Power and Identity Flashcards
(23 cards)
Define Accent Bias Theory (Sharma)
People have accents that they prefer, usually because they are like their own or because of the positive and negative associations of certain accents due to differing social status. Awareness of this can lead to people consciously using or changing their own.
Define Age-Grading.
The changes in people use of language as they age.
Define Age-Specific Language.
Age-specific language refers to the fact that we tend to speak differently at various stages in our lives, e.g. more slang when younger.
Define Generation-Specific Language.
Generation-specific language refers to the different terms used by each generation, as slang terms change with each generation. (Eg. Millennials with “Bae” and “Lit”, and Gen Alphas “Rizz” and “Skibidi.”)
Define Communication Accommodation Theory (Giles)
People tend to accommodate others in their speech by adapting their style of language.
Define Convergence and Divergence.
Convergence is when we try to sound more like the person we are speaking with in order to connect with them (Eg. Upwardly Converging with the interviewer at a job interview) whereas divergence is where we try to deliberately distance ourselves from others to show that we are different (Eg.using RP in a group of informal speakers intentionally.)
List Grices Maxims.
Maxim of Manner - Being clear
Maxim of Quality - Being truthful
Maxim of Quantity- Not speaking for too long or too briefly
Maxim of Relevance - Sticking to the topic
What is the word for when you go against one of these Maxims?
Flouting.
Name the 4 Gender Models.
Diversity, Dominance, Deficit, Difference.
Define the Deficit Model. (+ who wrote it?)
Robin Lakoff
Women have adapted their speech in relation to men, in order to sound less dominant and therefore more uncertain, reflecting expectations of their more subordinate role in patriarchal society. Whilst this may be less true today, it is still evident in certain contexts, e.g. if women adopt this role.
Define the Dominance Model (+ who wrote it?)
Spender, Fishman, Zimmerman and West
Due to patriarchy, men have traditionally been more dominant in society and therefore their language reflects this, both in the language they use and the expectations on them.
Define the Difference Model (+ who wrote it?)
Deborah Tannen
Because men and women do not perform the same roles socially, we have adapted differing speech styles. Men favour ‘report talk’, which more typically focuses on information, orders, advice, conflict, independence, and status, whereas women favour ‘rapport talk’, which focuses more on feelings, proposals, understanding, compromise, intimacy, and support.
Define the Diversity Model (+ who wrote it?)
Butler, Cameron and Eckert
Because gender is not an inherent binary, it is something we perform based on our own sense of how to conform to societal expectations and the extent to which this is perceived to be desirable in different contexts. Therefore, language differences are not biological; rather they are a performative act based on our desired gender identity, which might vary in different situations.
Define Dialect Levelling (Kerswill)
In recent times, the diversity of different dialects has decreased and most people in the UK have converged towards a mutually consistent and understandable style.
Define Face Theory (Goffman)
We present a ‘face’ when interacting with others and our ‘face needs’ are for this version of ourselves to be accepted and not challenged. We therefore participate in ‘face-work’ to protect our self-image as well as the needs of others that we interact with through forms of politeness.
What did Butler say about “Gender Performativity”?
We perform our gender through speech acts in order to conform to the gender roles that we choose or are forced to adopt in different contexts. Because gender is not an inherent binary, these performances are socially constructed, and may or may not align with biological sex.
Define Bucholtz and Hall’s Identity and Interaction Theory.
Our identity is formed through the ways that we interact and is therefore contextual. Rather than our language being a reflection of our fixed identity, our identity varies for different contexts and therefore the context of our interactions is what forms our identity.
Define Instrumental and Influential Power (Fairclough)
We seek to influence others through our use of language and therefore we are all capable of ‘influential power’ through the ways in which we do this.
However, people who have powerful roles in society or certain contexts can demonstrate ‘instrumental power’ based on their pre-existing status.
What is MBE? (Drummond)
Multicultural British English is both an accent and a dialect that is adopted by people who are influenced in their speech by multiculturalism in Britain.
It was first observed in London – MLE, then spread to other urban cities – MUBE, but is now observable throughout Britain – MBE, albeit mostly by the young and working classes.
Explain the ideas behind the Norwich Study (Trudgill)
The higher the social class, the more likely people are to use features of Received Pronunciation, whereas the lower the social class, the more likely people are to use regional accent features, as exemplified through ‘g-dropping’ in Norwich.
Men are also more likely to use regional features, although not as much as they think they do, and women are more likely to use RP, also not as much as they think they do. However, gender is less important as a factor than social class.
Explain Shan Wareings theory about power.
Political, personal, and social group power
Individuals can demonstrate different levels of power in their language based on various factors.
Political power relates to the power of those who make and enforce laws, e.g. politicians and the police.
Personal power relates to the power of those who have roles that give them power in certain contexts, e.g. teachers, parents, and employers.
Social group power relates to the greater influence of those who represent dominant groups in society, e.g. white, male, middle/upper class
Define Fairclough’s “Synthetic Personalisation”.
When addressing mass audiences, it is more effective to treat them as though you are talking to them personally as individuals.
Eg. direct address, inclusive pronouns, or more informal styles, e.g. by using a lower register or humour to appear more casual and friendly
