Milroy’s Belfast Study
English Language: AQA A Level, topic 3.2.6
Milroy's Belfast Study
Milroy’s study (sometimes referred to as Milroy and Milroy) looks at men and women using non-standard forms (like the non-standard pronunciation of the /th/ in ‘father’ and the /a/ in ‘flat’) in Belfast.
Open and closed network
- She defines two types of network – open and closed.
- Closed networks consist of people who all know each other and a lack of links out of the network – they are a tight-knit group. This is described as being quite dense or having a high density (think that the web is densely populated in one area).
- Open networks are typified by being very broad. Many links to people outside of the normal area are involved. This is described as having a low density.
Research findings
- Men have dense, closed networks. They use a high number of non-standard forms.
- Women have less dense and open networks. They use a much smaller number of non-standard forms.
Challenging study
- A study of the Clonard women and Hammer men in Belfast challenges these findings.
- This study found that due to a rise in unemployment, men had to travel out of the community to find a job and the women all ended up working together in the town.
- As a result, the men ended up with quite open networks and women ended up with quite a closed network.
- This research allows us to deduce that a social group is more controlling of a person’s language than their gender
Moving up assessment band (AO2)
- Here's how the information you just read can form a level 5 answer for AO2:
- Level 3 - showing detailed knowledge:
- Millroy investigated the non-standard forms of ‘th’ and ‘a’ in words like ‘father’ and ‘flat’ in Belfast. Her research discovered that women’s social network is quite open and as a result they use a small(er) number of non-standard forms.”
Level 4
- Level 4 - challenging this:
- A study of the Clonard women and Hammer men in Belfast challenges these findings. A study of these found that due to a rise in unemployment, men had to travel out of the community to find a job and the women all ended up working together in the town. As a result, the men ended up with quite open networks and women ended up with quite a closed network.
Level 5
- Level 5 - showing a synthesised and conceptualised view on this:
- This research allows us to deduce that a social group is more controlling of a person’s language than their gender.
Test yourself on Milroy’s Belfast Study
Where did Milroy conduct her study?