Word of the day 10 December 07
Hypergamy
I should’ve been able to guess this one from the similarity to polygamy, but left me totally stumped…
It is the technical word for “marrying up”, that is marrying someone from a higher class or a family with more money. The connection of this to women with social climbing accents (or telephone voices like Mrs Bucket) also should have been obvious- women speak posh as a way of being ready to marry someone posh. This leaves the lower class men on the edges of the dating game and therefore more in need of their family and the rest of their community, and hence their need to keep a strong local accent to show that they are part of the group.
All according to Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language by Robin Dunbar