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Programme: accepted abstracts

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Abstract ID: 523

Part of Session 181: Folk linguistics and society (Other abstracts in this session)

Speakers’ attitudes towards the normative variety: continuum or dichotomy?

Authors: Amorós Negre, Carla; Fernández Juncal, Carmen
Submitted by: Amorós, Carla (University of Salamanca, Spain)

One of the basic tenets in modern linguistics is the potential equality among varieties in terms both of ‘dignity’ and ‘legitimacy’. It is commonplace that some linguistic forms may be either taken as models or deemed incorrect in different time periods, as the normative rationale behind their choice usually lies in post-hoc reasons and extra linguistic criteria (Milroy & Milroy 1991). The democratic defence that modern linguistics makes of all varieties is, however, often at odds with the great concern of most speakers for the norms of the standard. These, codified in writing, dictionaries and grammars, generally constitute the only parameter for them to evaluate varieties and linguistic behaviour. Social linguistics should not, thus, obviate that speakers understand language through a normative lens (Taylor 1990), and that their prescriptive behaviour explains their evaluation of language facts according to an official norm of social and linguistic prestige, that of the written language. As is well known, this is an aspect of utmost importance for folk linguistics or linguistic culture (Schiffman 1996).

In light of this, it seems necessary to carry out empirical research that might enable us to determine with precision the role that linguistic norms play in the attitudes of speakers towards language. Whilst some theoretical studies have laid emphasis on the existence of a continuum of variants and +/- standard varieties according to their proximity to the prescribed norm (Garvin 1959; Wolfram & Schilling-Estes 1998; Bartsch 1987), little has been undertaken in terms of linguistic attitudes. It is, therefore, appealing to analyse if speakers’ attitudes towards language are likewise related to their gradual (better / worse) or dichotomic (good / bad) understanding of norms.

This paper focuses on some surveys that have been carried out among undergraduate informants, who were questioned on the morphosyntactic acceptability of a series of items of present-day Spanish. Drawing on Osgood et al. ´s (1957) classic system of semantic differentiation scale, it is possible to delimit the attitudes that the linguistic norms generate in the speakers, namely deviations and uses marked like correct. Some of our results suggest that the user of the language polarizes the evaluation of the items according to the old prescription rather than to scalar categories.

Bartsch, R. (1987): Norms of Language. Theoretical and Practical Aspects. London/New York: Longman.

Garvin, P. L. (1959): “The standard language problem”, in Hymes, D (ed.): Language in Culture and Society. New York: Harper and Row, 521- 526.

Milroy, J & Milroy, L. (1991 [1985]): Authority in language. Investigating language prescription & standardization. London: Routledge.

Osgood, Ch. E., Suci, J. & P.H. Tannembaum (1957): The measurement of meaning. Illinois: University of Illinois press.

Schiffman, H. (1996): Linguistic Culture and Language Policy. London: Routledge.

Taylor, T. (1990): “Normativity and linguistic form”, in Davies, A. & Taylor, T. (eds.), Redefining Linguistics. London: Routledge, 118- 148.

Wollfram W. A. & Schilling-Estes, N. (1998): American English. Dialects and Variation. Oxford & Malden: Blackwell.