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Contents
List of Figures x
List of Maps xi
List of Tables xii
Preface to Fifth Edition xiii
Preface to Fourth Edition xiv
Preface to Third Edition xv
Preface to Second Edition xvi
Preface to First Edition xvii
Authors’ Acknowledgements xviii
Publisher’s Acknowledgements xix
The Online Companion xxi
vii
Contents
viii
Contents
16 Conclusion 462
Sociolinguistic competence 463
Dimensions of sociolinguistic analysis 469
Sociolinguistic universals 472
References 477
Appendix: phonetic symbols 499
Sociolinguistics: key words and concepts 501
Index 525
ix
List of Figures
x
List of Maps
xi
List of Tables
xii
Preface to Fifth Edition
The fifth edition of this textbook introduces two innovations. First, Nick Wilson joins Janet
Holmes as a co-author. Secondly, as a result of Nick’s contribution, this new edition provides
readers with an online companion website containing audio and visual material to illustrate
concepts and linguistic features discussed in the book, as well as web-based exercises designed
to assist with learning and understanding the material. As always, another edition also
provides an opportunity to respond to some of the valuable suggestions that readers and
reviewers have provided since the last edition. We have added many new examples and
exercises, up-dated the references and recommended readings, and added material on iden-
tity construction and multimodality, in particular. We have also added some further socio-
linguistic concepts and expanded the discussion of material in a number of places. A greatly
expanded glossary has also been provided. Finally, bearing in mind the needs of speakers of
English as an additional language, we have tried to keep the language of this book as clear as
possible.
We hope the new edition proves useful and that the amendments and additions increase
the value of the book both for students and teachers.
Janet Holmes
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Nick Wilson
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
xiii
Preface to Fourth Edition
The fourth edition of my textbook has provided yet another opportunity to respond to some
of the valuable suggestions that readers and reviewers have provided over the years. I have
added many new examples and exercises, up-dated the references and recommended read-
ings, and added material on koines and koineisation, linguistic landscapes, new Englishes,
Multicultural London English, stylisation, language and sexuality, societal approaches to
attitudes research, and forensic linguistics. I have also added some further sociolinguistic
concepts, and expanded the discussion of material in a number of places.
A number of teachers have told me that they find this book useful for teaching sociolin-
guistics to students for whom English is an additional language. Since the book was written,
inevitably, with an English-speaking audience in mind, I encourage teachers to adapt the
exercises to the situations of their students. However, bearing in mind the needs of speakers
of English as an additional language, I have tried to keep the language of this book as clear as
possible.
I hope the new edition proves useful and that the amendments and additions increase the
value of the book both for students and teachers.
Janet Holmes
Wellington, New Zealand
February 2012
xiv
Preface to Third Edition
The third edition of my textbook has provided a further opportunity to respond to some of
the many valuable suggestions that readers have sent to me over the last ten years. I have
added some new examples, up-dated the references and recommended readings once again,
and in response to many requests, I have added a new chapter on approaches to the analysis
of discourse. I have also added some additional sociolinguistic concepts, and expanded the
discussion of material in places.
This book uses many examples from a range of sources. When no explicit source is pro-
vided, the examples are based on my own experience, and especially on corpora of recorded
materials that I have accumulated over many years of teaching and research. The examples
are generally ‘cleaned up’ and edited for presentation in this introductory book, but almost
all are ‘authentic’ in that I began from a genuine interaction.
A number of teachers have told me that they find this book useful for teaching sociolin-
guistics to students for whom English is an additional language. Since the book was written,
inevitably, with an English-speaking audience in mind, I encourage teachers to adapt the
exercises to the situations of their students.
I hope the new chapter proves useful and that the amendments and additions increase the
value of the book both for students and teachers.
Janet Holmes
Wellington, New Zealand
April 2007
xv
Preface to Second Edition
This second edition of my textbook has provided an opportunity to respond to some of the
many kind suggestions and comments that readers have sent to me over the last ten years.
I have corrected errors and clarified examples. I have expanded the text in places. I have up-
dated the references and recommended readings. Thanks to the comments of a number of
reviewers, I have also persuaded the publishers to accept a recommendation I made with the
first edition, namely, to separate the exercises from their answers. In response to suggestions
and requests, I have also added a number of substantial sections to the book, most obviously
a new chapter on language, cognition and culture, and sections on social constructionism in
the two chapters dealing with gender and language. I hope the amendments and additions
expand the usefulness of the book both for students and teachers, as well as increase its
readability.
Janet Holmes
Wellington, New Zealand
June 2000
xvi
Preface to First Edition
This book has been written for people who have never heard of sociolinguistics, but who
would like to know what it is. At the end of it, I hope they will not only know what sociolin-
guists do and why, they might also feel like reading further about some of the topics that have
interested them.
Because my aim has been to share my love of the subject with newcomers, I have made
some conscious decisions about the content which would have been different for more
advanced students. In selecting examples I have used a good deal of material from recent
published research, but I have also used many examples which could perhaps be described as
‘classics’, in the sense that any sociolinguist will be familiar with them. These ‘tried and true’
examples will be old friends if readers progress to further reading, and should help bridge the
gap between this introductory text and more sophisticated sociolinguistic books. Though
I have drawn on sociolinguistic research involving a wide variety of languages, I have used a
large number of English examples, too. English is likely to be a very familiar language for most
of my readers, and I know from experience that some points will therefore be understood
more quickly and thoroughly using an English example – at least for the initial encounter
with a new concept.
I have assumed that my readers will be familiar with very basic grammatical terms, but
little more. The glossary at the end of the book defines more specialised grammatical terms
which crop up in the text. Similarly, I have used a minimum of phonetic symbols in the text,
but a sociolinguist cannot avoid talking about speech sounds, and phonetic symbols are the
only really satisfactory way of conveying different pronunciations. Appendix 1 describes
the phonetic symbols I have used, with a gloss to help readers work out what they sound like.
Different people approach books differently. I have constructed this book on the assump-
tion that most will read section I before section II, and section II before section III. The later
chapters refer back to the earlier ones to some extent. However, readers who like a sense of the
whole before dipping into the parts may find it helpful to read the first and the last chapters
before trying the rest.
Finally, I am sure perceptive readers will be able to guess which are my own particular areas
of interest within the broad area of sociolinguistics. I make no apology for that. But I hope
that my enthusiasm for sociolinguistics as a whole also communicates itself, so that at least
some readers will feel encouraged not only to pursue the subject further, but perhaps also to
address some of the many questions about the relationship between language and society
which still await answers.
Janet Holmes
Wellington, New Zealand
December 1990
xvii
Authors’ Acknowledgements
I would like to express my appreciation to my many colleagues and friends who have cheer-
fully answered my queries, provided me with material, checked my examples and assisted me
in a myriad ways with the writing and revision of this book. The list of those who have helped
in some way includes at least the following: Andrew Barke, Tim Beaglehole, Mike Bennett,
Mary Boyce, David Britain, Duncan Campbell, Jenny Cheshire, Jennifer Coates, Averil
Coxhead, Terry Crowley, Julia de Bres, Viv Edwards, Diana Eades, Susan Ehrlich, Caroline
Everest, Jackie Ferry, Bob Good, Richard Gwyn, Ray Harlow, Evan Hazenberg, Anke Hoffmann,
Dick Hudson, Galumalemana Alfred Hunkin, Yushi Ito, Graeme Kennedy, Paul Kerswill,
Brian King, Chris Lane, Uta Lenk, John Macalister, John Makeham, Caroline McGhie, Brian
Morris, Paul Nation, John Newman, Puakea Nogelmeier, Kaya Oriyama, Harry Orsman,
Martin Paviour-Smith, Caroline Quirk, Christopher Quirk, Rachel Quirk, Emmie Radford, Jo
Radford, Luke Radford, John Read, Silvia Rey, Mary Roberts, Stephanie Schnurr, Mark Sebba,
Donna Starks, Maria Stubbe, Yukako Sunaoshi, Ayman Tawelbah, Vivien Trott, Maria
Verivaki, Bernadette Vine, Jeffrey Waite, Paul Warren, Geirr Wiggen, Teresa Wong and Walt
Wolfram. I apologise for inadvertent omissions. I am also very grateful to Meg Sloane who
typed out many of the examples in the first edition, and to Miriam Meyerhoff and Rob
Holmes who helped me construct a number of the figures and tables.
I must thank Laurie Bauer, Miriam Meyerhoff and Allan Bell, who each patiently read and
helpfully commented on the earliest drafts of this book, and Anke Hoffmann who carefully
proof-read and commented on the second edition. The late and much missed Geoffrey Leech
was a positive and encouraging editor who provided detailed comments and suggestions at
every stage. Elizabeth Mann and Casey Mein were supportive publisher’s advisers from Pearson,
and Helen Tredget has been a wonderful support person from Routledge. For assistance with
the revisions and additions in the fifth edition, we would like to express my grateful apprecia-
tion to Ewa Kusmierczyk, Meredith Marra, Sharon Marsden, Melanie Revis, Bernadette Vine
and Jay Woodhams for a wide range of support and editorial assistance, and to Keely Kidner
for excellent assistance with the glossary. Finally, as always, I thank Tony for his patience,
good humour and support throughout the production and revision process.
– JH
The second edition of this textbook was used as a core sociolinguistics textbook when I was
an undergraduate at Edinburgh, so to now be co-authoring this edition with Janet is quite
amazing. I must therefore thank Janet for the opportunity and the continuing support and
mentoring. I should also thank Miriam Meyerhoff for being the one to introduce me to both
sociolinguistics and to Janet.
In addition to those already named by Janet above, the following friends and colleagues
have contributed by providing feedback on many of the new exercises in this edition:
Mercedes Durham, Frances Rock, Jaspal Singh, Dorottya Cserzw, Michael Willett and David
Schwntal. Thanks also to the students I have taught at Cardiff University and Macquarie
University for testing out so many of the exercises.
Finally, thanks to Fiona for understanding, patience and support.
– NW
xviii
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
The authors and publisher would like to thank the copyright holders for their permission to reproduce
the following material:
Photographs reproduced by permission of Paul Kerswill, Meredith Marra and Michael Willett.
Dennis the Menace ® cartoons © North America Syndicate, reproduced with permission of
King Features.
Cartoon from Lazy Way to Gaelic (1994) reproduced by kind permission of Y Lolfa Cyf.
Figure from Trudgill (2004) Dialects reproduced by kind permission of Taylor and Francis
Group Ltd.
Figures from Trudgill (2001) Sociolinguistics: An introduction to language and society © Peter
Trudgill, reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.
Table from Hui (1989) Pronunciation of intervocalic and final stops in New Zealdna English: a pilot
project (unpublished). Reproduced by kind permission of Jon Hui.
Cartoons from DILBERT © 2010 Scott Adams and GARFIELD © 1991 Paws, Inc. Reprinted
with permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved.
Figure from Fasold (1990) The Sociolinguistics of Language reproduced by kind permission of
John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Gender Translator #1 and #2 cartoons © Mark Parisi, by kind permission of Off the Mark.
Cartoon from Bogor © Burton Silver, reproduced by kind permission of the New Zealand
Listener.
Figure from Tagliamonte and Roeder (2009) ‘Variation in the English definite article: Socio-
historical linguistics in t’speech community’, The Journal of Sociolinguistics by kind permission
of John Wiley and Sons Inc.
xix
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
Table from Fishman (2003) ‘Bilingualism with and without diglossia’ in Paulston and Tucker,
eds. Sociolinguistics: The essential readings. Reproduced by kind permission of John Wiley and
Sons Inc.
Table from Haugen (1966a) ‘Dialect language and nation’ in American Anthropologist 68:
922–35 by kind permission of the American Anthropological Association.
Figures from Downes (1998) Language and Society, 2nd edition, Aitchison (2001) Language
Change: Progress or Decay? and Labov (2006) The Social Stratification of English in New York City
by kind permission of Cambridge University Press.
Figure from Cheshire et al. (2005) The Role of Adolescents in Dialect Levelling by kind permission
of the Economic and Social Research Council
Every effort has been made to contact copyright-holders. Please advise the publisher of any
errors or omissions, and these will be corrected in subsequent editions.
xx
The Online Companion
One of the new features of this edition is the development of an online companion, which is
accessible at www.routledge.com/cw/holmes. As you read through the textbook, you will
notice the following icons beside the text.
Video Clip
Sound Clip
Map
The presence of these indicates the availability of online material that exemplifies or adds to
the topic being discussed. These include links to videos on our YouTube Channel, sound clips
of linguistic features and maps of the locations mentioned in the book. In addition, there is
an online learning activity provided for each chapter which explores the key topics of the
chapter in an interactive way. With certain exceptions, we do not specifically refer to any
particular resource in the text of the book since the actual resources may change over time as
new resources become available and in response to user feedback. This will also allow us to
update and expand the online companion as a dynamic resource for students and teachers.
When using the online companion, the resources are arranged by chapter to make it easy for
you to find what you are looking for.
Note for Teachers: All of the resources available online are designed to be embeddable
in your virtual learning environment and can be used as a way of supporting self-directed
learning.
xxi
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1 What do sociolinguists study?
What is a sociolinguist?
S ociolinguists study the relationship between language and society. They are interested in
explaining why we speak differently in different social contexts, and they are concerned
with identifying the social functions of language and the ways it is used to convey social
meaning. Examining the way people use language in different social contexts provides a
wealth of information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships
in a community, and the way people convey and construct aspects of their social identity
through their language. This book explores all these aspects of sociolinguistics.
Example 1
Ray: Hi mum.
Mum: Hi. You’re late.
Ray: Yeah, that bastard Sootbucket kept us in again.
Mum: Nana’s here.
Ray: Oh sorry. Where is she?
Ray’s description of his teacher would have been expressed differently if he had realised his
grandmother could hear him. The way people talk is influenced by the social context in which
they are talking. It matters who can hear us and where we are talking, as well as how we are
feeling. The same message may be expressed very differently to different people. We use differ-
ent styles in different social contexts. Leaving school, Ray had run into the school principal.
Example 2
Ray: Good afternoon, sir.
Principal: What are you doing here at this time?
Ray: Mr Sutton kept us in, sir.
This response indicated Ray’s awareness of the social factors which influence the choice of
appropriate ways of speaking in different social contexts. Sociolinguistics is concerned with the
relationship between language and the context in which it is used.
1
An introduction to sociolinguistics
The conversation between Ray and his mother also illustrates the fact that language serves
a range of functions. We use language to ask for and give people information. We use it to
express indignation and annoyance, as well as admiration and respect. Often, one utterance
will simultaneously convey both information and express feelings. Ray’s utterance
not only tells his mother why he is late, his choice of words also tells her how he feels about
the teacher concerned, and tells us something about his relationship with his mother (he
can use words like bastard when talking to her) compared to his grandmother and the principal
(to whom he uses sir). The way Ray expresses himself indicates that his relationship with his
mother is an intimate and friendly one, rather than a formal, distant or respectful one.
Exercise 1
(a) Identify the words in examples 1 and 2 which suggest that Ray’s relationship with his
mother is a friendly one compared to his relationship with the principal.
What does this suggest about the social significance of choice of words?
(b) Ray greeted the principal with the words Good afternoon, sir.
How do or did you greet your school principal? Would you use the same words to
your father or mother? Would you use the same greeting to your best friend? Why (not)?
(c) Nicknames can express affection as well as dislike. What clues indicate that Ray is not
feeling affectionate towards his teacher?
We also indicate aspects of our social identity through the way we talk. Our speech provides
clues to others about who we are, where we come from, and perhaps what kind of social experi-
ences we have had. Written transcripts provide no auditory clues to readers, and examples 1
and 2 are also too short to provide reliable clues to speaker gender or ethnicity, but we can
make a reasonable guess at Ray’s age on the basis of his linguistic choices (he is probably in his
early teens), as well as his social background. Later chapters will examine in some detail how
we express different aspects of our social identity through our linguistic choices, as well as the
ways in which we draw on our sociolinguistic knowledge to construct or enact a particular
type of social identity.
Example 3
Every afternoon my friend packs her bag and leaves her Cardiff office in southern Wales
at about 5 o’clock. As she leaves, her business partner says goodbye Margaret (she replies
goodbye Mike), her secretary says see you tomorrow (she replies bye Jill) and the caretaker
says bye Mrs Walker (to which she responds goodbye Andy). As she arrives home she is greeted
by hi mum from her daughter, Jenny, hello dear, have a good day? from her mother and
2
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no related content on Scribd:
– Jól van – mondta Dermákné és semmi különöset nem talált
benne. Ellenben megragadta az alkalmat, hogy fiától megtudja azt,
amit Évától nem mert megkérdezni.
– Hol találkoztál vele?
– Együtt voltunk – mondja Jani – és csak most vette észre, hogy
elszólta magát. Különben jó, gondolta utána, úgyis el akart mindent
mondani a mamának, hogy tudja ő is, miféle kenyeret eszik az Éva
pénzéből.
– Együtt voltatok? Hol?
Jani röviden elmondta. Ő a minisztériumban volt, Éva a Lukács-
fürdőben várta. Hogy mi történt Éva és Deméndy között, azt nem
tudja.
– De tudom én – fakadt ki irtózatos dühvel Dermákné, az a
gazember, az az alávaló, de meg fogja keserülni, most már
másodszor hagyja cserben, hanem szárazon nem viszi el! Remélem
ez a leány se lesz most olyan szamár, hogy csakúgy ingyen hagyja
magát félrelökni. Ha nem fizet, magam megyek a feleségéhez és
csinálok olyan botrányt, hogy holta napjáig koldul utána.
Janira ez a beszéd megint váratlan csapás volt. Értetlenül bámult
anyjára. Hát tudott róla? És megengedte? És most is arról beszél,
hogy Deméndynek fizetnie kell?
Végtelenül megutálta a világot. S ami az úton csak ötlet volt,
most, úgy érezte, szilárd elhatározássá érlelődött benne. Meg fogja
tenni, hadd lássa a világ, hogy a Dermák-családban is van becsület.
Egész délután bolyongott a városligetben és újból, meg újból
átgondolta a jelenetet, amelynek ő lesz a cselekvő hőse. Ó, ezuttal
nem lesz gyáva, ha a becsület kívánja, megszűnik minden
gyámoltalansága. Sőt a másik fog megrettenni, mert éreznie kell,
hogy ő vele, Janival, van az igazság. Meg kell tennie, már azért is,
hogy anyja ne tetézze a gyalázatot azzal, hogy pénzzel
lekenyerezteti magát. Ezt minden áron meg fogja előzni.
Voltaképen már délután akarta megtenni, de inkább a hivatalban
akarja végezni. Egyszerű és világos az egész. Elmegy Deméndyhez
és számon kéri tőle nénje becsületét. Férfi áll férfival szemben, meg
fog vele vívni, fegyverrel a kezében. Deméndynek nem lesz
bátorsága, hogy visszautasítsa a kihívást, ha mégis megteszi, akkor
ahol éri, ott lelövi. S ha ez megtörtént, akkor végez Évával is. Ennek
a leánynak sem szabad tovább élnie.
Különösen ezt a jelenetet álmodta át a legélénkebben. Szinte
kéjelgett benne, oly jól esett neki, hogy intéző akaratnak és
parancsoló úrnak érezte magát. Rá fog parancsolni Évára, hogy
kövesse, aztán elvezeti abba a ferencvárosi lakásba, ott azt mondja
neki: Ajánld istennek lelkedet, mert ezt a házat, gyalázatod
színhelyét, egyikünk sem hagyja el élve.
Éva eddigi gőgös ridegségével akar kitérni.
– Megbolondultál? – kérdi tőle és szokott fölénnyel néz rá.
Csakhogy ezúttal nem fog rajta a varázs, azt mondja neki:
– Te nem vagy többé az, aki voltál, én se vagyok többé az a
gyámoltalan fickó, aki voltam – mondja ismét – most meg kell halnod
s ha egy csöpp tisztesség van még lelkedben, nem is akarhatsz
tovább élni.
Ez hat és Éva megretten és sírva borul lábai elé. Erre ő is
elérzékenykedik, megsímogatja a megtört leány haját és azt mondja:
– Vérzik a szívem és nincs bennem semmi harag. Szeretlek és
szánlak, hanem meg kell tenni. Imádkozzál.
A képzelődő fiúnak valóban köny áll a szemében, az emberek
kutatva néznek rá. Jani észreveszi magát és lopva megtörli a
szemét. De csakhamar folytatja az álmát, néhány stádiumot átugrik
és hirtelen ott tart, hogy Éva kétségbeesetten védekezik és azt
kiáltja:
– Kegyelem, kegyelem, nem akarok meghalni – de ő
vasmarokkal a földre szorítja, a mellére térdepel, két kezével átfogja
a nyakát és úgy fojtogatja, száját a halállal vívódó leány ajkára
nyomva, csókolja, amíg ki nem száll belőle a lélek.
– Így lesz – gondolja aztán megborzongva és riadtan körülnéz:
nem olvassák-e le róla ezt a gyilkos tervet?
És aztán? Aztán szépen az ágyra fekteti a holttestet, maga pedig
még utoljára megcsókolja a hideg ajkat, aztán az ajtó kilincsére
akasztja magát. Így találják majd őket meg, a világ tele lesz a hírrel,
olvassák az iskolatársai, olvassák a tanárai és mind szánalommal és
mély megbánással gondolnak majd arra, hogy mennyire
félreismerték őt, mikor pipogya, gyáva fráternek tartották. Lassú víz
partot mos és senki se láthat a más ember lelkébe.
A gyilkos képek egészen felvillámozták. Fölütötte a fejét és soha
oly tisztán nem nézett körül a világon, mint most. Boldog volt és
szabadnak érezte magát. Úgy látta, mintha lelke eddig bilincsbe lett
volna verve, csak most igazi ember. Türelmetlenség gyötörte.
Bárcsak már lenne holnap, hogy mindezt megtehesse. Óriási
emberrajok vonultak mellette el, különbnek érezte magát
valamennyinél. Sőt annyira ragadta az önérzete, hogy betért egy
vendéglőbe és sört, meg vajaskenyeret rendelt magának. Az Éva
pénzén fizetett.
Mikor aztán hazafelé indult, titkolta maga előtt, hogy szíve
hevesebben kezd dobogni. Nem, óvatos lesz, ma este semmivel
sem árulja el, hogy lelkében megváltozott. Adja majd a régi, együgyü
Janit, annál szörnyűbb lesz a meglepetés holnap.
Ezt a komédiát a szegény fiú nagyon könnyen vitte keresztül.
Mikor benyitott a lakásukba, valóban a régi, ügyefogyott Jani volt,
csak még komorabb és zárkózottabb, mint eddig. Éva már otthon
volt és rá se nézett az öccsére. Úgy látszik, hogy jelenete volt a
mamával, amelyet az ő jötte szakított meg. Évának mintha kisírva
lett volna a szeme is, az édes anyja pedig oly dühösen vagdosta a
himzőtűt a rámára feszített vászonba, mint annakelőtte, amikor a sok
gond gyötörte és kenyér is alig telt vacsorára.
– Te is kódorogsz? – rivall rá az anyja – jobban tennéd, ha valami
kereset után látnál. Lopod a napot, mintha isten tudja, hány milliója
volna anyádnak. Ülj le és írj egy cédulát, nagy betűkkel, hogy jól
lássák: Itt e házban egy hónapos szoba olcsón kiadó. Elég szamár
voltam, hogy hallgattam a kisasszonyra, akinek derogált, hogy
szobaurat tartottunk. Fenn az ernyő, nincsen kas. De majd
olcsóbban adja ő is.
És gyilkos tekintetet vetett Évára, aki a régi, gúnyos mosollyal állt
az ablak mellett, sőt halkan dudolt is magában, úgy, mint azelőtt
tette.
Szegény Jani pedig megrettenve látta, hogy az egész drámából
édes anyja csak azt nézi, hogy Éva nem hoz többé pénzt haza.
Szeretett volna kifutni a világból és miközben oda ült az asztalhoz és
mázolta a kapuba akasztandó cédulát, azt gondolta magában:
– Jó, hogy már nem tart sokáig.
3.
OLGA.
1.