Theorists of Language and Social Class

Numerous influential thinkers have contributed to the study of language and social class. We will examine a few
essential studies.
Study of New York Department Stores by William Labov (1966)

Studying the variances in accents across various socioeconomic levels was the focus of linguist William Labov's
dissertation in 1966. He concentrated on three New York department stores: Saks, S. Klein, and Macy's. S.
Klein was the least costly of these retailers, while Saks was the most expensive and Macy's had medium costs.
The various pricing ranges of the shops were used as indications of the socioeconomic class of the customers. In
the research, the inhabitants of Saks were supposed to belong to the highest socioeconomic class. Within the
research, Labov examined the /r/ sound and how its pronunciation varied among social classes. Labov went to
each store and questioned customers at random, inquiring about the whereabouts of an item that required them
to respond with "the fourth floor." After then, he would act as if he did not hear them and ask them to repeat
what they had just said. This would provide him two pieces of information that he could record. The first time
they react, they will use entirely normal language, and the second time, they will speak more carefully to ensure
that they are accurately understood.

The outcomes

Use of /r/ was greatest in Saks and lowest in Klein's, indicating that it is a characteristic of New York's upper
socioeconomic strata. The presence of the sound /r/ in the cautious speech of the lower-class consumers
provides evidence that these individuals employed overt prestige and modified their speech when they were
more conscious that a stranger was listening to them.

Martha's Vineyard by William Labov (1961)

The second research that Labov conducted in the United States during the 1960s took place on the island of
Martha's Vineyard. In this study, he investigated how people's pronunciation of the vowel sounds /au/ and /ai/
changed through time. The island of Martha's Vineyard was formerly mostly used for fishing, but it has now
developed into a popular vacation spot. A small number of local fisherman started unconsciously altering their
language and accentuating the older, more traditional sound that distinguished them from visitors. As the
fisherman took pleasure in their language and local identity, this is an example of covert prestige.

The outcomes

The shift in language use was especially obvious among the thirty- to forty-five-year-old fisherman who sought
to identify themselves as being from Martha's Vineyard. Other islanders unconsciously absorbed the shift in
language because they valued the traditional way of life linked with the fishermen and the manner in which they
talked. Even though they did not necessarily have a high socioeconomic position, the fisherman in this example
had a high social status within their group owing to their lifestyle and traditional language traits.

Conclusion

Language is something that has existed for a very long time since it is the means through which people interact
with one another, whether orally or in writing. Every individual in the world uses language in a manner that is
influenced by a variety of variables, including social class, which is one of the aspects that affects how people
use language based on their goals and standing. A person's social class is also influenced by characteristics such
as their income and level of education. Dialect is a language from certain locations or social groupings that has
its own grammatical, lexical, and phonological norms. Therefore, a non-standard dialect is a dialect that does
not follow the rules of the dialect and lacks the necessary criteria for accurate dialect rules. The term "low social
class" refers to those who have a limited educational background, a poor income, and are occasionally homeless.
Typically, they do not attend school due to financial constraints. According to the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there are 264 million pupils whose financial problems prevent
them from attending school. This indicates that those from lower social classes will find it very difficult to
attend school. Their children will likewise imitate the non-standard dialects they use to interact with their
children, preventing them from learning the necessary rules in their language dialects. This is why persons of
low social class often speak non-standard dialects. Children will utilize the dialects of the people around them,
according to the International Linguistic Community Online, and this demonstrates that children who originate
from low social class will imitate dialects from the people around them, such as their parents. These factors
perpetuate the cycle of low-social-class individuals speaking a nonstandard dialect.

Moreover, upper-class individuals who often belong to a royal or affluent family are more likely to be well
educated due to their high income and access to resources. Standard dialect is the antonym of non-standard
dialect, indicating that it is a sort of language dialect that adheres to all the norms and is more formal. Rich
children are seven times more likely than children from impoverished families to complete secondary school,
according to Oxfam International. This demonstrates that children from wealthy families are more likely to have
a high level of education. According to Wikipedia, children from the royal British family are educated by a
private tutor for each class, and they will study several lessons. These assertions indicate that persons from
wealthy or royal families are more likely to be well-educated and, as a result, will be able to speak a standard
language dialect to others around them.

Due to their aspiration to join the upper class, persons from the middle class are also more willing to speak
standard dialect and understand how to utilize it than non-standard dialect. The financial background of middle-
class individuals is often solid, and they have a normal salary. Consequently, many members of the middle class
are able to attend school and acquire a standard language dialect. However, the high cost prevents them from
attending the most prestigious educational institution. People from the middle class are less picky in universities
and colleges, according to Brokings, and they often employ standard dialect because they want to join the upper
class. In light of their desire to elevate themselves to the upper class, those remarks demonstrate that persons
from the middle class are more inclined to employ standard dialect than non-standard dialect.