🏝️• Language & Region: Content + Key Studies Flashcards by Henry Mathieson

Dialect is the difference in ________ used

Dialect is the difference in words used

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Accent is the difference in ________ used

Accent is the difference in sounds used

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What factors make up your Idiolect?

Your accent (way you speak/ articulate words)
Your dialect (words you use)

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What 3 factors were the main influences on the development of accents in the UK?

Migration/ Invasion
Social Classes
Music

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What is the goal for sombody using overt prestige? And are they more likely to diverge or converge from others around them?

Adapting language to seek power/ fit with dominant culture
More likely to diverge from others to seek dominance/ power

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What is the goal for sombody using covert prestige? And are they more likely to diverge or converge from others around them?

Adapting language to seek social acceptance/ to fit in
To seek belonging
More likely to converge towards others to appeal/ belong

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What is code switching?

When a person actively uses two different languages or dialects within a sentence or switches between languages or dialects depending on who an individual is speaking to

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What is accentism?

Discriminatory or unfair behaviour centred on someone’s accent or language use

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What is orderly heterogeneity?

The idea that accent vairation is orderly, purposeful and structured, not random

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What is social stratification?

The organisation of a society into groups based on socioeconmic factors such as wealth, gender, race, ethnicity, income, education, occupation, social status, or power. Its a heriarchy that places groups into different levels of privilege

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What is Dialect levelling?

The process of accents becoming more similar mainly due to the modern dissipation of social segregation and an increase in contact between classes (therefore merging of langauge/ dialects)

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Explain the two types of Dialect Levelling?

Geographical Shrinkage: when the area where people used a linguistic feature is now smaller
Quantitative Shrinkage: when the area where people used a lingusistic feature is the same but the fewer people use the features

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What is geographical diffusion?

The spread of accent/ dialect features from one geographical location to another, with the features spreading from populous urban areas and reaching the larger cities/ towns before the smaller ones, regardless of physical proximity

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What does Diachronic mean?

That language change is random/ unstructured and will change slowly over time, bereft of purpose or reason

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What is a quote (+who said it) that showcases the belief in the previous idea that language change was diachronic?

That language change has a ‘complete absence of any pattern’

Hubbell 1950 (Was belived until Labov in 1963)

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What does synchronic mean?

That language change occurs at one place at one time & has causation (e.g social stratification) and isnt random

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What is the first main study for this unit?

The BBC Voice Poll

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What was the BBC Voice Poll?

The most significant survey of regional English ever undertaken around the UK
Survey that recorded convorsations of people talking about accent and dialect varation aroud the UK - including their attitudes to different types of accents/ dialects/ langauge

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When was the BBC Voice Poll conducted & for how long did it last?

Conducted from 2004-2005
Lasted 9 months

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How many participants took part in the BBC Voice Poll?

5000 people

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In what environment and with what people was the BBC Voice Poll conducted?

Where possible all members knew eachother
From a wide range of social groups/ ethnic groups and age groups
People chosen with similar backgrounds - those that share interests or passions to promote the most mundane/ normal setting so they were comfortable with sharing correct opinions
Environments would have consisted of an area which represented ‘home turf’ for the group e.g. at local pub, living room or workplace

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What was observed/ measured/ recorded in the BBC Voice Poll?

Regional dialect/ conversation
Different peoples own opinions on accents & languages across Britain
ATTITUDES TOWARDS CELEBRITY VOICES
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR VOICE?
ATTITUDES TOWARDS OTHER ACCENTS
ATTITUIDES TOWARDS LANGAUGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH

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BBC Voice Poll

Who was voted the most pleasant voice & what was their accent?

CELEBRITY VOICES

Sean Connery
Edinburgh Accent

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BBC Voice Poll

Who was voted very highly on how pleasant their voice was & what was their accent?

CELEBRITY VOICES

Peirce Brosman (Mamma Mia)
Irish Accent (soft and gentle)

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# BBC Voice Poll Who was voted the **least** pleasant voice & what was their accent? | **CELEBRITY VOICES**

* Ian Paisley * Northern Irish Accent (Thick) (Derry Girls)

# BBC Voice Poll Respondants indicated a ________________ towards accents that were ________ | **CELEBRITY VOICES**

Respondants indicated a preference towards accents that were local

# BBC Voice Poll How many participants wished occasionally that they had a different accent?

59%

# BBC Voice Poll What is the most wished for accent?

Received Pronunciation (RP)

# BBC Voice Poll In most regions voters considered ____________ accent to be prestigious and helpful for increased employability

In most regions voters considered **their own** accent to be prestigious and helpful for increased employability

# BBC Voice Poll What affect did intoxication have on peoples accents?

It was mentioned throughout the survey that intoxication brings out a persons accent to make it much more prominant/ obvious/ amplifies it

# BBC Voice Poll Many people voted 'an accent identical do your own' as one of their ____________ accents | **WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR VOICE**

Many people voted 'an accent identical do your own' as one of their **favourite** accents

# BBC Voice Poll What was the primary insecurity people expressed revolving around their accent? | **WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR VOICE**

That they were difficult to understand/ made them *'reluctatnt to speak in meetings'*

What percentage of participants stated they enjoy hearing a wide variety of accents?

78%

# BBC Voice Poll What 2 accounts were accents scored on? | **ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACCENTS**

* Prestige (How prestigious/ helpful career-wise) * Pleasantness

# BBC Voice Poll What link was made between the 2 account accents were scored on? | **ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACCENTS**

That they were closely linked e.g. If one was negative so was the other: * Negatively rated pleasantness therefore commonly lead to negatively rated prestige * Positively rated pleasantness therefore commonly lead to postitively rated prestige

# BBC Voice Poll What was the accent rated the most pleasant and most prestigious? | **ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACCENTS**

Edinburgh Accent

# BBC Voice Poll What 3 accents were rated the least pleasant and least prestigious? | **ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACCENTS**

* ** Birmingham Accent** * Asian Accent * Liverpool Accent

# BBC Voice Poll What were the 2 exceptions to the pattern between pleasantness and prestige? (+ explain) | **ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACCENTS**

* London Accent - Was rated very prestigious but not so pleasant sounding * Newcastle Accent - Was rated very pleasant sounding but not so prestigious

# BBC Voice Poll What percentage of participants in the poll voted that speaking more than one language is helpful in getting a good job in the UK? | **LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH**

56%

# BBC Voice Poll What fraction of participants claimed that they hear a wider variety of accents nowadays than they used to? | **LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH**

⅔

# BBC Voice Poll What percentage of participants voted that they dislike hearing other languages that are not English? | **LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH**

22%

# BBC Voice Poll What percentage of respondants were multilingual? | **LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH**

84%

# BBC Voice Poll Out of the multilingual respondants, what are their opinions on being able to speak another language alongside English? (+ what do they find it useful for) | **LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH**

The vast majority stated that they are very glad they can speak other languages alongiside English as they find it very useful for job applications

What is MLE?

**M**ulticultural** L**ondon **E**nglish Its a variation of English that is influenced by Jamaican and other non-white populations

What is the **second** main study for this unit?

Howard Giles Matched Guise Study

When was Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study Conducted?

1970, 54 years ago

Why does the year in which Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study was conducted have to be taken into consideration?

Because langauge and social attitudes have changed since then

What were the 3 parameters used to measure in Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study? (+ explain them)

* Status - testing how powerful/ important speakers appeared (Prestige) * Personality - testing what traits of character came across * Persusasiveness - testing how beliveable the person seemed

What was the process/ methodology of Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study?

The Matched Guise Technique (MGT)

What is the MGT (Matched Guise Technique)

A research method that indirectly measures people's attitudes toward language varieties by having participants evaluate the voices of multiple speakers

Explain the process of the MGT (Matched Guise Technique) In 3 main steps

* Participants listen to multiple actors/ speakers reading the **same text** but **in different accents/ linguistic varieties or guises** * The participants are **unaware that its the same speaker is reading mutliple in guises/ accents** * Participants rate the speakers on the series of traits specifed for this particular experiment (Status, Personality & Persuasiveness)

What are the 2 main limitations to Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study?

* Is it really possible for one single speaker/ actor to preform mulitple accents/ guises convicingly? * Did participants already have their own view on the accent/ guise?

# Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study What were the results for **Status**? (ranked 1-4)

**Testing how important/ powerful speakers seemed to be** 1. RP 2. National Accents e.g. Welsh/ Scottish/ Irish 3. Regional Rural Accents e.g. somerset/ cornish 4. Regional Urban Accents e.g. birmingham/ liverpool

# Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study What were the results for **Personality**? (2 main rankings)

* RP - seen as self-confident, intelligent and ambitious but also cold and ruthless (mainly **negative**) * Northern Accents - seen as honest, reliable, generous, warm and humorous (mainly **positive**)

What is the main issue with 'persuasiveness' as a parameter?

People can seem persuasive because of social status or frendliness/ politness (status or personality) therefore deeming it less of an individual dimension and more difficult to directly measure the impact of

# Howard Giles' Matched Guise Study What were the results for **Persuasiveness**? (1 example)

Due to difficult and ambiguous nature results slim: * One of the experiments the speech was on capital punishment (death penalty) * When questionnare was relased a week later, **only those participants who heard the regional guises/ accents** appeared to have been **persuaded** by views proposed Inferring that the regional accents were more belivable + therefore linking with personality, perhaps more appear more friendly hence more beliveability

What is a key Phonological Feature of **RP**?

Trap-Bath Split

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Cockney**?

London Vowel Shift + Glottal Stopping of 't'

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Estuary English**?

L-vocalisation + Glottal Stopping of 't'

What is a key Phonological Feature of **West Country English**?

Rhoticity

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Midlands English**?

H-Dropping + Foot-Strut Merger

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Northern English**?

Non-Rhoticity + Foot-Strut Merger

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Geordie**?

Non-Rhoticity + Foot-Strut Merger

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Welsh English**?

Prosody: Trilling of 'r' + Non-Rhoticity

What is a key Phonological Feature of **Scottish English**?

Glottal Stopping of 't' + Rhoticity + Trilling

🏝️• Language & Region: Content + Key Studies Flashcards

(65 cards)