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Can listeners assess the sociocultural status of speakers who use a language they are unfamiliar with? A case study of Senegalese and European students listening to Wolof speakers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2014

Marie-Louise Moreau ,
Ndiassé Thiam ,
Bernard Harmegnies  and
Kathy Huet
Marie-Louise Moreau
Affiliation:
University of Mons, 18 Place du Parc, 7000 Mons, Belgiummlmoreau@skynet.be
Ndiassé Thiam
Affiliation:
Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar-Fann, Senegal
Bernard Harmegnies
Affiliation:
University of Mons, 18 Place du Parc, 7000 Mons, Belgiumbernard.harmegnies@umons.ac.be
Kathy Huet
Affiliation:
University of Mons, 18 Place du Parc, 7000 Mons, Belgiumkathy.huet@umons.ac.be
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Abstract

In this study, two groups of students were asked to listen to recordings made of Senegalese Wolof speakers and make deductions about their social and caste status. The responses of the first group, made up of Senegalese students, did not go beyond the threshold of chance with regard to caste status, but were 65.7% correct regarding the speakers' social status. The second group, who were European students with no prior knowledge of the Wolof language, achieved percentages of correct answers similar to those of the Senegalese listeners with regard to social status. The imposed norm hypothesis, which predicts that sociolinguistic features cannot be gauged by those who have had no previous contact with the community, should thus be reconsidered and enlarge its scope to include a more general, and therefore nuanced, view of language. (Imposed norm hypothesis, inherent value hypothesis, social stratification of language, social identification, Wolof, Senegal, castes)*

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 333 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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