From vikings to valley girls: A sociolinguistic study of non-native use of quotative be like and discourse markers like and just

Bressendorff, Kirsteen (2012) From vikings to valley girls: A sociolinguistic study of non-native use of quotative be like and discourse markers like and just. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This dissertation is a quantitative sociolinguistic study of the use of quotative be like and discourse markers like and just in non-native speech. Specifically, are the patterns of use found in Danish speakers speaking English the same as those documented for native speech? Analysis of ten sociolinguistic interviews with 23 to 26-year-old Danes conversing in English found that while the rates of use of these features are lower than those of native speakers, the linguistic patterns remain the same. For example, for be like, there were high rates of use with internal dialogue and historical present contexts and for discourse markers like and just, there were high rates of use before nouns and verbs and in present tense. These replicate results found in previous analyses of native speech, thus even in non-native speech, the conditioning constraints remain intact. A further attitudinal study revealed that despite widespread use by this group, the speakers associated these features with stereotypical ‘Valley Girls’, suggesting that attitudes towards these forms may be at odds with actual use.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Sociolinguistics, quantitative, qualitative, quotative be like, discourse marker like, discourse marker just, non-native speech, attitudinal study,
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Supervisor's Name: Smith, Dr. Jennifer
• Date of Award: 2012
• Depositing User: Miss Kirsteen Bressendorff
• Unique ID: glathesis:2012-3369
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 21 May 2012
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 14:06
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/3369