Social Class and Language

The relationship between social class and language is one of the most extensively researched areas of sociolinguistics. From the 1960s onwards, scholars such as Bernstein, Labov, Trudgill, and Milroy have demonstrated that linguistic variation correlates systematically with social stratification. This lesson explores the key theories and studies, evaluates their strengths and limitations, and considers how class-based language variation relates to broader questions about power, identity, and social mobility.

Key Definition: Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society, examining how social factors such as class, gender, ethnicity, and age influence language use.

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Bernstein: Restricted and Elaborated Codes

Basil Bernstein (1971) proposed that social class influences not just what people say but how they say it. He identified two linguistic codes — systematic ways of using language associated with different social groups.

Key Definition: The restricted code is characterised by short, grammatically simple sentences, implicit meaning, context-dependent language, and a reliance on shared assumptions. The elaborated code uses longer, grammatically complex sentences, explicit meaning, context-independent language, and a wider vocabulary.

Feature	Restricted Code	Elaborated Code
Sentence length	Short	Longer, complex
Vocabulary	Limited range	Wide range
Meaning	Implicit, context-dependent	Explicit, context-independent
Grammar	Simple, often incomplete	Complex, subordination
Use of pronouns	Exophoric ("it," "they")	Named referents
Social class	Working class (primarily)	Middle class (primarily)

Bernstein's Argument

Bernstein argued that working-class children primarily used the restricted code at home, while middle-class children had access to both codes. Since schools predominantly operate using the elaborated code — textbooks, examinations, and teacher-talk all require explicit, context-independent language — working-class children were at a systematic disadvantage. Education, in effect, rewarded the linguistic habits of the middle class.

Evaluation of Bernstein

Strengths:

• Drew attention to the relationship between language and educational inequality — a crucial insight that influenced educational policy.
• The distinction between implicit and explicit communication styles has practical validity.

Criticisms:

• Labov (1969) strongly criticised Bernstein, arguing that the restricted code was being treated as a deficit rather than a difference. In his famous essay "The Logic of Nonstandard English," Labov showed that African American Vernacular English (AAVE) speakers could produce highly logical, complex arguments using non-standard grammar. The restricted code, Labov argued, was simply a different way of communicating, not a deficient one.
• Bernstein's distinction has been accused of being class-biased — it implicitly values middle-class speech while devaluing working-class speech.
• The binary distinction between two codes oversimplifies reality. Most speakers shift between different registers depending on context.
• Bernstein later clarified that he did not intend to imply a deficit, but the damage to his theory's reputation was already done.

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Labov: Social Stratification of English in New York City

William Labov (1966) conducted one of the most famous sociolinguistic studies ever undertaken. His research on the social stratification of /r/ in New York City department stores demonstrated a clear link between social class and phonological variation.

The Department Store Study

Labov visited three department stores that catered to different social classes:

Store	Social Class of Customers	Status
Saks Fifth Avenue	Upper middle class	High prestige
Macy's	Lower middle class	Mid prestige
S. Klein	Working class	Lower prestige

Labov asked shop assistants questions designed to elicit the answer "fourth floor," which contains two instances of post-vocalic /r/. He then pretended not to hear and asked again, prompting a more careful, emphatic repetition.

Key Findings

• Saks employees used the most instances of post-vocalic /r/ (the prestige form in New York English).
• S. Klein employees used the fewest instances.
• Macy's employees fell in between but showed the greatest increase in /r/ pronunciation when asked to repeat — a phenomenon Labov called hypercorrection.

Key Definition: Hypercorrection occurs when speakers of a lower social class overuse a prestige linguistic feature, especially in formal contexts, in an attempt to match the speech patterns of a higher social class.

Labov argued that hypercorrection revealed linguistic insecurity — lower-middle-class speakers were acutely aware of the prestige value of /r/ and overapplied it when monitoring their speech. This finding demonstrated that language variation is not random but is systematically linked to social stratification and speakers' awareness of prestige norms.

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Labov: Martha's Vineyard

In an earlier study, Labov (1963) investigated the centralisation of the diphthongs /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ (as in "right" and "house") on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He found that local fishermen who identified strongly with the island's traditional way of life centralised these diphthongs more than those who looked to the mainland for their future.