This pattern of
attributions has been demonstrated by Hewstone and Jaspars (1982b).
Against this background, one might predict that members of lower-status
groups might expect unfair practices on the part of middle-class standard
dialect speakers, and hence they may not bother to acquire the outgroup's
dialect at all. To deal with this possibility, we might hypothesize that when
the inferior position of subordinate class or ethnic group members is
attributed to intransigent and unchangeable discriminatory practices of the
outgroup, then their group identification will become more salient (Ball et
al., in press). Therefore, the threshold for acting in terms of their social
group membership wiJI be lowered, and the probability of accentuating
non-standard dialect patterns thus increased.