Research project
Social Grammar: Dialects, Identity, and Social Stratification
This project investigates how people choose linguistic forms like questions or statements in everyday speech.
- Duration
- 2025 - 2026
- Contact
- Marina Terkourafi
- Funding
- Una Europa Seed Funding
Conventionally indirect forms such as ‘could you pass the salt?’ are often preferred because they are considered more polite and socially appropriate than commands such as ‘pass the salt!’ However, 'pass the salt' can also be appropriate (not impolite) in certain circumstances.
By combining syntax and sociolinguistics, the project explores how social factors like class and identity shape language choices. Working with speakers of six language varieties, the team will run online tasks to analyze links between sentence types, social context and speaker backgrounds.