AO1 Flashcards
Convergence
Changing accent to be similar to those around you
Divergence
Changing accent to be different to those around you
Signals Social Distance
Code-Switching
Changing accent/dialect depending on who you’re speaking to
Covert Prestige
Using non-standard dialect on purpose
Usually only valued by speakers of that dialect
Overt Prestige
Using standard dialect on purpose
Received Pronunciation
‘Queen’s English’
Highest social prestige, users seen as educated
MLE/ ‘Jafaican’
Dialect of English originating from London
Caribbean, African, South Asian influence due to immigration
Spreading to become ‘MBE’, a mix of MLE and local regional dialects
Lexical variation
Differences in vocab that exist between different accents, dialects, and regions
Language variant
Different variations of a language e.g. accent, dialect, idiolect, sociolect
Accent levelling
Decreasing regional pronunciations/ dialect
Seen with politicians e.g. Margaret Thatcher, suggesting there is prestige to more neutral accent
Social mobility
Being able to move from one social class to another
Heterophones
Words with same spelling but different meaning
‘Lead’ (To guide)
‘Lead’ (The metal)
Homophones
Words with same sound but different meaning and spelling
‘Put’ and ‘Putt’
Idiomatic phrases
Phrase that has an accepted and known meaning that is different from dictionary definition
‘He’s hit the nail on the head’
Multiple negation
Double negative in one utterance
Unmarked plurality
Singular noun form used rather than plural
Th fronting
‘th’ pronounced as ‘f’
‘Fink’ for ‘Think’
