Accent & dialect theorists

Question 1

Milroy Belfast study 1980 - closed/ open social networks

Answer 1

• larger network = more standardised lang becomes
• live in secluded environment = tend to keep accent and dialect

Question 2

Kreswill & Williams Milton Keynes study - koineization

Answer 2

• koineization = mixing of features of the different dialects > leads to a new, compromise dialect > used as a lingua franca among speakers of the individual contributing dialects
• children develop social ID quickly
• maj. accent ppl will converge towards = marked regional forms aren’t favoured, phonological & lexically simple forms ARE favoured > ‘g-dropping’
• children go from strong attachment to caregiver to social cohesion with peer group in adolescence

Question 3

Labov covert & overt prestige

Answer 3

• exaggerate tendency in speech to establish as an independent social group with superior status
• imitate such lang features when wanting to be liked/ approved by the group

Question 4

Giles Accomodation 1970s - Upward/ downward divergence, convergence

Answer 4

• divergence = adaption of lang to increase social distance (individuality)
• convergence = adaption of lang to decrease social distance (connected to others)

Question 5

Ellen Ryan (1980s) - Status v solidarity

Answer 5

giving up your accent to get a rise in status/ keeping your accent to create a connection to others

Question 6

Malcolm Petyt - -h dropping

Answer 6

• focused on local, northern accents (Yorkshire)
• looked at omission of the intial ‘h’ sound in a word
• e.g. Hello = ello
• people of lower class =. used -H dropping most > lower the class = less H’s used
• non-standard english and social class = linked

Question 7

Trudgill 1980s - dialect maps

Answer 7

phonemic split of foot and strut (foot-strut split) is gradually diffusing northwards