Carmen Fought - Language and Ethnicity (Key Topics in Sociolinguistics)

Language and Ethnicity

What is ethnicity? Is there a white way of speaking? Why do people sometimes borrow features of another ethnic groups language? Why do we sometimes hear an accent that isnt there? This lively overview reveals the fascinating relationship between language and ethnic identity, exploring the crucial role it plays in both revealing a speakers ethnicity and help ing to construct it. Drawing on research from a range of ethnic groups around the world, it shows how language contributes to the social and psychological processes involved in the forma tion of ethnic identity, exploring both the linguistic features of ethnic language varieties and also the ways in which language is used by different ethnic groups. The first overview of this important topic, Language and Ethnicity will be welcomed by stu dents and researchers in sociolinguistics, as well as anybody interested in ethnic issues, language and education, intereth nic communication, and the relationship between language and identity.

carmen fought is Associate Professor of Linguistics at Pitzer College, Claremont, California. Her research focuses on issues of language and ethnicity, including the dialects asso ciated with Latinos and Latinas in California, bilingual acqui sition, and language attitudes. She is author of Chicano English in Context ( 2003 ) and Sociolinguistic Variation: Critical Reflections ( 2004 ).

KEY TOPICS IN SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Series editor: Rajend Mesthrie

This new series focuses on the main topics of study in sociolinguistics today. It consists of accessible yet challenging accounts of the most important issues to consider when examining the relationship between language and society. Some topics have been the subject of sociolinguistic study for many years, and are here re-examined in the light of new developments in the field; others are issues of growing importance that have not so far been given a sustained treatment. Written by leading experts, the books in the series are designed to be used on courses and in seminars, and include useful suggestions for further reading and a helpful glossary.

Already published in the series: Politeness ,by Richard J. Watts Language Policy ,by Bernard Spolsky Discourse ,by Jan Blommaert Analyzing Sociolinguistic Variation ,by Sali A. Tagliamonte

Forthcoming titles: World Englishes ,byRakesh Bhatt and Rajend Mesthrie Bilingual Talk ,byPeter Auer

Language and Ethnicit y

CARMEN FOUGHT

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To John R. Rickford and Walt Wolfra m

charismatic colleagues , pioneering contributors to the study of language and ethnicity , and outstanding mentors to generations of other scholar s

Content s

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part IGeneral issues in ethnicity and language

1 What is ethnicity?

Areas of agreement about ethnicity

Possible definitions of ethnicity

Possible definitions of race

2 Language and the construction of ethnic identity

What linguistic resources do individuals have in constructing identity?

Indexing multiple identities

Ethnic pride or assimilation?

How is an individuals ethnicity co-constructed by the community?

Language and the construction of ethnic identity: three individual cases

Part II Linguistic features and ethnicity in specific groups

3African-American groups

What is AAVE?

AAVE grammar

AAVE phonology

Variation in the use of non-standard features in AAVE

Attitudes towards AAVE

Regional variation in AAVE: is AAVE converging toward a supraregional norm?

Another possibility: a blend of supraregional and regional norms

Standard AAE and the language of middle-clas s African-Americans

AAVE in the media

4 Latino groups

4.1 The complexities of identity in Latino communities

Repertoires: multiple codes for multiple identities

Attitudes, choices, and the construction of identity

The structure of dialects in latino communities

Chicano English phonology

Chicano English grammar

The structure of other Latino English dialects

Latino dialects of Spanish

The language gap: differences among generations

5Linguistic variation in other multiethnic settings

Cajuns and creoles in Louisiana

South African ethnic groups

Maoris in New Zealand

6Are white people ethnic? Whiteness, dominance, and ethnicity

The social correlates of being white

The linguistic correlates of being white

The consequences of sounding white

Humor and the portrayal of whiteness

7Dialect contact, ethnicity, and language change

Dialect contact and ethnic boundaries

Influences of minority ethnic dialects on the dominant dialect

Contact among ethnic minority dialects

Ethnic minority group speakers and sound change

Part III The role of language use in ethnicity

8Discourse features, pragmatics, and ethnicity

Indirectness

Turn-taking, silence, and backchanneling

Joking

Complimenting

Acquisition of language norms

9Interethnic communication and languag e prejudice

Tennis, anyone?

Interethnic communication

Differences in language use norms in public settings

Language varieties and interactional styles in the classroom

Teaching a standard variety to speakers of vernacular varieties

Accent hallucination

Matched guise studies and linguistic profiling

Crossing: may I borrow your ethnicity?

Classic studies of crossing in the UK

Who crosses?

Why does a speaker cross?

How does an individual get access to a linguistic code other than his orher own?

How extensive is crossing, linguistically? What linguistic areas are individuals who cross most likely to use?

Does crossing lead to less racism?

Crossing versus passing