The Consequences of Conflicting Stereotypes

Bostonian Perceptions of U.S. Dialects

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7258170
AutoresLaura Hartley (autor de correspondencia), LAURA C HARTLEY
Año2005
Volumen80
Número4
Páginas388-405
Fecha de publicación2005-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Speech (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0003-1283 • E-ISSN: 1527-2133
EditorialDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00031283-80-4-388
OpenAlexW2032883764
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas5

This article examines the perceptual dialectology of 50 residents of greater Boston. Map drawing reveals perceived dialect boundaries, particularly within the northeastern United States, but also in other regions of the country. In degree of difference ratings, these Bostonians do not think they sound very different from other New Englanders. In rating pleasantness and education, however, they set Massachusetts apart. In doing so, however, they exhibit an interesting mix of linguistic security and insecurity. The analysis suggests that respondents have internalized two common but conflicting American stereotypes of Boston residents—the educated elite and working-class descendants of immigrants—and rely on these stereotypes when evaluating their home area

Class (philosophy · Dialectology · Elite · Geography · Immigration · Linguistics · Perception · Political science · Politics · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Social Psychology