Transcript STYLES AND SOCIAL CASS

Patterned variations within
individual speakers from a single
location; differences in degree of
formality
 FORMALITY (level of attention/care
taken in relation to the social
situation)

› Continuum- formal----informal
L a b o v ( N Y C s t u d y )
 Japanese (finely graded set of levels)
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Swiss German vs. High German
Vernacular Arabic vs. Modern Standard
KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE IN MIND WHEN SPEAKING
AND WRITING
(Wife to husband)
w: Hello, how are you today?
H: I'm fine. Would you mind passing me the bread?
W: Certainly. Would you like some butter with your bread?
H: Yes, please. Thank you very much.
(Man Speaking to Stranger)
A: You! Tell me the time!
B: Three.
(Wife to Husband)
W: Hi honey, how was your day?
H: Great. We got a lot done. And yours?
W: Fine, a bit stressful. Pass me that magazine, please.
H: Here you go.
(Man Speaking to Stranger)
A: Pardon me. Do you think you could give me the time?
B: Certainly, it's three o’clock.
A: Thank you.
B: Not at all.
DOMAIN- ways of classifying social
situations. Assigning a suitable variety
 PLACE –> ROLE-RELATIONSHIP- >TOPIC
Eg. home -> family members-> family activities
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REGISTER- a variety of language most likely
to be used in a specific situation, with
particular roles and statuses involved
Marked by choices in vocabulary and other aspects
of style. Situation specific (toast at a wedding, sports
broadcast, baby talk)

A LANGUAGE VARIATION ESPECIALLY MARKED BY A
SPECIAL SET OF VOCABULARY (TECHNICAL
TERMINOLOGY) ASSOCIATED WITH APROFESSION OR
OTHER DEFINED SOCIAL GROUP (IN -GOUP VARIETY)
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Purpose: 1)label new needed concepts
2)Establish bonds between members
3)Enforce boundaries for outsiders
Australian aboriginal secret societies
 Thieves and underworld jargon
 Jewish horse traders (Hebrew)

Academics usually try to justify and glorify
this practice by arguing that no word in
the English language quite captures what
they want to say; but in truth, I think we do
this because to show others that we are
so damn smart that mere "civilians" can't
possibly understand our brilliant ideas—or,
worse yet, because if we spoke clear
English, they would realize how absurdly
simple and obvious our ideas actually
were. For example, about 20 years ago, I
recall an article that ripped sociologists for
using the term "mimetic isomorphism,"
which means, in English, copying other
organizations.
http://www.fastcompany.com/1694541/s
ociomateriality-more-academic-jargonmonoxide
Sociomateriality: More Academic Jargon
Monoxide
By Robert I. Sutton, PhD
Business
Medical
Political
• Due
diligence
• Sweat
equity
• 9 to 5
• BP
• A/G ratio
• In vivo
• tab
• Lame
duck
• Tree
hugger
• Blue dog
“Please friend, lend me some coins for the phone”
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Importance of language in establishing social
identity
S O L I D A R I T Y - common group membership.
Important social force with a major impact on
language. Associated with accommodation.
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SLANG- special kind of ‘intimate’ or in-group
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speech. A kind of jargon marked by its rejection of
formal rules (power), freshness, secrecy, solidarity
(group membership), taboo expressions.
Australian aboriginal languages, Pig Latin, Pachuco, Cockney
rhyming slang
Teenage slang
dope, frenemy,
doe, mossing, jelly, cray, dad, bae
British slang
l e g l e s s , s e e a m a n a b o u t a d o g , taking the mick,
fanny, gobsmacked, snookered, starkers, slapper
The slang of the 90’s
fly, bounce, crib, trippin’, take a chill pill,
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Major topic in sociolinguistics;
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The study of class distinction in speech
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Labov: variations in speech show social
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Historical reasons (immigration)
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Hypercorrection (the feature is no longer a
social marker but a stereotype)
status. New Yorkers identified themselves
and each other socially through language
Labov: free variation-> regular variation
(the socioeconomically equal shop staff varied
their language depending on the customers)=>
there are marked differences in speech
between social levels
The usage of stigmatized /t/ or /tΘ/
A. Within the speech of a single speaker
Very careful speech/ careful speech/ casual speech
B. Among speakers of different social levels
Upper middle (10%), lower middle (20%), working
class (80%), lower class (90%)
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We automatically adjust our speech to
be more like that of our interlocutor
Convergence with the speech of the area where a
person moves
Opposite effect- divergence
Social bonding (peer talk, prestige talk)
It helps constitute identity
Attitudes towards power and prestige
Harmful effects (telephone operators)

The speaker (consciously or not) chooses
a stylistic level appropriate to the
audience he/she wishes to address

Radio announcers- the same speaker
varies his/her speech depending on the
imagined audience in order to identify
with them and claim group membership
(news programe vs. music show)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY
mrg3owTRE\
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1FT
xhQt3R8\
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NhaKWMtWU\\
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oilj
Taop-pQ\
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc
7quH-i_0w\
