190
KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82
LINDA LAUZE
Liepāja Uni e si y, La ia
FUNCTIONS AND SPHERES OF USE
OF LATVIAN LANGUAGE VARIETIES:
RADIO AND TELEVISION JOURNALISTS’
OPINION
The aim o he p esen pape is o cha ac e ize hose unc ions and sphe es
o La ian language a ie y uses ha can be in e ed om in e iews wi h
adio and ele ision jou nalis s. The s udy is based on in e iews eco ded
wi h 24 La ian adio and ele ision jou nalis s as well as p og amme hos s.
I is pa o he p ojec Bal ic Sociolinguis ics (BalSoc): Linguis ic Awa eness
and O ien a ion in Li huania and La ia (p ojec leade D Lo e a
Vaicekauskienė) submi ed o he Li huanian S a e Science and S udies
Founda ion by he Ins i u e o he Li huanian Language. The ace- o- ace
s anda dized in e iews wi h he o al leng h o 883 minu es consis ed o 20
ques ions ocusing on he ollowing issues: language ea u es, language
p es ige, he jou nalis s’ linguis ic and communica i e compe ence, lan-
guage policy and language si ua ion in La ia as well as he da a abou he
esponden s (age, place o bi h, na i e dialec , educa ion, wo k expe ience)
and p og ammes hos ed by hem. The sample consis ed o 24 male, 32–48
yea old ep esen a i es o bo h na ional and comme cial audio- isual me-
dia. A e long discussions and p elimina y esea ch du ing he p ojec ,
ep esen a i es o his social g oup ha e been ca ego ized as ypical adio
and ele ision jou nalis s and p og amme leade s. I should be a ask o
gende s udies o analyze “why adio and TV in mos Wes e n coun ies
ea u e men in news p og ams and hos ing documen a ies and o he “se i-
ous” p og ams” (K oløkke, Sø ensen 2006: 91). The p esen pape deals
wi h adio and ele ision jou nalis s’ opinion abou unc ions and sphe es o
use o li e a y language, colloquial speech, slang and sub-dialec s no only
in audio- isual media bu also in o he discou ses.
L. LAUZE. Func ions and sphe es o use o La ian language a ie ies: adio and ele ision jou nalis s’ opinion
191
STRATIFICATION OF THE LATVIAN LANGUAGE
In mode n linguis ics he e is no uni o m unde s anding o he s a i ica-n mode n linguis ics he e is no uni o m unde s anding o he s a i ica-
ion o he La ian language. Fo ins ance, In a F eimane p oposes ha
La ian language a ie ies should be di ided in o s anda d language and
non-s anda d language whe e li e a y-colloquial speech is pa o s anda d
language and low colloquial speech is a a ie y o non-s anda d language
(F eimane 1993: 27–28). Jānis Rozenbe gs holds a simila iew, exp essed
in o he e ms (Rozenbe gs 2004: 143–145). In he abo e app oaches he
c i e ion li e a y – non- li e a y has been applied. I we look a his issue
om he sociolinguis ic poin o iew, colloquial speech is an independen
o m o he exis ence o language ou side he amewo k o li e a y lan-
guage. I is a e i o ially unlimi ed a ie y o he na ional language whose
p incipal signs a e a spon aneous spoken o m and he in o mali y o he
speech si ua ion (Lauze 2004: 160). Acco ding o Fe guson’s heo y o di-
glossia, li e a y language has a highe p es ige in socie y han colloquial
speech.
When dealing wi h slang, up o now La ian linguis s ha e paid mo e a -
en ion o i s ocabula y. The mos signi ican publica ions on his issue
ha e been p oduced by Ojā s Bušs and Vine a E ns sone; o he s include
E ns sone’s PhD hesis and a dic iona y o La ian slang (Bušs 1979; E ns -
sone 1998; E ns sone 1999; Bušs, E ns sone 2006; Bušs 2006; E ns sone
2006). Some sociolinguis s ag ee ha slang could be a a ie y o he La -
ian language (D u ie e 1988: 198–199; E ns sone 1999: 8). The p esen
esea ch claims ha dialec s may be ea ed as e i o ially limi ed a ie ies
whe eas slang as a socially limi ed a ie y o he La ian language. Ne e -
heless, o be able o s ongly claim he independen s a us o slang, i would
be necessa y o u he s udy o he le els o slang; no only ocabula y bu
also phone ics, mo phology and syn ax.
NATIONAL RADIO AND TELEVISION:
EXISTING RULES OF LANGUAGE USE
We claim ha people wo king in he media, especially in he na ional me-
dia, should use exclusi ely s anda d language. Jou nalis s wo king in he
192
KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82
La ian na ional adio in hei labou con ac s ha e a special clause ocus-
ing on language use. Some o i s es ic ions a e as ollows:
• Unde he con ac jou nalis s a e no allowed o use slang, ulga o
ude exp essions.
• They ha e o a oid using oo many o eign wo ds. In e iews and
commen s in o eign languages ha e o be ansla ed in o La ian.
• Dialec s a e ole a ed only in cases when he in e iewee uses one
a ie y o language, and he jou nalis has o use li e a y language,
excep when he p og amme a ge s a a special audience ( o ins an-
ce, La galian dialec speake s).
• Jou nalis s wo king o he La ian adio ha e o use high quali y,
ich li e a y language which co esponds o he spi i o he ime and
accep ed no ms.
• The s udy cen e con inuously ollows and e alua es he speech o
adio jou nalis s, commen a o s and p og amme hos s in e ms o
quali y and cul u e.
Jou nalis s wo king in he La ian ele ision ha e o ollow simila ules.
They all ha e o ake in o conside a ion he E hical P inciples o all Emplo-
yed in Jou nalism and in La ian Tele ision and he P o essional S anda ds o
La ian Tele ision P og ammes. He e a e some es ic ions:
• Language has o be clea and simple; exagge a ions and ambiguous
exp essions ha e o be a oided.
• P og amme hos s and jou nalis s ha e o adhe e o he s yle o li e-
a y La ian language.
• The use o dialec s is ole a ed only o p o ec special social in e es s
( o ins ance, o e ain speci ic dialec s).
• In ele ision p og ammes i is no allowed o use ulga exp essions
o language which is no in acco dance wi h he exis ing social
no ms.
• In excep ional si ua ions inapp op ia e exp essions (non-s anda d,
impoli e) a e accep able i hey help o p o ide in o ma ion o highe
quali y and i a oiding such exp essions could dec ease he quali y o
he p og amme.
L. LAUZE. Func ions and sphe es o use o La ian language a ie ies: adio and ele ision jou nalis s’ opinion
193
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
In he in e iews on La ian language a ie ies jou nalis s and p og amme
hos s exp essed hei opinions e e ing o se e al impo an language unc-
ions, namely, communica i e, e e en ial, pha ic, emo i e, appella i e and
aes he ic.
Communica i e Func ion
In pe o ming he communica i e language unc ion h ough audio- isual
media, s anda d language domina es. We can d aw se e al conclusions abou
he si ua ion o o he language a ie ies in mass communica ion as p o ided
in he esponses o he ollowing ques ions: Do you hink i is allowed o use
colloquial speech on adio and TV? Wha is you a i ude owa ds elemen s o
slang? Wha is you a i ude owa ds using elemen s o a local dialec o socio-
lec ? In which si ua ions a e hey applicable? Mos esponden s admi ed us-
ing colloquial speech and slang in audio- isual media bu simul aneously
hey se di e se limi s in e e ence o he p og amme heme, kind and audi-
ence. These language a ie ies could be accep able in en e ainmen p o-
g ammes abou e e yday li e o la ge audiences, p og ammes on special
opics, like popula music, spo s, compu e s and p og ammes o young
people, bu no in news b oadcas s and o he se ious p og ammes. In some
in e iews, he usage o non-s anda d language is educed o pa icula ele-
men s. I is emphasized ha in hese cases he jou nalis s’ linguis ic as e
and ins inc should emain wi hin he limi s o decency.
When speaking abou elemen s aken om o he language a ie ies, hey
could be ea ed wi hin he de ini ion o he in o ma i e s yle gi en by Jānis
Rozenbe gs: “ he in o ma i e s yle is one o he s yles o s anda d w i en
language, which makes use o elemen s o colloquial speech whe e app o-
p ia e, and e en ( o achie e ce ain e ec s) elemen s o non-s anda d lan-
guage” (Rozenbe gs 2004: 94). Jou nalese used in adio and ele ision
b oadcas s exis s in he o al o m; howe e , i also has ea u es o bo h spo-
ken and w i en language. On he one hand, when speaking du ing hei
p og ammes, jou nalis s use ex s w i en in ad ance. On he o he hand,
hey can speak spon aneously while hos ing he p og amme o jus eac ing
in a speech si ua ion. The bo de be ween p epa ed public speech and spon-
aneous speech could be a he ague, bu i is spon aneous speech which is
194
KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82
conce ned wi h a s onge possibili y o use elemen s o non-s anda d lan-
guage. I is also an issue o sel -con ol. Acco ding o he da a o he in e -
iew, du ing hei own p og ammes, hos s hink less abou how hey alk;
hey concen a e mo e on he con en o a con e sa ion. In ecen linguis ic
li e a u e se e al au ho s ha e poin ed ou a endency o language use called
in e sec ing o s yles, me ging o s yles o anspa ency o s yles (see Rozen-
be gs 2006: 114; Nī iņa 2004: 32; E ns sone 2009: 36–37).
The esea ch esul s ha e shown ha he e a e no ma ked di e ences in
he jou nalis s’ linguis ic a i udes owa ds colloquial speech and slang. Ele-
men s o colloquial speech we e e alua ed sligh ly highe , bu o e all, he
esponden s did no jux apose colloquial speech and slang excep o ulga
exp essions which belong o slang. We can men ion a s e eo ype eeling
abou he wo k o colleagues in he opposing camp. A ep esen a i e o a
comme cial medium L1 (42, male, wo king on a popula p og amme) em-
phasizes ha jou nalis s wo king o he na ional adio and he na ional
ele ision which ep esen he s a e, should speak co ec li e a y language.
In e u n, a ep esen a i e o a public medium N (44, male, wo king on a
p og amme o academic audience) poin s ou , “a p i a ely owned medium
can be ee o say some hing ha I can’ say in a public medium.” Special
a en ion is gi en o he numbe o elemen s aken om colloquial speech
and slang. They should no be o e used. A adio hos G (38, male, wo king
o a comme cial adio s a ion, wo king on a popula p og amme) has come
o ealize ha “some imes he densi y o colloquial speech in a public
sphe e is oo high and one can make onesel no iceable by speaking in a
nice way”.
Dealing wi h he place o he language o mass media in he sys em o
unc ional sub- ypes and s yles, Ilze Lokmane admi s ha in he las de-
cades he no m o jou nalis s ylis ics has mo ed owa ds colloquial speech
(Lokmane 2009: 8). In se e al in e iews adio and ele ision jou nalis s
ha e exp essed an idea ha slang should no become he only means o
communica ion in socie y.
When analyzing language a ie ies pe o ming a communica i e unc-
ion, i should be s a ed ha in audio- isual media he use o sub-dialec s is
also limi ed. I should only be allowed in special cases, o ins ance, in spe-
cial p og ammes o in egional news. An excep ional case when a well-
1 To keep he esponden s’ p i acy, each pe son is e e ed o by a capi al le e which co -
esponds o none o his ini ials.

L. LAUZE. Func ions and sphe es o use o La ian language a ie ies: adio and ele ision jou nalis s’ opinion
195
known musician hos s a popula p og amme and speaks he La galian dia-
lec in a comme cial adio s a ion is gi en posi i e e alua ion. Two espon-
den s ha e men ioned an addi ional unc ion o a sub-dialec . When i is
hea d du ing a p og amme, i could p omo e he lis ene s’ and iewe s’ pa-
io ism. The ollowing idea exp essed by a ep esen a i e o a comme cial
medium G (38, male, wo king on a popula p og amme) is wo h discuss-
ing. He says, “in he ace o ie ce compe i ion in mass media, a p og amme
hos could be no iceable i s/he speaks a sub-dialec , bu o be a success,
s/he has o be a pe sonali y.” To p o ide in o ma ion, he language o mass
media should be unde s andable, bu in his espec sub-dialec s (like slang)
ha e se communica i e ba ie s. The e exis wo diame ically opposed
iews conce ning jou nalese. A adio hos G (38, male, wo king o a com-
me cial adio s a ion, on a popula p og amme) is o an opinion ha he
idea accep ed in La ian jou nalism ha li e a y language is good jou nalese
is unaccep able. Ano he jou nalis C (34, male, wo king o a na ional a-
dio s a ion, on a popula p og amme) does no conside he use o non-
s anda d language a ie ies in mass media necessa y.
Re e en ial Func ion
The e e en ial unc ion o language is mainly conce ned wi h he con ex
in i s b oades sense “in ol ing e e ence o en i ies, e en s, s a es o a ai s
e c.” (Ma hews 1997: 313). In discou se analysis “ his le el o language use
is called linguis ic ep esen a ion” (see Tho nbo ow 2004: 58). Two ypical
conclusions o jou nalis s and p og amme hos s e lec he e e en ial unc-
ion o colloquial speech and slang as well as sub-dialec s. Fi s , o be e
cha ac e ize a pe sonali y o a speech si ua ion, i is necessa y o use he
abo e-men ioned language a ie ies on adio and ele ision. I helps o en-
su e c edibili y o he gi en in o ma ion. Fo ins ance, a adio hos J (33,
male, wo king o a na ional adio s a ion, de eloping a popula p og amme)
p oposes o hink o a si ua ion when s anding by his ac o a a me in
muddy boo s would speak abou his expec a ions o a ha es in a highly
sophis ica ed academic language. He adds ha in his case he would look
like an ac o . Second, i is e y impo an o gi e clea in o ma ion, because
in popula p og ammes on speci ic opics, like spo s, music, ca s and a -
ic, widely used colloquial o slangish wo ds a e p e e ed o o icially ac-
cep ed e ms app o ed by linguis s.
196
KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82
Appella i e Func ion
When pe o ming he appella i e unc ion in audio- isual media, he lan-
guage use a ge s a lis ene s and iewe s o in luence hem. The in e iew
da a ha e shown ha jou nalis s a e awa e o he powe o mass media. In
his sense, he appella i e unc ion is also conce ned wi h no ma i e and
e minological aspec s o language. Se e al esponden s poin ou ha he
new e ms used on adio and ele ision a e easie accep ed in socie y. I is
known ha he language o mass media can in luence he quali y o lan-
guage in socie y. Thus i is also he jou nalis s’ esponsibili y o he lan-
guage hey choose o use. We can ag ee wi h a adio hos G (38, male,
wo king o a comme cial adio s a ion, on a popula p og amme) who says:
“in a comme cial medium we should use li e a y language because child en
a e lis ening. I don’ c oss he s ee when he ed ligh is on i he e a e
child en a ound.”
Pha ic Func ion
In he pha ic unc ion ha ensu es con ac be ween he speake and he ad-
d essee du ing communica ion, i is possible o use all language a ie ies
bu jou nalis s and p og amme hos s ha e paid special a en ion o collo-
quial speech and slang. An in o mal speech si ua ion allows dec easing he
dis ance be ween he in e locu o s, namely, be ween he in e iewe and
he audience. A ele ision p og amme leade A (41, male, wo king o a
na ional ele ision, de eloping a popula p og amme) indica es ha a jou -
nalis can es ablish a necessa y con ac wi h he in i ed pe son be o e he
in e iew. Ano he p og amme leade T (36, male, wo king o a comme -
cial adio s a ion, on a p og amme o academic audience) emphasizes ha
he dislikes being add essed in an in o mal and iendly way. I e lec s he
linguis ic a i ude o a signi ican pa o socie y; people ind i unaccep able
whene e add essed by s ange s by he in o mal p onoun o he La ian
language u (see he esul s o he sociolinguis ic in es iga ion Lauze 2002).
E alua ing he use o slang which pe o ms pha ic and o he unc ions o
language, jou nalis s and p og amme leade s should ake in o conside a ion
he ollowing sociolinguis ic conclusion: “ he use o wo ds like ‘ uck’ and
‘shi ’ in public media has become a ma k o libe a ion o a sign o e ol ,
depending on one’s poin o iew” (Spolsky 2003: 36).
L. LAUZE. Func ions and sphe es o use o La ian language a ie ies: adio and ele ision jou nalis s’ opinion
197
Emo i e unc ion
Mos p og ammes can ha dly do wi hou exp essing he emo i e unc ion
o language. Ne e heless, we should dis inguish wo di e en unc ions o
ele ision iden i ied by a ele ision hos U (39, male, wo king o a com-
me cial ele ision, on a p og amme o academic audience): he news should
be gi en as in o ma ion wi hou showing any pe sonal a i ude bu in an-
o he p og amme slang and simple wo ds exp essing he jou nalis ’s a i ude
would be accep able. The analysis o he in e iews has shown ha all lan-
guage a ie ies can pe o m he emo i e unc ion.
Aes he ic Func ion
When esponding o he ollowing ques ions Wha do you hink is “good
language“? Wha language would you desc ibe as good? Wha ea u es de ine
good language? Wha language seems mo e a ac i e o you? and he abo e-
men ioned ques ions abou he esponden s’ linguis ic a i ude owa ds col-
loquial speech, slang and sub-dialec s, jou nalis s and p og amme leade s
ha e also ocused hei a en ion on he aes he ic unc ion o language. The
aes he ic aspec o language is conce ned wi h i s ichness mani es ed in
epi he s and synonyms, in some cases wi h i s sono i y. I is clea om he
con ex o he in e iews ha he abo e ea u es a e adi ionally ea ed as
cha ac e is ic o li e a y language. Se e al esponden s ha e men ioned
ha he use o sub-dialec s makes jou nalese mo e colou ul and a ac i e.
A ele ision p og amme leade N (44, male, wo king o he na ional ele-
ision, on a p og amme o academic audience) compa es language o
uneduca ed people which is ull o abusi e wo ds and ja gon exp essions,
wi h peculia music. O e all, he in e iewed ep esen a i es o audio- is-
ual media a e mo e o less awa e o he aes he ic unc ion o all language
a ie ies.
SPHERES OF USE OF LATVIAN LANGUAGE VARIETIES
Language can unc ion in well-de ined sphe es o use in socie y. To analyze
he language si ua ion in a s a e, one o he impo an ac o s is he use o
li e a y language in he main a eas o social li e. In o he wo ds, e e ence is
198
KALBOS KULTŪRA | 82
made o sociolinguis ic unc ions o language. Ina D u ie e claims ha
he e is no uni o m and uni e sally ecognized classi ica ion o sociolin-
guis ic domains in he heo y o language poli ics (D u ie e 2007: 138). In
La ian sociolinguis ics he ollowing di ision in o 13 domains is widely ac-
cep ed:
• S a e and go e nmen al ins i u ions (Pa liamen s, Councils o Mi-
nis e s, minis ies).
• A med o ces, ede al police.
• Sel -go e nmen s, municipal police.
• T anspo and communica ions.
• Indus y and ag icul u e.
• Heal h ca e, social secu i y.
• T ading, social se ices.
• Highe educa ion, science.
• Mass media.
• Basic and seconda y educa ion.
• Cul u e (li e a u e, hea e e c.).
• E e yday li e, in o mal con ac s.
• Family (D u ie e 2000: 10–11).
In he esponses o he ques ion A e he e a eas o li e and socie y, whe e
exempla y s anda d language should be used? he esponden s’ a i udes o-
wa ds he sphe es o li e a y language use can be iden i ied. They a e e e -
ed o in wo ways. Fi s , jou nalis s and p og amme hos s men ion de ini e
sociolinguis ic domains and secondly, hey speak abou ep esen a i es o
hese domains. Mos o he esponden s emphasize ha li e a y language is
he language a ie y o be used in public space. In many cases, making he
esponse mo e p ecise, he sphe es o li e a y language use a e men ioned,
like in he ollowing: s a e and go e nmen al ins i u ions; highe educa ion,
science; mass media; basic and seconda y educa ion; cul u e. Highe equi-
emen s in using li e a y language ha e been se o poli icians, membe s o
pa liamen , scien is s, eaching s a , jou nalis s, adio and ele ision p o-
g amme leade s e c. So, a ep esen a i e o he public adio F (48, male,
wo king on a popula p og amme) says: “ hose people, including poli icians
and a ious s a s a e public igu es.” Se e al esponden s jux apose public
space and p i a e li e when speaking abou he sphe es o use o non-s an-
da d language, which includes e e yday li e, in o mal con ac s and amily.