A Sociolinguistic Perspective on Accent and Social Mobility in the UK Teaching Profession

Michael Donnelly, Alex Baratta and Sol Gamsu
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Michael Donnelly: University of Bath, UK
Alex Baratta: University of Manchester, UK
Sol Gamsu: University of Bath, UK

Sociological Research Online, 2019, vol. 24, issue 4, 496-513

Abstract: A new interdisciplinary approach to understanding the role of accent in relation to intergenerational social mobility is introduced here. Sociological analyses that attend to accent often focus on broader regional distinctions or construct limiting dichotomies of accents, rather than capturing the full variety and range of accents, often found at smaller geographic levels. Drawing on the case of the teaching profession and using qualitative data collected as part of a study of teachers, we illustrate how integrating sociolinguistics into a sociological analysis of social mobility would allow us to combine the micro-geography of class, mobility, and speech to a more granular level. The analytical tools provided by sociolinguistics, outlined here, could push forward work on understanding prospects for, and experiences of, social mobility.

Keywords: accent; linguistic capital; social class; social mobility; sociolinguistics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:24:y:2019:i:4:p:496-513

DOI: 10.1177/1360780418816335

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