How social class impact on language?

Answer 1

Good question. Believe it or not, social class greatly influences the way a person speaks. The higher the person is on the social ladder, the more educated that person is likely to be. With a better education, a person will likely speak more properly. His or her sentences will be well formulated and slang will be at a minimum. The lower a person is on the social ladder, the less educated a person is likely to be. And with less education, a person will likely speak with a looser form of a language.

I'm not saying that this is the case in every scenario. Some very well-educated members of society speak with loose forms of a language and frequently employ slang.

Also, we must take into account a person's location. Money tends to mix with money, while the poor mix with the poor. Many upper middle class to upper class individuals will usually speak clearly with some to almost no slang. And some upper middle class to lower class will either speak clearly with some slang to near broken with much slang.

Take a little field trip, on your free time. Try going to local cities that you know have different social classes. Either talk to an individual or just listen to someone speak. But always bear in mind that there will always be someone who is out of the norm and will speak differently from what you expected.

New Answer

Believing there is a right and wrong in language is a prescriptivist view and often the view of the higher classes however a descriptivist view would say that there are different ways of talking but none of them are classed as "proper" although social class does make a difference to the use of language this is in many different ways. Labov suggested that some people from a working class background may change their speech to fit in a social context but are still able to make a full and frank arguement. If you would like more information key linguists to study are Peter Trudgill, Labov and Berstein whos research is more more elaborate than mine.

Answer 2

The language of the upper class is usually considered the accepted vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. There is a fluidity in the lower classes that cause changes to trickle up. Once a word or phrase has been used long enough, it becomes accepted. Changes come more quickly with mass media and social media changing the slang practically on a daily basis, today.