An Annotated Bibliography on Identification, Social Status and Language

In this annotated bibliography I intend to focus on whether it is possible to identify ourselves and others as belonging to certain groups based on the existence of patterned variation in language. As William Labov is one of the most significant figures who dealt with the social stratification of certain linguistic phenomena I began my research with finding out about his contemporaries and students. That is how I got acquainted with Peter Trudgill’s name and discovered his three books - Sociolinguistics – An Introduction, On Dialects - Social and Geographical Perspectives and Accents and Dialects - An Introduction to Social and Regional Varieties of British English in the British Isles – of which I write the annotations below. 

1. Trudgill, P. (1974). Sociolinguistics: An introduction. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

In the first chapter – “Language and Society” – Trudgill discusses that whenever we talk, we give details away of our origins and also detect those from how the other speaks. He writes about the significance of Standard English and its variants and how the fact that a person speaks Standard English can determine his social status. British English Accent or Received Pronunciation (RP) is an accent that appears together with Standard English only. It is a highly prestigious accent and Standard English also represents much more status and prestige than any other English dialect. Although “all dialects are equally good” (p. 20), their association with speakers of low social status leads to them being considered inferior.

Trudgill reviews the examinations of postvocalic /r/ application in New York City, and the similar observations about the pronunciation changes on the island of Martha’s Vineyard concluding that “linguistic change does not always take place in the direction of the prestige norm” (p. 24). He also debates the ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’ according to which “a language can affect a society by influencing and even controlling the world-view of its speakers” (p. 25) and studies the question of taboo words. The type of word which is tabooed in a particular language will be a good reflection of at least part of the system of values and beliefs of the society in question. A sort of ‘double-think’ is associated with words of this type that they appear in the speech of certain sections of community.

In the second chapter – “Language and Social Class” – he states that “the internal differentiation of human societies is reflected in their languages” (p. 34). He defines social stratification and writes about how caste dialects of India can be examined in an easier way than social-class dialects. As status change in the social hierarchy of English-speaking class societies is possible, these are heterogeneous societies and so is their language. William Labov is a pioneer of that linguistic field with his work The social stratification of English in New York City.

Regarding my research I found Trudgill’s statements on the social attitude towards RP and Standard English, and taboo words very useful as he does reflect on how the use of these appear in the hierarchy of society. On the other hand, I welcomed him pointing out that in certain situations changes might take place in different directions than that of the prestige norm which is represented nicely in the Martha’s Vineyard experience.

2. Trudgill, P. (1983). On dialects: Social and geographical perspective. Oxford: Blackwell.

In the 11^th chapter – “Standard and Non-Standard Dialects of English in the United Kingdom – Attitudes and Policies” - of this book Trudgill writes that the greatest degree of regional differentiation can be observed among speakers of the lower working class and among speakers of the upper middle class. Standard English speakers who apply British English accent (Received Pronunciation) are usually highly educated people of large public schools or have obtained the accent via conscious effort or training. Received Pronunciation speakers constitute a very small fraction of the British population. It is written that “the further one goes ‘down’ the social scale, the larger become the grammatical and lexical differences from Standard English, and the phonetic and phonological differences from RP” (p. 187) In the English society, grammatical and lexical variation is not as noticeable as social accent differentiation is.

Southern English speakers may move back and forth in the social dialect continuum, while, for instance, Lowland Scots rather switch dialects, which is rather a jump than a smooth move. Such clear differences can be observed in school where children in Southern England do not adjust their speech greatly between home, play and school. On the other hand, many Scottish children consciously apply a different dialect in school.

The problems in education brought about by social, regional dialect and accent variation in the United Kingdom are described, taking into particular consideration the comprehension difficulties observed among children of West Indian origin. The question of whether Standard English has to be taught in schools is investigated. It is stated that non-standard dialects (and low-prestige accents) may imply poor judgment of their speakers which may result in them being discriminated against, for instance, in employment. Received Pronunciation speakers are generally thought to be more intelligent and trustworthy than regionally accented speakers, however, they can also be considered less cordial and gregarious. While, accents intolerance is about to seemingly decrease, non-standard dialects are still associated with lower social status because attitudes and prejudices are held by many people towards their speakers. Trudgill concludes in the end of the chapter that modifying attitudes is still easier than altering the linguistic basis of most of the population.

I appreciate the way Trudgill points out what the actual significance of the spoken dialect and accent is when it comes to social hierarchy. It is stated that it can definitely affect the academic career of a person from the very first days of school, hence, it is confirmed that language greatly contributes to social status.

3. Hughes, A., & Trudgill, P. English accents and dialects: An introduction to social and regional varieties of British English in the British Isles. London, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.: E. Arnold.

The first chapter of this work – “Variation in English” – sums up what has already been discussed in the previously cited writings. It is implied that pronunciation varies because people speak differently depending on the situation they are in.  It is written that “casual style of pronunciation” (p. 5) is “not a matter of correctness but of appropriateness” (p. 5). Then regional variation is weighed up. It is confirmed again that Received Pronunciation speakers – who make up only very small percentage of the population - are usually at the top of the social scale on the bottom of which the “broadest” (p. 7) regional accents take place. The higher the social status is, the less regionally marked the accent will be and it will be more similar to Received Pronunciation. The correlation between accent and social scale is presented by figures for “aitch dropping” (p. 8) in the Bradford area of Yorkshire. Those moving up the social scale adapt their accents to RP, hence, maintaining “the relationship between class and accent” (p. 8).

Grammatical and lexical variation is also studied in this chapter. The reader is finally led to the conclusion that “the higher a person’s position on the social scale, the less their speech is regionally marked” (p.12). The issue of those speaking two dialects reappears as such a feature implies that such speakers are members of more than one social group. Regional forms are less likely to apply with people who are high on the social scale. Standard English is the most prominent British dialect, while Received Pronunciation is the most prominent accent; however, it is spoken only by a very small portion of the British society located usually at the top of the social scale.

In this writing the correlation between accent and social scale is presented with actual figures based on observations concerning “aitch dropping”. As adaption of their accents towards RP makes it possible for people to proceed on the social scale, it is clearly stated that there is connection between the social class and the spoken accent which practically gives an overall answer to the question on which the research is focused.