ABSTRACT
In Britain by far the most important verbal deficit theory is that of Basil Bernstein. It differs in a number of important respects from the classical version of the theory, and at the same time presents a number of difficult problems relating to scientific method and the presentation of theories. Bernstein advances a theory of class-bound modes of perception and contends that the working classes and the middle classes are to all practical intents and purposes equipped with qualitatively different kinds of perceptual apparatus. Bernstein's theoretical sociolinguistic writings can conveniently be divided into two periods: 1958–1961 and 1962–1973. An elucidation is a prerequisite for any attempt to evaluate Bernstein's sociolinguistic theory. The psychological dimension of the codes is the least developed in Bernstein's work. Bernstein is much more interested in the content of what is communicated than in the characteristics of the linguistic means by which messages are conveyed.
