Sociolect theories Flashcards
Accommodation theory
Giles
Proposes speakers adjust speech to accomodate the other participants in the conversation; communication must be two-way with audience language heard/read
Upwards convergence- When a speaker of lowev status attempts to converge towards the language characteristics of a higher status speaker
Downwards convergence- when a speaker adopts tge language characteristicts of a person he/she is addressing, who has a percieved lower status
Mutual convergence- When both speakers converge linguitically to ‘meet in the middle’
Divergence - when speakers’ styles of speech move further apart, increasing social distance
Restricted + elaborated code
Bernstein
Restricted- Highly sociolectal variety used when the audience shares similar intrests and expectations of the world
Elaborated- Idiolect variety unconcerned with group attributes; extensive vocabulary
Social network theory+A01
Milroy
Conducted research in inner city Belfast using a snowball effect to make their way into tight knit working class communities where she gave each individual she studied a networkstrength score out of 5 on how inter grained into the community they were and found a higher score lead to a higher use of non-standard forms such as phonological variable (a) as in the common noun “hat” and phonological variable (th) as in “mother”
Networks will either be closed, where most speakers communicate with multiple other members of the in-group regularly, but will have little or no contact with out-group members, or open, where in-group speakers often communicate with outgroup, and may not actually speak to, or even know, many members of the in-group
However they only studied one community in one location.
Anti-language
Halliday
Sociolects used by groups occupying a marginal or precarious position in society, especially where central activities of the group place them outside the law
Example - Polari which was used primarily by homosexual men in the 1930s-1970s. Estimated around 500 words including the abbreviation “bevvy” (drink) and the neologism “omi” meaning man
Relexicalisation
The process of using new words for old, Partial relexicalisation often occurs in anti-languages
In/Out groups
In-groups are social categories with which individuals identify strongly, marked by the use of sociolect. Out groups are social categories not identified with, marked by lack of sociolectal familiarity
Lexical classification of sociolect
Coleman
Slang- ephemeral(lasting for a very short time), often colloquial (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary) lexis used by the in-group
Jargon- Professional and unofficial lexis allowing for precision
Cant- lexis used to obscure the meaning from the out-group, usually with criminal intent
Teenage talk 7
Stenstrom (o with 2 dots over it)
The language of teenagers is characterised by irregular turn-taking, indistinct articulation, word shortening, verbal duelling, slang, taboo and language mixing
Language and adolescent peer groups
Eckert
Teenagers mark use of linguistic features such as filler words ‘like’ and ‘okay’, rising intonation and multiple negation eg ‘I ain’t done nothin’ in their speech
Social identity theory
Tajfel and turner
Proposes that when in-groups identity is made or becomes salient (most noticeable or important), people often wish to emphasize characterises of their group, including use of sociolect
Among the weaknesses of the theory, there is the fact that although social identity theory explains how discrimination occurs, it fails to predict behaviour.
Secondly, the theory fails to consider factors that may be crucial when groups engage in discrimination such as the cultural expectations of the social constraints.
Language and identity ( Thornborrow)
‘One of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity, and of shaping other people’s views of who we are, is through use of language.’
Define code-switching
Shifting from the use of one linguistic characteristic to another
It can be used to tefer to switching among dialects, styles or registers. Tends to be sub-consious and usually reduces social distance
Overt and Covert prestige
Labov
1966 New York Department study store. Observed how people pronounced post vocalic /r/ in “floor”.
Overall, the employees with higher socioeconomic status (working in higher class stores) pronounced the rhotic / r / more frequently than the employees with lower socioeconomic status but, when asked again, were more likely to carefully pronounce “fourth floor”
Overt= The prestige assosiated with observing percieved social norms and behaving in a socially desirable manner
Covert= The prestige that derives from behaviour that flouts percieved social norms and conventions, yet is advantageous within a particular context/social group
Grices conversational maxims
Successful conversations depend on 4 maxims-
Quantity,quality, relevance and manner
Some may choose to flout maxims accidentaly, or due to shyness or cultural differences. Some may flout deliberatly in an attempt to mislead.
Overlapping maxims, all 4 maxims overlap in conversation.
Politeness theory
Brown and Levinson
Stategies are develeoped in order to save the hearer’s ‘face’; we usually want to socially accept our audience, making them feel valued and avoiding their embarrasment.
Bald on record- no effort by speaker to reduce impact of FTA’s- used by people in a close social group.
Negative politeness- minimise effects of unavoidable FTA’s
Positive politeness- minimize social distance between speaker and audience
Off record(indirect)- Strategy to remove audience from a position where they would suffer FTA’ by not targetting them directly.
