Influence of Social Class/Groups on how we speak: Trudgill

Question 1

What 3 phonemes did Trudgill investigate people might have been dropping in Norwich?

Answer 1

‘ng’ droping, ‘h’ dropping, ‘t’ dropping

Question 2

How many social classes did Trudgill divide his subjects in to? (Hint: it comes after the number 4)

Answer 2

5

Question 3

What did the social classes range from? (Highest to lowest)

Answer 3

Lower working class to middle middle class

Question 4

How does social class have an influence on how the middle middle class individuals spoke?

Answer 4

There was the expectation in their class to use less regional pronunciation, and instead aspire to speak in a more formal way

Question 5

What form of Prestige is present in Trudgills study for men?

Answer 5

Covert Prestige

Question 6

How is Covert Prestige present in Trudgills Norwich study?

Answer 6

Men overreported their informal speech, showing that they were rejecting speaking in a more socially acceptable and prestigious way.

Question 7

How can gender be presented in Trudgills Norwich study as an influence for men?

Answer 7

They were more likely to overreport their omission of the ‘ng’ phoneme which is more informal and regional.

Question 8

What form of Prestige is present in Trudgill’s study for women?

Answer 8

Overt Prestige

Question 9

What 3 accent forms was Trudgill looking at?

Answer 9

ng dropping, h dropping, t dropping