Understanding Language Variation and Social Identity
Language and society are intricately connected through accent, dialect, standard English, and non-standard English. The concepts of convergence, divergence, covert prestige, and overt prestige influence how identity is formed. This text delves into regional dialects and accents, highlighting the differences between accent, dialect, sociolect, and idiolect. It also explores phonological variation, IPA vowels, and the Queen's Speech in Received Pronunciation. The content discusses prejudices, societal attitudes, and the impact of language on social perceptions and identity.
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LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY: ACCENT AND DIALECT 1. Accent 2. Dialect 3. Standard English 4. Non standard English 5. Convergence 6. Divergence 7. Covert prestige 8. Overt prestige 9. Received Pronunciation 10. Sociolect 11. Idiolect Key Terms To Memorise 1. Negative and positive connotations of RP. Lesley Milroy-Belfast Studies William Labov- The Social Stratification of English in New York City. 1966 Workman studies 2008. People s perceptions of different accents Peter Trudgill- Norwich studies-1974 2. Convergence and divergence. 3. Difference between accent and dialect. 4. Attitudes towards different accents and dialects (identify positive/negative). 5. How people change accents & dialects. Why people might take elocution lessons etc. 6. Ideas around overt and covert prestige
How is identity created? Learn this quote One of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity, and of shaping other people s views of who we are, is through our use of language. Joanna Thornborrow (2004)
REGIONAL DIALECTS AND ACCENTS Q: What s the difference between accent & dialect? Q: What about sociolect and idiolect? A: A dialect is the variation in WORDS and STRUCTURES associated with a particular geographical region. How many different accents/dialects do you know? A: Sociolect is variation in language use associated with membership of a particular social group. Accent is the variation in PRONUNCIATION associated with a particular geographical region. Idiolect is variation in language use associated with an individual s personalised speech style
WHAT VARIES? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqi35Adbb ks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4RkddWP VRs Phonological variation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyyT2jmVP Ak
THE QUEENS SPEECH Affected RP: the Queen, aristocracy and upper middle class Queen elizabeth RP is considered an accent / / /e/ http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit /sounds/case-studies/received- pronunciation/ http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit /sounds/case-studies/received- pronunciation/vowel-sounds-rp/
SPEAK LIKE A REGIONAL AND SOCIAL VARIATION I m so happy I could marry you /ajm so h pi aj k d m ri ju/ Replace the / / with /e/ in happy and marry Replace the / / with /you choose/ in happy and marry
Q: What are the prejudices, issues and debates around accents and dialects?
1. Geographical location (south of England) 2. Status /education 3. Exclusive 4. Measure against which other accents are held 5. Held in high esteem, revered RP: RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION WHAT ARE THE COMMON LINKS BETWEEN THESE DEFINITIONS? A pronunciation of British English, originally based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England and characteristic of the English spoken at private boarding schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Until the late 1900s, it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. Also called Received Standard. "Although the BBC does not, and never did, impose pronunciations of its own on English words, the myth of BBC English dies hard. It owed its birth no doubt to the era before the Second World War, when all announcers ... spoke ... Received Pronunciation." (Miss G.M. Miller, BBC Pronunciation Unit preface to the BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names, 1971) 5.How do people change accents & dialects? Why people might take elocution lessons etc. 6.What are common ideas around overt and covert prestige? 1.What are the negative and positive connotations of RP? 2.What is convergence and divergence? 3.What is the difference between accent and dialect? 4.Can you identify attitudes towards different accents and dialects (identify positive/negative)? noun: received pronunciation; noun: received standard the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere. RP is often thought of as an unchanging accent; a standard against which other accents can be measured or judged. Some people don't even think of it as an accent at all, but rather a way of speaking without an accent. Speaking without an accent, though, would be like painting without a colour! When writing his pronouncing dictionary in 1916, phonetician Daniel Jones described RP as the accent "most usually heard in everyday speech in the families of Southern English persons whose menfolk have been educated at the great public boarding schools". Some people even think that the name 'Received Pronunciation' is a problem - if only some accents or pronunciations are 'received', then the implication is that others should be rejected or refused
RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION 1. What makes RP an accent rather than a dialect? 2. What region does RP come from? 3. What are some positive connotations of RP? 4. What are some negative connotation of RP? 5. What does the writer mean by prestige status when describing RP? 6. When did the term RP become widely used? 7. What is happening to RP over time?
RP: RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION WHAT ARE THE COMMON LINKS BETWEEN THESE DEFINITIONS? A pronunciation of British English, originally based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England and characteristic of the English spoken at private boarding schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Until the late 1900s, it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. Also called Received Standard. "Although the BBC does not, and never did, impose pronunciations of its own on English words, the myth of BBC English dies hard. It owed its birth no doubt to the era before the Second World War, when all announcers ... spoke ... Received Pronunciation." (Miss G.M. Miller, BBC Pronunciation Unit preface to the BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names, 1971) noun: received pronunciation; noun: received standard the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere. RP is often thought of as an unchanging accent; a standard against which other accents can be measured or judged. Some people don't even think of it as an accent at all, but rather a way of speaking without an accent. Speaking without an accent, though, would be like painting without a colour! When writing his pronouncing dictionary in 1916, phonetician Daniel Jones described RP as the accent "most usually heard in everyday speech in the families of Southern English persons whose menfolk have been educated at the great public boarding schools". Some people even think that the name 'Received Pronunciation' is a problem - if only some accents or pronunciations are 'received', then the implication is that others should be rejected or refused
1. Geographical location (south of England) 2. Status /education 3. Exclusive 4. Measure against which other accents are held 5. Held in high esteem, revered RP: RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION WHAT ARE THE COMMON LINKS BETWEEN THESE DEFINITIONS? A pronunciation of British English, originally based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England and characteristic of the English spoken at private boarding schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Until the late 1900s, it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. Also called Received Standard. "Although the BBC does not, and never did, impose pronunciations of its own on English words, the myth of BBC English dies hard. It owed its birth no doubt to the era before the Second World War, when all announcers ... spoke ... Received Pronunciation." (Miss G.M. Miller, BBC Pronunciation Unit preface to the BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names, 1971) noun: received pronunciation; noun: received standard the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere. RP is often thought of as an unchanging accent; a standard against which other accents can be measured or judged. Some people don't even think of it as an accent at all, but rather a way of speaking without an accent. Speaking without an accent, though, would be like painting without a colour! When writing his pronouncing dictionary in 1916, phonetician Daniel Jones described RP as the accent "most usually heard in everyday speech in the families of Southern English persons whose menfolk have been educated at the great public boarding schools". Some people even think that the name 'Received Pronunciation' is a problem - if only some accents or pronunciations are 'received', then the implication is that others should be rejected or refused
ACCENT VARIATION SUMMARY -WHAT CHANGES PHONOLOGICALLY/ 1.Strut-foot 2.Definite article reduction 3.Rhoticity 4.L-vocalisation
SOUND LESS NORTHERN! 1. Discuss 2. Write an opinion article discussing your views. Imagine you are addressing school governors. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/teacher-told-to-sound- less-northern-after-southern-ofsted-inspection-8947332.html
STRUT STRUT- -FOOT we used to work with a real wide range of young people and we al, also used to go into pubs and nightclubs and, uhm http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/ FOOT Commentary One of the most recognisable differences in England s accents is the distinction between speakers in the north and Midlands who generally pronounce the vowel in words such as cup, love and under with rounded lips and those in the south, who use a vowel with lips in a more neutral position. If a speaker pronounces the words bull, full and pull to rhyme with cull, gull, hull and skull then they are likely to be from the north or Midlands. For speakers in this part of England, pairs such as stood and stud or could and cud are indistinguishable, blood and flood rhyme with hood and wood and pairs such as book/buck, hook/huck, look/luck, rook/ruck, shook/shuck and took/tuck might well be homophones. In some parts of the north and Midlands, however, speakers with a very broad accent might have a distinctive pronunciation of words ending orthographically in < ook>. For these speakers, luck is pronounced with the same vowel as duck, but look might well sound the same as Luke.
DEFINITE ARTICLE REDUCTION DEFINITE ARTICLE REDUCTION uhm, it crossed my mind for the police service, uh, pris, uh to go in the police force http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/ Definite article reduction an abbreviated form of the word the is a distinctive feature of speech throughout Yorkshire and some neighbouring counties. This is often inaccurately represented by mimics who imply people here say t police or simply omit the definite article altogether. In fact, it s an extremely complex phonetic process, perhaps best understood as the combination of an unreleased and therefore inaudible <t> sound, produced simultaneously with a glottal stop (although even this is something of an over-simplification). It is important to recognise in some cases speakers produce a more fully articulated the: as in the second part of this extract to go in the police force. This illustrates perfectly how an individual speaker can fluctuate between markedly local features of speech and more mainstream norms.
RHOTICITY RHOTICITY there, therewere lots of other things, because you could take, therewere some, a lot moresports, you could play sport and, eh, therewere a lot of other folk that had different ideas other than farmin http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/ There are a number of aspects of this speaker s accent that immediately identify him as Scottish. Above all he is a rhotic speaker - that is he pronounces the <r> sound after a vowel, at one time a feature of speech throughout the UK. Listen carefully to the way he pronounces the words there, were, other, more, sport and farming: in each case we can clearly hear the presence of an <t> sound. In England this pronunciation is increasingly restricted to the West Country and the far South West and a small area of Lancashire to the north of Manchester, but it remains a feature of most Scottish and Irish accents, although the way in which the <t> sound is articulated varies from area to area. Speakers in some rhotic areas of the UK might make a three-way distinction between words such as paw, pour and poor, while non-rhotic speakers might pronounce all three the same.
L L- -VOCALISATION VOCALISATION the next one up to me was eight years older than me and then there's ten, then there's sixteen year and all, so all the time as a, as a child I, I, effectively grew up as a singlechild http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological- variation/ An instantly recognisable feature of London speech is L-vocalisation a process whereby speakers pronounce the <l> at the end of a syllable using a sound more like a vowel or a <w> sound. Listen carefully to the way this speaker pronounces the words older, all, child and single. This feature only applies to a syllable final <l>, but it can be heard across the whole of southern England, extending into the East Midlands and East Anglia. It is also a feature of speech in a number of Scottish accents, notably around Glasgow and Edinburgh.
DEFINITE ARTICLE REDUCTION DEFINITE ARTICLE REDUCTION uhm, it crossed my mind for the police service, uh, pris, uh to go in the police force http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/ Definite article reduction an abbreviated form of the word the is a distinctive feature of speech throughout Yorkshire and some neighbouring counties. This is often inaccurately represented by mimics who imply people here say t police or simply omit the definite article altogether. In fact, it s an extremely complex phonetic process, perhaps best understood as the combination of an unreleased and therefore inaudible <t> sound, produced simultaneously with a glottal stop (although even this is something of an over-simplification). It is important to recognise in some cases speakers produce a more fully articulated the: as in the second part of this extract to go in the police force. This illustrates perfectly how an individual speaker can fluctuate between markedly local features of speech and more mainstream norms.
RHOTICITY RHOTICITY there, therewere lots of other things, because you could take, therewere some, a lot moresports, you could play sport and, eh, therewere a lot of other folk that had different ideas other than farmin http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological-variation/ There are a number of aspects of this speaker s accent that immediately identify him as Scottish. Above all he is a rhotic speaker - that is he pronounces the <r> sound after a vowel, at one time a feature of speech throughout the UK. Listen carefully to the way he pronounces the words there, were, other, more, sport and farming: in each case we can clearly hear the presence of an <t> sound. In England this pronunciation is increasingly restricted to the West Country and the far South West and a small area of Lancashire to the north of Manchester, but it remains a feature of most Scottish and Irish accents, although the way in which the <t> sound is articulated varies from area to area. Speakers in some rhotic areas of the UK might make a three-way distinction between words such as paw, pour and poor, while non-rhotic speakers might pronounce all three the same.
L L- -VOCALISATION VOCALISATION the next one up to me was eight years older than me and then there's ten, then there's sixteen year and all, so all the time as a, as a child I, I, effectively grew up as a singlechild http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/regional-voices/phonological- variation/ An instantly recognisable feature of London speech is L-vocalisation a process whereby speakers pronounce the <l> at the end of a syllable using a sound more like a vowel or a <w> sound. Listen carefully to the way this speaker pronounces the words older, all, child and single. This feature only applies to a syllable final <l>, but it can be heard across the whole of southern England, extending into the East Midlands and East Anglia. It is also a feature of speech in a number of Scottish accents, notably around Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Scousers have the 'least intelligent and least trustworthy' accent - while Devonians have the friendliest ITV's Tonight programme polled 4,000 Britons about their preferredaccents Accents in Liverpool and Birmingham were considered unintelligent More than half thought the Devon accent was friendly or very friendly Londoners and Scots felt discriminated against because of their accents Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2433201/Scousers-intelligent- trustworthy-accent--Devonians-friendliest.html
What does this table suggest? Look at the large and the small %
PHONOLOGICAL VARIATION Read the sheet Access the British library web age and listen to the examples Make notes Join with another pair and exchange information Join with another four and exchange information
ACCENTS, DIALECTS & AGE Q: What are the historical attitudes to language varieties? Q: Can you tell someone s age by the way they speak? Q: Does your perception of who you would trust change based on their accent? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyyT2jmVPAk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyyT2jmVPAk
HOW DO REGIONAL ACCENTS VARY? North south divide. There is a big difference between northern and southern accents. One difference is the distribution of two pairs of vowel sounds: Bath Grass Up RP Clips Tapped t T Glottalling Rising Intonation
http://englishspeechservices.com/blog/accen t-of-evil/ Listen Take notes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFN6l4J 351Q&feature=youtu.be Q: What are the prejudices, issues and debates around accents and dialects?
When was the term RP introduced? When was the BBC established? What did John Honey rank?
LANGUAGE SOCIAL CLASS AND EDUCATION The construct of elaborated and restricted language codes was introduced by Basil Bernstein in 1971, as a way of accounting for the relatively poor performance of working-class pupils on language- based subjects, when they were achieving as well as their middle- class counterparts on mathematical topics.
Deficit model An assumption that something is lacking or deficient Elaborated code An idea advanced by Bernstein (and much disputed) that middle class speakers use context free, complex forms of language. Pragmatic rules The unspoken rules that operate in interactions between people who share a common understanding. Restricted code An idea advanced by Bernstein (and much disputed) that working class speakers use context based, limited forms of language.
"Social and linguistic prestige is interrelated," notes Michael Pearce. "The language of powerful social 1.What are the negative and positive connotations of RP? groups usually carries linguistic prestige; and social prestige is often granted to speakers of prestige languages and varieties" (Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies, 2007). 2.What is convergence and divergence? 3.What is the difference between accent and dialect? 4.Can you identify attitudes towards different accents and dialects (identify positive/negative)? and covert prestige: "In the case of overt prestige, the social valuation lies in a unified, widely accepted set of social norms, whereas with covert prestige the positive social significance lies in the local culture of social relations. It is therefore possible for a socially stigmatized variant in one setting to have covert prestige in another" (Walt Wolfram, "Social Varieties of American English," 2004). Linguists draw important distinctions between overt prestige 5.How do people change accents & dialects? Why people might take elocution lessons etc. 6.What are common ideas around overt and covert prestige?
David and Ben Crystal Distribution Daniel Jones was an influential academic in the field of describing English pronunciation. His comments can give us some interesting insights into historical attitudes to regional variation. Jones was a descriptive linguist, but also a man of his time. In the early 20th century, teachers of English were seen as missionaries of speech, whose job it was to correct aspects of regional language by removing them and replacing them with RP and Standard English, which were seen as hallmarks of refinement. Where a features is used, within the language inventory of an individual or group. Non- standard Different from normal or majority usage. Standard Used or accepted as normal or average. Descriptivist The belief that correctness is dependent on context and should be defined by what is appropriate in any context. Descriptivists take their norms from observing what the majority of people do, not what any particular authority says they should do. Prescriptivist The belief that there is an absolute authority determining what is correct usage, based on rules established in the past. Daniel Jones
HOMEWORK: NOVEMBER Mind map the ideas from the Bernstein reading. Use colours. Learn terminology associated with accent/dialect/language and people
WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY? Asking this question (again): Q: Can you tell someone s age by the Way they speak? Then Reflecting on accents and dialects: issues and ideas, and catching up with work.
HOW GOOD IS YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF TERMINOLOGY? Write the term and definition if you know it. Welcome to the flashcards tool for The Study of Language, 5thedition , Chapter 19 This is designed as a simple supplementary resource for this textbook, and aims to help students grasp the meaning of the core essential terms within the book. Each term will appear on its own, and you can then click to check the definition. Click or press [space] to begin.
REGIONAL DIALECTS: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Blind Date
Dialect Region Origins Scouse Spoken in Liverpool Geordie Spoken in the North East Brummie Spoken in Birmingham Mancunian Spoken in Manchester Yorkshire Spoken throughout the Yorkshire counties
Dialect Region Origins Scouse Spoken in Liverpool Liverpool s position as a port can be seen as a key influential factor in this dialect s development. Largely influenced by the arrival of many migrant workers from Ireland into the city, Scouse is a mix of many dialects. Geordie Spoken in the North East This dialect can be traced back to the settlement of Anglo-Saxons in the North East approximately 1500 years ago. The language they spoke has evolved into several different dialects including Geordie. Brummie Spoken in Birmingham Another dialect that can be traced back to the Anglo Saxons. Mancunian Spoken in Manchester Similar to Scouse, Mancunian is likely to have developed through an influx of migrant workers moving to the city for work. This was most prevalent when Manchester became a port during the Industrial Revolution . Yorkshire Spoken throughout the Yorkshire counties There are many words and expressions in Yorkshire that have their roots in the language of the Vikings.
THE ORIGINS OF REGIONAL DIALECTS Q: What conclusions can we draw from the table? That the different dialects of the UK are a result, to some degree, of immigration and invasion. Q: But why do some places that are geographically very close have distinct differences in their dialect? Newcastle and Sunderland may only be 10 miles apart but there are distinct differences in their dialect. Similarly in areas around Liverpool, residents of St Helens, Widnes, Southport and the Wirrall have their own distinctive way of speaking. Therefore, your dialect can be very specific to where you live or where you were brought up. You could argue that being so specific can be linked to identity and a sense of belonging and pride. This links to the idea of identity. People do not want to be incorrectly labelled .
COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG Q: How does it work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1 FTxhQt3R8
TWO ARTICLES TO READ: Modern Londoners Are Just As Baffled 1. What are the key points in this article? Rhyming Slang: UK s Poetry of the Proletariat Goes Pop. 1. Evaluate the idea that in the article that the media has played an important role in enabling cockney rhyming slang to make a comeback. To what extent do you agree?
LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY: LANGUAGE AND AGE Contextual factors that influence the way we speak: Geography But also Age Gender Sexuality Occupation Q: Do you think people speak differently depending on their age, social status, occupation, gender? Task: Construct a questionnaire to investigate attitudes towards language and context. You want more than a yes-no answer (though this is a good starting point). You could also find out about the type of language associated with different age groups. It would also be useful to gather some contextual information. Meet back in this room in 20 minutes.
The problems of age: Coming to a clear definition. RESULTS OF YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE: Penelope Eckert 1998 argues that there are different ways of defining the concept of age: Are there any generalised assumptions? Are there any interesting observations to make? What is the perception of how language changes as people age? 1. Chronological age (number of years since birth) 2. Biological age (physical maturity) 3. Social age (linked to life events such as marriage and having children)
When this issue becomes influential is open to debate but one could argue that important life events are more likely to occur post 18, at an age termed by Douglas S Bigham (2012) as emerging adulthood . Therefore, chronological age may still be an influential factor for younger speakers. They are the group whose language use, choices and development may be most significantly influenced by their age. In other words, would the language of a single 20 year old female be the same as a married 20 year old female with two children? Jenny Cheshire 1987 argues it is becoming recognised that adult language, as well as child language, develops in response to important life events that affect the social relations and social attitudes of individuals .
READ THE ARTICLE AND MAKE NOTES FOR QUESTIONS 1,2 AND 3. THEN WRITE A FULL RESPONSE FOR Q.7 1. What does the article suggest contributes to the perfect storm of teen slang spreading out from inner-city London (From The Mouths Of Teens) OR Do you agree that banning slang will ensure young people will use Standard English? Do you agree with this argument? Do you agree that teenagers having their own language is their way of trying on one face after another, to find a face of his own? OR that teenagers being forced to use standard dEnglish will help them develop the soft skills they will need to compete for jobs Identify the argument/main points of the article (is it negative or positive about teen speak & what evidence is there for this?) Which of the arguments used are the most persuasive/logical easy to agree with? Why? Which are the least? Why? Can you construct an argument against the views in the article? Write a full response (one side A4) in which you criticise OR support the opinions in the article (using evidence). 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
CURRENT RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE AND AGE IN SPEECH P11: Using an editorial style, write an opinion piece, suitable for a sixth form blog, investigating age and language. Suitable for publication. Flamboyant. 500-800 words. Cut out and glue table 15f into your notes. Highlight linguistic terms and examples in the table. Read the other sections of the photocopy and highlight the specific language features referred to. Make a note of the theorists referred to and their research/claims. Make a new table and write in features commonly found in the two types of spoken language (adult/teen). https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=ItODnX5geC M Adults Teenagers
TO CONCLUDE: INFLUENCES ON LANGUAGE AND AGE Zimmerman (2009) argues that the following factors are influential: The media and the press New means of communication Music Street art and graffiti Other Influential factors: Your peers and the need to feel part of a group and part of youth culture Technology Adults- either copying adult speech or diverging from adult speech
THE TEENS WHO CAN BARELY TALK Answer questions 1-4 Reflecting on and evaluating the article .
What influences teen language? VIVIAN DE KLERK (2005) DRAWS SEVERAL CONCLUSIONS ABOUT TEEN LANGUAGE: Do you agree/disagree? Why? Looking at the quote you have been given, what does it mean in your own words? Can you think of an example to illustrate the conclusion?
