Language, the Singer and the Song: The Sociolinguistics of Folk Performance

by Richard J. Watts, Franz Andres Morrissey

Overview

The relationship between language and music has much in common - rhythm, structure, sound, metaphor. Exploring the phenomena of song and performance, this book presents a sociolinguistic model for analysing them. Based on ethnomusicologist John Blacking's contention that any song performed communally is a 'folk song' regardless of its generic origins, it argues that folk song to a far greater extent than other song genres displays 'communal' or 'inclusive' types of performance. The defining feature of folk song as a multi-modal instantiation of music and language is its participatory nature, making it ideal for sociolinguistic analysis. In this sense, a folk song is the product of specific types of developing social interaction whose major purpose is the construction of a temporally and locally based community. Through repeated instantiations, this can lead to disparate communities of practice, which, over time, develop sociocultural registers and a communal stance towards aspects of meaningful events in everyday lives that become typical of a discourse community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107533042
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/28/2021
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Richard J. Watts is emeritus professor of Modern English Linguistics, retired from the Chair in that discipline at the University of Bern since 2008. He is one of the world's leading experts in linguistic politeness research and is author of five books including Politeness (2003) and Language Myths and the History of English (2011).

Franz Andres Morrissey is a lecturer in Modern English Linguistics at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He has a background in TEFL, and has published language text books and several papers on teaching materials and language practice through games, music and creative writing, and sociolinguistics and the sociology of language.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Creating Community and Identity through Song: 1. Language and music; 2. 'Breaking through' into performance'; 3. The communality of folk song; 4. Answering back: rebels with and without a cause; Part II. Variation in Language and Folk Song: 5. 'The times they are a-changing'; 6. Ideologies, authenticities and traditions; 7. 'Insects caught in amber'; Part III. Folk Song Performance and Linguistics: 8. Voices in the folk song; 9. The song: text and entextualisation in performance; 10. Going out there and doing your thing; 11. Enregisterment through song; 12. Whither folk song, whither sociolinguistics?; Appendix: overview of musical concepts.

Editorial Reviews

‘Language, the Singer and the Song offers a thorough and convincing sociolinguistic exploration of folk songs. The book refreshes and enlarges our understanding of language and music as communication systems.' Massimo Sturiale, University of Catania-Ragusa, Italy

‘Graduate students, undergraduates and sociolinguists who are conducting research or who are interested in relations between language and music will find this work appealing and unique in how it approaches both modes … The chapters could also be adapted to a variety of graduate or undergraduate courses in sociolinguistics … I found this book very timely in how Watts and Morrissey utilize concepts from third wave approaches to sociolinguistic variation (Eckert, 2012) to handle folk song performance. The year 2020 has given us a lot to think about and this work offers us a means through which we can all 'answer back'.’ Andrew Jocuns, LINGUIST List

‘It is an impressive resource for folk musicians, cultural theorists, and sociolinguists alike, and provides a welcome exploration into historical and current aspects of folk song performance and transmission, the timeless stories that folk songs tell, and the communities they build.’ Andy Gibson, Language in Society

From the Publisher