Language and Social Variation Flashcards
What is an idiolect?
The speech habits peculiar to a particular person, almost like a language fingerprint
What did Thronborrow say about language?
(2004)
“One of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity, and of shaping other people’s views of who we are, is through our use of language.”
What is a sociolect?
A form of language or a set of lexical terms used by a socioeconomic class, a profession, an age group, or other social group
What kind of groups influence our language?
- Age group
- Family
- Ethnicity
- Occupation
- Hobbies
- Social class
- Sexuality
- Gender
What is a social group?
People who connect with others because of certain commonalities. Language is often at the heart of these groups.
What is passive acquisition?
When a shared language is leanred subconciously because of the people around you
What is active learning?
People making a concious choice to change their language in order to fit in
What was Howard Giles’ theory?
Communication and Accommodation Theory (CAT), which showed how individuals adapt aspects of their own language when speaking to people who are different to them
What is language convergence?
When we change our language to be like that of the person we’re speaking
What is language divergence?
When we change our language to be different to the person’s we’re speaking to
How is language convergence shown in Mean Girls?
Cady changes her paralingustics, lexis and semantics, and grammar to reflect those of the ‘Plastics’ in order to fit in
