Language and Social Groups

Labov, New York Study (1966) - post vocalic /r/

Pronouncing the /r/ in American English in words like 'cart' and 'park' is seen as high status - used more by middle-class speakers - whereas in the UK the post vocalic /r/ has steadly diminished since the 1950s and is now only an aspect of rural speech.

Trudgill, Norwich Study (1974) - /ŋ/ vs /n/

He explored the difference between people of working- and middle-class backgrounds in their pronunciation including comparing the velar nasal /ŋ/ to an alveolar /n/ in words like 'running'. /ŋ/ was more likely to feature in middle-class speech whilst working-class speakers tended to say /n/. He also found a difference between the genders: Men were less likely than women to use the prestige pronunciation of certain speech sounds.

Eckert (1980 - 82) - Jocks and Burnouts

Study of the language differences between pro-school, conforming "Jocks" and rebellious, anti-school "Burn-Outs" in a high school in Michigan. She found that people tended to speak more like those with whom they shared social practices and values. The 'Burnouts' more often used the exaggerated pronunciations associated with the urban accent of their Detroit neighbourhood, while the 'Jocks' were more concerned with speaking in a socially prestigious way…