Giles et al. (1977) have suggested that ethnic groups be compared in terms
of ethnolinguistic vitality, to which three main groups of factors contribute:
status factors (e.g. economic, political and linguistic prestige), demographic
factors (e.g. absolute numbers, birth rate and geographical concentration)
and institutional support factors (e.g. recognition in mass media, validity of
language/dialect in education, government and industry). They proposed
that groups with high vitality are most likely to thrive and remain distinct, as
well as to act collectively in accord with their group memberships. We will
further suggest, here, as the 1977 study implied, that vitality is just as
important for other social groups as well, including class collectivities.
However, the actions of individual group members are likely to be governed
less by actual vitality of their groups than by their perception of the relevant
factors (Bourhis et al., 1981). Giles and Johnson (1981) suggest that high
perceived vitality increases the salience of group identity for members and,
therefore, their inclination to accentuate group speech markers to establish
a favourable psycholinguistic distinctiveness.