SOCIOLINGUISTIC APPROACH AND GENDER STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS

Abstract

The formulation of the topic and the related issues are determined by the main requirements concerning one of the language functions, particularly the communicative one which plays a leading role in human communication. The theory of the socio-cultural approach is based on understanding the social nature of language. The communication process involves the use of the social context forming a broad socio-cultural context of the interaction of subjects in communication, along with the cultural one. The sociolinguistic component, the embodiment of the ethnosocial linguistic culture, acts as an external and internal condition for speech activity. The article discusses the main approaches to the research of the social role of language in communication, presented by the works of famous scientists. Language as one of the main tools of human communication is inherently a social phenomenon. Its functioning is determined by such social factors as cultural norms, traditions, values of different societies. Additionally, the society itself contains differences between native speakers: their age, gender differences, social status, level of culture and education, region of residence, as well as differences in speech behavior depending on the situation and participants in communication. The sociality of the language determines the linguistic changes assimilated by society and manifested in speech