Status Perception Through Syntax

Previous studies have indicated that untrained judges are able to assign correct social status to a speaker on the basis of a very short sample of speech. However, it is unknown if the linguistic features upon which these decisions are based are to be found in the syntactic, phonological, or morphological components of the grammar. This study holds phonology and morphology constant and examines status judgments based entirely upon syntax. The findings indicate that judges are consistently able to assign correct social status on the basis of syntax alone.