Deviant
and non-standard dialects. Martin Montgomery
notes in An Introduction to Language and Society
(Routledge, 1995) that typical diff erences include
the use of vocabulary, pronouns, tenses, double-
negatives and tags such as ‘you know?’. Several
authors have noted that there is greater use of
non-standard dialects among those from lower
socio-economic groups. In Sociolinguistics: An
Introduction to Language and Society (Penguin,
2000) Peter Trudgill reminds us, however, that
many individuals can switch between the use of
standard and non-standard dialects depending
on the social context.
In discussing the relationship between
dialect, regional identity and social background,
Suzanne Romaine comments that ‘boundar-
ies are, however, often of a social nature, e.g.
between different social class groups. In this
case we may speak of “social dialects” ... Social
dialects say who we are, and regional dialects
where we came from’. Dialects, though they add
richness and variety to a language, can also, of
course, form a barrier to communication. See
accent; colloquialism; jargon; register;
slang. See also topic guide under language/
discourse/narrative.
Diary stories See spot news.
Diffusion The process by which innovations
spread to the members of a social system.
Diff usion studies are concerned with messages
that convey new ideas, the processes by which
those ideas are conveyed and received, and
the extent to which those ideas are adopted
or rejected. Appropriateness of channel to
message is particularly important. For example,
mass media channels are often more useful at
creating awareness – knowledge – of new ideas,
but interpersonal channels are considered to be
more important in changing attitudes towards
innovations. Th e rate and success of diff usion is
very much aff ected by the norms, values and
social structures in which the transmission of
new ideas takes place. See effects of mass
media.
Digital activism See blogosphere; facebook;
global scrutiny; mobilization; network-
ing: social networking; twitter;
youtube.
Digital Economy Act (UK), 2010 If you
received a solicitor’s letter this morning accusing
you of breaching online copyright, demanding
a substantial fine and threatening you with
disconnection from the internet, you could be
a victim of the UK Digital Economy Act, made
law in the dying days of the New Labour govern-
ment in April 2010. Controversial and chal-activities. If societal reaction to deviance is
strong it can lead to greater deviance, which in
turn may lead to stronger societal reaction and
so on, establishing a deviance amplification
spiral in which each increase in social control is
met by an increase in the level of deviancy. Th e
contribution of the mass media in precipitat-
ing and shaping such amplifi cation spirals has
proved a fruitful area of media research.
Perceptions of deviant behaviour are at the core
of moral panics (see moral panics and the
media). Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda
note in Moral Panics: Th e Social Construction
of Deviance (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), ‘... the key
ingredient in the emergence of a moral panic is
the creation or intensifi cation of hostility toward
and denunciation of a particular group, category
or cast of characters. The emergence or the
re-emergence of a deviant category character-
izes the moral panic; central to this process is the
targeting of new or past “folk devils”’. See folk
devils; moral entrepreneurs.
▶Yvonne Jewkes, Media & Crime (Sage, 2011).
Deviant See slider.
Diachronic linguistics Th e study of language
through the course of its history. In contrast,
synchronic linguistics takes a fi xed instant as its
point of observation (chiefly a contemporary
one). Th e distinction was fi rst posed by Swiss
linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913).
Dialect A dialect is usually regionally based
and is a variation within a language as regards
vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. For
this reason Suzanne Romaine in Language and
Society (Oxford University Press, 2000) argues,
‘educated speakers of American English and
British English can be regarded as using dialects
of the same language’. In this case, she states,
the diff erences are likely to be more evident in
pronunciation and vocabulary than in grammar;
for example the American English speaker using
the word ‘elevator’ rather than ‘lift’.
Though differences within Britain between
the varying dialects of English may be declin-
ing, Simon Elms argues that the fi ndings of the
BBC Voices survey documented in his book
entitled Talking for Britain: A Journey through
the Nation’s Dialects (Penguin Books, 2005)
reveal that a considerable variation in dialect and
accent is still to be found across the country.
For example, numerous regional variations in
vocabulary continue to exist. Th us ‘butty’ might
be used to refer to a friend in Wales, but to refer
to a slice of bread and butter in Lancashire.
There also remain noticeable variations
between what are sometimes termed standard