Sociolect and occupation

Language and identity (Thornborrow)

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

Language and identity examples

-Someone from Liverpool emphasising their Scouse accent and using expected vocab (‘sound’= good) to show regional identity

-Changing language depending on who you speak to (‘disagree vs nah’)

Perfomativity of identity (Barker)

Identities are not universal, fixed or essential but are contingent on historically and culturally specific constructions of language

Performitivity of identity examples

-Teenages using ‘bro’ and ‘mate’ to fit in with their friendship group

-Teacher using formal vocabularb (‘demonstrate vs show’) and declarative sentences (‘I expect everyone to complete this task’) to establish authority

Teen conversation (Taliamonte 2016)

Suggests that adolescents lead systematic grammar and discourse changes with a reliance on dynamic intensifiers (e.g. literally) and pragmatic fillers (e.g. was like)

Teenage talk (Stenstrom 2014)

Language of teenagers is characterized by irregular turn taking, word shortening,teasing and name calling, slang, taboo and the use of ‘ain’t’

Teenage talk + teen conversation examples

-Literally (intensifier, colloquial)

-Rizz (clipping, slang)

-Womp womp (onomatopoeic expression)

-Cooked (metaphorical lexis, slang)

-Ragebait (neologism, colloquial, slang)

Limitations to Teenage talk and teen conversation

-Not representative- generalised teenagers as a homogenous group but language depends on background, social group and experiences

-Slang is not exclusive to teenages- different generations use

-Outdated and lacks temporal validity- new words have been created so findings may not represent this

-Researcher bias- selectively interpret language to support their existing assumptions

In and out groups (Giles and Coupland)

Social categories that individuals identify with strongly, shown through their use of sociolect (in)

Social categories that individuals don’t idetify with, shown by the lack of sociolectal familiarity (out)

In and out group gamer jargon examples

AFK- initialism, abbreviation

Camping- Semantic broadening, dynamic verb

GG- initialism, abbreviation

Social network theory (Milroy)

Speakers communicate with multiple other members of the in group regularly (closed network)

Speakers of an in group often communicating with an out group- may not speak to people of the in group (open network)

Social network theory friendship examples

Captain (referring to a friend who was giving instructions and got everyone lost)- proper noun, nickname, inside joke

Bestie- term of address/endearment, nickname, colloquialism, concrete noun

Swearing (bitch)- casual use of taboo, common noun, dysphemism, slang

Restricted code (Bernstein)

Communication that relies on shared knowledge, experiences and interests

Restricted code examples

-Shes doing it again (third person singular personal pronoun)

-Remember what happened last Friday? (interrogative, past tense, deictic expression)

Elaborated code (Bernstein)

Communication that uses more explicit and expansive vocab- doesn’t rely heavily on shared knowledge of a group

Elaborated code examples

-She was wearing a red jacket (third person singualr personal pronoun, present progressive, adjective, noun, declarative)

-I was late because the bus was late (first person singular personal pronoun, past tense verb, subordination conjunction, repetition, declarative)

4 Accommodation theories (Giles)

upwards convergence

downwards convergence

mutual convergence

divergence

Upwards convergence (Giles)

Speaker of a lower status converges towards language characteristics of a higher status speaker

Upwards convergence example

-Student using more formal vocabulary and standard english when speaking to a teacher but using slang when speaking to their peers (that lesson was dead vs I found the lesson rather uninteresting)

Downwards convergence (Giles)

Speaker adopts language characteristics to someone who has a lower social status

Downwards convergence example

Teacher using slang, informal language when talking to their students (please ensure you complete your homework vs make sure you get that homework done guys)

Mutual convergence (Giles)

Both speakers converge to linguistically meet in the middle

Mutual convergence example

2 friends gradually both using the slang, colloquialism peak to create solidarity

Divergence (Giles)

Speaker’s style of speech move apart and increase in social distance

Divergence example

A student emphasising their regionl accent to highlight their different social identity, istinguishing themselves from their classmate

Social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner)

When an in group is made, people are likely to emphasize characteristics of that group including sociolect

Social identity theory football fans example

COYS (come on you Spurs)- initialism

We are Tottenham- declarative, collective pronoun

Familect (Crystal)

Language used in a family group that can communicate identity and membership of that group

Familect example

-Nana-bear- compound noun, nickname, inside joke

-The usual?- interrogate, contexual knowledge

Anti-languages (Halliday)

Sociolect used by groups that occupy marginal positions in society, especially where the groups activities places them outside the law

Anti-languages are created by relexicalisation with the grammar preserved but a distinctive vocab develops which sets them apart from others in society

Example of a anti-language (Polari summary)

-Lexicon from many sources

-Initially used by homosexual men though lesbians, female inpersonators, theatre people and prostitues also used it

-Form of protection and secrecy as it concealed sexuality by excluding outsiders.

-Disappeared due to partial discrimination and popularity of Julian and Sandy sketches

Polari examples

Bevvy (drink)

Bona (good)

Example of anti-language (HMP Winchester Lingo)

Boss (prison officer)

Shiv (knife- often homemade)

Snitch/grass (informer)

Overt prestige (Labov)

Prestige associated with observing social norms and behaving in a socially desired manner

An example of an overtly prestige accent is received pronunciation, standard english, formal leixis (require vs need)

Covert (Labov)

Prestige that derives from behaviour that flouts social norms but is advantageous in a particular context/social group

An example of an covertly prestigious accent would be a regional accent like Scouse, slang, non-standard english, colloquial language

Complexity of language

Despite backgrounds and individual characteristics (occupation, social group, ethnicity, sex, gender, region and class) having an impact on language we make choices (who we talk to, mode, relation and uses of language)

Lexical classification of sociolect (Coleman)

Slang- ephemeral terms used by an in group to distinguish them from other groups

Jargon- professional language for precision when talking about certain topics

Cant- a language used to obscure meaning from an out group (usually for criminal intent)

Lexical classification of sociolect examples

Slang- thats so peak (colloquial language)

Jargon-AFK (initialism)

Cant- dolly (pretty in polari, in group leixis)

Labov New York department store research date

1962

Labov New York department store research summary

Labov studied how the pronunciation of r varied depending on social class and formality

Did his research on 3 New York department stores

Found speakers used more prestigious pronunciation when speaking carefully

Labov New York department store research findings

Saks (upper class)- most pronounced ‘r’s’

Macy’s (middle class)- greatest increase in ‘r’s’ when asked to repeat

Klein (lower class)- least pronounced ‘r’s’

Limitations to Labov’s New York department store research

Only investigated 3 department stores in New York- may not be representative

Sales associate may change speech as they were asked to repeat themselves- may have nothing to do with social class or formality.

Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard research date

1961 (published in 1963)

Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard research summary

Labov studied how islanders pronounced aw (mouse) and ay (mice).

Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard research findings

Labov found younger speakers (especially men) used non standard pronunciations associated with traditional Chilmark fisherman. This spread throughout the island, showing how language can express social identity and group belonging

This was to express their local identity and distance themselves from wealthy tourists.

Limitations to Labov’s Martha’s vineyard research

Low generalisability- conflict between islanders and wealthy tourists many not apply to other communities

The cooperative principle/ Grice’s conversational Maxins summary

-Explores effective communication in conversations

-Argues speakers and listeners cooperate with each other to ensure mutual understanding

-Believe speakers shape their utterance to get accross intended meaning

-Cooperation is guided by four maxims- not instructions but principles to analyse and interpret hidden intentions/ meanings

-Speaker may break a maxim to communicate in non literal meanings

4 Maxims

-Quality- the speaker should speak truthfully and without making statements that lack evidence 

-Quantity- a contribution shouldn’t be too much or little and provide enough for the conversation. 

-Relevance- the speaker’s contribution should relate to the conversation 

-Manner- the speaker should be clear and avoid ambiguity and obscurity

Facework (Goffman)

-Studied the way people present themselves

-Argues people chose language to present themselves in a favourable way to gain social advantages

-A speaker may do a face-threatening act to damage another's social status, potentially to make themselves appear superior. The person whose face is threatened may do face work and adjust their line to restore a positive social image. 

Goffman’s face needs

-Positive face-need to be liked by others (satisfied by admiration, aproval and respect)

-Negative face-need for independence from interruptions (respect this by requiesting politely and using apologies)

Politeness theory (Brown and Levinson)

-Argues people adjust language to suit different social situations

-Believe people use politeness strategies to protect hearer’s face, avoid embarrassment and prevent face threatening acts which can damage social image

4 politeness strategies

-Bald on recod

-Negative politeness

-Positive politeness

-Off record indirect strategy

Bald on record

-Speaker communicated directly without attempting to minimise face threatening acts

-Can sound rude or embarrassing

-Common between people who are comfortable with each other

-Used in emergencies, requests and alerting something

Positive politeness

-Used between people who know each other well

-Show friendliness, reduce social distance and minimise face threatening acts

-Done by attending to hearer, avoiding disagreement, assuming agreement nd hedging opinion

Negative politeness

-Used where there is social distance/awkwardness

-Recognises possibility of imposing and aims to minimise it

-Done by being indirect, forgiveness, minimising imposition and pluralisng the person responsible

Off record

-Used to remove self from imposition

-Done by giving hints, being vague and using jokes/sarcasm

Online (tiktok) sociolect examples

-FYP- initialism

-POV- initialism

-Ate- slang, semantic broadening