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| Title: | Communities of Practice in Sociolinguistic Description: Analyzing language and identity practices among black women in Appalachia |
| Paper URL: | http://www.equinoxjournals.com/GL/article/view/2882 |
| Author: | Christine Mallinson |
| Email: | click here to access email |
| Homepage: | http://christinemallinson.com |
| Institution: | University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| Author: | Becky Childs |
| Email: | click here to access email |
| Institution: | Coastal Carolina University |
| Linguistic Field: | Sociolinguistics |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the identities of eight women who share similar demographic profiles but exhibit different language practices. These middle-aged and older women belong to two social groups, which, we argue, constitute two communities of practice within a small black Appalachian community in the Southern United States. From interview data, we analyze six diagnostic sociolinguistic variables (third singular -s absence, copula absence, rhoticity, consonant cluster reduction, habitual be) and also examine productions of /u/ and /o/. The groups differ significantly in their use of the morphosyntactic and syntactic variables and in their vowel productions, but not the consonantal features. Combining our quantitative findings with qualitative data, we suggest language is one of several vehicles the women use to transmit symbolic messages to others and thereby construct identities for themselves and their groups, whose members adhere to different language ideologies, religious norms, notions of feminine decorum, and educational standards. |
| Type: | Individual Paper |
| Status: | Completed |
| URL: | http://www.equinoxjournals.com/GL/article/view/2882 |
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