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“To choose any one vernacular as a norm means to favor the group of people speaking that variety. It gives them prestige as norm-bearers and a head start in the race for power and position. If a recognized elite already exists with a characteristic vernacular, its norm will almost inevitably prevail.”

— Haugen (via linguisten)

#einar haugen #vernacular #in-group #overt prestige #lmao updating this quote bank despite not studying linguistics anymore #kinda sad that im rusty now :((

If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.

George Orwell

#george orwell #semantic shift #doublespeak #weasel words #if theres a more neutral version of this quote id use it bc he is being a negative nelly here #language and thought do indeed influence each other but that doesnt make it a corruption in every context

The greatest enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were instinctively, to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.

George Orwell

#george orwell #at last the man himself in my icon makes it onto this blog #doublespeak #weasel words

Different types of Australian accents have been shown to encode different values to listeners.

Jennifer Peck

#jennifer peck #australian identity #accents #attitudes to language

Our identities are not stable, and we may take advantage of different accent features at different times, in interaction with different people, and in different contexts to emphasise different identities.

Joshua Clothier

#joshua clothier #identity #linguistic accommodation #context

Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne.

Quentin Crisp

#quentin crisp #euphemisms

Language is largely a political matter and languages are flags of allegiance.

Kenavilli Rajagopalan

#kenavilli rajagopalan #identity #pc #political identity #in-group #out-group

The tendency for older adults to criticize younger generations for how language changes is its own form of establishing identity or staking a space in a social group.

Adrienne Lafrance

#adrienne lafrance #out-group #teenspeak #sociolects

Culture doesn’t just trump language rules, it creates them—then destroys them, then creates new ones again.

Adrienne Lafrance

#adrienne lafrance #language change #shifting community values #influences on language change

Language can be as much a way to communicate who you aren’t, as it can be used to signal who you are.

Adrienne Lafrance

#adrienne lafrance #in-group #out-group #identity

If a word spreads too quickly from a subgroup [...] it will likely no longer serve the purpose of creating in-group identity, dooming it to failure.

Mary Kohn

#mary kohn #in-group #slang #appropriation #covert prestige

[linguistic stability] may be expected for individuals who speak a prestige dialect or are in positions of power.

Mary Kohn

#mary kohn #overt prestige #this article legit got me in tears

Language acts as a badge of identity.

David Crystal

#david crystal #identity #name one thing more iconic than this

Identity demands linguistic distinctiveness.

David Crystal

#david crystal #identity #linguistic variation

When speaking to friends and family, vernacular language is most important.

Brendan Black

#brendan black #vernacular #in-group membership #covert prestige

Ethnicity is an important part of social identity, and is portrayed through language use.

Kate Burridge & Jean Mulder

#kate burridge #jean mulder #ethnolects #identity

Men are more concerned with autonomy and detachment; they seek independence and focus on hierarchical relationships.

Janet Holmes

#janet holmes #gender #social expectations

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a quote bank