Language Attitudes in a Danish Cinema

Abstract

It is argued that when people are aware that they are expressing their attitudes about language use or accent, their attitudes are influenced by this; a more accurate measure of attitude may be obtained in circumstances where the subject is unaware of expressing his or her attitude. A study was conducted in the Danish town of Naestved, which features three norms of language use: the Standard, most often associated with people of high social status; the Copenhagen, associated with the working class; & Zealand, which is associated with country people or peasants. Audiences in a Naestved cinema (N unspecified) were asked to fill out a questionnaire by a recorded announcement. Over 4 days, eight audiences daily heard this announcement in a Standard, Copenhagen, broad Zealand, or mild Zealand accent. Since there were five theaters, each showing a different type of film, it was believed that people of different ages would make up their audiences. Compliance with the announcement was marked, & it was found that young people responded more positively than adults to the Copenhagen & mild Zealand accents, indicating a future for these accents in Naestved. 8 References. D. Weibel