scholarly journals An educated, successful businessman or a market dealer speaking with an accent? Research on subconscious attitudes of students in Russian schools

2017 ◽  
pp. 292-319
Author(s):  
Ramunė Čičirkaitė
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
School Students ◽  
Language Of Instruction ◽  
Speech Styles ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Speaking Style ◽  
High Social Status

The article focuses on the speaker evaluation experiment conducted in the spring of 2016 in Vilnius schools with Russian as the language of instruction. The aim of the experiment was to reveal the students’ subconscious attitudes (evaluations) and determine whether the four speaking styles of Vilnius, which had been distinguished conventionally for the purposes of the research, were recognized by the respondents and what social meanings the styles were associated with. The same experiment was conducted in 2014 in Vilnius schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction. The study proved the hypothesis that there was a clear hierarchy of the speech styles differentiated by the variants of /i/, /u/, /i + R/, /u + R/ of different duration used in a stressed position. The styles are socially significant to ethnic Lithuanian school students and function as markers of social personality types associated with different personality traits, professions and ethnicity. This year’s experiment is based on the assumption that the social stigma created by standardization ideology and associated with Slavic speakers has affected the subconscious attitudes of students from Russian schools so much that Vilnius speech styles will evoke to them similar associations to those of the students of Lithuanian origin; in other words, phonetic variants which distinguish the styles are likely to identify the same social types of speakers.The research has proved the initial hypothesis. The style Kam+GalSL used by Vilnius city dwellers of Slavic origin tends to be perceived as revealing a Slavic background but does not serve as a marker of high social status and high professional competence. Therefore, even though the participants of the experiment attend Russian schools, their linguistic attitudes are not lingo-centric, namely, they are involved in the same field of social meanings as the Lithuanian school students (such social meanings as non-Lithuanian, less educated, having a poorer job are chosen when reflecting on the Slavic pronunciation). Therefore, the respondents may apply the same ideological scheme on the subconscious level while evaluating the speech of a group to which they belong according to the distinguished features of stimuli. Additional social meanings of this style include otherness (weird), poor communicational skills (poor speaker), low social status and working-class professions indicating meanings (laborer, janitor, market dealer).It seems that the variability of duration in stressed /i/, /u/, /i + R/, /u + R/, which is typical of Lithuanian city dwellers in Vilnius, acquires a different value among Russians speakers in Vilnius. The Kam speaking style, originating from a dialect and distinguished by phonetic variants, is associated with a lower social value in comparison with the styles Kam+GalLT and Neu, which include strongly stigmatized phonetic variants, associated with the speech of Vilnius city dwellers. Both styles Kam+GalLT and Neu are associated with a social type of a speaker of high social status, substantial income, leading positions and high professional competence; however, their sub-types of association are different. Representatives of the Kam speaking style are characterized as provincial, of lower status, working-class professions and representatives of the services area.

scholarly journals Social meaning of Vilnius vowel lengthening. The research of pupils’ subconscious attitudes

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Ramunė Čičirkaitė
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Short Vowel ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Vowel Lengthening

It is not enough just to describe the distribution of linguistic variants in a speech community in order to explain language variation and change in apparent time, it is important to examine what attitudes language users have towards them as well as social meanings ​​attributed to them. To date the social meaning of vowel lengthening as a relevant feature of Vilnius speech has, however, not been studied. In February–March in 2014 speaker evaluation experiment was conducted in two socially and ethnically unmarked schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction. The schools were ranked in the middle position in the rating of city schools; all of them were located in two socially unmarked boroughs of Vilnius. The experiment aimed at determining the social meanings that vowel lengthening acquires among Vilnius city pupils. A total of 231 senior (9–10) class pupils took part in the study. The experiment has confirmed the hypothesis that vowel lengthening in Vilnius speech is not evaluated ambiguously and has more than one social meaning. It is the articulatory context, in the other words – the cluster of other pronunciation features of a speaker (or stimuli type) that is decisive in which of the meanings is actualized. It has also showed a clear hierarchization of the stimuli types which reveal natural variability of short vowel lengthening in the speech community of Vilnius: 1) Kam+GalLT, 2) Neu, 3) Kam and 4) Kam+GalSL. The study has revealed that if vowel lengthening in the stem of the word and in the inflectional ending occurs in the articulatory context of the speakers of Lithuanian origin, it is perceived as a marker of high social status, power, high professional competence of the speaker as well as representing businessman profession, a speaker who could work as a newsreader, hold leadership positions. Personal traits like „educated“, „wealthy“, „successful“, „managing“, „youthful“, „urban“ and „having a good job“ have mostly been assigned to the latter types of speakers with statistically significant difference. If vowel lengthening occurs in the articulatory context of the speakers of Slavic origin, it is recognized as Slavic and associated with low social status, linked to services and working-class occupations. In addition, all the mentioned personal traits to this type of stimuli have been assigned most rarely by the pupils. Only the stem lengthening articulatory context has been linked to the category of provinciality and this stimuli type representing speakers have been mostly considered to be suitable for service occupations.

Social Dialect Variations in Sasak Monolingual Society: A Lingual Critical Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Irma Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Systematic Description ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Dialect Variation ◽  
High Social Status ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

Social dialect variation is diversity and richness of dialect owned by an individual or group in Sasak monolingual society. Moreover, the diversity of social dialect is also often used as a medium for transferring ideology, identity, and existence by an individual or group of individual or other groups. Thus, the purpose of this study is to describe the form of vocabulary choice in social dialect variation of Sasak community to show differences in speech who is high social status (superior) and low social status (inferior) between individuals or groups and between women and men. The theory used is social dialect variation form of Janet Holmes and critical analysis Norman Fairclough. The data was collected by observing methods and interview as well as the basic techniques and derivatives, observation and documentation methods. Sources of data gathered from Sasak speakers who are communicating. Data were analyzed by using descriptive qualitative method which aims to make systematic description, categorization, and patterning. Data are presented formally and informally. At last, this study resulted in different forms of social dialect variation by an individual or group and by women and men who can cause physical-psychic intersection.

scholarly journals The Structural Dilemma of Citizen Participation: The Interactive Influence of Social Status and Subjective Social Mobility

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 183449092110031
Author(s):  
Xuyun Tan ◽  
Xuejiao Dou ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Cai Xing ◽  
Baoyu Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Stratification Structure ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
High Social Status

In the context of rapid social change, the perception of social stratification has far-reaching and complex influences on human psychology and behavior, including citizen participation. The current research explored the interactive influence of social status and subjective social mobility on citizen participation. Two studies used experimental methods to manipulate subjective social mobility and social status, respectively, to examine the interactive effect. Taken together, the results of both studies revealed that the interaction between social status and subjective social mobility had a significant influence on citizen participation: whereas citizen participation with high social status was not affected by subjective social mobility, citizen participation with low social status decreased with increases in subjective social mobility. This research established a combined dynamic and static analysis framework of social stratification structure, elucidating the current status of citizen participation under the influence of the interaction between social status and subjective social mobility, and providing a countermeasure reference for effectively promoting citizen participation.

Ethnic Stereotypes in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Minority Students’ Perspectives

2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042110158
Author(s):  
Trang Thi Thuy Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Ethnic Stereotypes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Data Source ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
Perceived Social Status ◽  
Minority People

This study examines ethnic stereotypes toward majority and minority people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It contributes a more multidimensional perspective on ethnic stereotypes by exploring minority students’ perspectives on how their ethnic group stereotypes Kinh majority people and how they are being stereotyped by the Kinh. Status and solidarity are used as the theoretical lens to gain insights into different stereotype traits and the social meanings underlying the stereotypes. Interviews with eight students in a college in the Central Highlands, which were carried out in 2013, are the main data source. Findings reveal that the students highly appreciated Kinh people’s status-related traits and minority people’s solidarity-related traits. The stereotypes functioned as maintaining the social status quo – where the Kinh justified their position and advantages, while the minorities tended to accept the perceived social status hierarchies. Implications for diminishing negative stereotypes, improving minorities’ existing status, fostering trust-based cross-ethnic contact, and inspiring mutual respect among people of all ethnicities, are hence suggested.

Co-variation, style and social meaning: the implicational relationship between (h) and (ing) in Debden, Essex

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Amanda Cole
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Social Meaning ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Rates Of Change ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Casual Speech

Abstract This paper demonstrates that the differing social meanings held by linguistic features can result in an implicational relationship between them. Rates of (h) and (ing) are investigated in the casual speech of sixty-three speakers from a community with Cockney heritage: Debden, Essex. The indexicalities of h-dropping in Debden (signalling Cockney) are superordinate to and incorporate the indexicalities of g-dropping (working-class, “improper”), resulting in an implicational relationship. H-dropping implies g-dropping, but g-dropping can occur independently of h-dropping. This occurs in terms of co-variation at the between-speaker level and clustering effects at the within-speaker level which is measured through a novel approach using the number of phonemes as the denomination of distance. The features’ differing social meaning are also related to rates of change. Young speakers are shifting away from linguistic features which index Cockney heritage (h-dropping; the [-Iŋk] variant of -thing words) in favor of more general, southeastern, working-class norms (g-dropping).

POWER MATERIALIZED: THE DART-THROWER AS A PAN-MESOAMERICAN STATUS MARKER

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald A. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Graphic Communication ◽  
Highly Effective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
High Social Status

AbstractThroughout the deep history of Mesoamerica, the dart-thrower (a.k.a. atlatl) played a vital utilitarian and symbolic role. Although it was a highly effective tool exploited for practical purposes such as hunting and warfare, ample evidence exists which reveals its association with themes of authority, power, and prestige. The survival of ornamented dart-throwers, as well as the context in which the implement appears in Mesoamerican material culture and forms of graphic communication, reveal its role in the production and assertion of high social status. This argument will be supported by archaeological and ethnographic evidence which demonstrates that the dart-thrower served as a pan-Mesoamerican symbol of power beginning no later than the Middle to Late Formative period and continuing through the Conquest.

scholarly journals Paradox of integration — mean field approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1750133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Kułakowski ◽  
Piotr Gronek ◽  
Alfio Borzì
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Transient Time ◽  
Field Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Mean ◽  
High Social Status

Recently, a computational model has been proposed of the social integration, as described in sociological terms by Blau. In this model, actors praise or critique each other, and these actions influence their social status and raise negative or positive emotions. The role of a self-deprecating strategy of actors with high social status has also been discussed there. Here, we develop a mean field approach, where the active and passive roles (praising and being praised, etc.) are decoupled. The phase transition from friendly to hostile emotions has been reproduced, similarly to the previously applied purely computational approach. For both phases, we investigate the time dependence of the distribution of social status. There we observe a diffusive spread, which — after some transient time — appears to be limited from below or from above, depending on the phase. As a consequence, the mean status flows.

scholarly journals The family social status role in formation of competitive orientation and competitiveness of high school students

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
L. V. Gulyayeva ◽  
M. Y. Semenov
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Family Income ◽  
School Students ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Impact

The family is one of the key factors influencing values, attitudes to work, professional self-determination and life plans of high school students. The article is devoted to the consideration of family social status role of modern high school students in formation of their competitive orientation and competitiveness.The article analyzes results of theoretical works of Russian and foreign researchers devoted to the analysis of family social capital influence to the educational strategies of adolescents. The methodological basis of the study was a questionnaire survey of high school students conducted in the cities of Tyumen, Tobolsk, Ishim and rural areas of the Tyumen region. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was used to analyze the data.Considering family social status as the basis of young people “social start” in adulthood, authors note the dual nature of the role of this characteristic in the process of social adaptation of the younger generation. Based on the analysis of the data of questionnaire survey of high school students, the authors conclude differences of opinion on the importance of competitiveness as a necessary quality of personality.According to the results of the study it is shown that in addition to the level of family income, significant characteristics in their social status that affect the competitive orientation and competitiveness of high school students are also the level of parent’s education and their composition (full or single-parent families). It was confirmed that there is a correlation between the respondents’ assessment of personal competitive potential and the socio-professional status of the family.As possible directions for further research can be considered the study of the impact of the level of regional development on competitiveness formation process of high school students, as well as the role of teachers in this process.

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