Social Class and Persian Writing Performance: The Case of Guidance Students in Shiraz

• Main Authors: Mohammad Amouzadeh, Javad Shirvani
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: University of Isfahan 2012-06-01
• Series: جامعه شناسی کاربردی
• Subjects: Keywords: Written Performance; Socialization; Restricted Code; Elaborated Code; Social Class
• Online Access: http://uijs.ui.ac.ir/jas/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-110&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Abstract   This study aims to testify empirically Bernstein’s (1962a&b) theory of communication. By treating social classes as important independent variables in the socialization of communication, Bernstein argues that their linguistic performance is either an instance of “restricted code” or “elaborated code” illustrating a relationship to working class and middle class respectively. To test this model, 13-year-old students including 40 boys and 40 girls of worker and middle class were asked to write paragraphs about “their school” and “their life in ten future years” as well as doing some sentence completion tests. The data gathered from their written performance, was then analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results confirmed Bernstein’s claim, that is, the working class people and middle class people use restricted code and elaborated code respectively. Further analysis showed girls’ more complicated linguistic behavior than that of boys’ in each social class. Also, quantitative analysis, as a support for the qualitative analysis, showed a positive correlation between one’s social class and elaborated linguistic performance.