Language and Social Groups Flashcards
Who are the basic variation theorists for language and social groups?
1- Labov
2- Trudgill
3- Chesire
4- Milroy
5- Berstein
6- Eckert
7- Kerswell
8- Halliday
How does Labov’s New York study link to language and social groups?
Difference in pronunciation of the ‘r’ reflected social class- asked 3 stores from each class level for the 4th floor
- people used words to present themselves in a financial way
Labov’s study on Martha’s Vineyard?
Focused on dipthongs (aw) (ay)
- centralised variants, users rejected values of mainland
- strong identity as vineyarder
Trudgill’s Norwich study
How gender affects dialect in each social class
- class is more of a determiner of nonstandard usage than gender
- women over reported their standard usage
- more susceptible to overt prestige
Chesire’s Reading study
Use of nonstandard variables- peer group norms
- variation in dialect- conscious choice influenced by social attitude
- toughness B&G- nonstandard form ‘ain’t’
- non-grammatical gained status
Milroy’s Belfast study
Social networks- web of ties strong or weak
- sociolinguistic study
- more geographical mobility=large scale disruption of close-knit localised networks
- women, work, more regional shared dialect
Bernstein- restricted and elaborated code
Elaborated- MC, facts and abstract ideas, gap between S&L
- speech is context dependent
Restricted- WC, shared experiences, attitudes and feelings
- Labov, Cazden, John Honey SE debate
Eckert’s observational research
Jocks n Burnouts
Social practises of American high school students
J- socially prestigious, MC background, critical of B’s, swearing not articulate
B- actively rebellious and shared social values
Kerswell
More social mobility = break down tight knit WC communities
Less rural employment = construction of suburbs
Halliday’s anti-language
Polari link anti-language
Baker
British gay men developed secretive slang when society stigmatised them
- never committed to print, tape recordings passed on verbally, versions were created
- acted as a form of initiation into the gay subculture
- older men taught younger gay men
- help them reconstruct reality, their values
What is anti-language?
A way of making marginalised social groups establish their identity through opposing mainstream society
- create their own values to conform to
What does Joanna Thornborrow say about language?
It is one of the mot fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity and of shaping other peoples views of who we are, is through our language
