science

Linguistic marketplace

Linguistic marketplace is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Linguistic marketplace rather than just read about it. In short: In sociolinguistics, the notion of linguistic marketplace, also known as linguistic market or talk market, refers to the symbolic market where linguistic exchanges happen. On linguistic markets, linguistic capital—a subtype of the broader concept of cultural capital according to Pierre Bourdieu—is exchanged, and different languages and varieties have different symbolic values.

Key takeaways

Linguistic marketplace belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Linguistic marketplace to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Linguistic marketplace from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In sociolinguistics, the notion of linguistic marketplace, also known as linguistic market or talk market, refers to the symbolic market where linguistic exchanges happen. On linguistic markets, linguistic capital—a subtype of the broader concept of cultural capital according to Pierre Bourdieu—is exchanged, and different languages and varieties have different symbolic values. Different linguistic varieties are assigned market values and various prices that are either positive or negative. Much of these values is based on connotation for the linguistic variety. The highest market values are assigned to varieties that are rare and desirable in the marketplace. The highest of these is considered legitimate speech. This desire for legitimate speech stems from the education system because it is closely connected to economic growth which relates economic markets to linguistic ones because society converts desirable careers to desirable speech. Linguistic exchange exists on three main levels:

Between the audience and the text Within the content of the text Between texts found in a common group On the standard linguistic market, standard languages usually enjoy more value due to the high overt prestige associated with them while on linguistic markets that value non-standard varieties, vernaculars can also enjoy a higher value. This concept has been proven to be useful in understanding other sociolinguistic concepts such as language variation and change and gender. Society at large is considered to be the macro-market for language application, however within society exist several micro-markets. Examples of micro-markets include families and peer groups. Values in micro-markets can vary significantly from the value in the macro-market for a particular variety. For example, many youth may use slang or other language that is particular to a peer group; in that micro-market, that language has a high-market value, however, in the macro-market of society this language value is much lower. Many researchers have attempted to create new indices to represent the economic parallel that exists within the field of linguistics. David Sankoff and Suzanne Laberge developed an index to specifically measure how speakers' activity within the linguistic market is related to the speakers' knowledge or application of the legitimate speech for the market.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Linguistic marketplace

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Linguistic marketplace claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Linguistic marketplace before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Linguistic marketplace ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Linguistic marketplace

In research: Linguistic marketplace appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Linguistic marketplace in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Linguistic marketplace is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Sociolinguistics, Sociolinguistics stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Linguistic marketplace outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Linguistic marketplace” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Linguistic marketplace in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Linguistic marketplace means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Linguistic marketplace out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Linguistic marketplace in simple terms?

Why does Linguistic marketplace matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Linguistic marketplace?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Linguistic marketplace.