The Intersection of Language and Class in Literature

Literature serves as an auspicious material for revealing the intersection of language and class. The interplay of language and class in the upper-class characters, as portrayed in literature, has very subtle forms. Upper-class representatives stand out by literariness of their speech acquired in the elite universities and such obvious advantages of classical education as 1) knowledge of foreign languages, 2) skills of abstract and logical thinking, 3) proficiency in playing upon words, and 5) learning reflected in the use of allusions, which all together differentiate them from ‘out-group’ members and form their own sociolect. Knowledge of foreign languages is revealed in the use of borrowings, which imparts formality to speech and often performs the function of social characterization, distinguishing the upper-class representatives from those of other walks of life. Skills of abstract and logical thinking find their reflection in the use of abstract nouns and phrases, which, often being perceived as weird or alien, perform the function of social distancing or deflecting attention away from serious problems arising in society. The shibboleth reflected in the play upon words reveals the creativity, and often the ingenuity of the upper-class representatives in coining new words and phrases, and in charging the words with irony, mockery, and understatement, the most covert means of expressing attitude. The cultural backdrop includes allusions to the writers, books and theatrical performances, and the names of annual events, clubs, places, associations, etc. which translate their culture and mark upper-class speech.