Social Groups Flashcards
(39 cards)
define identity
identity refers to our sense of who we are as individuals and as members of social groups
Define social group
What are the social groups topics?
social group = a group of people who share one or more social characteristic or identity which can influence the way they use language
- identity
- social class
- age
- occupation
- ethnicity
- gender
what did linguist Joanna Thornburrow say about identity?
“one of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity and shaping other people’s views of who we are, is through our use of language”
what are the theorists associated with social class?
- trudgill
- petyt
- labov (NY)
- moore
Trudgills study (1974):
o In Norwich, Trudgill looked at the use of ‘ing’ endings in present participle verbs such as “walking”
o He found that NSE forms were more frequently used by those from the lower classes suggesting that how you speak is due to how you were brought up, as stereotypically people of lower class backgrounds tend to be less educated and therefore use more NSE forms than SE
Petyts Study (1985):
o Investigated if there was a correlation between h-dropping (eg pronouncing ‘house’ as ‘ouse’) and class in Bradford
o His study focused on the middle and working classes and found that h-dropping was much more common in the working classes
Labovs NY study (1966):
o He conducted a study in NY where he visited 3 department stores frequented by distinct social classes (lower, middle and higher)
o American accents mostly are rhotic, however the NY and Boston accents are distinctly non-rhotic
o Pronunciation of the post-vocalic /r/ is seen to be more standard and prestigious
o Labov walked around 3 NYC department stores and asked for the “fourth floor”. By pretending not to hear he got the speakers to say the words twice, once spontaneously and once carefully
o He found that the lower classes are more aware of the prestige of the pre-consonantal “r” and when they think about it are more likely to change the way they speak to reflect the way that “posh people” sound
o The upper middle class differed least between casual and careful speech styles showing that they were least susceptible to the prestige form changing the way they spoke less than any other social class when thinking about how they speak
Emma Moore’s study (2012):
o A British linguist who investigated patterns of variation in speech among teenage girls, in Bolton in 2012 (the use of “were” and “was”)
o The ethnographic study follows the girls at school over a 2 year period beginning when they were 12-13 and finishing at ages 14-15
o She identified 4 groups of girls within the school
1. Populars = engaged in rebellious activities such as drinking and smoking and had an anti-school attitude
2. Townies = engaged in even riskier activities such as drugs, they belong to a lower social class
3. Geeks = institutionally orientated and took part in school activities such as the choir and orchestra
4. Eden valley girls = a group of girls who come from a desirable home area were also school orientated and who in engaged in activities such as dancing and shopping – they were all from higher social groups
o Findings: the townies highly favoured the non standard past tense verb “were” to create a sense of belonging/identity. The geeks disfavoured the NSE form “were” possibly due to them engaging with the institutional norms of the school and conform to using SE form
o The eden valley girls used the SE “was” almost all the time. This aligns with the stereotype that people higher up on the social scale are more likely to use standard forms. This connotes that how you speak is based on how/ where you were brought up. The populars neither favour nor disfavour the NSE form ‘were’
what are the theorists linked to identity?
- William Labov (MV)
- Penelope Eckert
Labovs (MY) study (1963):
o Marthas vineyard is a fairly isolated island off the coast of Massachusetts and popular summer tourist destination
o His study focused on the pronunciation of the diphthongs /au/ and /ai/
o He interviewed 69 people from different social groups, asking them questions which would prompt them to use words containing these vowels
o He found that a small group of chillmark fisherman were the main users of diphthongs. This was done sub-consciously, to establish an identity of themselves as native vineyarders, creating a linguistic divide from the frequent tourists
Penelope Eckerts study (2000):
o Professor of linguistics at Stanford University
o In 2000, Detroit, in the U.S state of Michigan
o Research: did an ethnographic study where she defined groups in terms of the social practices they engaged in. She did this by observing friendship groups in a school in Detroit. Established two very different groups, the jocks and the burnouts, each containing individuals with a mix of social class
o The jocks = a group in the school who actively engaged in and enjoyed school life (school orientated, respected authority, participated in sports/school activities)
o The burnouts = were quite the opposite of the jocks, choosing not to become involved and interactive with the going on of the school and engaging in rebellious behaviour eg drinking, smoking
o Results: found that people tend to speak more like their friends – those who they shared social practices with – than others belonging in the same demographic category as them ie social class
Critique = both Moores and Eckerts ethnographic studies focuses on teenagers and therefore may not refelct the attitudes and values of adults
what are the theorists associated with age?
- Eckert
- Gary Ives
- Unni Berland
- Ignacio Martinez
- Vivian De Clerk
- Anna Stenstrom
Eckerts age study:
o 1998 study: argues that there are different ways of defining the concept of age:
1. Chronological (number of years since birth)
2. biological age (physical maturity)
3. Social age (linked to life events such as marriage and children). Would the language of a single 20-year-old woman be the same as a married 20-year-old woman with 2 children?
o Found not all 18-25-year-olds share the same language characteristics.
o 2003 study: Slang used by teens to establish youth culture and identity. Rising intonation and multiple negation common, but not all teenagers speak alike.
Gary Ives study:
o West Yorkshire Study: 100% of teenagers asked thought that people speak differently depending on their age and that language use becomes more standard with age.
o Second study found among 17-year-olds that the shared language of teenagers was informal, containing taboo and slang specific to their age-group.
Unni Berland study:
o Class is a factor of language variation within an age group.
o Working class teens used ‘innit’ more than middle class teens. Use of tags (‘innit’ / ‘right’)
o Middle class teens used ‘yeah’ more than working class teens. (tag ‘yeah’)
Ignacio Martinez Study:
o Teenagers use negatives and multiple negations (eg “ I didn’t see nobody”) more frequently than adults
o Teenagers more direct when they speak, whereas adults are more conscious of what/how they speak
Vivian De Clerk Study:
o Young people seek to create identities and have the freedom to ‘challenge linguistic norms’.
o Want to look ‘modern’ and ‘cool’ as well as different and need to belong to a distinctive group.
o But not all teenagers are alike- they are not a homogeneous group.
critique = her study lacks quantitative data relying more on qualitative insights
Anna Strenstrom Study:
Looked at teen language features, found teen talk features include:
o Irregular turn-taking
o Overlaps
o indistinct articulation
o word shortening
o teasing/ name calling
o verbal duelling
o slang
o taboo
o language mixing (from other cultures).
critique = overgeneralise teen langauge features ignoring variation by region, gender etc
what theorists are associated with occupation?
- John Swales
- Drew and Heritage
- Koester
- David Crystal
- French and Raven
- Holmes and Stubbe
- Spolsky
- Hornyak
John swales theory (2011):
In many professions, texts (written or spoken) often follow the same pattern think about typical structure of an expenditure form, or time sheet, or even a doctor patient appointment. We call this pattern/ common practise a discourse structure. People who are part of the profession have the knowledge of these texts how to create, use and therefore they are all part of the discourse community.
Defined Discourse Communities as having members who:
o share a set of common goals
o use specialist lexis and discourse
o possess a required level of knowledge and skill to be considered eligible to participate in the community
Drew and Heritage Thoery:
o Suggests that members of a discourse community (i.e. same profession) share inferential frameworks. That is they have implicit ways of thinking, communicating and behaving.
o They also suggest that there are strong hierarchies of power within organisations, with many asymmetrical (unequal) relationships
Koester Thoery:
o Koester (2004) suggests that phatic talk is essential.
o Koester argues that personal chatting and being sociable is an important aspect of effective working and connecting with workmates.
David Crystal theory:
o “the use of jargon makes a workplace more efficient because it is a form of shared linguistic economy”
French and Raven theory:
Looked at five bases of power within a workplace:
1. Expert: based on knowledge
2. Legitimate: based on status within company
3. Reward: based on the capacity to make rewards
4. Referent: based on mutual respect and rapport
5. Coercive: based on the capacity to force someone to do something, with the ability to punish if not completed
