Extremely interesting, very interesting, or only quite interesting? Adverbs and social class

An earlier study, based on interviews with a socially stratified sample showed a difference in the use of adverbs, with the middle–class speakers using derived adverbs in –ly more than twice as frequently as the working–class speakers. An examination of interactions in peer–group same–sex dyads shows a similar socially stratified pattern in both adults and adolescents. There are similar differences in the use of some other adverbs and certain adjectives. The consistency of the results suggests that there is a stable difference in speech styles between the two social classes and that this difference reflects a different attitude on the part of the speakers to their audience.