accent and dialect

• What is an accent in language?

  Variation in pronunciation by geography
• What does code switching refer to?

  Switching between languages in conversation
• What is covert prestige?

  Hidden prestige of non-standard language use
• What defines a dialect?

  Variation in words and grammar by geography
• What is dialect levelling?

  Convergence of language forms over time
• What is a diphthong?

  A vowel sound with noticeable change
• What is eye dialect?

  Misspellings indicating regional language use
• What are heterophones?

  Words with same spelling, different meaning
• What are homophones?

  Words with same sound, different meaning
• What is an idiolect?

  Language variation specific to one person
• What is a monophthong?

  A single vowel sound
• What is non-standard English?

  Language not conforming to standard rules
• What is overt prestige?

  Obvious prestige of standard language use
• What is a phoneme?

  Smallest unit of sound conveying meaning
• What is phonetics?

  Study of how speech sounds are produced
• What is phonology?

  Study of sound systems in languages
• What is postvocalic /r/?

  /r/ sound after a vowel and before consonant
• What is prescriptivism?

  Focus on rules and correctness in language
• What is the Queen's English?

  Speech style of the ruling class
• What is standard English?

  Widely accepted correct form of English
• What is th-fronting?

  Pronouncing ‘th’ as ‘f’ or ‘v’
• Who explored the correlation between accent and perceived guilt?

  Dixon, Mahoney and Cocks
• What approach did Dixon, Mahoney and Cocks use in their study?

  Match guise approach
• What was the finding regarding suspects speaking with the non-standard Birmingham form?

  They were perceived more likely to be guilty
• What does Gerard Van Herk (2021) describe covert prestige as?

  Linguistic equivalent of street credibility
• Who investigated RP and Birmingham accent in 1975?

  Howard Giles
• What was the method used by Howard Giles in his study?

  Same speaker used 2 different accents
• How was the RP speaker rated compared to the Birmingham accent speaker?

  Higher in competence and intelligence
• What sound did Peter Trudgill study in Norwich in 1974?

  -ng sound at the end of words
• What was the finding regarding the -ng sound in lower social classes?

  It was dropped more widely
• What study did William Labov conduct in the 1960s?

  Martha’s Vineyard study
• What did locals on Martha’s Vineyard resist?

  Dialect levelling due to summer people
• How did locals on Martha’s Vineyard mark their identity?

  Through divergence
• What did William Labov study in New York City in 1966?

  Procononantal /r/ in department stores
• Who was more susceptible to overt prestige in Labov's 1966 study?

  Lower middle class
• What was the significance of the procononantal /r/ in Labov's study?

  It indicated social class differences
• labov NYC study 1972

  • how people said 'fourth floor'
  • rhotic and non rhotic dialect
  • upper class - rhotic (63%) non-rhotic (37%)
  • middle class - rhotic (44%) non-rhotic (56%)
  • lower class - rhotic (8%) non-rhotic (92%)

  non-standard english is more common among lower classes
• peter trudgill Norwich 1974

  • study of -ng dropping
  • middle class - didn't drop
  • lower class - almost everyone -ng dropped
  • males tended to use more non-standard forms across all social classes

  affected by social class, gender and social context
• jenny cheshire reading 1982

  • studied the language of teenagers in reading
  • high level of non-standard english in gangs

  teenagers using language to conform to a gang subculture

  • boys used more non-standard language than girls (covert prestige)
• Milroys belfast 1980s

  • studied working class language in closed communities
  • used non-standard forms

  importance of community and social network influence