Attitudinal factors in Canadian English usage
| dc.contributor.author | Gulden, Brigitte Katja | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-13T22:57:49Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-13T22:57:49Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1979 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 1979 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Linguistics | |
| dc.degree.department | School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | It is the aim of this study to investigate the relation between certain general attitudes and language behaviour. Variability in Canadian English is unique in quality and extent as a result of linguistic and cultural influences from two different sources - Great Britain and the United States. The selection of one particular variant in a situation of linguistic choice - often between a British and an American form - might either be purely coincidental, in which case we would have free and unstructured variation, or it might be a result of extra-linguistic factors. Possible influences are the geographic location in Canada, various social factors, and the degree of exposure to one variant or one entire dialect compared to the alternative through the mass media, travelling or personal contacts. There is no doubt that such factors do have an effect on speech behaviour, and this has been widely demonstrated in linguistic literature with regard to other speech communities. However, psychological factors, such as general attitudes and possibly the personality of the speaker, might also be relevant to linguistic choice. Attitudes towards the countries, culture s, and ethnic groups where the relevant dialects of English are spoken - in this case Canada, Great Britain, and. the United States - can be factors influencing linguistic behaviour independent of physical factors like social group-membership or extent of exposure to the different dialects. Such attitudes were measured for a group of Canadians by means of a questionnaire together with biographical background information and linguistic choices, and statistical calculations by means of a computer were carried out to discover possible relations. The introductory chapters present the theoretical framework of the study in comparison to previous linguistic research: the position of variability in linguistic literature, a review of research on language attitudes and a discussion of some characteristics typical of variation in Canadian English. After a general description of the techniques used in the experiment, the individual items in the questionnaire and the variables created for calculĀations are discussed. A comparison is drawn between the answers to linguistic questions in the present study and the results of a "Survey of Canadian English" which had been conducted in 1972. Underlying linguistic principles served as a model to explain the consistency of linguistic choices manifested in highly significant intra-linguistic correlations. Correlations between attitudes and speech were found to follow regular patterns, which makes them predictable depending on the kind of linguistic choices offered. The results o f this study confirm that variation within Canadian English is not only associated with physical factors such as the biographical background, but also with general attitudes of the speakers about their own personal situation, about different countries and national groups, and about other people in general. | en_US |
| dc.format.extent | 202 pages | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17991 | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.title | Attitudinal factors in Canadian English usage | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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