LINGUIST List 33.3386
Wed Nov 02 2022
Books: The Sociolinguistics of Rhotacization in the Beijing Speech Community: Hu
Editor for this issue: Maria Lucero Guillen Puon <luceroguillenlinguistlist.org>
Date: 21-Sep-2022
From: Tessa Arneri <lotdissertations-fgw
uva.nl>
Subject: The Sociolinguistics of Rhotacization in the Beijing Speech Community: Hu
E-mail this message to a friend Title: The Sociolinguistics of Rhotacization in the Beijing Speech
Community
Series Title: LOT Dissertation Series
Published: 2022
Publisher: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT)
http://www.lotpublications.nl/
Book URL:
https://www.lotpublications.nl/the-sociolinguistics-of-rhotacization-in-the-beijing-speech-community Author: Han Hu
Paperback: ISBN: 9789460934094 Pages: 183 Price: Europe EURO 30
Abstract:
This dissertation investigates the social, attitudinal, and linguistic mechanisms behind language choice and language change in postmodern urban China. More specifically, it investigates the language choice, use and pronunciation norm formation of rhotacization in Beijing, the country’s capital city, due to the normative forces of urbanization, Standard Chinese, native dialects, and the expression of belonging. This dissertation studies the language attitude towards and language use of rhotacization in the Beijing Speech Community in quality and quantity, with the methods of sociolinguistics and phonetics.
The language attitude study shows that both Beijing native speakers and migrants report the perceived salience of rhotacization in the Beijing Speech Community and rhotacization imitation by migrants. In addition, both native and migrant respondents associate migrants with the upwards social mobility in Beijing, in the background of Standard Chinese promotion and influx of migrants. The prestige of Standard Chinse, the difficulty of learning rhotacization, and the non-necessity of using Beijing Mandarin are also reported.
An important result in the phonetic study demonstrates that, as an important feature in both Beijing Mandarin and Standard Chinese, rhotacization is undergoing the decline of both tokens and types in native speakers’ natural speech. However, compared to migrants, Beijing native speakers still produce the biggest number of rhotacization tokens, types and variants.
Together, this dissertation reveals the social, attitudinal and linguistic forces on language choices and pronunciation norms formation in postmodern urban settings, advancing our understanding of the mechanisms from various aspects.
Linguistic Field(s): Language Documentation
Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s):
Chinese, Mandarin (cmn) Language Family(ies): Chinese
Written In: English (eng)
See this book announcement on our website:
https://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=163773
Page Updated: 02-Nov-2022