Lingroup

Lingroup is a concept used in sociolinguistics to describe a social group defined by common linguistic practices rather than by ethnicity or nationality. The term can refer to subsets of a population that share a distinctive set of language features, such as a particular dialect, register, vocabulary, or patterns of code switching. Lingroups are related to, but distinct from, the broader idea of a speech community; while a speech community centers on shared norms of language use, a lingroup emphasizes the social bonds formed through these linguistic patterns and the group's identity.

Membership in a lingroup is typically based on observable language use and self-identification rather than formal criteria. Lingroups can be fluid: individuals may belong to multiple lingroups that overlap in time and context, and shifts in social position, setting, or power dynamics can alter group boundaries.

Formation and maintenance of lingroups are influenced by social identity, prestige attached to certain language varieties, and the role of language in group solidarity. Technology, mobility, and multilingual settings can give rise to new lingroups, including online communities that converge around specialized jargon or multimodal communication styles.

Researchers study lingroups through interviews, sociolinguistic observation, and social network analysis to understand how language choices reflect and shape social belonging, status, and group cohesion. In applied contexts, awareness of lingroups informs language education, policy, marketing, and communication strategies.

See also: speech community, sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics, in-group, language ideology.