Language attitudes toward Northeastern Mandarin and Putonghua (PTH) by young professionals

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunsheng Yang
Keyword(s):  
Northeast China ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Young Professionals ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Language Attitude ◽  
Personal Qualities

This study examines the language attitudes of young professionals in three cities in China towards Northeastern Mandarin (NEM) and Putonghua (PTH) (i.e., the standard language in China). It confirms that NEM has lower status as compared to PTH. However, the young professionals in Northeast China rated the NEM speaker higher than the PTH speaker in most qualities, attesting to the empathy and solidarity of native speakers toward their own variety of language. The northeastern professionals also rated the NEM speaker lower in some personal qualities, implying that the northeastern professionals’ awareness of the stereotypes associated with NEM and the prestige associated with PTH. The findings show that language attitude is directly linked to socio-economic status and that speakers of the low variety of a language may develop complicated language attitudes when negotiating their language use and identity in social interaction.

scholarly journals Physical attractiveness – who believes it is a ticket to success?

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Outi Sarpila ◽  
Jani Erola
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Physical Appearance ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Nationally Representative

According to previous research, physical appearance is an important asset that contributes to socio-economic success. However, the consequences associated with physical appearance are often considered gendered. By focusing on the two aspects relevant to physical attractiveness and social stratification, gender and socio-economic status (SES), the article examines whether or not women and men in certain socio-economic positions consider physical attractiveness an important asset in everyday life. We use data from a nationally representative survey. Our analyses suggest that women tend to believe that physical attractiveness contributes to success in life more often than men. Furthermore, we find that the representatives of the middle class, in particular, recognise the significance of physical attractiveness. This applies to both women and men. The results suggest that appearance-related beliefs reflect, first and foremost, the internal battle of middle status positions as well as the willingness to separate oneself from a lower status group.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE USE AND LANGUAGE ATTITUDE ON THE MAINTENANCE OF COMMUNITY LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY MIGRANT STUDENTS

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leni Amalia Suek
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Class Session ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Migrant Students ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Language Attitude ◽  
Community Language

The maintenance of community languages of migrant students is heavily determined by language use and language attitudes. The superiority of a dominant language over a community language contributes to attitudes of migrant students toward their native languages. When they perceive their native languages as unimportant language, they will reduce the frequency of using that language even though at home domain. Solutions provided for a problem of maintaining community languages should be related to language use and attitudes of community languages, which are developed mostly in two important domains, school and family. Hence, the valorization of community language should be promoted not only in family but also school domains. Several programs such as community language school and community language program can be used for migrant students to practice and use their native languages. Since educational resources such as class session, teachers and government support are limited; family plays significant roles to stimulate positive attitudes toward community language and also to develop the use of native languages.

The influence of socio-economic status, age, gender, and level of literacy on language attitudes

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-263
Author(s):  
Gerdine M. Ulysse ◽  
Khaled Al Masaeed
Keyword(s):  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Literacy Level ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between socio-economic status, age, gender, and literacy level and Haitian Gonâviens‘ attitudes towards Haitian Creole or Kreyòl and French. Most studies that investigated language attitudes of Creolophones have found that they have negative attitudes towards Kreyòl. Nevertheless, previous studies often included participants who are affiliated with education such as students, teachers, and language policy makers, or those from higher social classes. The current study, however, utilized a language attitudes questionnaire to collect data from 78 adult informants from diverse backgrounds. These participants included 21 highly literate, 51 partially literate and 6 illiterate Haitians. Findings revealed that participants of higher socio-economic status have more positive attitudes towards French than those from lower socio-economic status. Results also showed that there is a tendency for age, gender, and literacy level to affect language attitudes. For instance, positive attitudes towards Kreyòl were found to be more prevalent among older participants than younger respondents. Similarly, male participants had more negative attitudes towards French than female informants. Moreover, respondents of lower literacy levels had more negative attitudes towards French than those who were highly literate.

Social Stratification of School Knowledge in Character Training Programs of South Buffalo, New York, 1918-1932

1988 ◽  
Vol 170 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Thomas ◽  
Kevin J. Moran
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Knowledge Type

This essay shows how policy makers and teachers in Buffalo, New York designed and implemented a stratified curriculum as an outgrowth of the school district's character training program. They differentiated by socio-economic status the knowledge type they disseminated to their pupils in the early 1900s, emphasizing academics in elementary schools which higher- and middle-status pupils attended. In contrast, they emphasized character training at the expense of academics in lower-status schools.

Explicit Attitudes in Brazil Towards Varieties of Portuguese

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Bugel
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Explicit Attitudes ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Policy And Planning ◽  
Teaching Situations

AbstractThe study of language attitudes is relevant to the study of language use in society, language policy and planning, and language acquisition and learning. The purpose of this paper is to increase our knowledge of attitudes of native speakers about Portuguese varieties and the role of extralinguistic factors conditioning them. Seventy-nine adult Brazilian Portuguese native speakers were surveyed on their perception of outstanding language differences within various Portuguese-speaking areas, their preferences for specific regional varieties of their language, and their opinion on which variety of Portuguese would be the best choice to teach schoolchildren in Brazil, foreigners visiting Brazil, and Uruguayans and Argentineans in their home countries - in the context of regional integration under Mercosul. Results show the highest percentages of preference favoring the neutral/general variety of Portuguese as the first choice for teaching situations, followed by the Brazilian variety. This contrasts with the information collected on the subjective preferences of the same participants, who reported having a preference for a specific national or regional variety of Portuguese in 78.5% of their answers.

scholarly journals Language Attitudes of the Gaddang Speakers towards Gaddang, Ilocano, Tagalog and English

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 720
Author(s):  
Zayda S. Asuncion ◽  
Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio, Ph.D.
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
National Language ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Positive Attitudes

<p><em>Language attitudes have been the focus of interest in sociolinguistics for the past decades. In the Philippines, there is a dearth of literature on sociolinguistic studies that focus on indigenous languages and their speakers. To contribute to the literature, this study endeavoured to investigate the attitudes of Gaddang speakers in the northern part of the country towards Gaddang, their native language; Ilocano, the lingua franca of the province; Tagalog/Filipino, the national language; and English, one of the official languages. It also explored possible differences in the language attitudes of the Gaddangs in terms of geographical location, age, gender, socio-economic status, and educational attainment. Using survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview, the study involved 568 respondents. Results revealed that Gaddang speakers manifest positive attitudes towards Tagalog, Gaddang, Ilocano, and English respectively. The study also yielded significant differences in their attitudes with respect to geographical location, age, socio-economic status, and educational attainment except gender. The results have significant implications on the maintenance or gradual loss of their native language.</em></p>

scholarly journals When labeling L2 users as nativelike or not, consider classification errors

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-724
Author(s):  
Jan Vanhove
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Error Rate ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Classification Error ◽  
Classification Error Rate ◽  
Socio Economic Status

Researchers commonly estimate the prevalence of nativelikeness among second-language learners by assessing how many of them perform similarly to a sample of native speakers on one or several linguistic tasks. Even when the native (L1) samples and second-language (L2) samples are comparable in terms of age, socio-economic status, educational background and the like, these nativelikeness estimates are difficult to interpret theoretically. This is so because it is not known how often other native speakers would be labeled as non-nativelike if judged by the same standards: if some other native speakers were to be labeled as non-nativelike, then it is possible that some second-language learners that were categorized as non-nativelike are actually nativelike. Two methods for estimating the classification error rate in nativelikeness categorizations – one conceptually straightforward but practically arduous, and one involving the re-analysis of the original studies’ data – are proposed. These approaches underscore that, even if one conceives of nativelikeness as a binary category (nativelike vs. non-nativelike), the data collected in any given study may not allow for such neat categorizations.

The spread of Putonghua and language attitude changes in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minglang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Indirect Measurement ◽  
Local Varieties ◽  
Group Solidarity ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Language Attitude ◽  
Cross Variety ◽  
Attitude Changes

This study measures languages attitudes of 82 college students in Shanghai and Guangzhou, where language planning has promoted Putonghua (PTH) over local varieties since 1956. Since the 1980s, industrialization, commercialization, and greater demographic mobility have changed what used to be homogeneous local variety speech communities, resulting in greater demand for PTH in cross-variety communication. Do language attitudes change with greater demand for PTH? A direct measurement shows that the Shanghainese and Cantonese are largely similar in language use but differ in language attitudes: instrumental motivation and impressions of stereotyped PTH speakers correlate differently with language use for these groups. An indirect measurement indicates that, because of low social distance, the Shanghainese and Cantonese as whole groups preferred neither PTH nor their respective local varieties, though the Shanghainese females significantly upgraded PTH on both social status and group solidarity, while the Shanghainese males upgraded Shanghainese. These findings do not conform well to the textbook-case dichotomy found in early studies between high and low varieties on the dimensions of social status and solidarity. The nonconforming language attitudes may represent attitude changes amid emerging patterns of language use in these two Pacific cities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document