Bernstein Elaborated and Restricted Code

No matter where you've gone to school, you've probably noticed that different students have different ways of using language. These individual differences between students are part of what makes going to school so interesting and varied - we end up learning a lot just from interacting with different people.

In 1971, Basil Bernstein, a British sociologist with a particular interest in the sociology of education, had a theory about how social class can impact linguistic use and how a person's linguistic use can affect their academic performance.

This article will be looking at his study of elaborated and restricted code.

Educational settings are commonly where examples of elaborated and restricted codes can be found together, Pixabay

Before we dive straight into Bernstein's theory and how he carried out his study, let's get some key definitions down first.

Bernstein's Elaborated and Restricted Codes

These are the two main terms you'll need to understand before exploring the topic further.

Hopefully, these definitions have given you a good idea of what this article will explore. Let's have a look at some examples of each type of code.

Restricted Code and Elaborated Code Examples

From the definitions above, you can see that these different language codes tend to relate to different social classes. To better understand these terms, here are some examples:

Restricted code examples

• Adding filler words and phrases into a conversation: 'you know', 'right?'
• Using less formal or more colloquial linguistic forms: 'how ya doing?', 'what you up to?'
• Using more idiomatic language: 'He let the cat out of the bag.', 'piece of cake'.
• Referring to shared knowledge: 'can you pass me the thingamajig.'

Elaborated code examples

• Using fuller and more detailed sentences, to the point where they can be understood on their own: 'Today I am going to do some grocery shopping because the fridge is empty.'
• Using more uncommon vocabulary words and synonyms: 'The old man was being particularly cantankerous.', 'The sunset is quite ineffable tonight; I've never seen such beautiful colours!'
• Avoiding idioms as this code is associated with formal situations and being direct.

For instance, someone from a lower social class that usually uses restricted code might code-switch to more formal or elaborated language in certain situations (such as attending an interview). Likewise, someone from a higher social class who usually uses elaborated code might sometimes switch to more colloquial language (spending time with close family or friends, for example).

According to Bernstein, people from middle-class backgrounds often move between restricted and elaborated codes easily as they tend to be more geographically and socially mobile.²

Both language codes have their benefits and nuances, and value to the people who use them. Labov, for example, emphasised that no type of code is better or worse than the other; they are simply different.⁴

Bernstein - Elaborated and Restricted Codes in Sociology

As Bernstein was the sociolinguist who spearheaded the exploration of different kinds of linguistic code, we'll now look at his theory and findings for more context within the topic.

Bernstein's theory

As Basil Bernstein's primary sociological concern revolved around education, the starting point for his 1971 investigation was the observation that students from higher social classes tended to perform better at language-based subjects than those from lower social classes. He noted that students from lower social classes performed just as well in mathematical subjects as those from higher social classes, so he wondered why the discrepancy emerged with language-based topics.²

Children using restricted code tended to perform less highly than those using elaborated code, Pixabay

Bernstein theorised that the linguistic codes children use result from environmental and cultural conditioning. Children who grow up in lower social class communities are exposed to language and attitudes characteristic of that class. The same goes for children growing up in middle and higher social classes. Social structure and relationships formed within a particular social group largely influence the language used by that group.

Bernstein's methodology

Bernstein selected two five-year-old school children, one from a working-class background and one from a middle-class background, and showed them three pictures. He asked the children to describe what they could see in the pictures. The pictures told a story of two boys playing football and breaking a neighbour's window. These are the descriptions given by the two five-year-old children:

• 'They're playing football and he kicks it and it goes through there, it breaks the window and they're looking at it and he comes out and shouts at them because they've broken it so they run away and then she looks out and she tells them off.'¹

• 'Three boys are playing football and one boy kicks the ball and it goes through the window and the ball breaks the window and the boys are looking at it and a man comes out and shouts at them because they've broken the window so they run away and then that lady looks out of her window and she tells the boys off.'¹

The first description is an example of restricted code and came from a child from a working-class background. The second description is an example of elaborated code and came from a child from a middle-class background.

Let's look at the differences between the two descriptions:

• The restricted code example uses less specific language and notes fewer details, whereas the elaborated code is more detailed and specific.
• The restricted code answer sounds more casual, whereas the elaborated code version sounds more formal.
• When reading the elaborated code answer, you can tell what the pictures are about without seeing them. In contrast, the restricted code answer would require some background context for the reader (or listener) to understand fully.

Bernstein's conclusions

Based on the evidence gathered in his investigation, Basil Bernstein concluded that there was a correlation between a student's social class and their use of elaborated or restricted code.

He believed that a possible explanation for why children from working-class backgrounds didn't perform as highly in language-based subjects as children from middle-class backgrounds is due to their exposure to and use of different language forms. In other words, because the students from working-class backgrounds were familiar with and raised in communities using largely restricted code, that became the kind of language they had the best understanding of. Students from higher social classes would have been raised in communities using mainly elaborated code, understanding it and being more familiar with it.

Because elaborated code is typically the type of language code used by teachers, textbooks, and other educational resources, the children from higher social classes would have an advantage in understanding the teacher and completing exams in elaborated code. The children from lower social classes would have been less familiar with elaborated code, and therefore, their understanding and use of it might have been impacted.²

Criticisms of Bernstein's language code investigation

Criticism is an inevitable part of any sociolinguistic investigation, and Bernstein's study of elaborated and restricted code was no exception.

Criticism is part and parcel of carrying out any kind of sociolinguistic study, Pixabay

Although Bernstein's theory of elaborated and restricted code has contributed much to sociolinguistics, it is by no means a perfect explanation. Numerous linguists offer critiques of Bernstein's study.