Theorists Flashcards
Social Categories theorist:
Bucholtz and Hall:
Social categories are formed by identifying themselves with others based on certain characteristics.
Social group theorist:
Bordieu:
When you learn a second language, you begin to have Cultural Capitol which means that you adopt the characteristics of that social group.
Social group theorist: what did she do?
- By being in Canada and working socially, she wanted to learn more English.
- By improving her English, she faced less discrimination at work
Labov’s case study for social class:
He studied how often the postvocalic ‘r’ was used in 3 manhattan stores:
- He based it on the phrase; “fourth floor.”
- He found the sales assistance from Saks used it most, Kliens used it least, and Macy’s showed a great upwards shift when asked to repeat it again.
What were the 3 main manhattan stores for labov’s study on social class?
Saks (used it most)
Kliens (used it least)
Macy’s (showed upward shift when asked to repeat)
What did Labov find out in phonetic case study? (manhattan stores)
Individual speech patterns were defined by social class:
- Prestigious stores will use “r”
- Middle ranked stores will attempt.
- Lower ranked stores will have least.
Case study: Trudgill on social class and gender:
Studied the use of: “ŋ” in Norwich
- Found that standardised “n” was used in lower social classes.
- “n” was also used by men in all social classes.
Labov’s principles on Gender:
- Principle l: in sociolinguistic stratification, men use more nonstandard forms than women.
- Princple la: In change from above, women favour the incoming prestige.
Principle ll: In change from below, women are most often innovators.
Zimmerman and West on minimal responses:
For men, minimal responses are an act of agreement, rather than active participation.
Zimmerman and West on interrupting:
On a case study they found that men interrupted 46 times whereas a woman only interrupted twice.
Dominance vs Difference - what is it and who are the theorists?
Dominance: Lakoff
Men are naturally more dominant than women:
- speech patterns
- behaviour
Difference (Tannen)
Men and women’s lifestyles are presented as being different cultures:
- Information vs feelings
- Advice vs understanding
Holmes on Gender:
Women use more standard speech forms than men because they are more aware of the fact that their language signals their social class or social status.
Chens S-curve theory:
Where language starts of at a slow pace, then picks up pace as it spreads and becomes more common, creating the S-Curve diagram.
What does Labov believe in terms of the S-Curve theory?
He disagrees:
- Thinks there’s transmission, in which a child learns from caregivers
- And diffusion, which is developed through adults interacting and talking.
Wolfram theory for case studies:
Real-time study example:
Ocracoke:
- Looked at speech used by villagers over several years.
- Found that identity was a factor for the way vocabulary was used.
