Lecture (6) Regional and social dialects › 2020 › 04 › ...Regional variation o To British ears, a New Zealander’sdad sounds like an English person’sdead, bad sounds like

Lecture (6)

Regional and social dialects

o People often use a language to signal their membership of

particular groups and to construct different aspects of their social

identity.

o Social status, gender, age, ethnicity and the kinds of social

networks that people belong to turn out to be important

dimensions of identity in many communities.

o The same applies on speakers of a particular variety within

monolingual communities




o When you answer the telephone, you can often make some pretty

accurate guesses about various characteristics of the speaker.

o In example 1, Pat was able to deduce quite a lot about Mark’s

caller, even though the caller had said nothing explicitly about

herself.

o Most listeners can identify that the caller is a child without any

problem. When the caller is an adult, it is usually easy to tell

whether a speaker is female or male. If the person has a

distinctive regional accent, then their regional origins will be

evident even from a short utterance.

o And it may also be possible to make a reasonable guess about the

person’s socio-economic or educational background, as Pat did.


o Some features of speech are shared by groups, and become

important because they differentiate one group from another.

o Just as different languages often serve a unifying and separating

function for their speakers, so do speech characteristics within

languages.

o For example, the pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of

Scottish speakers of English is in some respects quite distinct

from that of people from England.



SCOTTISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH

Londen London/ˈlʌndən/

Job /ju:b/ Job /dʒəʊb/

Town /tu:n/ Town /taʊn/

Down /du:n/ Down /daʊn/

Pre’y Pretty /ˈprɪti/

Sco’ish Scottish /ˈskɒtɪʃ/

Goes /gu:z/ Goes /ɡəʊz/

Time /tim/ Time /tʌɪm/

Fool/full /ful/ Fool /fuːl/ Full /fʊl/

Pronunciation



Bern Child

Loch Lake

Burach Mess

Cailleach Old woman

outwith Outside of

wee small

warlock brief

pawkie Cunning, sly

Pinkie Little finger

janitor caretaker

Vocabulary



I got told off You’ve got to speak to her

Himself isn’t at home yet. The man of the house is not home yet.

Amn’t right?

Amn’t I invited

Am I not right?

Am I not invited

She’ll not go home She won’t go home.

My hair needs washed

My hair is needing washed

I’m waiting a drink.

My hair needs to be washed.

My hair needs washing

I wait a drink.

I was waiting on you I was waiting for you

Grammar

Regional variation

o To British ears, a New Zealander’s dad sounds like an English

person’s dead , bad sounds like bed and six sounds like sucks .

o Americans and Australians, as well as New Zealanders, tell of

British visitors who were given pens instead of pins and pans

instead of pens .

o On the other hand, an American’s god sounds like an English

person’s guard , and an American’s ladder is pronounced

identically with latter .

Regional variation

There are vocabulary differences in the varieties spoken in

different regions too.

o Australians talk of sole parents , for example, while people in

England call them single parents , and New Zealanders call

them solo parents .

o South Africans use the term robot for British traffic-light .

o British wellies (Wellington boots) are New Zealand gummies

(gumboots ), … and so on.

Regional variation

There are grammar differences too (see example 3)

(a) Do you have a match? ---- (b) Have you got a cigarette?

(c) She has gotten used to the noise. ---- (d) She’s got used to the noise.

(e) He dove in, head first. ---- (f) He dived in head first.

(g) Did you eat yet? ---- (h) Have you eaten yet?

Regional variation

• The differences that English speakers throughout the world

notice when they meet English speakers from other nations

are similar to those noted by speakers of other languages

too.

• Spanish and French, for example, are languages which are

extensively used in a variety of countries besides Spain and

France.

Regional variation

Regional variation

Sometimes the differences between dialects are a matter of the

frequencies with which particular features occur, rather than

completely different ways of saying things.

People in Montreal, for example, do not always pronounce the

l in phrases like il pleut and il fait .

Parisians omit the l too – but less often.

Regional variation

Intra-national or intra-continental

variation

Regional variation


variation

Regional variation

This conversation between two Geordies (people from Tyneside

in England) is likely to perplex many English speakers.

o The double modal might could is typical Geordie, though it is

also heard in some parts of the southern USA.

o The expression needs dumped is also typical Tyneside, though

also used in Scotland,

o as is the vocabulary item disjasket , meaning ‘worn out’ or

‘completely ruined’.


variation

We are dealing here not just with different

accents but with dialect differences within

a country, since the distinguishing forms

involve grammatical usages and lexical

items as well as pronunciation.

Area very few cars made up long hill

Northeast veree few cahs mehd oop long hill

Central North veri few cahs mehd oop long ill

Central Lancashire veri few carrs mehd oop longg ill

Humberside veree few cahs mehd oop long ill

Merseyside veree few cahs mayd oop longg ill

Northwest Midlands veri few cahs mayd oop longg ill

West Midlands veree few cahs mayd oop longg ill

Central Midlands veri fe cahs mayd oop long ill

Northeast Midlands veree few cahs mayd oop long ill

East Midlands veree foo cahs mayd oop long ill

Upper Southwest veree few carrs mayd up long ill

Central.Southwest veree few carrs mayd up long iooll

Lower Southwest veree few carrs mehd up long ill

South Midlands veree foo cahs mayd up long iooll

East Anglia veree foo cahs mayd up long (h)ill

Home Counties veree few cahs mayd up long iooll

Regional variation


variation

Regional variation

Regional variation takes time to

develop. British and US English,

for instance, provide much more

evidence of regional variation

than New Zealand or Australian

English.

Dialectologists can distinguish

regional varieties for almost every

English county, e.g. Yorkshire,

Lancashire, Northumberland,

Somerset, Cornwall and so on,

and for many towns too.


variation

Regional variation

In the USA, too, dialectologists can identify distinguishing

features of the speech of people from different regions.

Northern, Midland and Southern are the main divisions, and

within those three areas a number of further divisions can be

made.

Different towns and even parts of towns can be distinguished.

Within the Midland area, for example, the Eastern States can

be distinguished; and within those the Boston dialect is

different from that of New York City; and within New York

City, Brooklynese is quite distinctive.


variation

Regional variation

The Linguistic Atlas Projects ( http://us.english.uga.edu/ )

provide a rich source of information on the features of

pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary which distinguish

different US dialects.


variation

Regional variation

Intra-national or

intra-continental

variation

• The boundary lines

are called isoglosses .

• Some of the web’s

lines are thicker than

others because a

number of boundaries

between features

coincide.

Regional variation

Cross-continental variation: dialect

chains

Regional variation


chains

Regional variation

Though a map suggests the languages of Europe or India are

tidily compartmentalised, in reality they ‘blend’ into one

another.

The varieties of French spoken in the border towns and villages

of Italy, Spain and Switzerland have more in common with the

language of the next village than the language of Paris. From

one village and town to the next there is a chain or continuum.


chains

Regional variation

Where should we draw the boundaries between one dialect and

the next, or one language and the next?

The linguistic features overlap, and usage in one area merges

into the next.

Intelligibility is no help either. Most Norwegians claim they

can understand Swedish, for instance, although two distinct

languages are involved, while Chinese who speak only

Cantonese cannot understand those who speak Mandarin,

despite the fact that both are described as dialects of the

Chinese language.


chains

Regional variation

Languages are not purely linguistic entities. They serve social

functions.

In order to define a language, it is important to look to its

social and political functions, as well as its linguistic features.


chains

Regional variation

So a language can be thought of as a collection of dialects that

are usually linguistically similar, used by different social

groups who choose to say that they are speakers of one

language which functions to unite and represent them to other

groups.

This definition is a sociolinguistic rather than a linguistic one:

it includes all the linguistically very different Chinese dialects,

which the Chinese define as one language, while separating the

languages of Scandinavia which are linguistically very similar,

but politically quite distinct varieties.


chains

Social variation

Variation that occurs within the speakers of a particular

variety who live within the borders of a particular region.

The variation here can be accounted for by investigating

the different social variables which characterize those

speakers: social class, education, profession, age,

gender,…etc.

Geographical barriers and distance Social barriers and distance

Regional dialect boundaries coincide

with geographical barriers, mountains,

swamps, rivers.

For example, ‘house’ [hu:s] north of

the river Humber vs. [haus] (diphthong)

south of the river.

The diffusion of a linguistic feature

through a society may be stopped by

social barriers of social class, age, race,

religion, or other factors.

For example, a linguistic innovation

that begins in upper class may reach the

lower class last, if at all.

Social variation

Social variation

RP: a social accent

Social variation

RP: a social accent

Social variation

Upper-class people had an upper-class education, and that

generally meant a public (i.e. private!) school where they

learned to speak RP.

RP stands for Received Pronunciation – the accent of the best

educated and most prestigious members of English society.

It is claimed that the label derives from the accent which was

‘received’ at the royal court, and it is sometimes identified with

‘the Queen’s English’.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

We can trace the origins of RP back to the public schools and universities of

nineteenth-century Britain - indeed Daniel Jones initially used the term

Public School Pronunciation to describe this emerging, socially exclusive

accent.

Over the course of that century, members of the ruling and privileged

classes increasingly attended boarding schools such as Winchester, Eton,

Harrow and Rugby and graduated from the Universities of Oxford and

Cambridge. Their speech patterns - based loosely on the local accent of the

south-east Midlands (roughly London, Oxford and Cambridge) - soon came

to be associated with 'The Establishment' and therefore gained a unique

status, particularly within the middle classes in London.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

RP was promoted by the

BBC for decades.

It is essentially a social

accent not a regional one.

Indeed, it conceals a

speaker’s regional origins.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

RP probably received its greatest impetus, however, when Lord Reith, the

first General Manager of the BBC, adopted it in 1922 as a broadcasting

standard - hence the origins of the term BBC English.

Reith believed Standard English, spoken with an RP accent, would be the

most widely understood variety of English, both here in the UK and

overseas.

He was also conscious that choosing a regional accent might run the risk of

alienating some listeners. But since RP was the preserve of the aristocracy

and expensive public schools, it represented only a very small social

minority.

This policy prevailed at the BBC for a considerable time and probably

contributed to the sometimes negative perception of regional varieties of

English.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

RP: a social accent

As the triangle suggests, most

linguistic variation will be found

at the lowest socioeconomic level

where regional differences

abound.

Further up the social ladder the

amount of observable variation

reduces till one reaches the

pinnacle of RP – an accent used

by less than 5 per cent of the

British population.

Social variation

RP is an accent, not a dialect, since all

RP speakers speak Standard English. In

other words, they avoid non-standard

grammatical constructions and localised

vocabulary characteristics of regional

dialects.

RP is also regionally non-specific, that is

it does not contain any clues about a

speaker's geographic background. But it

does reveal a great deal about their

social and/or educational background.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

The various forms of RP can be roughly divided into three

categories:

o Conservative RP refers to a very traditional variety

particularly associated with older speakers and the

aristocracy.

o Mainstream RP describes an accent that we might

consider extremely neutral in terms of signals regarding

age, occupation or lifestyle of the speaker.

o Contemporary RP refers to speakers using features

typical of younger RP speakers.

All, however, are united by the fact they do not use any

pronunciation patterns that allow us to make assumptions

about where they are from in the UK

RP: a social accent

Social variation

Any linguistic form that is not a part of Standard English is

regarded as “non-standard”.

The standard dialect is the first to be codified, so other

dialects are always compared to the standard dialect.

Non-standard is a term that gives negative connotations.

This is because the term is related to the less prestigious

classes.

linguistically speaking, these non standard forms are

regarded as different.

Some sociolinguists use the term “vernacular” rather than

“non-standard” to avoid any negative implication.

RP: a social accent

Social variation

Standard English and RP

Social variation


It is estimated that up to 15 per

cent of British people

regularly use standard British

English.

In Standard English, a limited

amount of grammatical

variation is acceptable.

Social variation

Vernacular forms have features

that differ from those of the

standard forms:

tend to be learnt at home

used in informal and casual

contexts.

lack public or overt prestige

valued by their users,

especially as a means of

expressing solidarity.


Social variation

People can be grouped together on the basis

of similar social and economic factors.

Social dialects can be seen clearly in

Indonesia or India where social groupings

on the basis of social systems are very clear.

In these countries there are caste systems

determined by birth, and strict social rules

govern the behavior of each group; such as

jobs, marriages, and dressing.

These social distinctions are also reflected

in speech, and a person’s social dialect

reflects his caste.

Caste dialects

Social variation

Caste dialects

Social variation

Caste dialects

Social variation

Javanese social status is indicated not just in choice of

linguistic forms but also in the particular combinations of

forms which each social group customarily uses, i.e. the

varieties or stylistic levels that together make up the group’s

distinctive dialect.

In English, stylistic variation involves choices such as ta

mate vs thank you so much . In Javanese, things are very

complicated.

There are six distinguishable stylistic levels. Table 6.1

provides a couple of words from each level to show the

overlap and intermeshing of forms involved.

Caste dialects

Social variation

Caste dialects

The dialect of the

highly educated

highest status

group

The dialect of the lowest

status group, the peasants

and uneducated

townspeople

Social variation

Caste dialects

In Javanese, then, a particular social

dialect can be defined as a particular

combination of styles or levels each of

which has its distinctive patterns of

vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation,

though there are many forms which are

shared by different stylistic levels.

Social variation

Caste dialects

Brahmin

(Dharwar)

Brahmin

(Bangalore)

Non-Brahmin

(Dharwar)

Non-Brahmin

(Bangalore)

‘it is’ ədə ide ayti ayti

‘inside’ -olage -alli -āga -āga

Infinitive

affix

-ō -ō -āk -āk

Participle

affix

-ō -ō -ā -ā

‘sit’ kūt- kūt- kunt- kunt-

reflexive kō kō kont- kont

Caste dialects in India

Social variation

Caste dialects

Brahmin

(Dharwar)

Brahmin

(Bangalore)

Non-Brahmin

(Dharwar)

Non-Brahmin

(Bangalore)

‘it is’ ədə ide ayti ayti

‘inside’ -olage -alli -āga -āga

Infinitive

affix

-ō -ō -āk -āk

Participle

affix

-ō -ō -ā -ā

‘sit’ kūt- kūt- kunt- kunt-

reflexive kō kō kont- kont

Caste dialects in India

Social variation

Social class dialects

The term (social class) refers to a group

of people who share similarities in

economic and social status.

Status differences are in relation to

(family background, wealth,

education).

There is a strong relationship between

social class and language pattern, and

that’s why people of different social

classes do not speak the same way.

Social variation


On the level of vocabulary:

For example, in England there were words that marked the upper

class English people (U-speakers) from the (non-U-speakers).

o For example, (U-speakers) used “sitting room” rather than

“lounge”. They used “bag” instead of “Handbag”.

However, the barriers between social groups are not fixed,

because you can move up or down the social ladder.

This is because the choice of vocabulary is superficial and can

conceal/ hide social class membership.

Social variation


On the level of pronunciation:

the speech of different social groups is distinguished by the

frequency of which they use particular features.

The same linguistic variable is likely to have different values in

different speech communities.

o h-dropping among speakers of English

o Pronouncing –ing as /ɪn/ instead of /ɪŋ/.

o New York: /r/ is pronounced more by higher social classes.

o England: /r/ is pronounced less by higher social classes.

Social variation


upper middle class

UMC

lower (working) class

LC

Social variation


Social variation


Most research in social variation conclude that people from

lower social groups tend to use more of the vernacular

variants than those from higher groups.

Sometimes, the social variation may take a contrasting

pattern in different varieties.

Post-vocalic [r] illustrates very clearly the arbitrariness of

the particular forms which are considered standard and

prestigious. There is nothing inherently bad or good about

the pronunciation of any sound, as the different status of

[r]-pronunciation in different cities illustrates.

o In New York City, pronouncing [r] is

generally considered prestigious.

o In Reading in England it is not.

Social variation


Social variation


In French

Social variation


On the level of grammatical patterns there is also a variable that

proves social grouping.

The higher social groups use more of the standard grammatical

forms and few of non-standard or vernacular forms.

For example,

o the Standard English would use “she walks every day”, “I

finished my homework”,

o while the vernacular would use “ she walk” and “I finish”.

Social variation



proves social grouping.

The higher social groups use more of the standard grammatical

forms and few of non-standard or vernacular forms.

For example,

Social variation


Social variation



prove social grouping.

The case of double (or multiple) negation (negative concord)

o It ain’t no cat can’t get in no coop.

Translated into standard English, the meaning of this utterance in

context was

o There isn’t any cat that can get into any (pigeon) coop or, more

simply, no cat can get into any coop.

Social variation



prove social grouping.

The case of double (or multiple) negation (negative concord)

Multiple negation is a grammatical construction which has been

found in all English-speaking communities where a social dialect

study has been done.

In every community studied, it is much more frequent in lower-

class speech than in middle-class speech.

Social variation


In fact, there is usually a dramatic contrast (sharp stratification)

between the groups in the amount of multiple negation used.

It is rare in middle-class speech.

Caste Dialects Social-class dialects

Caste dialects are easier to study and

describe linguistically than social-class

dialects for many reasons:

a. Castes are relatively stable. a. The social situation is more fluid and as a

result the linguistic situation is more

complex.

b. Casts have clearly named groups which

are rigidly separated from each other with

inherited membership.

b. Social classes are not clearly defined or

labeled entities but simply groups people

with similar social and economic

characteristics.

c. Little possibility of movement from one

caste to another.

c. Social mobility (movement up or down

the social hierarchy) is possible.

Accordingly, these dialects tend to be clear-

cut and social differences in language are

sometimes greater than regional differences.

As a result, it is difficult for a linguist to

describe these dialects.

Social variation

Concluding remarks

Social dialect surveys have demonstrated that stable variables

tend to divide English-speaking communities sharply between

the middle class and lower or working classes.

So patterns of [h]-dropping and [ɪŋ] vs [ɪn] pronunciation

clearly divide the middle-class groups from the lower-class

groups in Norwich.

Grammatical variables do the same.

Concluding remarks

Not all variation is stable over time, however. In fact, variation

is often used as an indicator of language change in progress.

New linguistic forms don’t sweep through a community

overnight. They spread gradually from person to person and

from group to group and they often stratify the population very

delicately or finely.

Concluding remarks

We have focused largely on

pronunciation and grammar in

this chapter, but social

dialectologists are increasingly

paying attention to pragmatic

features too.

The way people use tag questions

( isn’t she , didn’t they ), for

example, or pragmatic particles

such as you know , may also

index their social group.

Concluding remarks

Many people, however, are not very

conscious of belonging to a particular

social class.

They are much more aware of other

factors about the people they meet

regularly than their social class

membership.

A person’s gender and age are probably

the first things we notice about them.

Documents

Lecture (6) Regional and social dialects › 2020 › 04 › ...Regional variation o To British ears, a New Zealander’sdad sounds like an English person’sdead, bad sounds like