4. Social dimensions of an accent.

Alongside with expressing semantic information by using phonological means, the speakers display in their speech markers which reveal their personal characteristics (See Table 1).

Table 1. Social dimensions of an accent

(social and communicative parameters relating to accent users and accent use and their accent correlates)

A. Parameters related to Accent Users	Their accent correlates
Social and physical markers
1. Age	Annolect
2. Gender	Sexolect
3. Educational level	Hyperlect-acrolect-mesolect-paralect- basilect
4. Socio-economic status	Sociolect
B. Parameters related to Accent Use	Their accent correlates
Communicative-situational markers
1. Sphere of the communicative activity	Prosodic Level: intonation functional styles
2. Communicative situation: a) social distance between accent users b) social proximity between accent users	Segmental Level: Pronunciation style Slow colloquial/full style Rapid familiar/reduced style

According to J. Laver, the attributes of the speaker fall into three groups:

1) physical markers – those that indicate physical characteristics, such as sex, age, physique and state of health;

2) social markers – those  that  indicate social  characteristics, such as regional (residential) locality, social and educational status, occupation, etc.

3) psychological markers – those that indicate psychological characteristics of personality, and affective state or mood.

These markers relate primarily to the language users.

At the same time language users having an identical regional and social group can switch pronunciation varieties (consciously or subconsciously) according to the particular communicative situation, which relates to the language use.

While investigating speech variations associated with physical and social markers, sociologists operate a system of notions: idiolect, sociolect, etc.

Idiolect

Sociolect

There are several types of sociolect:

(1) Annolect

Young people are more susceptible than older people to adopting innovations spreading into a local speech community from outside. An example when the choice of a phoneme is associated with the habits of different generations within RP/BBC English is given by A. C. Gimson. Old speakers give preference to using /L/ for /P/ in off, cloth, frost, and /I / for /eI / in Monday, holiday, while young generation reveal preference in using /P /, / eI / in such cases.

(2) Acrolect

3) Basilect

(4) Mesolect

(5) Hyperlect

6) Paralect

(= the ‘close-to’ accent, ‘almost-RP-but-not-quite’).

(7) Sexolect

As G. Yule points out, female speakers tend to use more prestigious forms than male speakers with the same social background. Males generally orient their speech more to localized norms than do females.

It is possible to identify different varieties within RP.

Thus, A. C. Gimson distinguishes three main types of RP today:

(1) the conservative RP registered in the pronunciation of older generation and, traditionally, of certain professional and social groups;

(2) the general RP is the pronunciation adopted by the BBC;

(3) the advanced RP heard in the speech of young people from the upper class families and used for prestige value in certain professional circles.

Later A. C. Gimson and A. Cruttenden distinguish the following main types of RP:

(1) General RP, which reflects the pronunciation of middle class educated speakers.

(2) Refined RP – upper class, or aristocratic RP.

(3) Regional  RP  –  the  general  RP,  though  it  has  a  few  regional  features.  

J. C. Wells singles out several types within RP/BBC English. His classification is based on the speaker’s education and his social status:

(1) Mainstream RP – the accent of middle class educated speakers;

(2) U-RP – upper-class, or aristocratic RP;

(3) Adoptive RP – the pronunciation of the adults who did not speak RP when children;

(4) Near-RP – the accent of some speakers who preserve strong regional features.

All of the social factors we have considered so far are related to distinctions in accents according to the user of the accent.