2. Language and Social Class
Education
Social
Class
Ocuppation
Age
Income
Sociolinguistics Network
Sex
Style
3. Sociolinguistic Patterns
External Regional
Patterns Patterns
Social Class Migration
Age
Sex
Style Urbanization
Network
4. Sociolinguistic Variables
-Phonological Variables:
1.- Postvocalic /r/
England > The loss of /r/ following by a
consonant but not a vowel.
USA > The distribution of postvocalic /r/ reflects
the history of settlement patterns (colonists)
from Britain.
5. ing : alveolar /n/ nasal /ŋ/
- Lower person’s social status uses alveolar /n/
/h/ : alternation between /h/ and a lack of /h/
- Urban accents do not have initials /h/ (heart, hill,
etc..)
- Grammatical Variables:
- The variable concerns the use of non-standard
third person singular present tense verb form
without –s e.g he go.
6. Style
Formal Informal
Style Depending
Style
on :
Social Context, Relationship of the
participants, Social Class, Sex, Age,
Physical Environment and Topic.
7. Gender
Woman Men
-Women use higher status variants ( postvocalic /r/ and –
ing ).
-Tend to hypercorrect (more than man).
-Use more prestige forms.
-Women are more concerned with politeness.
* Hypercorrection: non-standard usage from the over-
application of a rule of grammar.
8. Age
Younger /t/ variable:
speakers use Marker of social
more standard class
forms than membership
young adults. amng adult and
school age
population.
9. Social Network People with
whom we
interact are a
Different socializing habits powerful source
of individuals and their of influence on
speech.
degree of involment in the
local community.
• Is the one in which people whom a
Dense given speaker knows and nteracts
Network with also know each other.
• Is the one in which the individuals
Multiplex who interact are tied to one
Network another in other ways.
10. Standardization
One of the main
agents of Process:
inequality Convert one
variety into a
The aim is to remove standard by
variation and stablish fixing and
ONE system to serve regulating its
as a uniform one for a spelling,
group. grammar, etc...
The process
has never be
regarded as
complete.
