Language in Society: Age-Graded Features, Differences, and Examples

This essay delves into the concept of age-graded linguistic features within society, examining how language use varies across different age groups. It explores examples such as the use of "Zee" versus "Zed", slang words, and instant messaging variants (e.g., "lol"), illustrating how these features are adopted and modified throughout an individual's lifespan. The essay contrasts age-grading with language change in progress, highlighting that age-grading reflects stable sociolinguistic variables, while language change involves a shift in community norms. The study emphasizes that age-graded linguistic features are often stigmatized or have a high level of social awareness. It also references several academic sources to support the analysis of linguistic changes and variations across the lifespan.

Running head: LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY
Language in Society
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Examples of age-graded linguistic feature
When children learn language for the first time, they learn it in a manner of their
mother or any other primary caretakers of theirs. According to Kulkarni-Joshi (2015),
vernacular reorganisation takes place when the children adopt certain norm which is
considered to be different from the one that they have attained. It takes place in both the
preadolescent and during the adolescent period of the children and is considered to be
important for the linguistic change for further advancements. It is to note that it is not
uncommon for the adolescent children having some types of linguistic variation in their
speech. As per Wilson et al. (2017), the adolescent period is the period when the children
become adults and they move away from the identity of their family in order to express
themselves as being individuals. At this period, there is a formation of the age segregated
network, which further give rise to the age graded feature. Again, among the adults, they
show more conservativeness in their use of linguistic variables as compared to the children. It
has been further attributed to the desired usage of the standard language that is used in the
workplace. The children tend to make use of more swear and slang words compared to adults.
However, these features again gets declined when they gradually grow up as adults. It is
further known as sociolectal retrenchment (Wagner & Buchstaller, 2017).
Firstly, one of the best examples of the age-graded linguistic feature is that of the use
of Zed and Zee (Z, the English alphabet). It is widely known that “Z” is called “Zed”
everywhere except in United States. In United States, people call “Z” as “Zee”. Although the
use of Zee is stigmatised in the Southern part of Ontario, children learn it as Zee due to the
alphabet song that rhymes the Zee with Vee. As per the recent survey, it has been suggested
that the young people seems to use “Zee” much more as compared to the older population.
With the same, in the survey conducted in Toronto, about 2/3rd of the 12 years old have
completed their recitation of the alphabet with “Zee” but only 8% of adults did so (Cacoullos

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& Berry, 2018). Such a pattern of decline in the use of “zee” repeats itself in the succeeding
generations in the Southern part of Ontario. Secondly, one of the other examples of age-
graded linguistic feature is the fact that there were some British teenagers during the eighties,
who used the term “wicked” for good. Such usage has also been declined with the passage of
time. However, it is to note that it was possible due to the fact that they have grown older and
have abandoned the use of in-group slang words. The third example of this feature may
include the use of instant messaging variants like haha, lol, rofl etc. These instant messaging
variants provides a modern example of the age-grading among the youngsters or the
adolescents. However, it is to note that such uses of lol or rofl gets declined with the increase
in age. It is only frequent among the youngest people. However, it is also to mention that the
use of more conservative form of haha gets increased with increase in age. The older
adolescents are identified to become more aware of the concept that lol is basically used by
the younger people and it consciously reduces their usage of such forms. Also, the young
children tend to make use of more slang words as compared to the adults.
How age grading is different from change in progress
Age-grading in linguistics refers to the differences in the speech habits within a
particular community that is linked with the age. As per Peersman et al. (2016), it takes place
when the individuals change their linguistic behaviour at different phases of their lives but
their community as a whole remains the same. The age graded linguistic feature is a typical
type of change present in the overall behaviour of speech within an individual speaker as her
or she passes through their different phases of life. However, it is to note that the most
notable challenge in the process of analysing the language change in progress is of the
process of deciding the time when the age differences in the language use reflects a
significant change in the norms of the community and the time when they reflect some stable
age grading. According to Wagner and Buchstaller (2017), the age pattern is repeated again

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in every new generation of the language users. In terms of variants of the variable, the
younger speaker tend to make use of language in different ways from the older people. When
compared to the speech of the younger speakers and the older ones within a speech
community, two factors should be considered. Firstly, there is a linguistic change in the
speech community with the passage of time (Cacoullos & Berry, 2018). Secondly, there is a
linguistic change within the individual speaker as they can get older and in a society,
variation is been repeated with the new generations. However, the central question lies here is
whether the linguistic differences are based on the age of the speaker comprising of an
instance of the regular age grading or whether it is dependent on the differences which can
indicate the language change in the progress. In case of language change, the linguistic
change could be made visible in the deviation from the daily U-curve like patterns for the
age-grading system.
As per Buchstaller (2015), age grading refers to the instability of the use of feature of
an individual over his life span against the backdrop of the community stability for exactly
same feature. It is to mention that the change in progress in the field of linguistic is dependent
on the concept of “apparent time”. It is something that involves the process of analysing of
speech of a structured sample of the people of several different ages and at the same time,
assuming that the several different patterns of variation that is differentiated from the normal
ones. One of the most significant challenges in the process of analysing the language change
in progress is of the process of deciding the time when the age differences in the language use
reflects a significant change in the norms of the community and the time when they reflect
some stable age grading (Cacoullos & Berry, 2018). Moreover, unlike the change in progress,
the age grading involves making use of a stable sociolinguistic variable that are not presently
undergoing the linguistic change. The linguistic features that are considered to be age-graded
are basically stigmatised or have high level of social awareness could be controlled

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consciously. Therefore, the age grading tends to be semantic in nature. As per Wagner and
Buchstaller (2017), it takes place when the individuals change their linguistic behaviour at
different phases of their lives but their community as a whole remains the same. The age
graded linguistic feature is a typical type of change present in the overall behaviour of speech
within an individual speaker as her or she passes through their different phases of life.

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References:
Buchstaller, I. (2015). Exploring linguistic malleability across the life span: Age-specific
patterns in quotative use. Language in Society, 44(4), 457-496.
Kulkarni-Joshi, S. (2015). Religion and language variation in a convergence area: The view
from the border town of Kupwar post-linguistic reorganisation of Indian
states. Language & Communication, 42, 75-85.
Peersman, C., Daelemans, W., Vandekerckhove, R., Vandekerckhove, B., & Van
Vaerenbergh, L. (2016). The effects of age, gender and region on non-standard
linguistic variation in online social networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.02431.
Wagner, S. E., & Buchstaller, I. (2017). Introduction: Using Panel Data in the Sociolinguistic
Study of Variation and Change. In Panel Studies of Variation and Change (pp. 1-18).
Routledge.
Wilson, S. J., Andridge, R., Peng, J., Bailey, B. E., Malarkey, W. B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K.
(2017). Thoughts after marital conflict and punch biopsy wounds: Age-graded
pathways to healing. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 85, 6-13.