ABSTRACT
It has been suggested in earlier papers that associated with the organization of particular social groups are distinct forms of spoken language. Linguistic differences, other than dialect, occur in the normal social environment and status groups may be distinguished by their forms of speech. This difference is most marked where the gap between the socio-economic levels is very great. There have been many studies of children aimed at measuring this difference. It is suggested that the measurable interstatus differences in language facility result from entirely different modes of speech found within the middle class and the lower working class. It is proposed that the two distinct forms of language-use arise because the organization of the two social strata is such that different emphases are placed on language potential. Once the emphasis or stress is placed, then the resulting forms of language-use progressively orient the speakers to distinct and different types of relationships to objects and persons, irrespective of the level of measured intelligence. The role intelligence plays is to enable the speaker to exploit more successfully the possibilities symbolized by the socially determined forms of language-use. There are exceptions to this linguistic determinism which arise under special limiting physiological and psychological conditions.
