The differences of daily spoken language could be explained by an internally motivated diasystem that explains language differences due to the speaker’s geographical, social, and situational context of communication. Obviously, there are several more triggers that lead to a different choice of words, such as the speaker’s sex or age.
This paper focuses on both of the last aspects, the sex and age, with regard to the choice of amplifiers, which fall into the semantic category of degree. “Amplifiers scale [gradable units] upwards from an assumed norm”, such as a fast car in comparison to a very fast car. Their aim is thus to either enlarge their referring item in space or capacity, or to augment the same in volume or amount. Whilst doing so, they “indicate […] a point on an abstractly conceived intensity scale; and the point indicated may be relatively low or relatively high”.
Whereas many parts of daily language are not really interchangeable (e.g. lexical items), amplifiers are an exception, as their sense in language is to increase the referring unit. At the same time there are many other possibilities, other amplifiers, that have the same effect. Thus, this leaves room for speakers to individualize their speech, which makes it highly interesting and valuable for social studies at the same time. Those individualizations can be categorized regarding the speaker’s age or sex and then evolve to gender or generation discussions.
As a consequence, the question whether a so-called ‘women’s language’ exists became one of the focuses of socio-linguistic studies and is to a high degree yet to be answered. Although this possible women’s language might also exist in texts, it is much more likely to appear in spoken conversations – same accounts for the age.
Thus, in this paper, I am going to analyze the choice of amplifiers in spoken British English by men and women in different ages, which will help to better understand how far the choice of words is determined by the speaker’s age and sex.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background
2.1 Classification of amplifiers
2.2 Sex
2.3 Age
3. Methods and data
4. Results
5. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper aims to investigate the influence of speaker age and sex on the choice of amplifiers in spoken British English. By analyzing data from the British National Corpus, the study explores whether these sociolinguistic factors lead to distinct patterns in the usage of boosting and maximizing intensifiers.
- Sociolinguistic analysis of amplifier usage in British English
- Categorization of amplifiers into boosters and maximizers
- Influence of speaker sex on intensity scale preferences
- Age-related trends in the frequency and choice of intensifiers
- Examination of potential linguistic strategies (tentative vs. assertive)
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
The differences of daily spoken language could be explained by an internally motivated diasystem that explains language differences due to the speaker’s geographical, social, and situational context of communication. Obviously, there are several more triggers that lead to a different choice of words, such as the speaker’s sex or age. This paper focuses on both of the last aspects, the sex and age, with regard to the choice of amplifiers, which fall into the semantic category of degree. “Amplifiers scale [gradable units] upwards from an assumed norm” (QUIRK et al. 2012: 590), such as a fast car in comparison to a very fast car. Their aim is thus to either enlarge their referring item in space or capacity, or to augment the same in volume or amount (cf. SIMPSON and WEINER 1989: 418).
Whilst doing so, they “indicate […] a point on an abstractly conceived intensity scale; and the point indicated may be relatively low or relatively high” (QUIRK et al. 2012: 589). Whereas many parts of daily language are not really interchangeable (e.g. lexical items), amplifiers are an exception, as their sense in language is to increase the referring unit. At the same time there are many other possibilities, other amplifiers, that have the same effect. Thus, this leaves room for speakers to individualize their speech, which makes it highly interesting and valuable for social studies at the same time. Those individualizations can be categorized regarding the speaker’s age or sex and then evolve to gender or generation discussions.
As a consequence, the question whether a so-called ‘women’s language’ exists became one of the focuses of socio-linguistic studies and is to a high degree yet to be answered. Although this possible women’s language might also exist in texts, it is much more likely to appear in spoken conversations – same accounts for the age. Thus, in this paper, I am going to analyze the choice of amplifiers in spoken British English by men and women in different ages, which will help to better understand how far the choice of words is determined by the speaker’s age and sex.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the motivation for studying language variation and outlines the research focus on how sex and age influence the selection of amplifiers.
2. Background: Provides the theoretical foundation by classifying amplifiers into boosters and maximizers and reviewing existing literature on how sex and age impact communicative styles.
3. Methods and data: Describes the utilization of the British National Corpus (BNC) and details the criteria for sample selection and the exclusion of swear words.
4. Results: Details the empirical findings regarding amplifier usage, utilizing frequency per million words, chi-square tests, and demographic comparisons.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes the study’s findings, confirming that while sex and age influence the choice of specific amplifiers and degrees, they do not necessarily dictate whether an amplifier is used at all.
Keywords
Language Variation, British English, Amplifiers, Boosters, Maximizers, Sociolinguistics, Sex Differences, Age Trends, British National Corpus, Intensity Scale, Spoken Language, Corpus Linguistics, Gender, Word Choice, Frequency Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this study?
The study examines how social variables, specifically the sex and age of speakers, influence the selection and frequency of amplifiers in spoken British English.
What are the primary thematic areas covered in the work?
The central themes include the categorization of amplifiers into boosters and maximizers, the impact of gendered speech patterns, and the correlation between age groups and intensification frequency.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine the extent to which a speaker's age and sex dictate the choice of words within the category of degree, specifically testing for tendencies toward assertive or tentative language.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The research adopts a corpus-based approach, utilizing the 100-million-word British National Corpus to extract and statistically analyze amplifier usage patterns across demographic groups.
What does the main body of the paper explore?
The main body details the theoretical background, the data collection process from the BNC, and the subsequent quantitative analysis of amplifier occurrences, including contingency tables and chi-square tests.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include Sociolinguistics, Amplifiers, British National Corpus, Boosters, Maximizers, and Language Variation.
How do men and women differ in their use of boosters versus maximizers?
Statistical analysis indicates that women show a higher tendency to use boosters, while men demonstrate a preference for stronger maximizers, which the author links to different communication styles.
Does age directly determine the use of maximizers?
The study concludes that age alone does not linearly dictate the use of maximizers, though distinct patterns emerge during different life stages, particularly within the working-age population.
What role does the amplifier "really" play in the findings?
The analysis reveals that "really" shows significant variation based on sex and age, particularly among younger female speakers, making it a critical focus for understanding sociolinguistic trends.
- Quote paper
- Franz Stiegler (Author), 2018, Very, really, absolutely. The influence of age and sex on the choice of amplifiers, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/427560
