Unit 2 Flashcards
what are accents?
variations in pronunciation which are affected by a speakers regional or social background (simply - how you say words)
what is recieved pronounciation? (RP)
the ACCENT associated with upper-class speakers of English (not defined with a particular region but social group)
what is dialect?
a variation in a language, with its own distinctive features of vocabulary and grammar (simply - the words you use)
what is standard english? (SE)
the DIALECT associated educated users of English (considered formally correct)
what is vocabulary?
different words for things
what is pronounciation?
most regional dialects have an accent to go with them.
what is grammar?
Regional dialects often contain non standard grammar
what are sociolects?
varieties of language used by particular social groups
what are the social factors that affect the language people use?
- belief system/culture
- socio-economic status
- age
- education
- occupation
what is the accommodation theory?
it suggests that we adjust our speech to accommodate the person we are addressing (developed by howard giles in the 1970s)
what is convergence?
this decreases the social distance between people - it is more common and occurs when we move our speech closer to that of the other person
what is divergence?
the effect of emphasisig the differences between people - when peoples speech styles move further apart
what is downward convergence?
an RP speaker may tone down their accent in company of working class speakers in fear of
their accent setting them apart.
what is upward convergence?
a man with a strong regional accent being interviewed for a job by an RP speaker may eliminate regional features.
what is mutual convergence?
both participants converge towards each other
