"Классовые нормы культурной речи: семь смертных грехов"

МОУ «Гимназия № 21 »

г.о. Электросталь

Классовые нормы культурной речи: семь смертных грехов.

Linguistic  class codes: seven deadly sins

Номинация: «лингвострановедение»

Автор:

Кружков Иван

7 класс

Научный руководитель:

Бусова Ольга Анатольевна

учитель английского языка

This work gives you information about the words which are regarded as unmistakable class indicator in English society.

                                                              Contents

1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 3
2. The Seven Deadly  Sins............................................................................................... 4

2.1       Pardon......................................................................................................................... 4

2.2      Toilet.............................................................................................................................4

2.3       Serviette.......................................................................................................................5

2.4       Dinner..........................................................................................................................5

2.5       Sweet ...........................................................................................................................6

2.6       Settee ...........................................................................................................................6

2.7       Lounge .........................................................................................................................6

2.8       "Smart" and "Common" rules ......................................................................................7

3. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................9
4. List of Information Sources ………………………………………………………..........10

1. Introduction

My name is Ivan. I study at the gymnasium 21. I’m in the 7 form. I have been studying English for 6 years and I am fond of it. Reading a lot of books I've noticed that different textbooks introduce the same phenomenon with the help of different words. For example, вечерний прием пищи - "dinner - supper", мама - "mother - mummy - mum", папа - "father - daddy - dad", дамская сумочка - "handbag - bag", духи - "perfume - scent" and so on. I took an interest in these differences between these words.

At first I looked through the "Dictionary of English Language and Culture" and the "English dictionary for advanced learners". Unfortunately, they did not clear up the matter because they did not explain the difference between the words, moreover, the words were given as the synonyms there.

Then I decided to read popular science books and consult with native speakers. I was lucky, I found and read the book "Watching the English. The hidden rules of English behaviour" by Kate Fox and the book "How to be Brit" by Mikes George. Some native speakers also gave me very interesting  and useful information. It turned out that the usage depends on one's social class.

At last I summarised all the information I had learnt and now I'd like to introduce the results of my research.

2. The Seven Deadly Sins

There are seven words that the English uppers and upper-middles regard as infallible shibboleths. Utter any one of these "seven deadly sins" in the presence of these higher classes, and their on-board class-radar devices will start bleeping and flashing: you will immediately be demoted to middle-middle class, at best, probably lower – and in some cases automatically classified as working class.

2.1 Pardon

The uppers and upper-middles don’t use the word “pardon” because they think it is worse than swearing. Here is a good class-test you can try: when talking to an English person, deliberately say something too quietly for them to hear you properly. A lower-middle or middle-middle person will say “Pardon?”; an upper-middle will say “Sorry?” ; but an upper-class and a working-class person will both just say “What?”  Some upper-working-class people with middle-class aspirations might say “pardon”, in a misguided attempt to sound “posh”.

2.2 Toilet

“Toilet” is another word that makes the higher classes flinch. The correct upper-middle/upper term is “loo” ("уборная") or “lavatory” ("уборная, туалет"). “Bog” ("нужник") is occasionally acceptable, but only if it is said in an obviously ironic-jocular manner. The working classes all say “toilet”, as do most lower-middles and middle-middles. Those lower- and middle-middles with pretensions may eschew “toilet” in favour of euphemisms such as “gents” ("мужская уборная"), “ladies” ("дамская комната"), “bathroom” ("ванная комната"), “powder room” ("дамская уборная"), “facilities” and “convenience” ("удобства"); or jokey euphemisms such as “latrines” ("отхожее место"), “heads” ("уборная") and “privy” ("уборная"). Females tend to use the former, males the latter.

2.3 Serviette

A “serviette” is what lower-middle-class call a napkin. This is another example of a misguided attempt to enhance one’s status by using a fancy French word rather than a plain old English one. It has been suggested that ‘serviette’ was taken up by squeamish lower-middles who found "napkin" a bit too close to "nappy", and wanted something that sounded a bit more refined. Whatever its origins, "serviette" is now regarded as irredeemably lower class. Upper-middle and upper-class mothers get very upset when their children learn to say "serviette" from well-meaning lower-class nannies, and have to be painstakingly retrained to say "napkin".

2.4 Dinner

There is nothing wrong with the word “dinner” in itself: it is only a working-class hallmark if you use it to refer to the midday meal, which should be called "lunch". Calling your evening meal “tea” is also a working-class indicator: the higher echelons call this meal “dinner” or “supper”. (Technically, a dinner is a somewhat grandeur meal than a supper: if you are invited to "supper", this is likely to be an informal family meal, eaten in the kitchen – sometimes this is made explicit, as in "family supper" or "kitchen supper". The uppers and upper-middles use the term "supper" more than the middle- and lower-middles). “Tea”, for the higher classes, is taken at around four o’clock, and consists of tea and cakes or scones or little sandwiches. The lower classes call this “afternoon tea”. All this can pose a few problems for foreign visitors: if you are invited to “dinner”, should you turn up at midday or in the evening? Does “come for tea” mean four o’clock or seven o’clock? To be safe, you will have to ask what time you are expected. The answer will help you to place your hosts on the social scale. 

2.5 Sweet

Like "dinner", this word is not in itself a class indicator, but it becomes one when misapplied. The upper-middle and upper classes insist that the sweet course at the end of a meal is called the "pudding" ("пудинг") – never the "sweet", or "afters", or "dessert". "Sweet" can be used freely as an adjective, but as a noun it is a piece of confectionary – what the Americans call "candy" – and nothing else. The course at the end of the meal is always "pudding", whatever it consists of: a slice of cake is "pudding", so is a lemon sorbet. Asking: "Does anyone want a sweet?" at the end of a meal will get you immediately classified as middle-middle or below. "Afters" will also activate the class-radar and get you demoted. Some American-influenced young upper-middles are starting to say "dessert", and this is therefore the least offensive of the three – and the least reliable as a class indicator. It can also cause confusion as, to the upper classes, "dessert" traditionally means a selection of fresh fruit, served right at the end of a dinner, after the pudding, and eaten with a knife and a fork.

2.6 Settee

 If an upholstered seat for two or more people is called "a settee" or "a couch", they are no higher than middle-middle. If it is a sofa, they are upper-middle or above. There are occasional exceptions to this rule, which is not quite as accurate a class indicator as "pardon". Some younger upper-middles, influenced by American films and television programs, might say ‘couch’ – although they are unlikely to say ‘settee’, except as a joke or to annoy their class-anxious parents.

2.7 Lounge

And what do they call the room in which the settee/sofa is to be found? "Settees" are found in "lounges" or "living rooms", "sofas" in "sitting rooms or ‘drawing rooms’. "Drawing room" (short for "withdrawing room") used to be the only correct term, but many upper-middles and uppers feel it is bit silly and pretentious to call a small room in an ordinary terraced house the "drawing room", so "sitting room" has become acceptable. You may occasionally hear an upper-middle-class person says "living room", although this is frowned upon, but only middle-middles and below say "lounge". This is a particularly useful word for spotting middle-middle social climbers trying to pass as upper-middle: they may have learnt not to say "pardon" and "toilet", but they are often not aware that "lounge" is also a deadly sin. 

2.8 ‘Smart’ and ‘Common’ Rules

The "seven deadly sins" are the most obvious and reliable class indicators, but a number of other words will also register on our highly sensitive class-radar devices. If you want to "talk posh" ("говорить по-светски") , you will have to stop using the term "posh", for a start: the correct upper-class word is "smart". In upper-middle and upper-class circles, "posh" can only be used ironically, in a jokey tone of voice to show that you know it is a low-class word.

The opposite of "smart" is what everyone from the middle-middles upwards calls "common" – a snobbish euphemism for "working class".

Children from "common" families will call their parents Mum and Dad; "smart" children say Mummy and Daddy. When talking about their parents, common children refer to them as "my Mum" and "my Dad" , while smart children say "my mother" and "my father". These are not infallible indicators, as some higher-class children now say Mum and Dad, and some very young working-class children might say Mummy and Daddy; but it is a fairly reliable higher-class indicator if the child at the age of ten is still calling his or her mother Mummy. Grown-ups who still say Mummy and Daddy are almost certainly upper-middle or above.

Mothers who are called Mum carry a "handbag"; mothers called Mummy just call it a "bag". Mums wear "perfume"; Mummies call it "scent". Parents called Mum and Dad go "horseracing"; smart Mummies and Daddies call it "racing". Common people "go to a do" ("идти на вечеринку"); middle-middles might call it a "function" ("прием, вечер"); smart people just call it a "party". "Refreshments" ("закуски и напитки") are served at middle-class "functions"; the higher echelons’ parties just have "food and drinks" ("еду и напитки"). Lower- and middle-middles eat their food in "portions"; upper-middles and above have "helpings". Common people have a "starter" ("первое блюдо"); smart people have a "first course" (although this one is rather less reliable).

Lower- and middle-middles talk about their "home" or "property"; upper-middles and above say "house". Common people’s homes have "patios" ("внутренние дворики"); smart people’s houses have "terraces" ("террасы"). Working-class people say "indoors" when they mean "at home".

3. Conclusion

It goes without  saying that class pervades every aspect of English life. They still judge one's class on whether, for example, a person calls the midday meal "lunch" or "dinner". Some shibboleths may simply separate the upper class from the rest, but others more specifically separate the working class from the lower-middle, or the middle-middle from the upper-middle. In a few cases, working-class and upper-class usage is remarkably similar, and differs significantly from the classes in between.

4. List of Information Sources

1. Fox, Kate: Whatching the English. The hidden rules of english behavior, Hodder & Stoughton, 2014. - 584 p.
2. Mikes, George: How to be a Brit, London, Penguin, 1986. - 272 p.
3. Dictionary of English Language and Culture. –  Longman, 1993
4. English dictionary for advanced learners. – Macmillan, 2011
5. Большой русско-английский словарь: с приложением кратких сведений по английской грамматике и орфоэпии, сост. А.И. Смирницким/О.С. Ахманова, З.С. Выгодская, Т.П. Горбунова и др.; под общ. Рук. А.И. Смирницкого; под ред. О.С. Ахмановой. – 29-е изд., стереотип. – М.: Рус.яз. – Медиа, 2007. – 727 с.

1. Название проекта: Linguistic class codes: seven deadly sins.

2. Автор проекта: Кружков Иван.

3. Научный руководитель: Бусова О.А.

4. Актуальность: взаимодействие культур очень важно в современном мире. Соответственно, чтобы диалог культур состоялся, необходимо знание о жизни другого народа. Люди, которые не живут в стране изучаемого языка, получают знания из книг, фильмов, от преподавателей. Всё, что мы изучаем, важно, полезно и актуально для нас.

5. Ключевые понятия: классовое общество, индикатор классовой принадлежности, классовые нормы культурной речи, «смертный грех».

6. Проблема: есть ли в английском языке слова, которые могут помочь определить, к какому классу относится человек?

7. Цель: составить список слов, которые могут помочь нам определить, к какому классу относится наш собеседник.

8. Гипотеза: в английском языке существуют слова, которые употребляются только определёнными слоями населения. По употреблению определённой лексики мы можем отнести человека к определённому социальному классу.

9. Задачи:

1) изучить научно-популярную литературу по теме

2) поискать информацию по теме в интернете и книгах

3) побеседовать с носителем английского языка

4) составить список слов с описанием их специфики и особенности употребления

1. Название проекта:  Linguistic class codes: seven deadly sins (Классовые нормы культурной речи).

2. Автор проекта: Кружков Иван.

3. Научный руководитель: Бусова О.А.

4. Гипотеза: в английском языке существуют слова, которые употребляются только определёнными слоями населения. По употреблению определённой лексики мы можем отнести человека к определённому социальному классу.

5. Проблема: есть ли в английском языке слова, которые могут помочь определить, к какому классу относится человек?

6. Актуальность: в современном мире  взаимодействие культур очень важно. Чтобы диалог культур состоялся, необходимы знание о жизни другого народа. Люди, которые не живут в стране изучаемого языка, получают эти знания из книг, фильмов, от преподавателей. Всё, что мы изучаем, важно, полезно и актуально для нас.

7. Цель: составить список слов, которые могут помочь нам определить, к какому классу относится наш собеседник.

8. Задачи:

1) изучить научно-популярную литературу по теме

2) поискать информацию по теме в интернете и книгах

3) побеседовать с носителем английского языка

4) составить список слов с описанием их специфики и особенности употребления

9. Ключевые понятия: классовое общество, индикатор классовой принадлежности, классовые нормы культурной речи.