Theories Flashcards
(21 cards)
Vernacular Reorganisation - Holmes 1992
- Young speakers adopt features that may diverge from the prestige variety (the standard language of their community)
- Adolescents frequently use colloquial contractions, slang, vowel shifts, and discourse markers (e.g., “like” as a discourse particle).
This process of linguistic divergence is driven by identity construction and heightened sensitivity to social markers in speech and their peer-group’s linguistic norms
Study done by the ‘Phonological Atlas of North American English’
What do teens lead in?
Whose study does this reflect?
Studies tracking phonological shifts reveal that young speakers lead changes in pronunciation patterns.
- Grammatical simplification: Adolescents contribute to morphosyntactic change, such as replacing “must” with “have to” or adopting double modals (e.g., “might could”).
This reflects Labov’s principle of linguistic change, where informal speech patterns gradually reshape mainstream language use.
Age-Graded Language use - Kemper 1995
This theory explores how linguistic complexity changes across different age groups:
• Younger speakers: Use more fillers (e.g., “um, like”), hedging, and informal discourse markers to maintain fluidity in casual conversation.
• Older speakers: Demonstrate more linguistic stability, retaining archaic lexical choices (e.g., using “wireless” instead of “Wi-Fi”) and resisting newer slang or grammatical shifts.
Cheshire Reading 1982
Jenny Cheshire’s 1982 study, Linguistic Variation and Social Function, explores the link between language and social behavior among adolescents in Reading. Using participant observation, she recorded the speech of 13 boys and 12 girls
The children more involved with anti-social behaviour exhibited a higher frequency of non-standard forms
E.g. The use of the term ‘ain’t’ as an auxiliary as opposed to have (I ‘ain’t seen my name for ages)
+ the use of double negatives
What study does Cheshire’s align with
Labov’s theory that linguistic variables are controlled by the norms of the subculture the vernacular belongs to
However, Cheshire also noted deviations from Labov’s model, particularly regarding gender differences in language use - where boys from the peer-group exhibiting antisocial behaviour used a higher amount of non-standard forms
Ives - West Yorkshire study
West Yorkshire Study: 100% of teenagers asked thought that people speak differently depending on their age & that language use becomes more standard with age.
Second study found among 17-year-olds that the shared language of teenagers was informal, containing taboo and slang specific to their age-group.
Penelope Eckert 1998
suggested defining age: chronological, social (linked to life events) and biological age.
Found not all 18-25-year-olds share the same language characteristics.
Penelope Eckert 2003
Slang used by teens to establish youth culture & identity. Rising intonation and multiple negation common, but not all teenagers speak alike.
Eckert (1989) - Jocks vs. Burnouts
• Study Focus: Examined language use among high school students in Detroit.
• Key Groups:
• Jocks: Used more standard language (academic, aligned with school norms).
• Burnouts: Used more non-standard language (slang, phonological features) to reject authority and school norms.
• Conclusion: Language use reflects our sociocultural climate and group affiliation, with jocks aligning with mainstream values and burnouts expressing rebellion through their speech.
Bigham (2005) - Teenage Language and Peer Influence
Bigham’s study emphasizes the power of peer influence on language use, particularly in adolescence, showing how language can reflect the social dynamics within peer groups.
Key Features:
• Peer Group Influence: Teenagers adopt linguistic forms to fit into their peer groups, which leads to increased use of informal speech and slang.
• Social Variation: The study underscores the variation in language use across different teenage peer groups, which can mark social identity.
Strenström (1994) - Features of youth sociolect
Strenström’s study on adolescent speech reveals that young people often use informal language to negotiate their group identity and engage with peers.
- found teen talk features include:
- Irregular tun taking
- overlaps
- indistinct articulation
- word shortenings
- teasing/ name calling
- verbal dueling, slang
- taboo
- language mixing (from other cultures).
Anderson and Trudgill (1990) - Slang and Social Identity
Anderson and Trudgill study the role of slang as a feature of adolescent language. They emphasize that slang helps adolescents signal their social affiliation and mark in-groups and out-groups
Stronsom, Anderson and Hasun 2002
Conducted study of 14-16-year-olds in London and found common non-standard features included:
- ain’t
- ellipsis of auxiliary verbs
- non-standard pronouns (theirselves).
Ignacio Palacios Martínez (2011) – Teenagers and Negative Language
Teenagers use negatives more frequently than adults
Palacios Martinez notes that teenagers are more likely to use informal language, including negative forms, as part of their linguistic repertoire. This usage of negatives can be seen as an act of defiance or rejection of authority, which is common in the process of identity formation during adolescence.
- Arguably allows teens to delve into egocentric speak (rude and impolite) - a term coined by Piaget
Unni Berland (1997) – Class & Teen Speech
Class is a factor languge variation within an age group. Working class teens used ‘innit’ more than middle class teens. Middle class teens used ‘yeah’ more than working class teens.
Bigham (2012) – Emerging Adulthood
In Bigham’s 2012 study on Emerging Adulthood, he explores how language use evolves during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Emerging adults are in a stage of life where they seek to assert independence while still maintaining ties to their peer groups. This results in the use of both youth slang and standard language forms, depending on the social context.
For example, in more formal or professional settings, they may adopt standard language to convey maturity and social mobility, while in informal settings with peers, they may use non-standard forms or slang to signal solidarity and a sense of belonging.
Holmes (1992)
Adolescence is when the usage of a language feature peaks if the linguistic feature is different from what is being used in the community’s standard language.
This is because adolescence is a time when the peer pressure to not act like the norm is the greatest
Coulmas, 2013, quote 1 ( + Theorist to support)
“each generation recreates the language of its predecessors”
- Known as intergeneration transmission
- also supported by David Crystal in which he uses the analogy of the tide to demonstrate the organic nature of shifts in language from one generation to another
Widdicombe and Wooffitt 1995
Scientists and researchers have paid the most attention to the adolescent age because, as they say, it is the age when language differs from children on the one hand, and from the elderly on the other hand
Coulmas 2013 (Linguistic divergence quote)
“They often choose their words in ways that diverge from adult usage. By doing so the young demonstrate that the language they received from their seniors is theirs and that they use it as they see fit” (Coulmas, 2013, p. 68).
- Known as linguistic divergence
Kemper 1995 - The elderly
“Older adults do not appear to adopt different speech registers for different partners” (Kemper, 1995).
They firmly “hold on” to what they have learned throughout their lives and are very unlikely to somehow “modernize” their way of speaking or their use of language in general.
- This is known as register stability
