region and class Flashcards
Prescriptivism
the belief that there are right and wrong ways to use language, and that certain forms of language are superior to others.
Descriptivism
not believing that there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to use language, all language varieties as useful and valuable.
H.C.Wylde (prescriptivist)
says that regional dialects are “quaint” and “eccentric”. allows that there may be “sophisticated valleys” of English but that they are not becoming of an English appropriate for high office.
-Suggesting there is good and bad English-
what is an accent?
simply how you say it not the words its made up from (only phonological) e.g. scouse accent just relates to their place and their phonology.
what is a dialect?
the grammar, syntax and lexis of a place or region. For example for Lancashire we say;
kecks- pants
mithered- irritated
Ginnel- alleyway
George Bernard Shore quote
“it is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman despise him” (bit dramatic)
Dr Lance Workman
Tried to find a link between intelligence, attractiveness & accent.
He found no link of attractiveness to accent.
However he did find that people perceived the Brummies’ accent to be unintelligent out of the accents he tested. (in order below from most intelligent.)
Yorkshire
RP
Brummies’
Shows a clear bias that local accents such as the Brummies’ accent are perceived poorly by the public.
Nuance Communications (2022)
Call Centre found that these accents were preferred
RP (mainstream): 52% found it favorable
Scottish: 34%
Geordie: 26%
Yorkshire and Welsh were next.
The bottom were Birmingham and Liverpool accents.
Howard Giles Accommodation theory (1971)
Convergence- an attempt to close a social gap
.UPWARD CONVERGENCE- Adopting a regional accent when speaking with someone from that region.
.DOWNWARD CONVERGENCE- Using simpler language when talking to someone with less expertise on a topic.
Divergence- an attempt to distance yourself from someone.
UPWARD DIVERGENCE- Using simpler language when talking to someone with less expertise on a topic.
DOWNWARD DIVERGENCE- Maintaining a strong regional or cultural accent when speaking with someone from another social group.
Labov Marthas V (1960’s)
Fishermen on the island pronounced the diphthong vowel “AU” the residents originally didn’t.
Influx of tourism meant that the islands inhabitants subconsciously started using the “AU” diphthong too. Possibly to preserve their covert prestige and social group lexis.
what are the 3 types of RP?
(1) conservative- the Kings English, Royal family talk.
(2) contemporary- still posh sounding but more informal
(3) Mainstream - “accent less” dialect
what percent of people speak RP?
2%
Bernsteins social code theory (1971)
Established two types of code;
Restricted code & Elaborate code.
Restricted is used in tight social groups and is covert in nature relies upon certain contexts, like certain words may mean something to your friendship group but nothing to your teacher.
Elaborate code is used in more formal settings, designed to accommodate for a wider audience of people. Generally more standardised language use.
Found middle class people were the best at code switching and the lower classes could barely if at all do it.
what is Bernsteins quote?
“clearly one code is not better than another.”
Milroys social network study Belfast (1980)
conducted in Belfast, looked at;
Low density networks (open) - where a persons contacts don’t know each other. More likely to adopt standard forms of English.
High density networks (closed)- where a persons contacts all know each other. More likely to adopt more local and nonstandard English.
also found men had more closed networks, resulting in them speaking local dialect more. Whereas women statistically worked less therefore adopting more standardised English forms.
