Overt and Covert Prestige
Prestige drives linguistic choices in two directions: overt prestige attaches to standard, publicly admired forms, while covert prestige rewards nonstandard vernacular forms that signal solidarity and local identity.
Definition
Overt and covert prestige are the two forms of social value attached to language: overt prestige is the openly acknowledged status of standard forms, while covert prestige is the hidden positive value of nonstandard vernacular forms as markers of group solidarity and identity.
Scope
This topic covers the distinction between overt and covert prestige, the evidence for covert prestige from self-report and gender patterns, and the way the two kinds of prestige pull variation toward standard and vernacular norms respectively. It includes linguistic insecurity and the under- and over-reporting of nonstandard forms. The broader social stratification of variants is treated in the variation-and-change area.
Core questions
- How do overt and covert prestige differ as motivators of language use?
- What evidence shows that nonstandard forms can carry covert prestige?
- How does covert prestige help explain gender differences in variation?
- How does linguistic insecurity relate to over- and under-reporting of one's own speech?
Key concepts
- Overt prestige
- Covert prestige
- Linguistic insecurity
- Self-report and reporting bias
Key theories
- Covert prestige
- Trudgill's Norwich study found that men under-reported their use of standard forms and claimed more nonstandard forms than they used, evidence that vernacular speech carries covert prestige as a marker of masculinity and local solidarity.
- Linguistic insecurity
- Labov showed that speakers who recognize a prestige norm but do not consistently produce it display linguistic insecurity, over-reporting their use of prestige forms in self-report tasks.
History
The notion of covert prestige was articulated in Trudgill's 1972 Norwich study to explain why nonstandard forms persist and why men and women differ in their use of them, building on Labov's account of linguistic insecurity in New York City.
Key figures
- Peter Trudgill
- William Labov
Related topics
Seminal works
- trudgill1972
- labov2006
Frequently asked questions
- If standard forms are prestigious, why do nonstandard forms survive?
- Because nonstandard vernacular forms carry covert prestige: they signal group solidarity, local identity, and authenticity, giving speakers a positive reason to use them despite the overt prestige of standard variants.