Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-5r2nc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T00:08:56.235Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

26 - Identity and Indexicality in the Study of World Englishes

from Part IV - Current Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2019

By
Erik Schleef
Edited by
Daniel Schreier ,
Marianne Hundt  and
Edgar W. Schneider
Daniel Schreier
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Marianne Hundt
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Edgar W. Schneider
Affiliation:
Universität Regensburg, Germany
Get access

Summary

In recent decades, identity has served a critical role in the study of World Englishes (WEs). At the core of this interest lies the idea that changing forms of identity construction may have played a crucial part among the groups involved in the development of New Englishes. However, not everyone agrees on the role identity may have played in the development of WEs. This chapter locates this research strand in recent theoretically based ideas about identity. It provides an overview of the different perspectives of identity within sociolinguistics and relates this to the study of WEs. It then outlines Third-Wave Variationist Sociolinguistics and some of its central issues pertaining to WEs, identity, and indexicality. Representative studies are considered that provide empirical evidence of identity performance and indexicality in a variety of local and global contexts. These concern, in particular, (1) the social meanings of features of English at the micro level of interaction, in which identity work is most transparent, and (2) the perception of linguistic features.

Keywords

identityindexicalityperceptionstancestylesocial meaning
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of World Englishes , pp. 609 - 632
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agha, Asif. 2005. Voice, footing, enregisterment. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 15, 38–59.Google Scholar
Benor, Sarah. 2001. Sounding learned: The gendered use of /t/ in Orthodox Jewish English. In Johnson, Daniel Ezra and Sanchez, Tara, eds. Penn Working Papers in Linguistics: Selected Papers from NWAV 29. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1–16.Google Scholar
Bucholtz, Mary. 1996. Geek the girl: Language, femininity and female nerds. In Warner, Nancy et al., eds. Gender and Belief Systems. Berkeley: Berkeley Women and Language Group, 119–131.Google Scholar
Bucholtz, Mary and Hall, Kira. 2005. Identity and interaction: A socio-cultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies 7: 585–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucholtz, Mary and Hall, Kira. 2010. Locating identity in language. In Llamas, Carmen and Watt, Dominic, eds. Language and Identities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 18–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell-Kibler, Kathryn. 2007. Accent, (ING) and the social logic of listener perceptions. American Speech 82: 32–64.Google Scholar
Campbell-Kibler, Kathryn. 2009. The nature of sociolinguistic perception. Language Variation and Change 21: 135–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell-Kibler, Kathryn, Eckert, Penelope, Mendoza-Denton, Norma and Moore, Emma. 2006. The elements of style. Poster presented at New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAV) 35, Columbus.Google Scholar
Cheshire, Jenny. 1982. Variation in an English Dialect. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cheshire, Jenny, Kerswill, Paul, Fox, Sue and Torgersen, Eivind. 2011. Contact, the feature pool and the speech community: The emergence of Multicultural London English. Journal of Sociolinguistics 15: 151–196.Google Scholar
Coupland, Nikolas. 2007. Style: Language Variation and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Coupland, Nikolas. 2008. The delicate constitution of identity in face-to-face accommodation: A response to Trudgill. Language in Society 37: 267–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davydova, Julia, Tytus, Agnieszka Ewa and Schleef, Erik. 2017. Acquisition of sociolinguistic awareness by German learners of English: A study in perceptions of quotative be like. Linguistics 55: 783–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drummond, Rob. 2012. Aspects of identity in a second language: ING variation in the speech of Polish migrants living in Manchester, UK. Language Variation and Change 24: 107–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drummond, Rob. 2016. (Mis)interpreting urban youth language: White kids sounding black? Journal of Youth Studies 20: 640–660.Google Scholar
Drummond, Rob and Schleef, Erik. 2016. Identity in variationist sociolinguistics. In Preece, Siân, ed. The Routledge Handbook of Language and Identity. London: Routledge, 50–65.Google Scholar
DuBois, John. 2002. Stance and consequence. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans, November.Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 1989. Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in the High School. New York: Teachers’ College Press.Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 2000. Linguistic Variation as Social Practice. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 2008. Variation and the indexical field. Journal of Sociolinguistics 12: 453–476.Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 2012. Three waves of variation study: The emergence of meaning in the study of sociolinguistic variation. Annual Review of Anthropology 41: 87–100.Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 2016. Variation, meaning and social change. In Coupland, Nikolas, ed. Sociolinguistics: Theoretical Debates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 68–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckert, Penelope and McConnel-Ginet, Sally. 1992. Think practically and look locally: Language and gender as community-based practice. Annual Review of Anthropology 21: 461–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gal, Susan. 1979. Language Shift: Social Determinants of Linguistic Change in Bilingual Austria. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hall-Lew, Lauren. 2014. Chinese social practice and San Franciscan authenticity. In Lacoste, Veronique, Leimgruber, Jakob and Breyer, Thiemo, eds. Indexing Authenticity: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Berlin: de Gruyter, 55–77.Google Scholar
Hay, Jennifer, Drager, Katie and Warren, Paul. 2010. Short-term exposure to one dialect affects processing of another. Language and Speech 53: 447–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hay, Jennifer, Warren, Paul and Drager, Katie. 2006. Factors influencing speech perception in the context of a merger-in-progress. Journal of Phonetics 34: 458–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hickey, Raymond. 2003. How do dialects get the features they have? In Hickey, Raymond, ed., Motives for Language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 213–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinrichs, Lars and Farquharson, Joseph T.. 2011. Introduction. In Hinrichs, Lars and Farquharson, Joseph T., eds. Variation in the Caribbean: From Creole Continua to Individual Agency. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1–9.Google Scholar
Holmes, Janet and Kerswill, Paul. 2008. Contact is not enough: A response to Trudgill. Language in Society 37: 273–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horvath, Barbara. 1985. Variation in Australian English: The Sociolects of Sydney. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Johnstone, Barbara. 2010. Locating language in identity. In Llamas, Carmen and Watt, Dominic, eds. Language and Identities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnstone, Barbara, Andrus, Jennifer and Danielson, Andrew E.. 2006. Mobility, indexicality, and the enregisterment of “Pittsburghese.” Journal of English Linguistics 34: 77–104.Google Scholar
Johnstone, Barbara and Kiesling, Scott. 2008. Indexicality and experience: Exploring the meanings of /aw/-monophthongization in Pittsburgh. Journal of Sociolinguistics 12: 5–33.Google Scholar
Kiesling, Scott F. 2009. Style as stance: Stance as the explanation for patterns of sociolinguistic variation. In Jaffe, Alexandra, ed. Stance: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 171–194.Google Scholar
Kiesling, Scott F. 2013. Constructing identity. In Chambers, J. K. and Schilling-Estes, Natalie, eds. The Handbook of Language Variation and Change (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, 448–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labov, William. 1966. The Social Stratification of English in New York City. Washington, DC: Cent. Appl. Ling.Google Scholar
Labov, William. 1972. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Labov, William. 2001. Principles of Linguistic Change: Social Factors. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Lave, Jean and Wenger, Etienne. 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Leimgruber, Jakob. 2012. Singapore English: An indexical approach. World Englishes 31, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leimgruber, Jakob. 2013. Singapore English: Structure, Variation, and Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Macaulay, Ronald K. S. and Trevelyan, Gavin D.. 1977. Language, Social Class and Education: A Glasgow Study. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Macaulay, Ronald K. S. 2002. I’m off to Philadelphia in the morning. American Speech 77: 227–241.Google Scholar
Meyerhoff, Miriam and Niedzielski, Nancy. 2003. The globalisation of vernacular variation. Journal of Sociolinguistics 7: 534–555.Google Scholar
Milroy, Lesley. 1980. Language and Social Network. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Moll, Andrea. 2014. Authenticity in dialect performance? A case study of “Cyber-Jamaican.” In Lacoste, Veronique, Leimgruber, Jakob and Breyer, Thiemo, eds. Indexing Authenticity: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Berlin: de Gruyter, 209–243.Google Scholar
Moore, Bruce. 1999. Australian English: Australian identity. ABC, November 27. www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/linguafranca/australian-english-australian-identity/3562064Google Scholar
Moore, Emma. 2011. Variation and identity. In Maguire, Warren and McMahon, April, eds. Analysing Variation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 219–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Emma and Podesva, Robert. 2009. Style, indexicality, and the social meaning of tag questions. Language in Society 38: 447–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niedzielski, Nancy. 1999. The effect of social information on the perception of sociolinguistic variables. Journal of Language and Social Psychology 18, 62–85.Google Scholar
Ochs, Elinor. 1992. Indexing gender. In Duranti, Alessandro and Goodwin, Charles, eds. Rethinking Context: Language as an Interactive Phenomenon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 335–358.Google Scholar
Plichta, Bartek and Preston, Dennis R.. 2005. The /ay/s have it: the perception of /ay/ as a North-South stereotype in US English. Acta Linguistica Hafniensia 37, 243–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podesva, Robert. 2007. Phonation type as a stylistic variable: The use of falsetto in constructing a persona. Journal of Sociolinguistics 11, 478–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rampton, Ben. 2006. Language in Late Modernity: Interaction in an Urban School. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rauniomaa, Mirka. 2003. Stance accretion. Paper presented at the Language, Interaction, and Social Organization Research Focus Group, University of California, Santa Barbara, February.Google Scholar
Schleef, Erik. 2017a. Developmental sociolinguistics and the acquisition of T-glottalling by immigrant teenagers in London. In de Vogelaer, Gunther and Katerbow, Matthias, eds. Variation in Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 311–347.Google Scholar
Schleef, Erik. 2017b. Social meanings across listener groups: When do social factors matter? Journal of English Linguistics 45: 28–59.Google Scholar
Schleef, Erik and Flynn, Nicholas E. J.. 2015. Ageing meanings of (ing): Age and indexicality in Manchester, England. English World-Wide 36: 47–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schleef, Erik, Flynn, Nicholas E. J. and Barras, Will. 2017. Regional diversity in social perceptions of (ing). Language Variation and Change 29: 29–56.Google Scholar
Schneider, Edgar W. 2003. The dynamics of New Englishes: From identity construction to dialect birth. Language 79: 233–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Edgar W. 2008. Accommodation versus identity? A response to Trudgill. Language in Society 37: 262–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, Devyani. 2005. Dialect stabilization and speaker awareness in non-native varieties of English. Journal of Sociolinguistics 9: 194–224.Google Scholar
Silverstein, Michael. 1985. Language and the culture of gender: At the intersection of structure, usage, and ideology. In Mertz, Elizabeth and Parmentier, Richard, eds., Semiotic Mediation: Socio-cultural and Psychological Perspectives. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 219–259.Google Scholar
Silverstein, Michael. 2003. Indexical order and the dialectics of sociolinguistic life. Language and Communication 23: 193–229.Google Scholar
Snell, Julia. 2013. Dialect, interaction and class positioning at school: From deficit to difference to repertoire. Language and Education 27: 110–128.Google Scholar
Thibault, Pierrette and Sankoff, Gillian. 1993. Diverses facettes de l’insecurité linguistique: Vers une analyse comparative des attitudes et du français parlé par des Franco- et des Anglo-Montréalais. Cahiers de l’institut de linguistique de Louvain 19: 209–218.Google Scholar
Trudgill, Peter. 1972. Sex, covert prestige and linguistic change in the urban British English of Norwich. Language in Society 1: 179–195.Google Scholar
Trudgill, Peter. 1974. The Social Differentiation of English in Norwich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Trudgill, Peter. 2008. Colonial dialect contact in the history of European languages: On the irrelevance of identity to new-dialect formation. Language in Society 37: 241–254.Google Scholar
Tuten, Donald. 2003. Koineization in Medieval Spanish. Berlin: de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Wolfram, Walt. 1969. A Sociolinguistic Description of Detroit Negro Speech. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.Google Scholar
Zipp, Lena and Staicov, Adina. 2016. English in San Francisco Chinatown: Indexing identity with speech rhythm. In Seoane, Elena and Suárez-Gómez, Cristina, eds., World Englishes: New Theoretical and Methodological Considerations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 205–227.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×