The Social, Cultural and Economic Influences on the Learning and Use of Language.

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Kirsty Harding

The Social, Cultural and Economic Influences on the

              Learning and Use of Language.

Word Count: 1731

In the following work I will be examining the social, cultural and economic factors that can influence an individual’s learning and use of language. I have done this mostly in reference to the learning and use of English in the UK, however on occasion I make reference to American literature where I feel that such literature also has relevance in the UK. I have approached this study in three parts, examining the social, cultural and economic factors as separate subjects, however by the end of this work it becomes apparent that these issues are inextricably inter-related and that in order to fully understand any of these issues they must be examined within the context of being but one of many factors that influence how an individual acquires and uses language.

 The issue of context in language acquisition and use is unavoidable. This is because language is, by it’s very nature, highly contextualised. It is our primary means of expressing ourselves as individuals or members of a particular social group, and it is never acquired or used without context. Context can be provided by various factors, where we are, whom we are with or the purpose of our speech or writing.

 Initially, when we begin to acquire language we do so within the context of our family. ‘We model our speech on their speech’ (Jackson & Stockwell. 1996:3). It is at this early stage that we start to develop our accent and dialect. Trudgill (1994:2) argues that the way we speak English is a result of our geographical and social background and that regional factors alone do not determine our accent and dialect. He makes the point that whilst a person from Liverpool will speak a different variety of English from a person from Manchester; it is also possible for two people who are from Liverpool to speak different varieties of English.

Of course our family is not the only determining factor in the development of our dialect and accent. As children we continue to acquire language whilst attending school and it is at this point that we become aware of different ways of speaking and using English, and Jackson & Stockwell (1996:3) argue that it is at this point that we become familiar with altering the way we use language depending upon the role we assume and the purpose of our speech or writing.

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 At school we are introduced to Standard English as the desired written form of English and will be encouraged to use the grammar and lexis of this variety in our writing.  If we are successful in our efforts at assimilating this new variety of English it can be argued that we become bi-dialectal as we are able to use Standard English in it’s written form and also, to a certain extent, as a spoken variety in very formal situations.

In-keeping with the view of language as a form of self-expression Jackson & Stockwell (1996:24) also argue that ...

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