Style and Context

Question 1

What is the vernacular?

Answer 1

a variety acquired in pre adolescent years

non presigious and unmonitored

Question 2

Explain the observer’s paradox

Answer 2

linguists want to access speaker’s unmonitored speech, but observing speaker’s can lead to them monitoring their speech

Question 3

What are the different styles explored in style shifting?

Answer 3

minimal pairs, word list, reading passage, interview style, casual style

Question 4

Explain Labov’s findings in his NYC Study

Answer 4

speakers used more [r] in formal styles
-LMC hypercorrected and used more than UMC
speakers raised their vowels more in casual styles

Question 5

Were there patterns in Labov’s NYC findings?

Answer 5

interactions between class and style were strikingly regular, patterns weren't chaotic
usage was stratified, and ranking correlates with social fatcors

Question 6

What does style correlate with?

Answer 6

linguistic variation, it is connected to degree of formality

Question 7

How does degree of formality influence speech?

Answer 7

more formal styles of speech increase a speaker’s attention to speech

Question 8

What is a factor of intraspeaker stylistic variation?

Answer 8

It reflects inter speaker social variation

speakers in a formal style approximate progressively to the norms of the higher social group