Sociolinguists have found that societies who maintain social inequalities and hierarchies often have different forms of the same language used for addressing higher or lower status individuals, kin versus non-kin, and males versus females.

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Sociolinguists have indeed found that in many societies, different forms of the same language are used based on social status, kinship, and gender, indicating the presence of social inequalities and hierarchies. For example, in many languages there are formal and informal pronouns used to address people of different status, such as elders or superiors. Similarly, in some languages there are different words used to address family members versus non-family members, or different ways of speaking used by men versus women.

Sociolinguists Have Found That Societies Who Maintain Social Inequalities and Hierarchies