Identity Theory Flashcards
What did Malcom Petyt study?
‘H’ Dropping in West Yorkshire
Found a link between social class and non-standard variables
What did Petyt discover about the Lower Middle Class (LMC)?
As LMC moved up the social ladder they modified their speech to be more RP to fit in.
What is hypercorrection? (In reference to Petyt)
Using a feature associated with prestige to the extent that they need to use it when they don’t need to.
(Eg pronouncing ‘h’ in hour)
Who created Social Network Theory?
Milroy and Milroy
What is a ‘web of ties’?
Contact patterns between an individual and group members. The strength of these ties is important.
What is density? (SNT)
The number of connections a person has.
What did high-density scores have? (SNT)
Stronger accents and a stronger identity/ sense of self.
Who did the New York Department Store Study?
Labov (1966)
What was Labov looking for in his New York Department Store Study?
He wanted to see if people pronounced the post-vocalic (after vowel) /r/ in the phrase “forth floor”
Where did Labov go for the New York Department Store Study?
Saks Fifth Avenue (expensive- middle to upper class)
Macy’s (averagely priced)
S. Klein (budget, working class)
What did Labov find out from his New York Department Store study?
Employees with higher socioeconomic status pronounced the rhotic /r/ more frequently.
Shift in pronunciation seen by Macy’s (upwards conversion)
What did Peter Trudgill look at in his Norwich Study?
His Norwich Study aimed to find how and why people’s ways of speaking varied.
What three variables did Trudgill investigate?
‘N’ in words ending in ‘ing’
glottal stop
‘H’ dropping
What did Trudgill find from his Norwich Study?
The middle class made emissions less than the lower class.
Women used more standard form than men for the ‘-ing’ ending.
Men thought they used more nonstandard than they did.
