Sociolinguistics is one of the most interesting aspects of linguistics in a society. This is perhaps because it is the study of linguistics that takes on a broader perspective on linguistics. By assessing the impact that the society has on the linguistics of a certain group of people, sociolinguistics is able to draw significant conclusions regarding the use of language in a community, and the social variables that determine this use of language such as religion, socioeconomic status, regional dialects, speech communities and age, just to name a few (Coupland, Sarangi and Candlin 32). Through the analysis of these variables in a community, the variation in language can be studied among the different groups and conclusions drawn to determine the scope and effect that these social variables have on linguistics (Tagliamonte 77). The purpose of this study would be to examine the effects that social variables have on language use and to determine whether the effects are similar across different societies.
Seeing as language is primarily affected by the social variables within a specific community, assessing the effects of these variables and finding the correlations, if any, that these variables have on other societies experiencing similar social variables is an elaborate way of understanding sociolinguistics (Coupland, Sarangi and Candlin 18). In order to successfully conduct this study, a number of things will be required. First, this study will assess the use of language among the low, middle, and upper classes in a community. A sample size of approximately 20 individuals of the same age for each group would be appropriate. To give depth to the study, the same sample size and classification would be applied to different states in different regions within the United States of America. This translates into obtaining samples form the Northeast, Midwest, South and West. Consequently, samples of lower, middle and upper classes would be collected from two different states in every region to give a total of six groups for every region and a total of 24 groups for the entire USA. This would make the total sample size 480.
Based on the depth of the study, I expect to find certain correlations among the lower, middle and upper classes across all samples. I expect to find the use of specific jargon and slang across the different classes in all samples, and specifically jargon that relates to their daily living and social status (Coupland, Sarangi and Candlin 88). I also expect to find proper use of language that adheres to grammatical and phonetical rules among the upper classes in all samples, and a gradual reduction of adherence to these grammatical and phonetical rules as one moves to the middle, and eventually the lower class (Tagliamonte 56). Data collection for this experiment would be one very intensive. To ensure that the researcher gets to hear the normal language use of these different social groups, an appropriate method would be to develop a list of questions to be answered verbally that the different sample groups would answer and the conversations recorded. To facilitate this study, a group of individuals aged between 14 and 18 would be selected from schools in low, middle and upper class neighborhoods. These questions would be non-formal and outside of the school setting to ensure that students get to talk in the same manner that they do outside of class.
This experiment is important because it serves to provide an in-depth analysis to the effects that social status has on the use of language and the development of jargon or slang. In this way, appropriate strategies can be employed to develop systems and frameworks that can help students better understand education through the use of language and jargon that they can relate to. In this way, education can be made more interesting, and more relatable to students across different social statuses in the USA.
Works Cited
Coupland, Nikolas, Srikant Sarangi, and Christopher Candlin. Sociolinguistics and Social Theory. Harlow, England: Longman, 2001. Print.
Tagliamonte, Sali. Variationist Sociolinguistics: Change, Observation, Interpretation. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Internet resource.
