English Language Theorists

Age,

Jenny Cheshire

teens use more non standard grammar, if part of a peer group 

Gary Ives

teens felt their language was shaped by age, friendship and region (interviews) - shows metalinguistic awareness

Eckert (2003)

chronological age, biological age and social age - language isn’t just age based and is shaped by social experience.

Eckert (2000)

‘jocks’ used more standard forms, ‘burnouts’ used more non-standard forms.

Berland

Researched use of ‘tags’ among teens and found variation by class and gender.

Vivian de klerk

Teens use language to challenge social norms

Stenstrom 

Found teenage language is fast pasced, slang, overlaps, taboo. 

Cameron

Critiques how teen language is unfairly judged - descriptivist

Giles CAT

People adjust their speech by converging or diverging based on context or audience.

Giles - Matched Guise

same speaker rated differently when using different accents - RP rates most intelligent

Trudghill 

Overt prestige - using standard forms for status

Covert prestige - using non standard forms for group identity. 

Labov

speech shifts depending on social class or group identity - shows that accent can signal belonging or status

Milroy

Dense networks preserve regional speech

Loose networks lead to dialect levelling

Kerswill

dialect levelling - loss of regional features due to mobility due to mobility e.g. MLE

Bernstein 

working class speakers - restricted code 

middle class speakers - elaborated code

Milroy

Strong, close knit working class networks preserved non-standard features.

Eckert (2000) class

working class used more local, non-standard speech

middle class used more standard speech to gain approval

Kerswill - class

class distinctions in dialect are reducing due to increased social mobility and urbanisation (SOCIAL LEVELLING)

Lave and Wenger 

Language use is shaped by shared goals, practices and mutual engagement.  - belonging shapes language 

Ives (social groups)

found teenagers consciously adapted their speech depending on peer group, ethnicity and setting. - code switching is strategic.

Cheshire (social groups)

Found that variation in grammar linked to peer group norms

Drew and Heritage

Institutional talk has distinct features - goal orientation, turn taking rules, allowable contributions professional lexis, asymmetry.

Koester 

Importance of phatic talk in workplace for building collegial relationships - cooperation and social bonds are key in occupational language. 

Swales

A discourse community - explains how professional language unites groups and reflects expertise. Shared goals, lexis and knowledge.

Herbert and Straight

Compliments flow from higher to lower status - highlights asymmetry and hierarchy in workplace exchanges

Brown and Levinson 

politeness theory in workplace 

Fairclough

Language reflects and constructs power - how language enforces institutional hierarchy 

French and Raven

5 types of power - classifies sources of workplace authority (legitimate, expert, referent, reward, coercive)