Influence of Social Class/Groups on how we speak: Moore Flashcards
How was ‘was’ used in the social groups Moore observed?
‘Was’ was used as a plural
How was ‘were’ used in the social groups Moore observed?
‘Were’ was used as a second person singular
What did Moore call the 4 groups she observed?
Communities of Practice
What are Communities of Practice?
Social groups of people who do activities together
Name the 4 groups that Moore classed the girls into
Populars, Townies, Eden Valley Girls, Geeks
How did the Populars act?
Engaged in drinking and smoking
How did the Townies act? What were they a breakaway group from?
They were a breakaway group from the Populars who engaged in more risky and rebellious activities like drug taking
How did the Geeks act?
They took part in the choir or orchestra
How did the Eden Valley Girls act?
Engaged in activities like shopping
How many Populars did Moore observe?
14
How many Townies did Moore observe?
4
How many Geeks did Moore observe?
14
How many Eden Valley Girls did Moore observe?
7
How did the Populars treat the non-standard ‘were’ usage?
Never disfavoured the non-standard ‘were’
Why did 3 of the 14 Populars never use the non-standard ‘were’?
They were from a higher social class
How did the Townies treat the non-standard ‘were’ usage?
They highly favoured the non-standard ‘were’
Why did the Townies highly favour the non-standard ‘were’?
Their social group was more likely to feature working class boys who may have also used this feature
How did the Geeks feel about the non-standard ‘were’?
They opposed it
Why did the Geeks disfavour the non-standard ‘were’?
They were more school-oriented which encouraged the use of standard form dialect
What was found with 4 out of the 14 Geeks? Why?
They had a high frequency of using the non-standard ‘were’ but they were from a lower social class
How did the Eden Valley Girls feel about the non-standard ‘were’? and why?
They only used the standard form of ‘were’ and ‘was’ because they were all from a higher social class
