Language and Social Class

Question 1

sociolect

Answer 1

lexical and grammatical differences,dependent on social groupings

Question 2

social stratification

Answer 2

the organisation of people into social class groups, based on agreed characteristics

Question 3

elaborate code

Answer 3

communication understood by widest possible receivers- marked by clarity and elaborate structures

Question 4

restricted code

Answer 4

communication understood by restricted groups, marked by non standard features

Question 5

code switching

Answer 5

a speakers ability to pivot between elaborate and restricted codes to engage in linguistic accommodation and upward convergence

Question 6

Labovs social strat
new york(1966)

Answer 6

examined use of rhotic ‘r’- which is seen as overtly prestigious language marker since WW1
e.g: car, bar
Findings: He found that in casual speech upper middle-class speakers used r more than lower middle class speakers

Question 7

However Labov also found…

Answer 7

In more formal situations the reverse was the case
suggesting that lower-middle class speakers were more conscious of their own speech(CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS)

Question 8

Trudgill , Norwhich (1988)

Answer 8

Examined the relationship between social class and a number of different linguistic variable like the pronunciation of ‘-ing’
Findings: ppl lower down social scale= more likely to drop the ‘g’

Question 9

However Trudgill also found…

Answer 9

All the social classes pronouncation of ‘g’ increased according to the formality of the situation = confirming ppl are conscious of the way they speak + adopt more socially prestigious features in more formal contexts

Question 11

Petyt, Bradford (1980)

Answer 11

Examined the dropping of the aspirant ‘h’ sound at the beginning of words such as ‘house’

Findings- there was a close relationship between ‘h’ dropping and social class
Lower working class speakers on average dropped = 93%
upper working class=67%
lower middle class= 28%
upper middle class=12%

Question 12

Network density

Answer 12

the level to which a speaker is familiar with a group of people in a given situation

Question 13

class consciousness

Answer 13

the self awareness a speaker has about their level of social standing

Question 14

open network

Answer 14

where a person’s connections in a social context dont know each other
‘low density’

Question 15

closed networks

Answer 15

where a persons connected contacts all know each other ‘high density’

Question 16

social mobility

Answer 16

a persons ability to climb the class ladder, across different social stratification levels

Question 17

multiplex networks

Answer 17

where a persons connected contacts in particular network, belong to multiple groups
e.g: having a friend who is a work college and close to one of your family

Question 18

social strat
three most common criteria

Answer 18

occupation
education
income

Question 19

Bernstein (1971)

Answer 19

Argues- working class and middle class speakers speak in different codes
Working class= restricted code
Middle class = both elab and res
Due to their socialisation

Question 20

code-switching

Answer 20

the ability to dip in and out of elaborate and restricted -depending on pragmatics/context

Question 21

Bernstein(Class,Codes and control)

Answer 21

“clearly one is not better than another; each possesses its on aesthetic,its own possibilities “
He suggested a correlation between social class and use of wither elab or restri code

Question 22

Atherton said abt the codes

Answer 22

However the midde class being more geographically,socially and culturally mobile has access to both codes

Also “everyone uses the restricted code some of the time. It would be a very peculiar and cold fam which did not have their own language”

Question 23

Milroy- 1980,Belfast

Answer 23

Social network theory
Argues- an individuals ability to code switch is as much to do about the context of situation and the network density of the group