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High N Low Prestige Varieties

Sociolinguistics examines the prestige assigned to languages and dialects within a speech community. Languages and dialects associated with higher social classes typically have higher prestige, while those of lower classes have lower prestige. The most prestigious dialect is often considered the standard language. Attributes like an extensive literary history, international influence, and prestigious speakers can lead a language to be viewed as high prestige, while fewer such attributes can label a language as low prestige.

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Saharudin Yamato
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2K views5 pages

High N Low Prestige Varieties

Sociolinguistics examines the prestige assigned to languages and dialects within a speech community. Languages and dialects associated with higher social classes typically have higher prestige, while those of lower classes have lower prestige. The most prestigious dialect is often considered the standard language. Attributes like an extensive literary history, international influence, and prestigious speakers can lead a language to be viewed as high prestige, while fewer such attributes can label a language as low prestige.

Uploaded by

Saharudin Yamato
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Overview Of

Sociolinguistics
High and Low Prestige
Varieties

In sociolinguistics, prestige describes the level of


respect accorded to a language or dialect as
compared to that of other languages or dialects in
a speech community.
The concept of prestige in sociolinguistics is
closely related to that of prestige or class within a
society.
Generally, there is positive prestige associated
with the language or dialect of the upper classes,
and negative prestige with the language or
dialect of the lower classes.

The

concept of prestige is also


closely tied to the idea of the
standard language, in that the most
prestigious dialect is likely to be
considered the standard language
High prestige and low prestige
varieties; certain speech habits are
assigned a positive or a negative
value which is then applied to the
speaker

Different languages and dialects are


accorded prestige based upon factors
which include "rich literary heritage, high
degree of language modernization,
considerable international standing, or the
prestige of its speakers".
Having many of these attributes will likely
mean the language is viewed as being of
high prestige; likewise, a language or
dialect with few or none of these attributes
will be considered to be of low prestige.

In Western Europe, multiple languages


were considered to be of high prestige at
some time or another, including "Italian as
the Mediterranean lingua franca and as
the language of the Renaissance; and the
17th-18th century French of the court
culture"

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