Accents and Dialect key terms

Question 1

Accent

Answer 1

A distinctive way of pronouncing a language.

Question 2

Dialect

Answer 2

A particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.

Question 3

Slang

Answer 3

A type of language consisting of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal.

Question 4

Social networks

Answer 4

A social network is a set of people who interact.

Question 5

Dialect levelling

Answer 5

Dialect levelling or levelling is the process of an overall reduction in the variation or diversity of features between two or more dialects.

Question 6

Standard English

Answer 6

Widely accepted as the correct form.

Question 7

Non-standard English

Answer 7

Informal version of English.

Question 8

Convergence

Answer 8

The process whereby two or more individuals alter or shift their speech to resemble that of those they are interacting with.

Question 9

Divergence

Answer 9

When we emphasise the differences in our language versus the language of the person we are talking to.

Question 10

Idiomatic phrases

Answer 10

An idiom is a phrase that, when taken as a whole, had a meaning you wouldn’t be able to deduce from the words.

Question 11

Code switching

Answer 11

The process of alternating between one linguistic code to another.

Question 12

Received Pronunciation (RP)

Answer 12

Regionally neutral accent used by many M/C speakers in the UK.

Question 13

Colloquial

Answer 13

Used in ordinary family conversation.

Question 14

Turn-taking

Answer 14

Occurs in a conversation when one person listens while the other person speaks.

Question 15

Adjacency pairs

Answer 15

Composed of two utterances by two speakers, one after the other.

Question 16

Elocution

Answer 16

The skill of clear and expressive speech, especially if distinct pronunciation and articulation.

Question 17

Etiquette

Answer 17

The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.

Question 18

Omission

Answer 18

The act of not including something or someone that should have been.

Question 19

Overt prestige

Answer 19

Prestige acquired in a community by using a standard of formal language variety associated with power and status.

Question 20

Covert prestige

Answer 20

Refers to the relatively high value placed towards a non-standard form of a variety in a speech community.

Question 21

Social mobility

Answer 21

Change in a persons socio-economic situation, either in relation to their parents, or throughout their lifetime.

Question 22

Code mixing

Answer 22

Mixing of two or more languages or language varieties in speech.

Question 23

Multiple negation

Answer 23

Involved the presence of more than one negative in a particular sentence.

Question 24

Plural marking

Answer 24

The plural is marked clearly.

Question 25

Unmarked plurality

Answer 25

The plural is marked unclearly.

Question 26

Neologisms

Answer 26

A newly coined word or expression.