After reading the chapter, I have come to conclusion that language differences and class divisions are almost inevitable. In recent decades, research has shown across low, middle, and high SES groups that your parent’s language input directly effects their children’s language output. According to Hart and Risley’s study, the amount of language young children are exposed to correlates with SES. Children who come from highly successful families, significantly speak more on average to those from working-class or poverty level families. Depending on your SES, it is likely young children may lag behind or not communicate effectively due to the parent’s phonological variables. Considering the social distribution of language in New York, there seems to be more prestige with the consonantal [r] in the word “car” compared to the word “car” with the absence of the [r]. This is a great example of how the normal working of society have produced systematic differences. Socioeconomic scales have been subjected to scrutiny and seem to focus on superficial measures. But, it’s hard not to admit that socioeconomic status has a strong correlation to language differences. In order to better understand the features of “high-quality” input, examining words, sounds, sentences, and social contexts can influence an individual’s language learning, especially as a child. Many people defy the odds and are exceptions to this link between socioeconomic status and language variation.
Furthermore, what kind of factors contribute to these SES discrepancies? Stratification? Have you known someone who has defeated the odds against the link between language differences and SES?
Part of the socioeconomic-inspired discrepancy also may come from varying access to informational resources and materials. Children from more financially stable families tend to have more opportunities for educational experiences like trips to museums, visits to historical sites, traveling ( = exposure to new cultures), etc. Parents with lower incomes may hardly be able to afford essentials like food and electricity to support their children, let alone experiences like this. Even in the home, wealthier children may have a larger supply of books, simply because their parents have more money to expend to this effort. All of these privileges allow for learning opportunities that will improve children's cognitive ability and expand their vocabulary, two consequences that can contribute to more extensive linguistic development. As you noted, children from wealthier backgrounds tend to speak more than their peers of lower income. This could partially be due to the resources they are provided. However, again, as you noted, these trends are certainly not true 100% of the time.
ReplyDeleteI think that educational level plays a big role in the language that we use and heavily impacts the SES discrepancy.
DeleteI am a first generation college student while my mother on the other hand had dropped out of high school. I was also a voracious reader much to the chagrin of my mother who always wanted to watch TV with me and instead I would hide in my room reading. I would notice that sometimes I would use words she did not understand and I would have to explain them to her -- I am assuming it is related to both the vast amount that I read as well as the fact that my mom had dropped out of high school.
I think looking at quality of education would also impact this discussion -- a public school in a low-income area would provide an education different than the private school in a wealthy neighborhood.
I have never seen the entirety of "My Fair Lady" but I have seen the first hour multiple times. There is a scene where they teach the woman how to speak like she is from high society. Whether or not it is a fair or accurate way to judge someone I think we all do it. We determine how intelligent are based off of first impression and speech is one of the first things you notice. I live in a location with a lot of yinzers and I am guilty of judging all of them based off their speech patterns. As for SES I think a job interview usually requires a lot of finesse and proper speech. People can also code switch and speak differently at work than at a grocery store. So somebody may be able to speak "properly" and do at work, they just do not outside of work. It like writing an email to your adviser versus texting your friends. Some people do this more easily than others and some speak the same no matter what the situation is.
ReplyDeleteGood points, Morganne.
DeleteI think that wealth is the biggest discrepancy. If someone with a lower SES bears offspring that ends up getting a college education, and later establishes him/herself well, that will then change the course for how they speak. I think, though, that regardless of how you end up changing your SES, there will always be a part of you tethered to your original language variation.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the main factors that contribute to SES and therefore contribute to escaping the language barriers SES can create are the ability to get a good education as well as the ability to travel and be exposed to multiple cultures. While I do definitely think that it's possible to escape the overall boundaries of your SES, I do think it's harder to escape the language boundaries of an SES. The best way I could sum this up is with the phrase "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy". I think being surrounded by people of a specific SES for the formative years of ones life makes it hard for people to shed ALL of the language specifics brought by their SES. Even if they learn a different way to speak around professionals/fellow rich folk, they will always revert back to at least some of their poor person speak when in a relaxed setting with people speaking the same way.
ReplyDeleteI think Kate makes a good point about books and reading. Although it isn't the same as spending time with people who speak a certain way, reading a certain kind of language can have an affect on your speech and vocabulary. My older sister kindly mentioned the other day that I use bigger words than I did in high school - this was not really a compliment. :) Honestly, I think it is because of the hours I spend reading older books - usually written in a style we don't speak in - when I'm in college. For example, when I finish reading Fitzgerald or Bronte, I often find myself talking sort of like them the rest of the day. All that to say, the written language we are exposed to probably doesn't have near as much of an impact on our speech as the people we spend time with, but it does make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI agree that education has a huge impact on this phenomenon. I totally relate to reading books directly impacting my speech -- at least for a while. I also notice it when I write, my vocabulary certainly reflects what I am reading at the time.
DeleteI think it is really interesting to look at how and what we read impacts how we speak, I am assuming it is not as studied as much as the effect that our peer group has on our speech.
Solid post, Mary! Excellent commentary, too! There is a lot of research to back up the claims you are reporting on. SES is a far, far more significant factor in our American lives than we would like (or are taught) to believe...
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