A Study Of Identity-establishing Function Generated By American,British And Black English Accents

According to Wittgenstein's theory of language establishment,language not only reflects the social reality as a tool for exchange of ideas but also proactively constructs the social reality.However,during social communication,people often neglect the fact that language can establish social identities.Identity,as an important part of social reality,can be established by language.Identity plays a significant role in people's affections and values.It marks people's membership in social groups.It is of great significance in human society.English is a world language and English accent varies according to difference in regions,living environment and educational degree.As an important part of language,accent also has the function of constructing social identity.Each kind of accent has its source and its own characteristic.Therefore,different kinds of accent establish different social identities.On the basis of the language establishment in the field of linguistics and the identity establishment in the field of sociology,the thesis articulates that accent has the function of establishing social identity,taking three representative kinds of English accent as examples,namely American English accent,British English accent and black English accent.The thesis summarizes the formation and characteristics of three kinds of English accent,providing the basis for the ensuing discussion.The thesis collects a large number of documents and then analyzes them.It discusses the identity establishment of three English accents with specific examples.According to discussion,during the identity establishment process of English accent,American English accent establishes popular and international identity,British English accent establishes noble and well-educated identity while black English accent establishes disadvantaged and uneducated identity.Nowadays,more and more people change their accent based on their own needs,aiming at establishing desirable identities and reaching expected effects.However,allkinds of accent are equal from the standpoint of linguistic and deserve the same attention and concern.While using language to establish identity,language users shall pay attention to its complexity and give play to the positive role language plays in establishing identity so as to avoid negative impacts.In virtue of arguing the function of accent in establishing social identity,the relation between language and society is improved in the thesis.The thesis discusses specific and representative kinds of accent,namely,American English accent,British English accent and black English accent and supplements the sociological constructivism from the perspective of micro language,which achieves the interdisciplinary research between linguistics and sociology and provides practical suggestions for language users.