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Component 02: Dimensions of linguistic variation
Quick questions on Accent, dialect and region: regional variation and attitudes - OCR A-Level English Language
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is accommodation theory?Show answer
Giles's accommodation theory explains how speakers adjust their language towards or away from an interlocutor. Convergence (moving towards the other's variety) signals solidarity, approval or a wish to be understood; divergence (emphasising one's own variety) signals distance, identity or resistance. In data showing speakers shifting between varieties, accommodation theory is a powerful explanatory tool, reading the shift as social work rather than inconsistency.
What is a model attitudes paragraph?Show answer
"The radio host's correction of the caller's regional 'I were sat there' to 'you mean you were sitting there' enacts the very prejudice the question raises: the regional past-tense form and the dialectal 'sat' are systematic features of a rule-governed variety, not errors, yet they are treated as mistakes against a Standard English norm. Matched-guise research would predict exactly this kind of judgement, attaching incompetence to the variety rather than the speaker, and the exchange shows accent and dialect prejudice operating as a social, not a linguistic, evaluation." This reads the attitude critically with research.
What is a model accommodation paragraph?Show answer
"Across the interview the regional speaker converges towards the interviewer's more standard variety, reducing dialect features as the conversation proceeds, which Giles's accommodation theory reads as a bid for approval and smoother communication in a high-stakes setting. The convergence is social work, managing the relationship and the impression, rather than evidence that the speaker's 'real' speech is unstable." This applies accommodation theory.
What is q1?Show answer
What is the difference between accent and dialect? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
What do matched-guise studies reveal? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Evaluate the view that regional accents and dialects are judged unfairly, with reference to data and relevant research. [16 marks]
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