Regional Variation Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

What is meant by Accent

A

Accent refers to the set of pronunciation features which help to indicate a persons geographical origin and/or their social class

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is meant by Dialect

A

Dialect refers to the variety of language used by a particular group of people, which has distinctive features of vocabulary and grammar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is Received Pronunciation (RP)

A

RP is the accent associated with educated speakers of British English, and the one most commonly used as a model for foreign learners

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is Estuary English

A

Estuary English is a variety of modified regional speech, a mixture of non-regional and local southeastern English pronunciation and intonation
If one imagines a continuum with RP and London speech at either end, these speakers are to be found grouped in the middle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is Multicultural London Vernacular

A
Multicultural London Vernacular is said to contain many elements from the languages of the Caribbean, South Asia, and West Africa, as well as remnants of traditional Cockney. 
MLE is used mainly by young, inner city, working class people
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What did Howard Giles do

A

Researched the perception of RP and the Birmingham accent by two groups of 17 year olds
Although it was the same speaker using two different accents when speaking about psychology, the teenagers rated the RP speaker higher in terms of competence and intelligence.
Giles reported the findings of another group of British teenagers who were presented with the same speech arguing against the death penalty, spoken in different accent. He found that the teenaged were more likely to value the argument and the content of the speaker used a more prestigious accent.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What did Dixon, Mahoney and Cocks do

A

Used the same ‘matched-guise’ approach to see if there was a correlation between accent and how we perceive someone’s guilt
Again, using the Birmingham accent as the non standard form, the participants listened to a dialogue between a policeman and a suspect.
For some the suspect spoke with a Birmingham accent, while others listened to a recording when the suspects accent was more standard.
The results showed that the suspect was perceived to be significantly more likely to be guilty when he spoke with the non standard Birmingham form.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What did Neuliep and Speten-Hansen do

A

They were interested in the link between ethnocentrism and the perception of a speaker with a ‘non native accent’
To begin, the participants were asked a series of questions so that Neuliep and Speten-Hansen could deduce how ethnocentric they were.
The results were : Those considered to be ethnocentric gave lower ratings to the non native speaker
This how a non native speaker is perceived can depend on ethnocentricity of the person they are speaking to

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What did Choy and Dodd do

A

Reached conclusions which suggest that teachers make judgements on a students ability and their personality based on the way they speak
We may draw the conclusion that we view those with a standard and more prestigious accent as superior to those who speak with a non standard form.
Whether this is because we consider the latter to be less intelligent or more likely to be guilty of a crime, this judgement of inferiority is clear

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What did Jenny Cheshire and Viv Edwards do

A

Found that the use of ‘them’ as a demonstrative was reported by 97.7% of the schools who took part in a survey - the highest percentage of any dialectal variation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What did Leslie Milroy do

A

Argues that increased geographical mobility leads to the ‘large scale distribution of close knit, localised networks that have historically maintained highly systematic and complex sets of socially structures linguistic norms’. Milroy then examined linguistic features of speech, particularly the ‘th’ sound (moTHer) and the ‘a’ sound (hAt).
However, unlike Trudgill and Cheshire who focused on the socioeconomic position of their participants as the way of understanding results, Milroy simply sought to describe how the language was used to form and maintain relationships within groups.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are Social networks

A

One of the most significant sociolinguistic studies using this method was Lesley Milroys work on Belfast speech 1987
Milroy described the idea of a social network as a ‘web of ties’
The concept focuses on the relationships between individuals and the contact patterns between group members
Another important factor is the strength of the ties between people - from the close ties of family members to the weak ties of acquaintances

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What did William Labov do

A

Focused in Marthas Vineyard, an island which, although part of the state of Massachusetts, is fairly isolated and can only be accessed via boat or by air
It is a popular tourist destination with the summer population five times that of the winter
The aim was for the participants to be as relaxed and natural as possible: importantly they weren’t aware of what he was looking for or researching.
Labov found that the pronunciation of certain vowel sounds were subtly changing from the standard American pronunciations and noted that locals had a tendency to pronounce these diphthongs with a more central point
Concluded that this was done, albeit subconsciously, in order to establish an identity of themselves as Vineyarders, distancing themselves from the tourists who were frequent visitors
There was, according to the research, a need to retain a social identity and almost propagate a ‘them and us’ mentality and they did so through the language used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is Overt Prestige

A

An accent that is generally widely recognised as being used by the ‘culturally dominance group’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is Covert Prestige

A

Using Covert Prestige means to put on an accent to show membership to an ‘exclusive community’ in the area, rather than to fit with the ‘dominant culture group’
The movement of people led to radical changes in people’s social networks, away from strictly local ones compromising family and neighbours to ones that encompass far more strangers and people in different walks of life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What did Paul Foulkes and Gerard Docherty do

A

Give an example of this relating more to accent, discussing the replacement of ‘th’ with ‘f’ and ‘v’ and how this phonological variant had spread from its original origins of London
What causes the spread is probably due to the same reason given earlier for Dialect Levelling
That is to say, geographical and social mobility may not just be seen as reasons for why regional dialects are becoming less prominent but also as reasons for non standard forms spreading across country

17
Q

What did Gary Ives do

A

Commissioned two case studies to be carried out in London and Bradford
In each study the participants were questioned and subsequently discussed their language use and, more specifically, their dialect.
As part of the study, a group of eight teenage boys were interviewed about the way they speak and the language they use
The students also distinguished themselves from those they termed ‘freshies’ meaning those born in Pakistan who have subsequently moved to England

18
Q

What is Accommodation theory

A

Suggests we adjust our speech to the person we are addressing

19
Q

What is Convergence

A

This is more common and occurs when we move our speech to that of the other person

20
Q

What is divergence

A

When people’s speech styles move further apart

21
Q

What did Trudgill do

A

Explored the ‘ing’ forms (going) and the two common ways of pronouncing these forms - one that matches the spelling and a second that is often represented in writing as “goin’”
A given speaker will sometimes use on pronunciation and sometimes the other, in a seemingly unpredictable manner, and it is precisely this sort of free variation that was long considered to be impossible to study in a fruitful way
Every group of speakers, and every unsocial speaker, uses both types of pronunciation in most or all situations.
But, on the one hand, every speaker uses a steadily greater proportion of “in’” forms as the context becomes more informal
And, on the other hand, in any given situation, a member of a lower ranking social group uses a higher proportion of “in’” forms than a member of a higher ranking group

22
Q

What is meant by Prescriptivism

A

Prescriptivists favour rules that identify ‘correct’ language usage
Invokes stating a set of rules that people should follow in order to use language ‘properly’
They disapprove of uses of language that breaks these rules
Language should be written and spoken in a certain way - in English ‘‘tis means using standard English and RP

23
Q

What is meant by Descriptivism

A

Descriptivists seek to describe, objectively, how language is used
They do not subscribe to ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ language use
They believe that different varieties of English should all be valued equally
The idea is that language change is inevitable, so it’s a waste if time to try and stop it