An Emmet's tale: The duality of social and lexical change

Sandow, Rhys J.

doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2023.08.002

Cited by 2 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Various studies using this definition of the semantic variable have demonstrated highly socially stratified patterns of variation (e.g. Robinson 2010aRobinson , 2010bRobinson , 2012aRobinson , 2012bRobinson , 2014Sandow 2023aSandow , 2023b. It is this definition of the variable that we adopt in this study.…”

Section: Wickedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kiesling 2004;Bucholtz 2009) to morphosyntax (Moore & Podesva 2009), to phonetics and phonology (Foulkes & Doherty 2006;Eckert & Labov 2017). However, the study of semantic meaning in sociolinguistics has been somewhat neglected (although, see Robinson 2010aRobinson , 2010bRobinson , 2012aRobinson , 2012bRobinson , 2014Beal & Burbano-Elizondo 2012;Bailey & Durham 2021;Sandow 2023aSandow , 2023b; for discussion see Durkin 2012;Robinson 2012a;Sandow 2021). This article seeks to redress the limited, but growing, body of literature on the socially mediated trajectory of semantic change in the context of social meaning by exploring the polysemous adjective wicked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kiesling 2004;Bucholtz 2009;Snell 2018) or from metalinguistic discussion (e.g. Robinson 2010a;Braber 2022;Sandow 2022Sandow , 2023aSandow , 2023b (Llamas et al 2016), limited research has employed such methods at the level of lexical variation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite this, the fact that semantic change follows a socially mediated trajectory has been repeatedly attested in recent years (e.g. Robinson 2010a, 2010b; Beal & Burbano-Elizondo 2012; Bailey & Durham 2021; Sandow 2023b, in press). For example, using elicited data, Robinson (2012a) found the polysemous adjective gay to be undergoing change in apparent-time, with males leading the change from ‘happy’ towards the senses ‘homosexual’ and ‘lame’.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kiesling 2004; Bucholtz 2009; Snell 2018) or from metalinguistic discussion (e.g. Robinson 2010a; Braber 2022; Sandow 2022, 2023a, 2023b). While studies have used experimental methods to explore the social meaning of phonetic, phonological and morphosyntactic features, such as the matched-guise technique (Campbell-Kibler 2007; Johnstone & Kiesling 2008; Gilabert & Fuss 2018), Implicit Association Test (Campbell-Kibler 2012; McKenzie & Carrie 2018; Álvarez-Mosquera & Marín-Gutiérrez 2021) and the Social Category Association test (Llamas et al 2016), limited research has employed such methods at the level of lexical variation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language change is wicked: semantic and social meaning of a polysemous adjective

SANDOW,

BAILEY,

BRABER

2023

English Language and Linguistics

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As a result of an ameliorative shift-to-opposite, the polysemous adjective wicked is an auto-antonym, having two senses opposite in meaning, that is, ‘evil’ and ‘good’. We discuss two studies which explore the social life of this word, with the first focusing on its production and the second on its perception. In the first study, conducted in Cornwall, United Kingdom, we find that young men are most advanced in the use of wicked ‘good’ while young women appear not to contribute to the incrementation, that is, the advancement, of this change. In the second study, conducted online across England, we find wicked ‘good’, relative to its synonym good, to be perceived as less young and to be evaluated positively across disparate characteristics relating to status and solidarity, particularly by older men. We find wicked ‘evil’, in contrast to its synonym evil, to be evaluated higher in status-type characteristics. This newly uncovered indexical field of wicked presents a possible explanation for the observed changes in production, contributing to ongoing questions about the role of social meaning in driving the incrementation of change. More generally, this article adds to the growing yet limited literature which explores semantic variation through the lens of variationist sociolinguistics.

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Section: Wickedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Language change is wicked: semantic and social meaning of a polysemous adjective

SANDOW,

BAILEY,

BRABER

2023

English Language and Linguistics

Self Cite

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How “U” are “U” words?

Sandow,

Bailey,

Braber

et al. 2024

EWW

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That U (upper-class) and non-U (non-upper class) speakers are identifiable through their vocabulary is an axiom in England. These claims are repeated in books, in print media, on social media, and in conversations regarding social class. However, such claims are seldom investigated empirically. To redress this, we consider the production and perception of allegedly U and non-U lexis through two studies. In the first, we identify the sociolinguistic distribution of the usage of three variables which are purported to be indicators of socioeconomic status, namely, loo, napkin, and sofa. The second study employs the matched-guise technique to investigate the perception of variants of these three variables. The production results reveal that all three variables exhibit change in apparent-time with limited evidence of class-based variation. In the perception study, we find no systematic class-based indexicalities across the variables. Ultimately, our findings challenge the belief that allegedly U words are shibboleths of upper-classness.

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An Emmet's tale: The duality of social and lexical change

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

Language change is wicked: semantic and social meaning of a polysemous adjective

Language change is wicked: semantic and social meaning of a polysemous adjective

How “U” are “U” words?

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