Social Status Use Research Articles

A sociolinguistic perspective on the subdialect spoken in the Upper Valley of the Mures

The present research falls within the domain of variational linguistics, it is focused on the study of the variability of the language used by the inhabitants of the Upper Valley of the Mureș and is a sociolinguistic approach from a synchronic and diachronic perspective. In a previous linguistic study (Rus 2012, 219) it has been noted that within the subdialect spoken in the Upper Valley of the Mureș, the influences of the Moldavian subdialect, as well as those of Hungarian can be traced. However, the influence of the standard language among young people, but also among the people who have a higher social status, is obvious. In the determination of the physiognomy of the dialect, one must take into account not only its formation mechanisms but also the transformations occurring as a result of the influence of the standard language or the contact with other languages. Therefore, I will consider the degree to which the dynamics of the subdialect are influenced by the standard language or by neologisms, but also the determination of the dialectal linguistic competence and performance according to sociolinguistic criteria (gender, age, and social status). In the Upper Valley of the Mures, there are common and distinctive features of the use of language between members of different ages, statuses, and genders. However, older people tend to use more frequently the specific particularities of the subdialect, whereas the younger ones or those who have a higher social status use constantly literary language or even neologism, even though they know the subdialect.

SOCIAL STATUS AND INVESTIGATORY BEHAVIOUR IN THE ANGELFISH (PTEROPHYLLUM SCALARE)

AbstractThe response of juvenile angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) with different dominance ranks towards a potential predator and a nonthreatening novel stimulus was studied when in a group, to assess the influence of the social status on investigatory behaviour. Dominant fish showed a cautious predator inspection behaviour, often approaching the predator model from a relatively safe distance. In contrast, middle ranking fish inspected the predator model closely and the number and duration of the inspection visits to the area closest to the predator were greater than those of the other group members. Subordinate fish tended to avoid the potential predator, but showed the greatest interest in the novel harmless stimulus, investigating it more readily and for more time from the shortest distance than their companions. Dominant fish displayed a rather weak response towards the nonthreatening stimulus, exhibiting the shortest duration of investigation and the longest latency of approach. The response of intermediate ranking fish was more variable, existing little differences with that showed by any of the other fish categories in the parameters considered. The results indicate that dominance relationships within a group may affect behavioural decisions during investigatory behaviour, and suggest that individuals with different social status use different behavioural strategies dependent on the focal stimulus, possibly reflecting adaptive changes and physiological condition.

Cultural Background and Second Language Acquisition

Abstract Knubb‐Manninen, G. 1988. Cultural Background and Second Language Acquisition. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 32, 93‐100. The article examines – on the basis of a research study carried out in Swedish‐speaking schools in Finland – the significance that cultural conditions, such as gender and social background, have for second language learning. A model with gender and social background serving as the exogenous factors, school learning capacity and language use as the intervening variables, and proficiency in Finnish (second language) as a dependent variable was tested by means of the Lisrel method. The findings indicate that social background influences the learning of Finnish, because students from homes with a higher social status use Finnish more frequently outside school. This, again, appears to be the result of better opportunities for contacts. Gender does not influence knowledge of Finnish, but it does influence school success in Finnish, which seems to be due to better adjust...