penelope eckert's jocks + burnouts study

Question 1

What does Eckert anaylse in ‘Jocks and Burnouts’?

Answer 1

the relationship between social identity and linguistic behaviour in suburban Detroit high school.

Question 2

What are jocks associated with?

Answer 2

• school sponsored activities
• higher social status
• adheres to school norms

Question 3

What are burnouts associated with?

Answer 3

• resistance to school culture
• lower social status
• non-school activities

Question 4

What type of study is this?

Answer 4

ethnographic study of social class in Detroit high schools, as it highlights how language can both reflect /reinforce social group identities.

Question 5

Which social group respected authority?

Answer 5

jocks: aimed to gain praise/recognition for their actions.

Question 6

Which social group did NOT respect authority?

Answer 6

burnouts:
- did not seek the approval/praise of their superiors/teachers
- engaged in rebellious behaviour
- anti-school point of view

Question 7

What method did she use first?

Answer 7

participant observation:
- spending a significant time within the high school environment:
- observing interactions between students in classrooms/hallways/cafeterias.
- this allows her to witness firsthand how these groups interacted/behaved with each other.

Question 8

What is the second method she used?

Answer 8

informal interviews:
- engaged in informal conversations with students from both groups, gaining insights into their perspectives, experiences, uses of language.

Question 9

What is the third and final method she used?

Answer 9

data collection:
- she collected the data throughout her observation period:
- recording snippets of student conversations (with permission).
- taking field notes about observed interactions.
- gathering artefacts (school publications/student writing samples) that reflected group identity.

Question 10

What did Eckert discover?

Answer 10

students spoke more like those who they shared norms, values, attitudes with.

Question 11

How did the jocks talk?

Answer 11

in a socially prestigious way - reflection of their middle-class background.

Question 12

How did the burnouts talk?

Answer 12

exaggerated pronunciation associated with the urban accent of their Detroit neighborhood (subgroup).

Question 13

How did the jocks view the burnouts language?

Answer 13

critical of their ungrammatical language, frequent use of expletives and not being articulate.

Question 14

How did the burnouts view the jocks language?

Answer 14

seen as speaking like their parents.