Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Members of group 11
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Style, Context, and Register

A. Addressee as an Influence on Style

Compare the speech style in these two sentences:
▪ (a) Excuse me. Could I have a look at your photos too, Mrs Hall?
▪ (b) C'mon Tony, gizzalook, gizzalook.
Factors affecting the degree of social distance and solidarity: Relative age, gender, social
roles, whether people work together or are part status
1. Age of Addressee
When addressing people of different age, the speaker generally talk differently.
Some features in speaking to children:
a. Using short and grammatically simple structures
b. Using simple range of vocabulary
c. Using We rather than you to refer to addressee
d. Using the sing-song intonation which characterizes baby-talk
2. Foreigner Talk
"The speech used by native speakers to foreigners who do not speak English well. It has
features similar to the speech with young children.“
Some features of foreigner talk:
a. High frequency vocabulary
b. Fewer contractions (e.g. must not rather mustn't)
c. Use of nouns rather than pronouns so referents are clear (e.g. then you open the oven
and you put the cake into the oven rather then put it in the oven).
d. Shorter sentences with simple grammar.
e. Use of tag questions like don't you? And isn't it?(which are to easy to respond
f. Repetition.
3. Social Background of Addressee
-Your speech might be influenced by the social background of the people you talk to, e.g.
newsreaders at different stations in New Zealand
▪ Audience design
 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

"the influence of the addressee or audience on a speaker's style."

In the previous example, the newsreader read the same news happening in the same context
but used different style because of the one factor : the addressee.
▪ Style
"Language variation which is influenced by changes in situational factors, such as addressee,
setting, task or topic."
The social background of the addressee might influence our speech style. Out speech
accommodation signals our desires to keep on the conversation and our attitude about the
addressee.

B. Accommodation Theory
▪ Accommodation theory was developed by Howard Giles and others in the 1970s. It
suggests that we adjust our speech to “accommodate the person we are addressing.
This may result in convergence or divergence.
▪ Convergence: this is more common and occurs when we move our speech closer to
that of the other person.
▪ Divergence: when people's speech styles move further apart.
1. Speech Accommodation Theory
Speakers tend to change the way they are speaking depending on who they are talking to. If
both participants in a conversation converge towards the other, this is called mutual
convergence.
Speakers may Converge (modify their speech to sound similar) or diverge (maintain
linguistic distinctiveness to distinguish themselves from interlocutor e.g. some minority
ethnic groups). Divergence has the effect of emphasizing the differences between people.
Two supporters of rival football teams might exaggerate their respective regional accents in
an argument, if unconsciously. Convergence decreases the social distance between people.
Motivation: in the case of convergence to express solidarity or reduce social distance, polite
speech strategy, sarcastic effect.
▪ Referee design
“Deliberately diverging both from one's usual style and that of addressee(s) towards the style
of a third party for special effect.”
2. Stylization
 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

• When someone goes beyond their usual or normal ways of speaking and behaving and
engages in a 'high' or 'strong' performance of some sort, the term 'stylization' is used, e.g. the
speech of comedians and singers.
• Crossing: a particular type of stylization in which young people temporarily cross over into
another group's speech style
• Parody or pantomime
3. Accommodation Problems
• Overdoing convergence might offend listeners.
• Listeners might react differently to different types of convergence.
• Reasons behind convergence or divergence are very important.
• Deliberate divergence are regarded as uncooperative or antagonistic.
• "Context” of the speech is one of the best way to avoid accommodation problems.
• Speech accommodation or style shifting which often occurs unconsciously in casual
contexts may not be appropriate in more formal context.

C. Context, Style, and Class

• Characteristics of the addressee are not the only influential factors on speech style.
• The choice of appropriate form is influenced not by the personal relationship between the
participants, but by the formality of the context and their relative roles and statuses within the
setting
• People's roles in some formal contexts strongly influence the appropriate speech forms.
1. Different Styles within an Interview
• Labov's work on language use in New York City provided a blueprint for current methods
of investigating variation in language use.
• It comprises an informal part (consisting of free conversation) for eliciting vernacular or
local use, and a formal part (consisting of a reading passage, word lists and minimal pairs) to
elicit various degrees of formal or standard language use.
• The person's most relaxed style was referred to as vernacular.
• Careful style vs. casual style
2. Colloquial Style or The Vernacular
Techniques to elicit vernacular style:
-Topic manipulation
-Recording small groups of people rather than individual
 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Example of colloquial or casual style: Pronunciation features: [h]-dropping: e.g. 'oh well, 'e
said, 'I suppose you can 'ave 'im [in] (vs formal [iŋ]: e.g. We was up there cuttin'
Grammatical features: was with plural subject we, e.g. We was up there cuttin' Come (vs
Came): Frazer come on to us.
3. The Interaction of Social Class and Style
From the way, people from different social groups speak with information about the way
people speak in different contexts indicates that the features of social class and contextual
style interact.
- Inter-speaker variation: when the same linguistic features distinguishes between speakers
socially (variation between the speakers).
- Intra-speaker variation: the difference in the way a single speaker talks in two or more
different situations (variation within a speaker).
4. Hypercorrection
Hypercorrection: it is the exaggeration of some lower class speakers in imitating middle class
standard speech.
For example: the use of 'l' rather than 'me' in constructions such as 'between you and l'.
• The Use of I for Me and Whom for Who "Perhaps the most common example of
hypercorrectness is the use of 1 for me in a compound subject: between you and I.
• Other common hypercorrect forms include whom forwho, as for like (She, as any other
normal person, wanted to be well thought of), the endingly where it doesn't belong (Slice
thinly), some verb forms (lie for lay, shall for will), and many pronunciations.“
(W. R. Ebbit and D. R. Ebbitt, Writer's Guide. Scott, 1978)
She had very little to say to Cathy and I.
Whom are we inviting to the party?

D. Styles in non-western Societies

• Japan
• Iran
• France (tu vs. vous)
When addressing a person, the choice between these pronouns is influenced by the
relationship between the speaker and the addressee and the social context in which they are
speaking.

E. Register
 Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Register : occupational style using specialized or technical jargon, it describes the language
of groups of people with common interests or jobs, or the language used in situations
associated with such groups, such as the language of doctors, engineers, journals, legalese,
etc.
A variety of language used in a particular social or economic setting, for example, legal or
academic register.

REFERENCES:
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Janet Holmes, 2012) – 4th Edition Academic year 2014-
2015