Pronouns, dialect and discourse : a socio-pragmatic account of children's language in Teeside
This thesis reports the results from an ethnographic study of the language practices of 9-10-year-old children in two socially differentiated primary schools in Teesside, in the north-east of England. The analysis focuses on three salient pronominal features: possessive 'me'; singular 'us'; and right dislocated pronoun tags. Children in both schools use all of these variants (though with different frequencies) in concert with other variants (such as 'standard' 'my' for the possessive singular and 'standard' 'me' for the objective singular). The central question of this thesis is therefore: why does a speaker who has a range of alternatives choose one particular alternative in a particular context of use, and what effects might this choice have? In order to answer this question, I explore the processes of meaning-making and identity construction within each school as a distinct community of practice. I show that speaker choice is socially meaningful by examining the contexts within which individuals choose between the different linguistic forms available to them. Speakers are constrained and influenced by social structures, forces and hierarchies. The social background of the children in this study influences
Snell, Julia
Pronouns, dialect and discourse : a socio-pragmatic account of children's language in Teeside. This thesis reports the results from an ethnographic study of the language practices of 9-10-year-old children in two socially differentiated primary schools in Teesside, in the north-east of England. The analysis focuses on three salient pronominal features: possessive 'me'; singular 'us'; and right dislocated pronoun tags. Children in both schools use all of these variants (though with different frequencies) in concert with other variants (such as 'standard' 'my' for the possessive singular and 'standard' 'me' for the objective singular). The central question of this thesis is therefore: why does a speaker who has a range of alternatives choose one particular alternative in a particular context of use, and what effects might this choice have? In order to answer this question, I explore the processes of meaning-making and identity construction within each school as a distinct community of practice. I show that speaker choice is socially meaningful by examining the contexts within which individuals choose between the different linguistic forms available to them. Speakers are constrained and influenced by social structures, forces and hierarchies. The social background of the children in this study influences
pronouns dialect discourse socio pragmatic_account child_language report ethnographic_study language practice year_old child socially differentiated primary_school north_east_england analysis focus_three salient pronominal feature possessive singular right dislocate pronoun tag children school use variant though different_frequency concert variant standard possessive singular standard objective singular central_question therefore speaker range alternative choose one_particular alternative particular context use effect might choice order_answer_question explore process meaning_making identity_construction within school distinct community_practice show speaker_choice socially meaningful examine context_within individual choose different linguistic_form available them speakers constrain influenced social_structure force hierarchy social_background child study influence