This talk discusses the sociolinguistic factors that influence the use of intensifiers (e.g., very, really, so) in everyday spoken conversation.
The talk by James M. Stratton (Penn State) consists of two parts. The first part introduces a methodological framework used to examine variation, known as variationist sociolinguistics. Data from English and German are used as illustrative examples. The second part narrows in on the use of intensifiers, analyzing data from three Germanic languages (English, German, Norwegian). Social factors such as speaker gender, age, identity, and mobility are shown to significantly influence the overall decision to intensify, and the specific intensifiers that speakers employ. Overall, this talk illustrates how variation is a natural part of language and a rich array of sociolinguistic factors influence the way we speak. Intensifiers are one of many ways that speakers use language to convey attitudinal information, alongside information about their social identity.