Social Class Theorists Flashcards

Study Notes

Class Consciousness

Awareness of one's social class, mainly observed in the lower class.

Allan Ross - U and Non-U

"U" denotes upper class, while "Non-U" refers to aspiring middle class.
Introduced terminology to describe social dialects in 1950s Britain.

Nancy Mitford - U and Non-U

Expanded on Ross’s theory with additional examples.
Noted that “A U-speaker recognizes another U-speaker almost as soon as he opens his mouth.”
Suggested that silence serves as a typical U-response in awkward situations.

Malcolm Petyt

Conducted a phonological study in Bradford focusing on the dropping of /h/ in initial positions.
Found a direct correlation between social class and the frequency of “H” dropping, with lower classes using fewer H sounds.

Milroy - Belfast Study

Analyzed the relationship between community integration and speech patterns.
Developed a Network Strength Score from 1 to 5 based on community knowledge.
Discovered a correlation between high Network Strength Scores and the use of vernacular speech, more pronounced among men.

Jenny Cheshire

Investigated grammatical variables among children in a playground setting.
Identified 11 non-standard features and their usage in relation to peer group behavior.
Findings indicated that children endorsing criminal activities showed higher non-standard usage, particularly boys.
Variation in dialect is influenced by social attitude, with males more affected by covert prestige.

Basil Bernstein

Identified two language forms: "restricted code" used by the working class and "elaborated code" by the middle class.
Claimed these language forms contribute to differing educational performance.
Restricted code relies on shared context and informal constructions, while elaborated code is more formal and requires linguistic competency.

Peter Trudgil

Found women tend to use overt prestige, while men gravitate towards covert prestige.
Men often over-reported non-standard speech, aiming to seem more non-standard, whereas women over-reported standard speech.
Class significantly influences language use, with women across classes being more likely to adopt Received Pronunciation (RP).

William Labov - New York Study

Conducted a social class study in 1962 across New York department stores to analyze the pronunciation of the /r/ phoneme.
Hypothesized that higher-ranked stores would stress the /r/ more, reflecting their awareness of prestige and clientele perception.

William Labov - Martha's Vineyard Study

Studied dialect variation in 1963, focusing on how the island's residents exaggerated their pronunciation of words in contrast to the standard New England accent, opposing the trend of dialect leveling.

Description

Explore key concepts surrounding social class theory with these flashcards. Highlighted terms include 'Class Consciousness' and the distinctions made by Allan Ross and Nancy Mitford in the context of social dialects. Perfect for understanding the dynamics of class awareness and language.