elaborated (adj.)

A term used by the sociologist Basil Bernstein (1924–2000) to refer to one of two VARIETIES (or CODES) of LANGUAGE use, introduced as part of a general theory of the nature of social systems and social rules, the other being RESTRICTED. Elaborated code was said to be used in relatively FORMAL, educated situations; not to be reliant for its meaningfulness on extralinguistic CONTEXT (such as gestures or shared beliefs); and to permit speakers to be individually creative in their expression, and to use a range of linguistic alternatives. It was said to be characterized linguistically by a relatively high proportion of such features as SUBORDINATE CLAUSES, ADJECTIVES, the PRONOUN I and PASSIVES. Restricted code, by contrast, was said to lack these features. The correlation of elaborated code with certain types of social-class background, and its role in educational settings (e.g. whether children used to a restricted code will succeed in schools where elaborated code is the norm – and what should be done in such cases), brought this theory considerable publicity and controversy, and the distinction has since been reinterpreted in various ways.