Age and Language Theorists Flashcards
What did Jenny Cheshire (1987) theorise on adult language?
Theorised that adult language, as well as child language, develops in response to important life events that affect social relations and attitudes of individuals. Argues that “it is becoming more recognised that adult language, as well as child language, develops in response to important life events that affect the social relations and social attitudes of individuals”.
What does Unni Berland (1997) argue on age and class?
Class is a factor of language variation within an age group.
Teenagers from the working class used ‘innit’ more than teenagers from the middle class.
Teenagers from the middle class used ‘yeah’ more than teenagers from the working class.
There was also evidence that ‘okay’ was used by boys more than girls although both genders used ‘innit’, ‘right’ and ‘yeah’ in equal measures.
What does Penelope Eckert (1998) argue age is?
Said that ‘age is a sociolinguistic variable’.
Proposed three concepts of age:
Chronological age (years since birth).
Biological age (physical maturity).
Social age (life events such as marriage).
What does Anna-Brita Stenstorm (2002) identify within teentalk?
Proposed distinct features of teenage talk;
Irregular turn-taking.
Indistinct articulation.
Word shortening.
Teasing/name calling.
Verbal duelling.
Taboo topics.
Overlaps.
Language mixing.
Slang.
What does Penelope Eckert (2003) suggest slang is used for?
Eckert Believes that slang is used by some teenagers to ‘establish their connection to youth culture and to set themselves apart from the older generation to signal coolness, toughness or attitude’. She also believes that the ‘coining of new lexical items’ is more common in teenagers.
However, she also claims that ‘adolescents do not all talk alike; on the contrary, differences among adolescents are probably far greater than speech differences among the members of any other age group’.
What does Joanna Thornborrow (2004) identify within language and identity?
‘One of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity, and of shaping other people’s views of who we are, is through our use of language.’
‘Identity, whether on an individual, social, or institutional level, is something that we are constantly building and negotiating throughout our lives through our interaction with others.’
What does Vivian De Klerk (2005) identify within language and identity?
Claimed that young people seek to create identities and have the freedom to ‘challenge’ linguistic norms.
Teens want to look ‘modern’ and ‘cool’.
Not all teenagers are alike – they are not a homogeneous group.
Claimed that teenagers want to establish themselves as different to the rest of society.
What do Zimmerman and West (2009) argue influences teen speak?
Argues that graffiti, music, media and communication influence teen speak.
Proposed that language becomes more standard with age.
