STKIP KUSUMANEGARA

SOCIOLOGY
Styles, Gender, and Social Class
Hadina Izni 20128100203

Sociology is everything around you. Whats everything is? In this

paper will explain definition of sociology in general, how is the styles
of society, gender and social class works.

STYLES, GENDER, AND SOCIAL CLASS

A. Styles
Geography is a good factor to explain the differentiation between
languages. For example the language of British, American and Australian English
are different, because these English are spoken in different continent in the world.
The other aspect is the formality of the language. We can see it in Javanese and
Japanese, they have several level of speech.
In bilingual communities, these stylistic levels may be marked by
switching from one variety to another. For example in Arabic, when they speak
normally, they use informal Arabic, but when they giving a speech they switch to
Modern Standard Arabic.
Why they can be varying? It is because when we in formal situation, we
will pay attention to our speech, especially in educational system and prestigious
norm of the society. Another one is audience design. Speakers will unconsciously
control their variety of language according to whom they speak to.
But there is theory called normativism, which is said that there is one correct
English, and the other is bad or incorrect. For example the word aint, it is said
that contaminating the pure English.
B. Specialized varieties or registers and domains
Each group has its own jargon. Jargon can differentiate or can make their
group unique. For example surfing the net and hacking, for people who dont
understand the computer will hard to understand this word. Jargon also can make
boundaries for the outsiders. The aim of the jargon is to make outsiders hard to
understand the conversation. For example, we can see in Australian aboriginal
secret society.
Useful way of classifying this different is using three characteristics: place,
role-relationship and topic. For example when a father in home, his sons called
him father, but in office the employer called him boss.

C. Slang And Solidarity

Slang is a special word which is used to intimate between the members
of a group. If outsider used this word in group the maybe considered vulgar, but if
the member of a group used it, it has no problem. It can make solidarity because
the outsider may hardly understand what they said.
D. Language and gender
Language and gender have tight relationship. mens talk associated with
outside world and economic, when womens talk associated with home and
domestic activities.
We also can see it from education level. In Jakarta community, as we know
if boys are gathering or meet, they probably talking about football, motorbike,
horror story, women, etc. And for women who meets of course they are talking
about shopping, foods, make up, boys, etc.
E. Social stratification
Definition of Social Stratification
Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of
people in a hierarchy. In the United States, it is perfectly clear that some groups
have greater status, power, and wealth than other groups. These differences are
what lead to social stratification. Social stratification is based on four major
principles:
1. Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of
individual differences
2. Social stratification persists over generations
3. Social stratification is universal (it happens everywhere) but variable (it
takes different forms across different societies)

4. Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well

(inequality is rooted in a society's philosophy)
Why does social stratification exist, and why are some countries more stratified
than others? To analyze this question, we can look at social stratification through
three major perspectives: structural functionalism, social conflict, and symbolic
interaction.
The Functions of Social Stratification
Structural functionalists argue that social inequality plays a vital role in the
smooth operation of a society. The Davis-Moore thesis states that social
stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society. Davis and
Moore argue that the most difficult jobs in any society are the most necessary and
require the highest rewards and compensation to sufficiently motivate individuals
to fill them. Certain jobs, like mowing grass or cleaning toilets, can be performed
by almost anyone, while other jobs, such as performing brain surgery, are difficult
and require the most talented people to perform them.
In order to lure the most talented people away from less-important work, a
society must offer those people rewards and incentives. Davis and Moore further
claim that any society can be equal, but only to the extent that people are willing
to let anyone perform any job. This would also require that even those who do
their job poorly are rewarded equally. What would be the incentive for people to
do their best if everyone was rewarded equally?
Stratification and Conflict
Social conflict theorists disagree that social stratification is functional for a
society. Instead, they argue that social stratification benefits some at the expense
of others. Two theorists, Karl Marx and Max Weber, are the primary contributors
to this perspective.
Karl Marx was a German philosopher, sociologist, economist, and
revolutionary socialist. He based his theory on the idea that society has two

classes of people: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the
owners of the means of production, such as factories and other businesses, while
the proletariat are the workers. Marx argued that the bourgeoisie (owners) give
proletariats (workers) just enough to survive, but ultimately the workers are
exploited.
As a result of this exploitation, Marx foresaw a workers' revolution. He
believed that oppression and misery would eventually drive the working majority
to come together and overthrow capitalism. The result would be a socialist utopia
where such extreme class differences would cease to exist. Despite Marx's
prediction, capitalism is still thriving.
Weber derives many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the
social structure of Germany. He notes that, contrary to Marx's theories,
stratification is based on more than simple ownership of capital. Weber examines
how many members of the aristocracy lacked economic wealth yet had strong
political power. Many wealthy families lacked prestige and power, for example,
because they were Jewish. Weber introduced three independent factors that form
his theory of stratification hierarchy, which are; class, status, and power:

Class: A person's economic position in a society, based on birth and

individual achievement.[11] Weber differs from Marx in that he does not see
this as the supreme factor in stratification. Weber notes how corporate
executives control firms they typically do not own; Marx would have
placed these people in the proletariat despite their high incomes by virtue
of the fact they sell their labor instead of owning capital.

Status: A person's prestige, social honor, or popularity in a society. Weber

notes that political power is not rooted in capital value solely, but also in
one's individual status. Poets or saints, for example, can have extensive
influence on society despite few material resources.

Power: A person's ability to get their way despite the resistance of others,
particularly in their ability to engage social change. For example,
individuals in government jobs, such as an employee of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, or a member of the United States Congress, may
hold little property or status but still wield considerable social power.[12]

F. Accommodation and Audience Design

How can dialect and stylistic differences appear? The simplest solution is
people tend to speak like the people they talk to most of the time or we can say
audience design. With whom we speak, we are change our style of speaks.
Accommodation is if there are two people with different accent talking, they
tend to move their accent into closer accent. This is also explaining why people
who moved from one place into another place which has different accent try to
change his/her mother accent into the accent where they live.