"Judgements about dialects are often essentially judgements about the speakers of those dialects. Discuss."

The first 200 words of this essay...

Sociolinguistics Coursework. LG 102, Week 16.

N.B.: All Sources referenced in Footnotes, full details of each source expounded in the Bibliography, see page 12.

"Judgements about dialects are often essentially judgements about the speakers of those dialects. Discuss."

Language is primarily considered to perform two major functions in society. It is designed to convey information to those around us as well as establish and maintain relationships. However, linguistically (albeit from social stereotypes) certain paradigms relating to class, social and financial status are attributed to dialects - a consensus that has been perpetuated in recent times due to the diversity of today's society and the integration of many differing dialects and languages in cities and countryside alike. Indeed, a stereotype regarding a dialect usually derives from the views held on the characteristics of its speakers. Although a direct correlation between the aforemented stereotypes and linguistic fact has little scientific basis in reality it has not served to reduce the almost established dialect prejudice rife in the media, judiciary and education systems. In the early 20th Century, the 'Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis' advanced the theory that the derivative of language we use is respective of our social, cultural and ideological background,