Language and social groups Flashcards
what does language change depend on?
topics of conversations can vary depending on who you are speaking to
Name three different groups that would cause your topic of conversation to change
- gender group
- friendship group (extra point if you specify)
- occupational groups
what are two groups that cannot share the same type of language? and why?
- friendship groups
- occupational groups
Answer: friendship groups (dependant on age) tend to use more colloquial and relaxed language. This would not be appropriate to use in a place of work.
what can cause an accent shift?
answer: accent may shift when you’re speaking to someone from the same home town as you OR someone you’re comfortable around.
what are some factors that go into an accent diverging?
answer: accents can diverge when you speak to someone or family with the shared accent OR when you spend a lot of time in the place the accent originates from
What can a place with a mix of wide range of people from different areas do to your vocabulary?
answer: it can cause you to pick up new words or colloquial words from other parts of the country or world
What does the key term “convergence” mean?
answer: convergence is when someone or a group of people change their language in order to move towards that of another individual OR fit in with the desired group
What does the key term “divergence” mean?
answer: Divergence is when someone changes their language in order to move away from that of another individual OR when someone exaggerates the differences between their style speech and that of someone else’s in order to distance themselves OR sign of disapproval
What does the key term “Macro-level” mean?
answer: Operating something on a large scale, for example: a study of social groups is approached at a macro-scale
what does the key term “micro-level” mean?
answer: Operating something on a small scale, for example: studies focusing on the study of individuals is approached at a micro-scale
what does the key term “post-vocalic /r/” mean?
answer: pronouncing an /r/ after a vowel where there is an “r” in the spelling. FOR EXAMPLE: “faRm”, “siR” or “hoRse”
alternate answer: making the letter “r” in the word the most prominent sound pronounced
Who was one of the earliest linguists who studied the effects of social class on gender?
ANSWER: William Labov
what did Labov’s results show about culture specific idea?
ANSWER: Labov’s results showed how culture-specific ideas about language and status are. Pronouncing the /r/ in American English in words like ‘cart’ and ‘park’ is seen as high-status, whereas in the UK post-vocalic /r/ is an aspect of rural speech and is often stereotyped. Speakers of Received Pronunciation (RP), the traditional prestige accent in the UK, do not pronounce /r/ in those words, which would be spoken as /ka:t/ and /pa:k/
what does the key term the velar nasal?
ANSWER: a nasal consonant voiced as the sound of “ng” in English “siNG”
what does the key term “density” mean?
ANSWER: In studies of social networks, density refers to the number of connections that people have
