Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T21:43:06.376Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Style-shifting in a Cardiff work-setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

Nikolas Coupland
Nikolas Coupland
Affiliation:
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite ample evidence which proves the existence of stylistic stratification in the speech of monoliguals, little is know about the nature of stylistic variation in everyday settings. Data from a Cardiff travel agency suggest that a speaker's stylistic repertoire can be statistically characterised using a method that combines Labov's frequency-counts of linguistic variants and Hymes' and others' taxonomies of situational components. A second study using subjects' responses to stylistic variation in the original data overcomes certain limitations inherent in the correlational method. It shows how style-shifting can be a dynamic resource for a speaker, not necessarily the automatic correlate of contextual features. (Stylistic variation; sociolinguistic variables in Cardiff English; linguistic repertoire; reactions to style.)

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , April 1980 , pp. 1 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Berdan, R. H. (1975). On the nature of linguistic variation. University of Texas at Austin: unpublished PhD dissertationGoogle Scholar
Cheshire, J. (1978). Present tense verbs in Reading English. In Trudgill (1978:52–68).Google Scholar
Crystal, D. & Davy, D. (1969). Investigating English style. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Douglas-Cowie, E. (1978). Linguistic code-switching in a Northern Irish village: Social interaction and social ambition. In Trudgill (1978: 37–51).Google Scholar
Ervin-Tripp, S. (1964). An analysis of the interaction of language, topic and listener. Supplement to American Anthropologist 66(6), Pt. 2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hymes, D. (1972). Models of the interaction of language and social life. In Gumperz, J. J. & Hymes, D. (eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.Google Scholar
Giles, H. (1973). Accent mobility: A model and some data. Anthropological Linguistics 15 (2): 87–105.Google Scholar
Giles, H. & Powesland, P. F. (1975). Speech style and social evaluation. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Gimson, A. C. (1962). An introduction to the pronunciation of English. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Gumperz, J. J. (1964). Linguistic and social interaction in two communities. Supplement to American Anthropologist 66 (6), pt. 2.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1966). The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar
Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. W. (nd.). Description of Cardiff and Cymric in the county of Glamorgan (Unpublished).Google Scholar
Macaulay, R. K. S. (1978). Variation and consistency in Glaswegian English. In Trudgill (1978).Google Scholar
Mees, I. (1977). Language and social class in Cardiff: A survey of the speech habits of schoolchildren. University of Leiden: unpublished dissertation.Google Scholar
Reid, E. (1978). Social and stylistic variation in the speech of children: Some evidence from Edinburgh. In Trudgill (1978).Google Scholar
Sankoff, G. (1972). Language use in multilingual societies: Some alternative approaches. In Pride, J. B. & Holmes, J. (eds.) (1972). Sociolinguistics. Penguin Education.Google Scholar
Trudgill, P. (1974). The social differentiation of English in Norwich. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Trudgill, P.(ed.) (1978). Sociolinguistic patterns in British English. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Wells, J. C. (1970). Local accents in England and Wales. Journal of Linguistics 6. 231–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfson, N. (1976). Speech events and natural speech: Some implications for sociolinguistic methodology. Language in Society 5. 189–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar