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Understanding Regional and Social Dialects

Chapter 6 discusses regional and social dialects, highlighting how regional varieties are influenced by geographical factors and social classes. It explains that social dialects reflect differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar based on socio-economic status. The chapter also notes that Standard English accommodates various dialects, while non-standard forms are often contrasted with it.

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18 views13 pages

Understanding Regional and Social Dialects

Chapter 6 discusses regional and social dialects, highlighting how regional varieties are influenced by geographical factors and social classes. It explains that social dialects reflect differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar based on socio-economic status. The chapter also notes that Standard English accommodates various dialects, while non-standard forms are often contrasted with it.

Uploaded by

Ahn Won
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
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CHAPTER 6

Regional and social


dialects
Table of Contents

Regional dialects
01
02
Social variation
03
04
Social dialects

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
Regional
dialects
Each region is characterized by its regional variety.

This linguistic variation may be phonological, lexical, or


syntactic

A geographical area is then generally associated with a


certain accent, vocabulary and perhaps also grammar.

The boundary between a regional variety and another is


usually indicated by geographical distance and natural
barriers like mountains, rivers, and forests.
intra continental
variation
The regional variation takes time to develop.

Example: British and US English provide much more evidence of regional


variation than New Zealand or Australian English. In areas where English
has been introduced more recently, such as Australia and New Zealand,
there seems to be les regional variation though there is evidence of social
variation

The high level of intra-national communication, together with the small


populations, may have inhibited the development of marked regional
differences in these countries.
Cross continental
variation – dialect chains
Social variation
Each social variety reflects the speech of a given social class.

Social varieties involve characteristic differences in


pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

Socio-economic factors play a crucial role since the variety one


speaks reveals one’s social class.
Social dialects
Social dialect is a variety of language that reflects a particular
class or group according to factors: education, occupation,
income level,…
Examples of social
dialects

Upper class speaker Non upper class speaker

Sitting room Lounge

Lavatory Toilet

Sofa settee
English
Standard English is more accommodating than RP and allows
for some variation within its boundaries.

Standard English is spoken with many different dialects

Linguistic forms which are not part of standard English are non-
standard (vernacular). Because the standard dialect is always
the first to be codified, it is difficult to avoid defining other
dialects without contrasting them with the standard.
Caste dialects
People can be grouped together on the basis of similar social
and economic factors. Their language generally reflects these
groupings – they use different social dialects.

A person’s dialect is an indication of their social background.


Social class
[Link] 7
[Link] 8.30

Differences between people which are associated with


differences in social prestige, wealth and education.

Distinguished the speech of upper-class English people (U


speakers) from the rest (non-U speakers).
• Vocabulary
• Pronunciation
U speech Non U speech
Sitting room Lounge
Lavatory toilet

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