English Language A-level AQA
Theorists Exam Questions and
Answers 100% PASS
*Aitchison* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Damp Spoon Syndrome* - Language
changes because people are lazy like leaving a damp spoon in the sugar bowl which
is in bad taste. Supposing one language is inferior to another.
*Crumbling castle view* - Language is a beautiful castle that must be preserved.
However, Language has never been a pinnacle and a rigid system is not always
better than a changing one.
*Infectious disease* - Bad/poor language is caught like a disease from those
around us and we should fight it, but people pick up language changes because
they want to, perhaps in order to fit in with certain social groups.
*Cameron* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Gender is not a reason for miscommunication, there are many other factors.
Verbal Hygiene - differences between genders are a myth, instead they are fuelled
by our expectations and acceptance of gender-based speech styles (adherence
called "verbal hygiene")
,*Coates* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Girls and boys tend to belong to same-sex groups where they will sit apart from
one another and generally avoid confrontation and when it is required it is often
antagonistic. It has been observed that the peer group of a child is directly
influential upon their social linguistic development, and gender is the main
principle with girls being encouraged to be typical 'girls' and boys being encouraged
to be typical 'boys'. Acknowledges the tendency of girls to stick to playing in
smaller groups, their relationship is based predominantly on talk whereas boys will
adhere to play in larger, hierarchical groups which are based on joint activity, for
example sport, where there is often an undisputed 'boss'.
*Trudgill* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
1. Women tend to over-report, and men under-report.
2. Lower status = more non-Standard English linguistic variables.
3. Standard variants used in formal settings, non-standard used in informal settings.
4. Women are more likely to use standard variants than men.
5. Standard English and Received Pronunciation are the most prestigious forms of
English.
COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Found that men were less likely than women to use the prestige pronunciation of
certain speech sounds. In aiming for higher prestige the women tended towards
hypercorrectness. The men would often use a low prestige pronunciation - seeking
covert prestige to "tough" or "down to earth".
*Tannen* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Men and women have different 'cultures', they have their own rules, shared
meanings and ways of doing things and therefore once they come together, there
are misunderstandings
*Spender* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
In it she examines numerous areas of sexism as it appears in nature and in the use
of the English language, with particular focus on the way men and women talk and
listen differently in couples and in mixed or single sex groups; how men have
historically constructed the language; how the word man is used to refer to both
men and the species; how God is always seen as male; and how intercourse is
described as 'penetrative' sex when penetration is something that only the man
does.
*Fishman* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Conducted an experiment listening to fifty-two hours conversations between
American couples. Listened to recordings and concentrated on two characteristics
common in women's dialect, including tag questions for example "you know?"
Theorists Exam Questions and
Answers 100% PASS
*Aitchison* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Damp Spoon Syndrome* - Language
changes because people are lazy like leaving a damp spoon in the sugar bowl which
is in bad taste. Supposing one language is inferior to another.
*Crumbling castle view* - Language is a beautiful castle that must be preserved.
However, Language has never been a pinnacle and a rigid system is not always
better than a changing one.
*Infectious disease* - Bad/poor language is caught like a disease from those
around us and we should fight it, but people pick up language changes because
they want to, perhaps in order to fit in with certain social groups.
*Cameron* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Gender is not a reason for miscommunication, there are many other factors.
Verbal Hygiene - differences between genders are a myth, instead they are fuelled
by our expectations and acceptance of gender-based speech styles (adherence
called "verbal hygiene")
,*Coates* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Girls and boys tend to belong to same-sex groups where they will sit apart from
one another and generally avoid confrontation and when it is required it is often
antagonistic. It has been observed that the peer group of a child is directly
influential upon their social linguistic development, and gender is the main
principle with girls being encouraged to be typical 'girls' and boys being encouraged
to be typical 'boys'. Acknowledges the tendency of girls to stick to playing in
smaller groups, their relationship is based predominantly on talk whereas boys will
adhere to play in larger, hierarchical groups which are based on joint activity, for
example sport, where there is often an undisputed 'boss'.
*Trudgill* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
1. Women tend to over-report, and men under-report.
2. Lower status = more non-Standard English linguistic variables.
3. Standard variants used in formal settings, non-standard used in informal settings.
4. Women are more likely to use standard variants than men.
5. Standard English and Received Pronunciation are the most prestigious forms of
English.
COPYRIGHT ©️ 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Found that men were less likely than women to use the prestige pronunciation of
certain speech sounds. In aiming for higher prestige the women tended towards
hypercorrectness. The men would often use a low prestige pronunciation - seeking
covert prestige to "tough" or "down to earth".
*Tannen* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Men and women have different 'cultures', they have their own rules, shared
meanings and ways of doing things and therefore once they come together, there
are misunderstandings
*Spender* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
In it she examines numerous areas of sexism as it appears in nature and in the use
of the English language, with particular focus on the way men and women talk and
listen differently in couples and in mixed or single sex groups; how men have
historically constructed the language; how the word man is used to refer to both
men and the species; how God is always seen as male; and how intercourse is
described as 'penetrative' sex when penetration is something that only the man
does.
*Fishman* - CORRECT ANSWER-*Language and Gender*
Conducted an experiment listening to fifty-two hours conversations between
American couples. Listened to recordings and concentrated on two characteristics
common in women's dialect, including tag questions for example "you know?"
