Sociolinguistics

• James and Lesley Milroy

  Study is in Belfast

  wanted to gain working class speech to interpret sociolinguistic patterns

  three low status urban working class:

  1. Ballymacarret
  2. The Hammer Area
  3. The Clonard
• James and Lesley Milroy

  Belfast is split into 2 sides due to River Lagan, caused inter-ethnic conflict making it highly segregated

  [DATA COLLECTION]

  • 48 live speakers to record language patterns
  • 16 speakers for each community consisted of 4 young men

  1. members in high densities are territorial
  2. had substantial ties of kinship in neighbourhood (more than one person in family)
  3. worked in same places
• James and Lesley Milroy

  Linguistic variable: testing sounds of 'a' 'e' 'ai' 'th'

  • strongest vernacular speakers generally those with strongest neighbourhood network ties
  • Individual use of vernacular variants strongly influences by lerd integration into neighbourhood networks
• Principle indicators of person's integration into network:

  • Neighbourhood of residence
  • kinship
  • occupation
  • voluntary association
• Howard Giles:

  [MATCHED GUISE TECHNIQUE RESEARCH]

  • wanted to determine views and feelings of people towards dialect/accent
  • variety of different students acting as judge of "people" accent & evaluating personal quality based on voice
  • SAME PERSON SPEAKING DIFFERENT ACCENT THROUGHOUT, STUDENTS UNAWARE
• Howard Giles:

  [FINDINGS ON GUISE TECHNIQUE RESEARCH]

  • students concluded RP (received pronunciation) most impressive and influential
  • Brummie accent least imposing/convincing

  [DOWNSIDES]:

  • students may realiseD person speaking were same person
  • could gave altered results making it unreliable or invalid
• CAT - [COMMUNICATION ACCOMODATION THEORY]

  when speakers interact they adjust their speech, vocal patterns and gestures to accommodate others

  • CONVERGENCE: mirrors vocab, accent, grammar
  • DIVERGENCE: gesture and speech is distinctly different - can be based on disdain for persons/behaviour

  divergence accentuates differences and reinforces individuals identity, discourages lengthy convo/relationship
• Milroy’s interpretation of indicators of person’s integration into a network based on conclusions:

  • Neighbour hood of residence
  • kinship
  • occupation
  • voluntary associations
• James & Lesley Milroy experiment

  
  

  Variables:

  Independent: age, sex, area

  Dependent: 8 phonological variables - similar to Belfast urban speech community

  linguistic variable: (a), (e), (ai), (th)
• James & Lesley Milroy experiment

  Results:

  • strongest vernacular speakers have strongest neighbourhood network ties
  • individual use of vernacular variants strongly influenced by integration into neighbourhood networks
  • close-built networks important in dialect maintenance

  Revealed significant difference in male and female speech styles

  CONCLUDES THAT THEY'RE SEX MARKERS
• Burnstein Basil

  • Found differences in performance between working and middle class students in maths
  • Found uses of different style of language both limits and define
  • relationship established within social group effect way group uses language

  ESTABLISHED TYPES OF CODE

  1. Restricted
  2. Elaborated
• Restricted Code


  speakers draw on background knowledge and shared understanding

  • Creates sense of inclusion
  • Among friends & family (closely knit groups)
• Elaborated code


  Circumstances doesn't allow speaker to condense so they spell everything out so readers understand

  • Used when no prior knowledge and shared understanding of knowledge where thorough explanation required
• Differences between Restricted Code and Elaborated code

  Restricted Code:

  • Simplistic connection 'but'
  • shorter phrases interjected in sentences 'you know'
  • Uses of pronouns and deixis

  Elaborated code

  • Formal
  • More subordinating clauses
  • more logical connectives 'unless..', 'if..'
  • more references used
  • less fillers & more explanation