Influence of Social Class/Groups on how we speak: Eckert Flashcards
When did Eckert conduct her research and where did she do it?
Detroit in 1989
How many social groups did Eckert study?
2
Name the 2 social groups that Eckert studied
Jocks, Burnouts
How long did Eckert do her research for?
2 years
What did Eckert do in the 2 years of researching?
She spent 2 years in public places in the school observing interactions and having a range of discussions with different pupils
Why did Eckert choose a high school to do her research?
Because people of varying social classes go there
What social class were the Jocks usually from? What would they do once they completed their final exams?
Middle class and would go on to college after finishing school
What did the Jocks do on weekends and how did they perform in school?
They drank beer on weekends and got good grades in school
How did the goals of the Jocks correlate to the school?
They were more aligned with what school prepared them for
What type of accent did the Jocks speak in in terms of prestige?
They spoke in a more socially prestigious accent.
What was the greeting of the Jocks?
“Hi”
Why were the Jocks critical of the Burnouts?
They were critical of them for their ungrammatical use of language
What did the Jocks and Burnouts compete for in school?
Finding out what was ‘cool’ to do in school
What social class were the Burnouts from?
Mostly working class families
What did the Burnouts do for leisurely activities?
They smoked pot and drank beer
What did the Burnouts do with some of their classes? Which group of people did they sometimes have run-ins with?
They would sometimes skip their classes and also have run-ins with the police occasionally
How did the goals of the Burnouts correlate to the school?
They did not relate to the school at all
How did the Burnouts speak? What were these associated with?
They used exaggerated pronunciations associated with the urban accent of the Detroit neighbourhood
What did the Burnout vocabulary include more of?
Included more technical vocabulary when talking about drugs
What was the greeting of the Burnouts?
“How ya doin’” - clear g dropping here
What non-standard linguistic feature was more present with the Burnouts than the Jocks?
Multiple negation
Give an example of multiple negation
“I didnt do nothing wrong”
Why were Burnouts critical of Jocks?
They were critical of Jocks for talking like their parents
What sub-class was there within the Burnouts?
Extreme Burnouts
What did the Extreme Burnouts think about some of the less extreme burnouts?
They considered them to be Jocks
What conclusion can be made about Young adult language use influence?
Their language use is more influenced by their peers than their parents
What conclusion was made about the relation of language used to social class?
It did not fully relate to their parents social class and instead related to if they were Jocks or Burnouts
What was Language style a larger part of in Eckerts study?
It was a larger group of other factors like music taste and clothing style which determined if you were a Jock or Burnout
Why have speakers adapted their language in this study?
So that they can further relate to the norms and values of that social group
