Language and Identity: An introduction (Key Topics in Sociolinguistics)

324 Pages·2009·1.57 MB·English

by  John Edwards

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LanguageandIdentity
The language we use forms an important part of our sense of
whoweare–ofouridentity.Thisbookoutlinestherelationship
betweenouridentityasmembersofgroups–ethnic,national,
religiousandgender–andthelanguagevarietiesimportantto
each group. What is a language? What is a dialect? Are there
such things as language ‘rights’? Must every national group
haveitsownuniquelanguage?Howhavelanguages,largeand
small,beenusedtospreadreligiousideas?Whyhaveparticular
religious and linguistic‘markers’ been so central, singly or in
combination,tothewaysinwhichwethinkaboutourselvesand
others?Usingarichvarietyofexamples,thebookhighlightsthe
linkagesamonglanguages,dialectsandidentities,withspecial
attentiongiventoreligious,ethnicandnationalallegiances.
john edwards isProfessorofPsychologyatStFrancisXavier
University,NovaScotia.HispreviouspublicationsincludeLan-
guageinCanada(Cambridge,1998).
KEY TOPICS IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Serieseditor:RajendMesthrie
Thisnewseriesfocusesonthemaintopicsofstudyinsociolinguistics
today.Itconsistsofaccessibleyetchallengingaccountsofthemost
importantissuestoconsiderwhenexaminingtherelationshipbetween
languageandsociety.Sometopicshavebeenthesubjectofsociolinguistic
studyformanyyears,andareherere-examinedinthelightofnew
developmentsinthefield;othersareissuesofgrowingimportancethat
havenotsofarbeengivenasustainedtreatment.Writtenbyleading
experts,thebooksintheseriesaredesignedtobeusedoncoursesandin
seminars,andincludeusefulsuggestionsforfurtherreadingandahelpful
glossary.
Alreadypublishedintheseries:
PolitenessbyRichardJ.Watts
LanguagePolicybyBernardSpolsky
DiscoursebyJanBlommaert
AnalyzingSociolinguisticVariationbySaliA.Tagliamonte
LanguageandEthnicitybyCarmenFought
StylebyNikolasCoupland
WorldEnglishesbyRajendMesthrieandRakeshM.Bhatt
Forthcomingtitles:
BilingualTalkbyPeterAuer
SociolinguisticsandSocialTheorybyNikolasCoupland
Language and Identity
An Introduction
JOHN EDWARDS
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
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Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521873819
© John Edwards 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-65201-1 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-87381-9 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-69602-9 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
ToSuzanne

Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Anintroductorynote 1
1.2 Chaptersandtopics 2
1.3 Aconcludingnote 13
2 Identity,theindividualandthegroup 15
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Identity:personalandsocial 19
2.3 Theconstructionandmaintenanceofgroupness 25
2.4 Languageandcircumstance 27
3 Identifyingourselves 34
3.1 Personalnames 34
3.2 Namesforgroups 36
3.3 Theappropriationofnamesandnarratives 39
3.4 Culturalvoicesandscholarlyresearch 42
3.5 Ethnocentrismandrelativism 48
4 Language,dialectandidentity 53
4.1 Language 53
4.2 Dialect 63
5 Dialectandidentity:beyondstandardandnonstandard 73
5.1 The‘logic’ofdialect 73
5.2 Ebonics 75
5.3 Furtherworkondialectevaluation 82
6 Language,religionandidentity 99
6.1 Introduction 99
6.2 Linkinglanguageandreligion 100
6.3 God’slanguage–andours 103
6.4 Moderntimes 110
6.5 Missionaries 118
7 Language,genderandidentity 126
7.1 Introduction 126
7.2 Stereotypingsexandgender 127
7.3 Gendervariationsinspeech 132
7.4 Concludingremarks 146
vii
viii Contents
8 Ethnicityandnationalism 151
8.1 Introduction 151
8.2 Ethnicidentity 153
8.3 Nationalism 162
9 Assessmentsofnationalism 175
9.1 Civicnationalism 175
9.2 Evaluatingnationalism 185
10 Languageandnationalism 205
10.1 Thebasiclink 205
10.2 Languagepurismandprescriptivism 212
11 Languageplanningandlanguageecology 225
11.1 Languageplanning 225
11.2 Theecologyoflanguage 230
11.3 TheconsequencesofBabel 245
11.4 Bilingualismandidentity 247
Glossary 257
Notes 261
References 271
Index 310