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

Question 1

What was Moore attempting to find the answer to in her research?

Answer 1

Why certain communities did and didn’t use the non-standard ‘were’ in the place of ‘was’

Question 2

How was ‘was’ used in the social groups Moore observed?

Answer 2

‘Was’ was used as a plural

Question 3

How was ‘were’ used in the social groups Moore observed?

Answer 3

‘Were’ was used as a second person singular

Question 4

Where did Moore do her study?

Answer 4

Bolton

Question 5

What 2 social classes were the girls in Moore’s study from?

Answer 5

Upper working class or Lower middle class

Question 6

How long did Moore carry out her studies for?

Answer 6

2 years

Question 7

How many groups did Moore observe?

Answer 7

4

Question 8

What did Moore call the 4 groups she observed?

Answer 8

Communities of Practice

Question 9

What are Communities of Practice?

Answer 9

Social groups of people who do activities together and share common goals

Question 10

Name the 4 groups that Moore classed the girls in

Answer 10

Populars, Townies, Eden Valley Girls, Geeks

Question 11

How did the Populars act?

Answer 11

Engaged in drinking and smoking and had an anti-school attitude

Question 12

How did the Townies act? What were they a breakaway group from?

Answer 12

They were a breakaway group from the Populars who engaged in more risky and rebellious activities like drug taking

Question 13

How did the Geeks act?

Answer 13

They took part in the choir or orchestra and had a positive attitude to school

Question 14

How did the Eden Valley Girls act?

Answer 14

They came from a more desirable area to live outside of Bolton and engaged in activities like shopping or dancing

Question 15

How many Populars did Moore observe?

Answer 15

14

Question 16

How many Townies did Moore observe?

Answer 16

4

Question 17

How many Geeks did Moore observe?

Answer 17

14

Question 18

How many Eden Valley Girls did Moore observe?

Answer 18

7

Question 19

How did the Populars treat the non-standard ‘were’ usage?

Answer 19

Never disfavoured the non-standard ‘were’

Question 20

What did Moore find with the Populars in terms of how many never used the non-standard ‘were’ and why?

Answer 20

3 out of 14 never used the non-standard ‘were’ and they were from a higher social class

Question 21

How did the Townies treat the non-standard ‘were’ usage?

Answer 21

They highly favoured the non-standard ‘were’

Question 22

Why did the Townies highly favour the non-standard ‘were’?

Answer 22

Their social group was more likely to feature working class boys who may have also used this feature

Question 23

How did the Geeks feel about the non-standard ‘were’?

Answer 23

They disfavoured it

Question 24

Why did the Geeks disfavour the non-standard ‘were’?

Answer 24

Because they were more school-oriented which encouraged the use of standard form dialect more

Question 25

What was found with 4 out of the 14 Geeks? Why?

Answer 25

They had a high frequency of using the non-standard ‘were’ but they were from a lower social class

Question 26

How did the Eden Valley Girls feel about the non-standard ‘were’? and why?

Answer 26

They only used the standard form of ‘were’ and ‘was’ because they were all from the same higher level social class

Question 27

Give a sentence example of the non-standard usage of ‘were’ or ‘was’ in this study.

Answer 27

‘I were out with Lucy last night. She were in a right good mood.’

Question 28

What did Moore conclude affected the use of language? (Name 3)

Answer 28

Social activities, Region, People you socialise with

Question 29

When did Moore conduct this study?

Answer 29

2010