L23B: Sociolinguistics
2005-2006
Please Turn off all cellular phones & pagers
L23B Website:
www.mona.uwi.edu/dllp/courses/l23b
6/30/2016
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Course Assessment
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Incourse Test (40% of total
grade)
TEST DATE: MONDAY, APRIL
3, 2006 (2-4pm)
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Final Exam
(60% of total grade)
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Topics for this Session
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Brief Review
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Analysis
Examples
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Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Analysis
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Quantitative:
linguistic variables are counted or
quantified. Eg. Labov
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Qualitative:
involves description and analysis rather
then counting of features. Eg. Bernstein
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Quantitative Analysis
Example: Production of ‘t’:
opportunities
Female 1 – (23)
Female 2 – (51)
Male 1 – (45)
Male 2 – (38)
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[t]
14
36
5
12
[/]
9
15
40
26
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Quantitative Analysis
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Example 2
Informant A
Informant B
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Casual
[t]15%;
[/]85%
Formal
[t]40%;
[/]60%
[t]65%;
[/]35%
[t]90%;
[/]10%
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Quantitative Researches
Examples:
 Labov – New York City (1966, 1977)
Prescribed Text chapter 13
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Trudgill – Norwich (1972, 1974),
Prescribed Text chapter 14
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Trudgill (Norwich)
Main Findings:
 hypercorrection towards the
prestige pronunciation among
middle class group
 women often ‘over-reported’
 men under-reported
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Trudgill (Norwich)
Main Conclusions drawn:
 Men and women had different
notions of ‘prestige language’
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Men - ‘reversed hypercorrection’
Hence distinction between:
Overt & Covert Prestige.
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Qualitative Analysis
Example:
How does the doctor inform a patient that
he/she must take more exercise and stop
smoking?
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“How about losing some weight?”
“Could you try to take some exercise?”
“Stop smoking & lose weight now!”
“If you don’t stop smoking you will die
soon”
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Qualitative Analysis
Example:
Bernstein (1961) proposed
2 distinctive linguistic patterns:
–Restricted
–Elaborated
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Elaborated
– make use of grammatical order &
syntax
- use complex sentences,
subjunctive, embedding
- frequently used pronouns ‘I’
- richer expressions
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Restricted
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short grammatical sentences
poor syntactic form
limited use of adjectives & adverbs
rely on idioms and proverbs
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Bernstein (1961)
Main Conclusions drawn:
(1) working class had less access to
elaborated form
(2) public formal education requires
elaborated form
(3) upbringing affected language
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Bernstein’s research
criticized because of:
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Data collection method used
Generalizations made. Eg. lower
working class
Qualitative difference in the type of
speech was not proven by Bernstein
Poor school results may not be
related to language.
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THEORIES developed to account for
variation
Social Networks
Accommodation Theory
Acts of Identity
Ideology & language use
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Sources
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1. Social Network
Prescribed Text ch. 16,
Wardhaugh (pg.127-130, 180183), Holmes (pg.183-191).
2. Acts of Identity
LePage (on reserve), Prescribed
Text ch. 20.
3. Accommodation Theory
Prescribed Text ch. 18, Holmes
(pg. 230-234).
4. Language and Ideology
Prescribed Text ch. 6, Woolard
(available at DITTO).
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