accents Flashcards
what % of the population speak rp?
2%
what is an accent?
the way in which people speak
what is dialect?
a term to describe features of grammar and vocabulary
when does language variation occur?
when users modify their language to fit a particular need, preference or identity
what is a dialect continuum?
experiencing a change in the sounds we hear in accents/dialects when moving across the country
what is dialect levelling?
when a dialect begins to lose their distinct differences and begins to share common language forms
what are plosive sounds?
-sounds exploding from lips
-e.g. p/b/t
what are fricatives?
-a hissing sound
-e.g. f/s
what is sociolect?
the way in which you speak based on social factors
what are dipthongs?
-sounds formed by a combination of two vowels in a single syllable
-e.g. coin/loud
what does montgomery (1996) describe rp as?
the ‘prestige’ accent
what is montgomery’s perception of rp?
-rp speakers are rated higher than regionally accepted speakers in term of general competence
-but less favourably in personal integrity and social attractiveness
what is ee?
a cross between cockney and rp
what are some features of ee?
- t-glottaling: the consonant ‘t’ pronounced with a glottal stop
e.g. ‘waw-uhr’ (water) - l-vocalisation: replacing the consonant ‘l’ with a vowel
e.g. ‘miwk’ (milk) - vowel-fronting: vowels pronounced at the front of the mouth
what did paul kerswill study?
ee
what did paul kerswill argue?
that ee had been spread through media and other prominent figures in society
what did paul kerswill research?
-milton keynes and the discovered the use of vowel-fronting
-which showed ee growing in popularity
what is prestige?
-the level of regard associated with a specific variety
-considered to be the most ‘correct’ language
what did william label look into?
overt and covert prestige
what is overt prestige?
putting on an accent that is widely recognised to fit into the ‘dominant group’
what is covert prestige?
putting on an accent to show membership in an ‘exclusive community’, rather than fitting into the ‘dominant group’
what is labour’s department store study?
-looking into conscious speech change within 3 department stores
-upper class department store: pronounced the ‘r’ in ‘fourth’ most clearly
-middle class department store: hypercorrected the post-vocalic ‘r’ in ‘fourth’
-lower class department store: hardly pronounced the ‘r’
what was a result of labov’s department store study?
that overt prestige was most common in women rather than men
