Gen(erational language) (+ age) Flashcards
Who defined age in 3 different ways?
Penelope Eckert
What are the three ways Penelope Eckert defined age?
Chronological, Biological, Social
Penelope Eckert Chronological age definition:
How much time since birth?
Penelope Eckert biological age definition:
how old dost ya body be?
Penelope Eckert Social age definition:
How socially mature are you? Linked to events, eg. long time relationships, buying a house, employment.
Who defined the 2 diff approaches to how you look at age and language?
Jenny Cheshire
What does Jenny Cheshire say are the 2 diff approaches to how you look at language and age?
- age specific
a. looking at how someone’s language changes over their lifespan. - generation specific
a. looking at how different generations use language.
The Recency Illusion
the idea that if something is new to me then it must be new
What’s this: this is new to me and therefore must be new
the recency illusion
Slang (Broad) (5)
signifier of identity
primarily used by a subset of people
tendency to go out of fashion when people becomes more conscious of it.
Slang would be marked.
mostly Lexis
What kind of -lect would slang be?
NOT a dialect- closer to a sociolect
Who came up with the idea of Sociolinguistic Maturation
Paul Kerswell
What is Sociolinguistic Maturation?
The age at which a speaker becomes far less susceptible to the influence of different varieties of language on their own usage.
Why might Sociolinguistic Maturation happen?
a. Maybe because when you are a teenager you are around mostly people your own age but then this is going to change.
b. At something like university even if the same age you might mingle with more people with different regional dialects.
c. Brain develops so take in less language.
d. Humour might change so you might use certain slang terms because its funny but not any more.
e. If you hang out with older people then you might become more aware that you could be judged/not taken seriously for using them and so you might need to ‘prove yourself’.
Who came up with the “Life Cycle of Slang”?
Julie Coleman
What is the Life Cycle of Slang?
Innovative use by a subculture
Popularised
Use by teens and peeps in 20s
Used by celebs
Used by marketing agencies (it’s likely dead by now)
Slang vs Coolness
If it’s going to be cool, it cant be used in the mainstream. If it doesn’t have to be cool but rather just language, it’s fine and it might not die.
When was the term “slang” first used?
late 1700s
What was the original definition (no clue if actual definition or just meaning but just go with it) of slang?
“the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type.”
Who compares slangs life to the lifecycle of a frog (spawning / fertilising / growing in right habitat)
Julie Coleman
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
- A standard, official form of a language exists
- A hierarchy
- A threat to individuality or self expression
- A sense of group identity at bottom of hierarchy
- Awareness that conditions could be better (2)
- Frictions that can only be expressed verbally
- Some toleration of slang from those in authority. (2)
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
5. Awareness that conditions could be better (2)
a. Gotta feel cross.
b. Things in society have to change
What is the “right habitat” for slang to grow? (7)
7. Some toleration of slang from those in authority. (2)
a. I think that it means that if in total dictatorship that controls language it would not evolve but im not 100,000% sure that that’s actually true.
b. Might be true for slang in how we think about it (slang not other code)
Who initiated and co-directed three online corpora of adolescent language?
Anna-Brita Stenstrom
What did Anna-Brita Stenstrom do?
- She initiated and co-directed three online corpora of adolescent language
How did Anna-Brita Stenstrom define ‘teen talk’?
a. Irregular turn taking
b. Overlaps
c. Indistinct articulation
d. Word shortening
e. Teasing/name calling
f. Slang
g. Taboo
h. Verbal duelling
i. Code switching
What is verbal duelling?
i. Competing against each other with language. (so like trying to outdo each other)
What did Unni Berland do? (3)
- London teenage talk.
- Investigated class as a factor.
- Focused on tag questions.
Who looked into this?
1. London teenage talk.
2. Investigated class as a factor.
3. Focused on tag questions.
Unni Berland
What did Unni Berland find?
- Found that gender had no impact on tag questions.
- But class did: (2)
What did Unni Berland find?
Class does have an impact on the tag questions that you use.
a. Working class: innit
b. Middle class: yeah
Who looked at ‘like’ as a filler/discourse marker?
Christopher V Odato
What did Christopher V Odato do?
- Looked at ‘like’ as a filler/discourse marker
When did Christopher V Odato find that children used the filler/discourse marker “like”?
as early as 4
What where the stages that Christopher V Odato found children began to use like?
a. Mainly at the beginning of the clause
i. Eg. “like you won easily”
b. Greater number of positions. Experimenting a bit more.
c. Frequently in other positions, before a prepositional phrase
i. eg “look how yours landed like right on the target”
What did Christopher V Odato find gender wise?
that girls were more flexible with its use and tended to get there sooner than boys.
Which features does Dan Clayton say that journalists claim to make up the denigration of English.
- Uptalk
- Slang
- New words
- Americanisms
- Non-standard English
- Ghetto grammar
Can you give me a fun fact about the features Dan Clayton found that journalists claimed to make up the denigration of English?
By some manner of remarkable coincidence they can also all be used to describe youthspeak
David Chrystal quote:
- “we are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it’s there” (3)
David Chrystal quote:
1. “we are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it’s there” (3)
a. To be so creative about language you have to understand language to know how to deviate.
b. People reading texts are literally practicing their reading and writing.
c. People texting need t concentrate on words and sounds.
Who said this: “we are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it’s there”
David Chrystal
What stat did David Chrystal find about txtspeak?
“txt speak” accounts for barely 10% of the contents of messages exchanged
