ABSTRACT
The study of attitudes in sociolinguistics serves a number of purposes. Among the phenomena that are likely to be affected by attitudes, Cooper and Fishman (1974, p.5) cite several. This variable can help in defining a 'speech community' and the potential success in second language learning. It can also provide a view of what one ethnic group thinks of another as well as serving as a determinant of cross-language comprehension. Language attitudes may also affect the teachers' evaluation of their pupils' communicative capacity. But what is important for the purpose of the present study is that language attitudes 'appear as a catalyst for sound change' (Cooper and Fishman, 1974, p.5). Labov (1966) has shown that evaluational reactions can serve as evidence in revealing language change in progress. In other words, 'the course of a sound change is apparently influenced by whether the change is favoured or disfavoured by the speech community' (Fasold, 1984, p.148).
