Chapter 5. Acquiring attitudes towards varieties of Dutch
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Gunther De Vogelaer
Abstract
Even though adolescence is well-known to be a key period for the acquisition of vernacular varieties, there seems to be little research on how attitudes change during adolescence. In addition, most sociolinguistic studies on adolescent language hardly discuss developmental factors. This study tries to mend these gaps in our knowledge, by investigating how attitudes towards a number of varieties of Dutch change in Flemish children between 8 and 18 years of age. Adolescence is shown to be a period in which attitudes further emerge and change considerably. The youngest children in our sample do seem to recognize Standard Dutch as a model for their own speech, and are thus competent to distinguish between different varieties of Dutch, but they hardly attribute any non-linguistic significance to language variation. As children grow older, they realize that there is a correlation between language variation and societal prestige. In addition, they become more sensitive to the ‘covert prestige’ of, especially, the local variety, which is increasingly evaluated as indexing integrity and as a means towards social and/or in-group success. Significant parallels are revealed between sociolinguistic and psychosocial development, including 11–12-year-olds’ tendency to think in terms of ‘perceived popularity’ (Cillessen and Rose 2005), and the peak around the age of 16 in conventional and social-clique dominated reasoning about friendship (Turiel 1983; Horn 2003).
Abstract
Even though adolescence is well-known to be a key period for the acquisition of vernacular varieties, there seems to be little research on how attitudes change during adolescence. In addition, most sociolinguistic studies on adolescent language hardly discuss developmental factors. This study tries to mend these gaps in our knowledge, by investigating how attitudes towards a number of varieties of Dutch change in Flemish children between 8 and 18 years of age. Adolescence is shown to be a period in which attitudes further emerge and change considerably. The youngest children in our sample do seem to recognize Standard Dutch as a model for their own speech, and are thus competent to distinguish between different varieties of Dutch, but they hardly attribute any non-linguistic significance to language variation. As children grow older, they realize that there is a correlation between language variation and societal prestige. In addition, they become more sensitive to the ‘covert prestige’ of, especially, the local variety, which is increasingly evaluated as indexing integrity and as a means towards social and/or in-group success. Significant parallels are revealed between sociolinguistic and psychosocial development, including 11–12-year-olds’ tendency to think in terms of ‘perceived popularity’ (Cillessen and Rose 2005), and the peak around the age of 16 in conventional and social-clique dominated reasoning about friendship (Turiel 1983; Horn 2003).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Bridging the gap between language acquisition and sociolinguistics 1
- Chapter 2. The effects of exposure on awareness and discrimination of regional accents by five- and six year old children 43
- Chapter 3. How do social networks influence children’s stylistic practices? 65
- Chapter 4. Child acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 91
- Chapter 5. Acquiring attitudes towards varieties of Dutch 117
- Chapter 6. What is the target variety? 155
- Chapter 7. The relationship between segregation and participation in ethnolectal variants 185
- Chapter 8. Socializing language choices 213
- Chapter 9. Language acquisition in bilectal environments 235
- Chapter 10. Acquisition of phonological variables of a Flemish dialect by children raised in Standard Dutch 267
- Chapter 11. Developmental sociolinguistics and the acquisition of T-glottalling by immigrant teenagers in London 305
- Author index 343
- Subject index 345
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Bridging the gap between language acquisition and sociolinguistics 1
- Chapter 2. The effects of exposure on awareness and discrimination of regional accents by five- and six year old children 43
- Chapter 3. How do social networks influence children’s stylistic practices? 65
- Chapter 4. Child acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 91
- Chapter 5. Acquiring attitudes towards varieties of Dutch 117
- Chapter 6. What is the target variety? 155
- Chapter 7. The relationship between segregation and participation in ethnolectal variants 185
- Chapter 8. Socializing language choices 213
- Chapter 9. Language acquisition in bilectal environments 235
- Chapter 10. Acquisition of phonological variables of a Flemish dialect by children raised in Standard Dutch 267
- Chapter 11. Developmental sociolinguistics and the acquisition of T-glottalling by immigrant teenagers in London 305
- Author index 343
- Subject index 345
