Attitudes Towards Accents (Giles)

Question 1

What were the three criteria which people base their opinions of accents on?

Answer 1

Precision
Correctness
Aesthetics

Question 2

How many of these criteria do people actually base their opinions on?

Answer 2

1 is the main motivator, however it is often the case that attitudes are based on more than one of the criteria

Question 3

What are the words that people usually use when talking about the precision of someone’s accent and what are they referring to?

Answer 3

“sloppy” and “lazy”

Refer to the non-standard varieties (usually)

Question 4

What are some features that attract such views about precision?

Answer 4

glottalling (bo’le = bottle)

h-dropping (‘ot = hot)

Question 5

What are the attitudes for correctness?

Answer 5

Objection to non-standard varieties due to being “incorrect”

Different from “Standard” English which is uniform and high quality

Question 6

What are the two criteria which are closely linked?

Answer 6

Precision

Correctness

Question 7

Why are the two criteria linked?

Answer 7

“lazy” speech is often seen as being “incorrect”

Question 8

What are the attitudes for aesthetics?

Answer 8

Accents being “harsh-sounding” or saying non-standard varieties are “ugly”

Question 9

What are the attitudes for aesthetics based on?

Answer 9

Solely on sound quality or how something may “sound nice”

Question 10

What are the varieties which are often regarded as “ugly”?

Answer 10

Urban varities

Question 11

What do the attitudes for aesthetics suggest?

Answer 11

That there is a fourth motivation that people base their opinions of accents on

Question 12

What is this fourth motivation and is it suggested by Giles?

Answer 12

Associations

No.

Question 13

What are the attitudes for associations?

Answer 13

Urban localities are perceived in a negative light due to crime and deprivation
People associate the accent from these places with the negative connotations too

Question 14

What was the study done by Giles to test people’s attitudes towards variation?

Answer 14

Lecture study 1970s

Question 15

What was the concept of the Lecture study?

Answer 15

Person who can do perfect RP and Brummie accents presented the same lecture twice to two sets of pupils and then recorded their attitudes afterwards

Question 16

What were the two ratings that Giles recorded in his study?

Answer 16

Intelligence

Friendliness

Question 17

What were the results for the two ratings?

Answer 17

RP- high for intelligence but not friendliness

Brummie - low for intelligence and high for friendliness

Question 18

What do these results say about people’s opinions towards different accents?

Answer 18

People have strong attitudes in society about different accents as it was exactly the same lecture and person, the only difference was the accent they used to talk in

Question 19

What is another study which help supports Giles’ theory?

Answer 19

Ellen Ryan’s “status and solidarity”

- expanded on by Hopper and Zahn

Question 20

How did Hopper and Zahn expand Ryan’s study?

Answer 20

Ryan only looked at status and solidarity, whereas Hopper and Zahn looked at superiority, attractiveness and dynamism

Question 21

What were the values the three looked at which encompassed status?

Answer 21

Uneducated v. Educated 
Poor v. Wealthy
Unintelligent v. Intelligent
Illiterate v. Literate
Lower class v. Upper Class

Question 22

What were the values the three looked at which encompassed solidarity?

Answer 22

Untrustworthy v. Trustworthy 
Unfriendly v. Friendly 
Unkind v. Kind
Awful v. Nice
Hostile v. Good natured

Question 23

When was Ryan’s study carried out?

Answer 23

1980s

Question 24

Who did Ryan use as her subjects?

Answer 24

Male American and British middle and lower class speakers 
- shown to undergraduates

Question 25

What were the conclusions of Ryan’s study?

Answer 25

British and middle class speakers - high "status" ratings
American and lower class speakers - low "status" ratings