Language and Region - Accent Flashcards
(7 cards)
Regional accent
Regional accent describes the sounds that people make when they pronounce words and the way those sounds vary according to location in the country.
English also has one non-regional accent called Received Pronunciation it is the prestige form
Regional Dialect
Regional dialect describes the words and grammar that people use and the way that this varies according to location in the country.
English also has a non-regional dialect called Standard English. It is the prestige dialect of British English
Prestige and Non-Prestige Varieties
The prestige of a variety describes the value that members of a speech community place on it. Overt Prestige and Covert Prestige
‘Overt prestige’ has obvious social benefits such as a positive social image,
Covert prestige.’ can mean appearing tough or distinct from the norm
The vowel in bath
The northern pronunciation is /æ/
The southern pronunciation is /a:/
Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard Study
Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard study looked at the way in which we use accent to show group membership and to exclude other people.
Labov suggested that people were using the fishermen’s accent more because they thought of the fishermen as ‘true islanders’ wanted to be more like them. The accent marked them as different from the summer people whom the islanders resented. The changes described here are to a more low prestige form
Social Network Theory
Social network theory looks at the effect that the size and diversity of your social group has on your language. If the people you know tend to know each other, you have a very closed network. If the people who you know haven’t met each other, you have a very open networkIf the people you know are either friends, or relatives or workmates or people in your class, the connections between you are A very closed network with lots of multiplex connections is a very good norm-enforcement mechanism. A very open network is lots of uniplex connections is a very bad norm-enforcement mechanism.
