Presentation_GROUP 3

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Group 3 research project by: Elsa Heath Bronwyn Ayers Natalie Hancox Kasey Robinson Melissa Thompson Accents and Social Class

Introduction: 

We first approached our project by deciding on a topic that we were all interested in investigating. We decided on the area of research to be about accent features and how this is reflected in different social classes. We wanted to see the if way in which society views a certain accent has an impact on which social class they come from. Introduction

Introduction: 

This is how we decided on the question; ‘To what extent do the regional accents in Geordie Shore and Made in Chelsea act as a reflection of social class’ This presentation will illustrate the process we undertook in gathering data, the data we collected and the analysis and conclusions which have been derived from the investigation. Introduction

The Clips from Geordie Shore and Made in Chelsea. : 

The Clips from Geordie Shore and Made in Chelsea . Made in Chelsea Geordie Shore

Background Reading : 

Background Reading Research skills reading Trudgill , P. (1994) Dialects . Routledge Sealey , A. (2010) Researching English Language. Routledge Wray , A and Bloomer, A. (1998) Projects in Linguistics: A practical guide t o Researching Language . Arnold Publishers Chambers , J.K.(2003) Sociolinguistic Theory. Blackwell Publishers Ltd Language acquisition, variation and change reading Edwards, J.  (1985) Language, Society and Identity . Oxford: Basil Blackwell Labov, W. (1972 ) Sociolinguistic Patterns . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press Labov, W. (1966) The Social Stratification of English in New York City . Washington: Center for Applied Linguistics. Trudgill , P., (2000) Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Societ y, 4th edition. London : Penguin Books Coupland , N. and Jaworski , A. (2009) The New Sociolinguistics Reader . Houndmills , Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan

Similar Studies: 

Similar Studies William Labov ‘The Social Stratification of (R) in New York City department stores.’ Labov chose to study the variable of the post vocalic R in a range of New York City department stores which he felt had a different levels of prestige. The hypothesis he had was that the more prestigious the shop the more the post vocalic R will be used. The stores he selected were Sachs with what Labov considered to have the highest prestige, Macy's (medium prestige) and Klein’s which had the lowest prestige. Labov chose the study the employees of these stores in a covert way. He felt that the prestige of the store should rub off on the staff and also that they will act how the customers expect. The results Labov obtained reflected his hypothesis successfully.

Research Methods: 

Research Methods We used a variety of research methods to carry out our project. The first one was to transcribe an example of the regional accents from the two shows, being used in speech. After transcribing the clips, as a group we designed and each distributed a questionnaire to find out people’s attitudes towards the regional accents which were portrayed in the two television programmes . Each group member wrote one question each so there were five questions in total. Consent was obtained through the informants signing a consent form.

Elsa’s IPA Phonemic Transcriptions and Question.: 

Elsa’s IPA Phonemic Transcriptions and Question. IPA Transcription from Geordie Shore: ænaɪædtəgɛlaɪklædzdɑʊnjənɔ:jənɔ:wɒtəmɪnaʊstəpitdəzðætlʊkɪfərɒktɪntəəbɑ:ɒnəblɑɪdɛətwɪvəm fʊkɪnɛl ju:dævtbɪblɑɪwəntjəfɪŋɪzðəʊrju:dævtbɪblɑɪwəntjəɑɪmnɒtrɪlɪðætastəbɪɒnɪst IPA Transcription from Made in Chelsea: jɔ:nɒ̚əbæt͡ʃələjɔ:nɒtəbæt͡ʃələaɪkaɪ'dəvæmjənəʊnəʊhauhaʊðæt̚dʒəst̚mi:nzjɔ:nɒt̚mærɪdnəʊbəɛnsɪnbɪŋsɪŋgəlmi:nzjɔ:əbæt͡ʃələwi:əbæt͡ʃələzjɔ:nɒt̚jɔ:aʊtəðəgɛɪmwɪt͡ʃɪzfaɪnkəzjɔ:hæpɪbət̚waɪəju:əlwɛɪzlaɪ̚ rʌbŋ ɪt̚ɪnmaɪfɛɪzlaɪwɔ:laɪ̚jɔ:sɪŋgəlju:kənrʌnərɑʊnəndu:wɒt̚jəwɒnt̚aɪdʒəsɪndʒɔɪðəgɛɪmlaɪ My question for our questionnaire: ‘The accent in the television programme ‘Made in Chelsea’ is more approachable than the one in ‘Geordie Shore’ ’’ Informants were then asked to indicate how far they agreed with this statement with 1 being ‘strong disagree’ and 5 being ‘strongly agree’.

Analysis of Question 1 : 

Analysis of Question 1 The accent in the television programme ‘Made in Chelsea’ is more approachable than the one in ‘Geordie Shore’ ’ Indicate how far you agree or disagree with this statement (1 is ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘strongly agree’): The graph for question 1 shows that the majority of informants agreed with the statement and thought that the accent in Made in Chelsea is more approachable than the accent in Geordie Shore. This suggests that some people do feel that regional accents like the one shown in Geordie Shore are sometimes considered to have more negative connotations.

IPA Phonemic transcription : 

IPA Phonemic transcription Made in Chelsea ɪtslaɪksəʊnaɪsaʊtsaɪdwaɪɑ:wiːmuːvɪŋbɒksʒ laɪkɒnəstlɪkʌʒ jɔːmɛnt tuːbiːəgʊdfrɛndəndðætswɒtfrɛndʒduːwɛlaɪhəʊpjuːæpriːʃiːɛɪt ɪt mɛɪthuːgəʊðɪsnuːpædɒv jɔːʒ ɪʒɪt naɪsɪtsɔːsəmnəʊɪtsrɪəlɪnaɪsɪtslaɪk tuːbɛdruːmʒ tuːbæðruːmʒbɪg sɪtŋruːmɪtslaɪkəbætʃɛləpædðɛəʒ nʌðɪŋbætʃɛləəbaʊtɪt mɛɪtjɔːnɒtəbætʃɛləjɔːnɒtəbætʃɛləaɪkaɪndɒv æm Geordie Shore fænɪrætʒbækyːnəʊaɪvbɪnkɔːtnvɪkɪːfɔːðəpæsttuːwiːksdɪdnnɔ ː wɛðəaɪwɒʒduːɪnraɪtðɪŋɔːðərɒŋðɪŋtɜːndaʊttuːbiːðərɒŋðɪŋ gɜːlʒɑ:gæɪnaʊttuːnaɪətlɪtlbɪtaɪbɛtjæðɛəlbɪðriːlædʒkʌʒðɛɪfiːl pʌtdaʊnðɛətraɪnəmɛɪkʌʒfiːlpʌtdaʊntuːbiːɒnɪstwɪðjuːɪtsnɒt gʌnəhæpɛn

The representation of accent in Geordie Shore is attractive. : 

The representation of accent in Geordie Shore is attractive. As the pie chart clearly shows the largest proportion of participants felt that they disagreed with the statement. Yet, interestingly, combined, over half of the respondents agreed with the statement or were neutral to the appeal of the Geordie accent. In terms of pronunciation this proves to be an insightful result. Many of the speakers in the ‘Geordie Shore’ clips use the non -standard variant [n] of the unstressed ( ing ) suffix. eg . [ kɔ:tɪn ] instead of [ kɔ:tɪŋ ] one that is usually less favoured as this tends to be a pronunciation form that is associated with the lower/working classes .

Analysis of question 3: 

Analysis of question 3 By listening to both accents , it is clear as to which social class these characters belong. To what extent do you agree with this statement? (1 is ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 is ‘strongly agree’)

Analysis of question 3: 

Analysis of question 3 Majority of participants strongly agreed that the accents in MIC and GS clips reflected the characters’ social class. J udgements still made on the way people speak, even if emphasized to portray a specific social class on a tv show. Geordie Shore transcription examples: bastard / Bæstəd / We’re hitting the gym / wɛə hɪʔn ðə dʒɪm / Choice of words when talking about vanity and self-image GS: swearing, ‘hitting the gym’ MIC: ‘bachelor pad’ is ‘awesome’ with a ‘big sitting room’ Made in Chelsea transcription examples: Awesome / ɔːsʌm / Bachelor pad / bætʃʌlə pæd / Sitting room / sɪtɪŋ ruːm /

Phonological Transcriptions: 

Phonological Transcriptions Made In Chelsea ɪts səʊ naɪs aʊtsaɪd waɪ a: wi : mu:vɪŋ bɒksɛz laɪk kɒz jɔ : mɛnt tu : bi: ə gʌd frɛnd ænd ðæs wɒt frɛndz du: wɛl aɪ həʊp ju : ɑpriʃiaɪt ɪt bʌt hu:gəʊ ðɪs nu: pæd ɒv jɔ:z ðɪs nu: pæd ɒy jɔ:z ɪz ɪt naɪs ɪts ɔ:səm no ɪtz rəli : naɪs laɪk tu : bɛdru:mz tu : ba : θ ru:mz bɪg sɪtɪŋ ru:m laɪk æ bæt͡ʃələ pæd ðɛərz nʌ θ ɪŋ bæt͡ʃəlæ æbaʊt ɪt mæt jɔ : nɒt æ bætʃælæ Geordie Shore æt ðə məʊmənt ɪn d͡ʒɔ:di : ʃɔ : ɪz æ mænz wɜ:ld j nəʊ wɒt ə mi:n wər du:ən ɪt wər gəʊən aʊət ʃɒpən wər hɪtɪn ðə d͡ʒɪm wər du:ən bɜ:ks wər lʌkɪn gəd fʌkɪn əl vɪi : ʃə wəz ləvli : æz fʌk æt fɜ:st bʌ ʃi:z tri:tən ʌs lɪk ðə fʌkɪn ɛn ə aɪ i:vəl ivəl tu : fɛɪsd brʌə When looking at my phonological transcriptions as a source to produce my question, I felt that there was a noticeable difference between the vowel sounds which the Made In Chelsea accent has in contrast to the Geordie Shore accent. This difference was the vowel sounds which are often associated with an accent being a higher class accent, which is therefore relevant to our investigation. This got me to thinking whether this can only be noticed in phonological transcription of if our participants would be able to identify the difference when simply listening to the characters speak . Therefore I watched a separate episode of Made In Chelsea and chose ten words which the characters concerned spoke to make sure the word choices were still accurate. Five of the words were a noticeably different sound to those with phonological knowledge and five of which are the same sound as produced generally and are unspecific to the Made In Chelsea accent.

Results for Question 4: 

Results for Question 4 The graph shows the frequency of times each word was selected by the participants using all of the results obtained by the five members of our group. The actual words which in the Made In Chelsea episode show to have a different vowel sound to standard English pronunciation of these words are talk, watertight, awkward, granted and dance. These were all produced with the southern specific RP sounds of [c:] and [a:] whereas newspaper, captain, cake, play and royal were produced with the expected common phonemes of [æ] and [ ɛɪ .] The results show that four of the top five results are words which we hoped they would identify as being RP specific showing that there does seem to be an awareness and ability from the average person who doesn’t study English Language to identify the RP accent which is also associated with being more prestigious and upper class. This does show therefore there is a true noticeable difference in the accent of the Chelsea area and that most people can recognise this from personal knowledge and experience and not just simply due to media perception.

Phonological Transcription – Natalie: 

Here is an example of my transcription; Geordie Shore; Jay; / bɜːds wɜ ː ðʌ desprt ðeI iːvn hʌ t riŋ fʊkIn ʌnʌt ge laɪj læs daʊn ai miːn d j naʊ wɒ ai miːn aʊ stʊpId dus ðʌ lʊk / Made In Chelsea; Spencer; / nəʊ biːnj sIngl miːns jɔɪʌ bʌtʃʌlɑ ː wi ː ɑː bʌtʃʌlɑːs juːɑ ː nɒt juːɑ ː aut ɒv ð geɪm wɪtʃ ɪs faɪn kʊs juːɑ ː hæpi ː/ It can be derived from the transcriptions that Made in Chelsea is more closely related to standard pronunciation, Whereas Geordie Shore uses less standard forms such as ‘ hʌ t’ opposed to the received way of pronunciation ‘ hʌd tu ː’ Phonological Transcription – Natalie

Questionnaire - Natalie: 

I chose the following question because I wanted to see whether the accents that the participants heard within the clips had an impact upon how they viewed the social class and social backgrounds of the characters. ‘How do the accents in the two programmes contribute to your ideas about social expectations and class within the areas of Newcastle and Chelsea ?’ Questionnaire - Natalie

Questionnaire: 

Questionnaire

Questionnaire: 

From the results of my question, it can be concluded that people see the accent of a person as a reflection of their social class. The 19 participants who agreed that accent did contribute to their expectations of social class agreed that it was because a more standard pronunciation generally means you are from a more upper class, privileged background, whereas the less standard form of Geordie Shore represents someone who is from a lower class background. Questionnaire

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Analysis - To what extent do the regional accents featured in the television programmes Geordie Shore and Made in Chelsea act as a reflection of social class? Often referred to as BBC English this accent is very similar to the speakers in Made In Chelsea. A significant number of the participants picked up on this and drew a relationship between having this type of accent and coming from a higher social class. Furthermore, it was a common theme that the RP accent is one that is also associated with higher education institutions that too are represented in the media as a place that is affiliated with higher social classes. In order to determine social class many factors need to be established in order to correctly allocate it to a single group of people, one of the fundamental factors is wealth. Indeed the speakers in Made in Chelsea represent a respectable amount of wealth as shown in their daily activities in the clips but also, which is less represented in the Geordie Shore programme the speakers do not by any means come from a poor background though to an extent their representations indicate this. Many of the respondents to the questionnaire felt that the Geordie Shore accent was in fact an indication that they were of a lower class and therefore less economically privileged, when realistically this is not the case at all. Another interesting observation was the extent to which the accents featured in each of the programmes are exaggerated. Some participants felt that both programmes had a sophisticated understanding of social stereotypes and therefore played up to this idea in order to make the programmes more appealing.

Evaluation: 

Evaluation Organise an hour a week Treat as lecture time Plan question from start of project Clearer to participants Produce clear results Use more participants Different ages Go on to investigate variety of opinions belonging to people of different ages What identifies social class? Variety of accents recorded over the last 50 years

Credits: 

Credits Elsa - found our question for our project through research put the questionnaire together Created the consent form for the questionnaire Created question 1 of the questionnaire Posted the Group Learning Agreement on the blog. Put the final presentation together. Kasey - Created question 2 of the questionnaire Posted an update on the blog Melissa - posted our ‘plan of action’ on the blog assigned parts of the video clips to everyone for us to transcribe Posted an update on the blog Created question 4 of the questionnaire Bronwyn - created the information sheet for the questionnaire Posted an update on the blog Created question 3 of the questionnaire Natalie - suggested an idea for the question Created question 5 of the questionnaire We all- completed a section of the learning agreement and a section of the presentation individually distributed our questionnaires and analysed our individual question worked well as a team, sharing ideas and supporting each other whenever there was confusion or difficulty with the project

Thank you for watching.: 

Thank you for watching. We hope you have enjoyed our presentation.