Re: Labov's latest discovery in sociolinguistics

"Marc" <marc.adler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:8e591e80-571e-4cbf-96dd-fbb357b89146@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Mar 20, 6:19 pm, "Peter T. Daniels" <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

so. This is the first linguistic trait they've discovered to kick in
at so late an age, and they don't have an explanation; but they
haven't yet investigated non-college people of that age (it's harder
to recruit them!).

Might this have to do with the "scientific" notion that the human
brain doesn't fully develop until ... <drumroll> 25 years of age?

My bet is that the younger Americans (and not just Americans
of course) are more likely to parrot PC attitudes of their
teachers. They are more likely to think about and say what
they think they are expected to say.

Young people in the older age bracket are likely to be more
openly discerning, more self-assured and care less about
pleasing the organising interviewer.

As I say, I am betting on that, it's just my hunch.

In my childhood, by the age of six or seven I was absolutely
required to reliably and quickly identify social status of any
stranger participating in the conversation. I wouldn't be
surprised if the similar Labov tests performed in different
societies did not produce significantly different results.

pjk

(The scare quotes are there because I've heard this about the brain
several times in the past few months from the popular media - a
virtual guarantee that the source idea has gotten skewed in some way.)

Marc


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Labovs latest discovery in sociolinguistics
    ... haven't yet investigated non-college people of that age (it's harder ... My bet is that the younger Americans (and not just Americans ... pleasing the organising interviewer. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Labovs latest discovery in sociolinguistics
    ... haven't yet investigated non-college people of that age (it's harder ... to recruit them!). ... brain doesn't fully develop until ... ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Labovs latest discovery in sociolinguistics
    ... haven't yet investigated non-college people of that age (it's harder ... to recruit them!). ... brain doesn't fully develop until ... ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Labovs latest discovery in sociolinguistics
    ... in at so late an age, and they don't have an explanation; but they haven't yet investigated non-college people of that age. ... If the test audience is told to pick the candidate with the most careful and prestigeous speech, I'd look for differences in the norms of carefulness and prestige. ... Which, it seems, is what Labov suggests by saying that they haven't yet investigated non-college people. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Age discrimination in employment
    ... "The BBC is actively seeking to recruit a female newsreader over the ... why the post requires a person in that age group. ...
    (uk.legal)
Loading