social stratafication Flashcards
What was the name of Labov’s New York study?
The social stratafication of English in New York
When was Labov’s New York study?
1966
What was the accent variation Labov was looking for in his New York study?
rhotic r/post vocalic r
Which three stores did Labov go to?
Kleins, Macy’s and Saks
What were Labovs findings for the New York study?
upper class pronounced it more however lower class overpronounced it in formal situations
Where was Trudgill’s language study?
Norwich
When was Trudgill’s language study?
1982
What was the aim of Trudgill’s investigation?
whether social class, gender and speech consciousness impacts how we speak
What accent variation was Trudgill focused on?
-ing
What were Trudgill’s findings?
working classes more likely to drop the ‘g’, in casual conversation lower classes dropped 100%, upper classes 30%
How did Trudgill define class?
occupation, education, housing type, income
What methods did Trudgill use to complete his study?
Interviews, reading a passage, word lists and comprehension
Where did Petyt complete his study?
Bradford
What accent variation did Petyt focus on?
/h/ dropping
What were Petyt’s findings?
lower working class h dropped 93% whereas upper middle dropped 17%
In 2013 what did London school of economics and the BBC use to define social class?
own a property, average income, savings, social group and cultural activities
When was Social code theory established?
1971
Who produced the Social code theory?
Bernstein
What is elaborate code?
a form of speech closest to being universally understandable, resembles standard english
What is restricted code?
a form of speech which excludes some listeners and creates a sense of belonging within social groups
What were Bernstein’s views on the value of each code?
“one code is not better than another, each possesses its own aesthetic, its own possibilities”
What is the correlation between social class and social code theory?
lower class - only use restricted
upper class - more culturally and geographically mobile so can code switch between each.
What did Antherton (2002) state about restricted code
Everyone uses restricted code some of the time.
Who produced social network theory?
Milroy (1980)
What is the definition of a “social network”?
groups of people who regularly interact with each other
What is a closed network?
connected contacts all know one another and tend to be high density
What is an open network?
connected contacts don’t all know each other, tend to be low density
What is a multiplex network?
connected contacts in a particular network belong to separate groups
What is network density?
describes the potential connections in a network that are actual connections eg a family reunion = high, a bus = low
What method did Milroy use to complete her work on social network theory?
She embedded herself within working class communities in Belfast
What did Milroy investigate in Belfast for social network theory?
The correlation between the integration of people into the community and language use
How did Milroy rank social network for each individual?
she gave each a ‘network strength score’
What did Milroy find from her Belfast investigation?
people with high network strength scores had stronger accents reinforced by social density, community ties associated with identity and language use
What was the name of Penelope Eckert’s (2000) study?
Jocks and burnouts
What was investigated in the Jocks and burnouts study?
an american highschool, jocks participated in school activities whereas burnouts rebelled against school
What did Eckert find in her study?
burnouts used exaggerated pronunciation but jocks used more standard and socially prestigious language - adopt language of people who share their values
Where did Jenny Cheshire complete her study?
Reading, 1982
What was Jenny Cheshire’s study?
an adventure playground investigating teenagers’ sociolects and peer group culture
What were Cheshire’s findings?
‘tough’ teenagers were using non-standard variations more - they could choose where they wanted to be and how they used language
What is overt prestige?
adopting the form of speech which is associated with social status - money, wealth and success, RP, sophisticated
What is covert prestige?
adopting the form of speech associated with less quantifiable and individualized aspects of social status - personal and local identity
When was the Martha’s vineyard study?
1963
Who conducted the Martha’s Vineyard study?
Labov
What was the Martha’s vineyard study?
Originally it was a fishing island but became a poplar holiday destination for ‘summer people’, Labov interviewed different people from the island
What were Labov’s findings from his 1963 study?
Fishermen began to exaggerare a tendency already existing to identify themsleves as vineyarders and increase social distance
Which variation was focused on in Martha’s Vineyard study?
diphthong vowels (au & ie, mouse and mice)
What is martha’s vineyard an example of?
Covert prestige
Who originated communities of practice?
Lave and Winder (1991)
What are communities of practice?
people coming together for a particular purpose and establishing ways to achieve purpose
