Final answer:
Speech forms that convey social status or power relationships among speakers are known as registers of language. They include kinship terms and can reflect biases in gender, race, and class, often perpetuating exclusion or privilege. Strategies like code-switching and language activism are used to navigate and resist linguistic marginalization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Speech forms that indicate the comparative social status, power, prestige, or other relationship of the speakers are referred to as registers of language. These linguistic variations manifest in everyday interactions, often signaling a person's position within a hierarchy or social structure. Kinship terminology, as outlined by anthropologists, is part of this concept, showing how relationships are structured within societies. Additionally, various studies have looked at how language may perpetuate gender biases, with men's speech often dominating over women's. Linguistic discrimination extends to race, class, and other societal influences, where elite forms of language can exclude certain groups while solidifying in-group solidarity for others.
Code-switching is a strategy that marginalized communities may use to navigate different linguistic environments, toggling between vernaculars or dialects in personal settings and more standardized language in professional ones. By switching registers, individuals assert their identity and adaptability while balancing between empowerment within their community and the broader society's expectations. Language activism also plays a role in empowering communities through the celebration and revival of native languages and dialects, resisting the prescriptive norms of standard language.