Talking Proper - The Rise of Accent As Social Symbol

Talking Proper is a history of the rise and fall of the English accent as a badge of cultural, social, and class identity. Lynda Mugglestone traces the origins of the phenomenon in late eighteenth-century London, follows its history through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and charts its downfall during the era of New Labour. This is a witty, readable account of a fascinating subject, liberally spiced with quotations from English speech and writing over the past 250 years.

List of contents

• Introduction: 'A National Obsession'


• 1: The Rise of a Standard


• 2: Accent as Social Symbol


• 3: The Practice of Prescription


• 4: /h/ and Other Symbols of the Social Divide


• 5: Ladylike Accents and the Feminine Proprieties of Speech


• 6: Literature and the Literate Speaker


• 7: Educating Accents


• 8: The Rise (and Fall ?) of Received Pronunciation


• Notes


• Reference


• Index

About the author

Lynda Mugglestone is News International Lecturer in Language and Communication, University of Oxford and Fellow in English Language and Literature, Pembroke College, Oxford.

Summary

Presents an history of the rise and fall of the English accent as a badge of cultural, social, and class identity. The author traces the origins of the phenomenon in late eighteenth-century London, follows its history through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and charts its downfall during the era of New Labour.

Additional text

Lynda Mugglestone's glorious book Talking Proper...gives us a closely researched history of the English accent as a badge of identity

Report

Lynda Mugglestone's glorious book Talking Proper...gives us a closely researched history of the English accent as a badge of identity Ian McMillan, The Times

Product details

• Authors: Lynda Mugglestone, Lynda ( Mugglestone, Lynda (University of Oxford) Mugglestone, Mugglestone Lynda
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.11.2007
• EAN: 9780199250622
• ISBN: 978-0-19-925062-2
• No. of pages: 370
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies; English, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics, 20th Century, 21st Century, c 1800 to c 1900, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, Sociolinguistics, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Historical & comparative linguistics, C 1700 To C 1800, Historical and comparative linguistics