Where do you get your accent and dialect from?

Labov department store 1962

American study, in New York.

Looked at pronunciation of rhotic/r/ - considered sign of prestige in NYC.

Considered employees from 3 different department stores: Most prestigious (Saks), Middle (Macy’s), Bottom (Klein’s).

Asked employees question to get them to say ‘fourth floor’.

rhotic/r/ used most at Saks and least at Klein’s.

Shows clear link between accent and class.

Snell, class and children from Teeside 2015

Method: 17 months at a working class and a middle class primary school. speech recorded from 5 boys and 5 girls at each school. Snell worked as a classroom assistant.

Ethnographic: records them talking in normal/natural environment

‘Me’ possessive, non standard form occurred only in working class school.

Used for humour- with classmates not with teacher.

Labov overt and covert prestige

Overt prestige: when you change your voice to sound more like the standard - you are seeking overt prestige.

Covert prestige: when you move your speech away from the standard - you are seeking covert prestige.

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