Lecture 8

Question 1

RP stands for ________ .

Answer 1

Received Pronounciation

Question 2

In earlier centuries, you could tell where an English lord or lady came from by their regional form of English. But by the early ________ century, a person who spoke with a regional
accent in England was most unlikely to belong to the upper class.

Answer 2

twentieth

Question 3

the most linguistic variation is found at ________ socio-economic level where regional differences exist.

Answer 3

lowest

Question 4

In other speech communities other than England it is possible to hear more than just one accent associated with the highest social group. ( )

Answer 4

V

Question 5

most educated Scots, Irish and Welsh speakers use more than one socially prestigious accent in these countries. ( )

Answer 5

V

Question 6

________ are linguistic varieties which are distinguishable by their vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Answer 6

Dialects

Question 7

________ is the accent of the best educated and most prestigious members of English society.

Answer 7

Received Pronounciation

Question 8

________ English is the dialect used by well-educated English speakers throughout the world.

A) Regional
B) Standard

Answer 8

Standard

Question 9

It is the variety used for national news broadcasts and in print, and it is the variety taught in English-medium schools.

A) Regional
B) Standard

Answer 9

Standard

Question 10

Standard English is more accommodating than RP and allows for some variation within its boundaries. ( )

Answer 10

V

Question 11

(a) I’ve not washed the dishes yet today.
(b) I haven’t washed the dishes yet today.
A speaker of standard English might produce ________ .

Answer 11

either of the two sentences

Question 12

In standard English , a limited amount of grammatical variation is not acceptable. ( )

Answer 12

is acceptable.

Question 13

Standard English is spoken with one accent. ( )

Answer 13

X

Standard English is spoken with many different accents.

Question 14

There are many standard Englishes. For example; ________ , ________ , ________ .

Answer 14

American standard English, Australian standard English, British standard English.

Question 15

Linguistic forms which are not part of standard English are ________.

Answer 15

non-standard

Question 16

Non-standard forms are associated with the speech of (less/higher) prestigious social groups and therefore acquires (negative/positive) connotations.

Answer 16

less, negative.

Question 17

There is nothing linguistically inferior about non-standard forms. ( )

Answer 17

V

Question 18

To avoid the implication that non-standard forms are inadequate derivations from the standard, some linguists use the term ________ as an alternative to non-standard.

Answer 18

vernacular

Question 19

________ tend to be learned at home and used in informal contexts, and lack overt prestige, though they are generally valued by their users, especially as means of expressing ________ and ________ meaning.

Answer 19

Vernacular, solidarity, affective.

Question 20

It is easiest to see the evidence for social dialects in places such as ________ and ________ where social divisions are very clear-cut.

Answer 20

Indonesia, India.

Question 21

In ________ and ________, there are caste systems determined by birth, and strict social rules govern the kind of behaviour appropriate to each group.

Answer 21

Indonesia, India.

Question 22

These social distinctions are reflected in ________ differences.

Answer 22

speech

Question 23

A person’s ________ reflects their social background.

Answer 23

dialect

Question 24

People can be grouped together on the basis of similar social and economic factors. Their language generally reflects these groupings – they use different social dialects.

Answer 24

Caste dialects

Question 25

Brahmins and non Brahmin castes.

________ makes gender, number and person distinctions in negative tenses of the verb which are not made in ________ dialects.

Answer 25

Brahmin: negative tenses of the Verb

Non-Brahmin: does not

Question 26

In ________, then, a particular social dialect can be defined as a particular combination of styles or levels each of which has its distinctive patterns of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, though there are many forms which are shared by different stylistic levels.

Answer 26

Javanese

Question 27

________ term for differences between people which are associated with differences in social prestige, wealth and education.

Answer 27

Social class

Question 28

Class divisions are based on such ________ differences.

Answer 28

status

Question 29

________ refers to the deference or respect people give someone – or don’t give them, as the case may be.

Answer 29

Status

Question 30

in Britain, the youngest child of an earl may be poor but respected. ( )

Answer 30

V

Question 31

Upper-class and Non Upper-class

________ people used sitting room and lavatory, rather than lounge and toilet by ________ people.

Answer 31

Upper class, Non Upper-class.

Question 32

In places like Britain, the barriers between people are similar as in caste-based societies. ( )

Answer 32

X

The barriers between people are Not as in caste-based societies.

Question 33

People can move up or down the social ladder and this is mirrored more in their pronunciation. ( )

Answer 33

V

Question 34

Groups are often distinguished by the frequency with which they use particular features, rather than by their use of completely different forms. ( )

Answer 34

V

Question 35

In social dialects of English, the _________ social drops the least numbers of [h]s and the _________ group omits the most.

Answer 35

highest, lowest.

Question 36

In some regions pronouncing [r] is part of the prestige standard dialect. ( )

Answer 36

V

Question 37

In Scotland, for example, standard dialect speakers pronounce [r] after vowels (or post-vocalically). ( )

Answer 37

X

Do not pronounce r

Question 38

In New York, Labov demonstrated that post-vocalic [r] varied in the city according to _______.

Answer 38

social group

Question 39

In New York city, pronouncing [r] is considered prestigious. ( )

Answer 39

V

Question 40

Many people are not very conscious of belonging to a particular social class. ( )

Answer 40

V

Question 41

they meet regularly than their social class membership. 
A person’s gender and age are probably the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ things we notice about them.

Answer 41

first