Our reaction to the social meaning of a form is very often transferred to theform itself...

Odnośniki

Smutek to uczucie, jak gdyby się tonęło, jak gdyby grzebano cię w ziemi.
poprzez stymulowanie dodatkowego importu kosztownych dóbr nie wytwarzanych w kraju oraz w transferach kapitału zagranicę...
cyjnej w początkowym okresie transformacji oraz braku odpowiedniego dostosowania po stronie polityki budżetowej...
Simple past verb forms are used quite often in subordinate clauses instead ot present perfect and pastperfect tenses, if the meaning is clear...
ka� w spos�b logiczny z form kontaktu i realizacji, kt�re okaza�y si� bardzozbli�one w wydaniu portugalskim i holenderskim...
tylko pociągnęło za sobą dalszą decentralizację decyzji...
242) Art
40 41 zała się panna Hartley...
Gotfryd Plattner jest mimo swego nazwiska rodowitym Anglikiem...
przedmiotem zarówno wielu rozważań teoretycznych, jak i badań empirycznych1...
- To znaczy, że musimy być dopiero wychowani na ludzi?- Tak, taka była idea...

Smutek to uczucie, jak gdyby się tonęło, jak gdyby grzebano cię w ziemi.

For instance, we frequently perceive a certain speech sound as
either beautiful or vulgar without taking into account that the sound in itself
can be neither. Take the dipthong [ai]: in Britain it is commonly regarded as
neutral if it is part of the word 'pint', but some people would think it ugly or
vulgar if it occurred (as in Cockney speech) in a realization of 'paint'. (For
transcription symbols and conventions see the Appendix, pages 172-3.)
> TASK 3
Can you think of another example? From another language or across
languages? Do you, for instance, happen to know how the song 'The
rain in Spain' from My Fair Lady has been translated into other
languages?
In the English original, Eliza's problem is that she is using the Cockney
dipthong fai] ([rain, spam]) whereas Professor Higgins insists on the
Standard [ei]. In the German translation, 'Es grunt so griin, wenn Spaniens
Bliiten bliihen', Eliza says [grim] and [bli:tn] for [gry:n] and [bly:tn], which
is regarded as typical of Berlin working class speech.
In making these value judgements, we show that we know not only the
language, but also something about the society in which it is used. On
linguistic grounds alone, we would not be able to tell whether a certain
linguistic form is prestigious or not. Linguists have therefore tried to
develop terms which allow us talk about these issues objectively.
Distinctions within the code of a language in general are called varieties.
Regional varieties which differ from the common core with respect to
syntax, lexicon, morphology, and phonology are called dialects. Regional
and/or social varieties which only differ with respect to phonology (sound
level) have been termed accents. Thus, the speech of newsreaders on
American, British, and Australian TV is likely to be the same dialect, i.e.
Standard English, but different in terms of accent.
Variation in accent has not only a regional but also a social dimension, and
is therefore also related to prestige. On the whole, prestige varieties
Explanation
tend to be more geographically neutral than non-prestige ones (as illus-
trated, for instance, by the pronunciation of many newsreaders on national
radio and television). However, the exact interdependence of geographical
and social factors varies among speech communities. British society seems to
exploit differences in accent as social markers to a greater extent than
American society, for instance. This probably explains why the prestige
variety of British English (or, as Trudgill and Hannah (1985) point out,
'English English') is so well documented that it is the best described
phonetic variety of any language on earth. This is also the reason why we
draw on it more extensively here than on General American. Although
much the same points could be made about that or any other prestige
variety, it does seem as if people are particularly sensitive about the issue of
RP. (Terms in italics are explained in the Glossary, page 174.)
The term RP is customarily used to describe prestige 'English English1
and stands for 'Received Pronunciation'. This name indicates that it is
essentially a social variety. And indeed, although its historical roots lie in
the south-east of England, it is used by speakers to express a certain social
identity. There have been numerous studies among speakers of other
English accents in order to find out which values they connect with RP.
Not surprisingly, it has turned out that they are the same as the values
perceived as necessary for socio-economic success: intelligence,
professional competence, persuasive power, diligence, social privilege,
etc. On the other hand, RP speakers are also perceived as distant,
unfriendly, arrogant, and even dishonest (Hudson 1980: chapter 6).
When it comes to language teaching, it is important to note that there is a
difference between what is effective as a point of reference or set of
bearings for learning (let us call this a model) and what is presented as an
attainable behavioural target (let us call this a norm). The task of
pronunciation teaching, as in the teaching of any other aspect of language,
is (in these terms) to establish models for guidance, not norms for imitation.
Why, then, do we use a prestige form such as RP as a model for foreign
learners? Do we want them to make a bid for membership of the privi-
leged speaker group?
^ TASK 4
What accent�if any in particular�do you use as a model for
teaching? If it is RP, can you think of any reasons other than
tradition?