a condescending manner. His speeches carry no makers of dialect， which implies his rise in the social status.

Example 6

“But ‘tis her money that floats en upward. Ha-ha - how cust odd it is！ Here be I， his former master， working for him as man， and he the man standing as master， with my house and my furniture and my what-you-may-call wife all his own.” （Chapter 32， p.229）

In the end， Henchard， losing everything in competing with Farfrae， becomes a traveling worker again. Markers of dialect can be found in his speech now， which shows his fall in the social standing.

Language is regarded as an external behavior， which helps to identify a speaker as a member of some group. Members of a speech community can recognize and respond to subtle differences in the language usage that are associated， within a certain speech community， with social or economic or political or religious or cultural or other divisions of the society. The foreignness of a person’s speech can be perceived so as to distinguish him or her from the speech community and imply the social distance between them. This can be illustrated by the example of Donald Farfrae.

Example 7

“It is true I am in the corren trade but I have replied to no advairrtisment， and arrange to see no one. I am on my way to Bristol from there to the otherside of the warrld to try my fortune in the great wheat-growing districts of West.” （Chapter 7，47）

Farfrae is a young Scotsman who passes Casterbridge on his way to America. However， Henchard quickly notices Farfrae's ability in business， and hopes to make him general manager. When he arrives at Casterbridge， his Scottish identity is easily discerned， which is shown through the variation at the phonetic level： “Corren”， “advairrtisement” and “warrld” with the peculiar pronunciation of long vowel [?：]. The markers of Scottish dialect show his foreignness in the speech community of Casterbridge and his social distance from the townspeople.

Farfrae is well-rounded. He knows business and understands society's desires for courtly manners and entertainment. Henchard greatly respects Farfrae and asks him for advice on several important occasions. However， in the end， Farfrae has everything that Henchard does not： the love of Lucetta， the support of the townspeople， and eventually the mayorship of Casterbridge. With the establishment of his dominant status in Casterbridge and the acceptance of the townspeople， Farfrae uses scarcely any regional forms， making a sharp contrast to his first appearance as a Scott， which can be shown by another example in the chapter 37. A royal personage is about to pass through the borough. The council members meet， before the appointed day， to arrange the details of the procedure. “I am afraid so， it is out of question， indeed. But of course， you can see the doings full well， such as they are to be， like the rest of the spectators.” （Chapter 37， p.263） The reader can notice that there is almost no Scottish dialect mark in his speech. By doing so， Hardy indicates that Farfrae has become the core persona in Casterbridge.

By the switching of dialects and Standard English used by the two important heroes， Hardy successfully showed their rise and fall in the fictional world.

2.3 Representing the Subtle Role-relationships Between Characters

Character’s speech in the novel is a vital part of its contact with the real world.

“It is a way of forming that relationship with the characters which is a dimension of the relationships which they form among themselves. Such at least is the way in which the Victorian novelists and their readers approached their art.”（Pettit， 1994， p.118）

The switching from the dialect to relatively standard speech has a very special dramatic effect. The ugly old woman speaks in a way that is not consistent with her social identity， which puts emphasis on the strong condemnation of Henchard’s past mistake.

CONCLUSION

Dialect is a social indicator， carrying social connotations and reflecting aspects of the speaker’s identity. Dialect is often employed in fiction writing to achieve special effects， Based on relevant theories in sociolinguistics， the paper analyzes the functions of dialect used in the fictional conversations in Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge and concludes that the use of dialect is not only successful in conveying a vivid fictional world， adding the local color， mirroring social significance， but also consistent with Hardy’s social and artistic pursuits

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

At the completion of my article， I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and great appreciation to all those who have contributed to this article directly or indirectly. Special thanks are due the scholars who have done invaluable work in the related fields such as sociolinguistics and literature. In addition， I would like to extend my gratitude to my beloved parents and friends， without whose encouragement and gentle care I cannot accomplish my study smoothly.

REFERENCES

Catford， J. C. （1965）. A Linguistic Theory of Translation. London： Oxford University Press.

Chapman， Raymond （1990）. The Language of Thomas Hardy. London： Macmillan.

Chapman， Raymond. （1994）. Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction. London and New York： Longman

Chapman， Raymond （1994）. “Good Faith， You do Talk！” Some Features of Hardy’s Dialogue. In Pettit， P.C. （Ed.）， New Perspectives on Thomas Hardy. New York： St. Martin’s Press.

Hardy， T. （1995）. The Mayor of Casterbridge. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Hudson， R. A. （2001）. Sociolinguistics. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Leech， G. N.， & Short， M. H. （2001）. Style in Fiction： A Linguistic Introduction to English Fictional Prose. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Ma Zheng Fang. （1991）. On the Art of Fiction Writing. Beijing： Peking University Press.

Zhang Mai Zeng， & Zheng Rong Xuan （1999）. On Speech Variation in Sociolinguistics. Foreign languages and Their Teaching， （1）， 10-12.

Zhang Ting Guo （2003）. On the Influence of Social Factors on Speech Variation. Foreign languages and Their Teaching， （5）， 20-24.