The Sociolinguistics of Identity / Edition 1

by Tope Omoniyi, Goodith White, Tommaso M. Milani

Overview

Across the social and behavioural sciences there has been an increased interest in identity as a subject of inquiry. Despite this, there remain questions to which researchers need to find answers and challenges to be made to older paradigms of analysis in order to continue to push the frontiers of knowledge in this research domain. Identity is a problematic concept inasmuch as we recognise it now as non-fixed, non-rigid and always being co-constructed by individuals of themselves, or by people who share certain core values or perceive another group as having such values. This volume re-examines the analytical tools employed in the sociolinguistic research of 'identity' in order to assess their efficiency, establish the roles of language in the identity claims of specific communities of people, and determine the place of identity in a variety of social contexts, including work places and language classrooms. It will be of interest to academics and students working in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and second language learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847063328
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Series:	Advances in Sociolinguistics
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tommaso M. Milani is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Tope Omoniyi (Roehampton University, UK) & Goodith White (Leeds University, UK)Part I: Identity and Sociolinguistic Theory and Methods2. Hierarchy of Identities: A Theoretical Perspective, Tope Omoniyi (Roehampton University, UK)3. Identity in Applied Linguistics, David Block (University of London, UK)4. Constructing languages, constructing national identities, Yasir Suleiman (University of Cambridge, UK)Part II: Identity in Micro-sociolinguistics5. English Pronunciation and Learner Identity, Jennifer Jenkins (Southampton University, UK)6. Shifting identities and orientations in a border town, Carmen Llamas (University of Aberdeen, Scotland)7. Regional variation and identity in Sunderland, Lourdes Burbano-Elizondo (University of Sheffield, UK)Part III: Identity in Macro-Sociolinguistics9. Guernsey French, identityy and language endangerment, Julia Sallabank (Lancaster University, UK)10. Narrative constructions of gendered and professional identities, Louise Mullany (University of Nottingham, UK)11. Masculine identities on an academic writing programme, Sian Preece (University of Westminster, UK)12. Ethnolinguistic identity in a Dutch Islamic primary Classroom, Massimiliano Spotti (Tilburg University, Netherlands)12. Negotiating Identities in a multilingual science class,Roberta J. Vann (Iowa State University, USA), Katherine Richardson Bruna (Iowa State University, USA) & Moises D. Perales Escudero (Universidad Juarez Autonoma, Mexico)13. Standard Irish English as a marker of Irish identity, Goodith White (Leeds University, UK)Index

Editorial Reviews

."..very few of the following chapters realize the promise of a more dynamic perspective on identity. Ironically, many emphasize the essentialism that the editors want to leave behind, in that a number of contributors offer group members' evaluations of linguistic varieties as markers of local identity...Few of the chapters are directly relevant to SLA research...In sum, SLA researchers can take from this volume a notion of identity repertoires and social identities as a dynamic that is gaining adherents among some sociolinguists and anthropologists. Categorizing research subjects in the classroom in terms of only their static identities might result in an incomplete analysis." - Carol Myers-Scotton, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Vol. 30 No. 3, September 2008--Sanford Lakoff

'This book should be of great interest to students and researchers involved in language and identity. It is intended for both scholars of sociolinguistics and non-experts interested in these issues...The sequencing of chapters and their internal cohesion is clear and well-structured and allows the reader to pick specific chapters of interest....Overall, this book is well-written, well-structured and extremely accessible. It is a valuable resource in the field of language and identity.'
Natalie Braber, Linguist List--Sanford Lakoff

From the Publisher