Department Store Study
1.Index
1.Index……………………………………………………………………………..1
2.Introduction…..……………………………………………………………….. 2
3.Rhoticity and its relation to social prestige……………………………..……… 3
4. The department store study……………………………………………………… 4
4.1 New York City department stores represent different social environments. 5
4.2The internal stratification in New York City Department stores………..6
5.Sociolinguistic structure of (r)……………………………………………….8
6.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...11
7.Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...12
2.Introduction
Communication is a very complex process in which a person expresses a lot more than just plain words. While communicating with other people, one expresses feelings and thoughts to the listener that go far beyond simple words. Moreover the communication partner will have a first impression of the speaker’s personality. The language used by the speaker indicates his social as well as his family background. One would believe that the parents have the greatest influence on the development of the child’s native speech, when in fact the parents are only the primary source for the fundamental language pattern that the child develops. In pre-adolescent years, the child’s native speech pattern is determined by the friends and the group of peers the child is surrounded with. The child is guided by the group and attempts to adjust his/her social behavior to the group, in order to be accepted and tolerated. This process brings about inevitable social and linguistic changes.
The sociolinguist William Labov, analyzed the change of linguistic behavior according to the prestigious or non-prestigious environment the people are surrounded by. His studies focus on the sound system of New York City, which is a single speech community with many social classes. Especially in the Lower East Side, the city is representative for a high degree of mobility, diversity and complexity in society as well as linguistic patterns. It is extremely important
1.Index……………………………………………………………………………..1
2.Introduction…..……………………………………………………………….. 2
3.Rhoticity and its relation to social prestige……………………………..……… 3
4. The department store study……………………………………………………… 4
4.1 New York City department stores represent different social environments. 5
4.2The internal stratification in New York City Department stores………..6
5.Sociolinguistic structure of (r)……………………………………………….8
6.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...11
7.Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...12
2.Introduction
Communication is a very complex process in which a person expresses a lot more than just plain words. While communicating with other people, one expresses feelings and thoughts to the listener that go far beyond simple words. Moreover the communication partner will have a first impression of the speaker’s personality. The language used by the speaker indicates his social as well as his family background. One would believe that the parents have the greatest influence on the development of the child’s native speech, when in fact the parents are only the primary source for the fundamental language pattern that the child develops. In pre-adolescent years, the child’s native speech pattern is determined by the friends and the group of peers the child is surrounded with. The child is guided by the group and attempts to adjust his/her social behavior to the group, in order to be accepted and tolerated. This process brings about inevitable social and linguistic changes.
The sociolinguist William Labov, analyzed the change of linguistic behavior according to the prestigious or non-prestigious environment the people are surrounded by. His studies focus on the sound system of New York City, which is a single speech community with many social classes. Especially in the Lower East Side, the city is representative for a high degree of mobility, diversity and complexity in society as well as linguistic patterns. It is extremely important
Bibliography: Collins, Beverley & Mees, Inger M. (2008) Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A resource book for students. 2nd Edition. New York: Routledge. Downes, William (1998) Language and Society. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Labov, William (1972) Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Labov, William (2006) The Social Stratification of English in New York City. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.