Labov’s Research
The Social Stratification of (r) in NYC Department Stores


Introduction
•William Labov
•1966
•Hypothesis: “If any two subgroups in New York City speakers are ranked in a scale of social
stratification, then they will be marked in the same order by their differential use of (r).”
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Method
•3 Manhattan Stores:
•Saks
•Macy’s
•S. Klein
•Asking for items that can be found on the 4th floor

Variables
•independent
•e. g. age, race, occupation, accent, floor
•dependent
•natural and emphatic pronunciation of (r)

Results
•Labov’s hypothesis verified
•People with higher socioeconomic status pronounced (r) more frequently
•Increase in (r) pronunciation when speaking with emphasis

Impact of Independent Variables
•Race
•African Americans
•S. Klein > Macy’s > Saks
•Age
•Expected result only at Saks

Possible Sources of Error
•Selecting sample
•Not tape recorded
•Emphatic speech

Sources:
•Labov, W. “The Social Stratification of (r) in NYC Department Stores”
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•Pictures:
•https://www.altalang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/william-labov.jpg
•https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macys_dep_store.JPG
•https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SaksFifthAvenue.JPG
•https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S._Klein_Union_Square_Manhattan.jpg
•Labov, W. “The Social Stratification of (r) in NYC Department Stores”
•https://thesociallinguist.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/labov1.jpg
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Thank You for Your Attention