SOCIAL VARIATION

‘Overt’ means open to view or observable. Overt Prestige means putting on or using an accent that is widely recognized as being used by the culturally dominant group in the community. We can also say that Overt Prestige is the dialect of people from higher social class either middle class or upper class. For example, in England this would be putting on a ‘posher’ accent where the 'a' sound may be elongated to sound more like 'ah' to fit in the dominant group.

The usage of overt prestige shows the divided social class in a community. Overt prestige is often associated with dialect or language of the people from higher classes. Overt prestige has become a standard in a formal setting. This indicates that Overt Prestige may be used in education, law and government. These days, as we can see, most of the education systems all around the world use Overt Prestige as their standard language. The usage of Overt Prestige is also widely recognized as it is standardized or seen as the proper way to speak to other people. For example, upon asking a stranger for directions, we will ask using Overt Prestige without realizing it as it is the politest way to ask for something from someone that we are not associated with.

‘Covert’ means concealed or secret. Covert Prestige is the opposite of Overt Prestige. It means to use an accent that shows membership of a particular community in that area rather than to fit in with the dominant group of the community. It is usually used by people from lower social classes such as working class, working poor and underclass. Using language or dialect associated with local community will lead to earning respect from people in the same community.

Covert prestige is often used in a community whereby people of a particular social group lives in. Covert Prestige is often associated with working class or working poor class or even underclass. Their use of language and dialect has become their own identity, and the usage of Covert prestige is a sign of membership in a particular social group. Unlike Overt Prestige, Covert prestige is not widely recognized by all parts of society. However, it maintains the identity of that group as their way of talking is not used by any other people.