That which We Call a Rose by any Other Name Would Sound as Sweet: Folk perceptions, status and language variation

Authors: McKenzie, Robert M.; Osthus, Dietmar

Source: AILA Review, Applied Folk Linguistics: AILA Review, Volume 24 , pp. 100-115(16)

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

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Abstract:

Folk perceptions of language diversity often differ from the criteria laid out by linguists and have particular implications for applied/sociolinguists since the collective identification of language diversity largely determines the ways in which individuals regard the categorisation of their own (and others) linguistic uses as belonging to a specific social and/or regional variety. Folk perceptions can thus help define speech communities as well as explain sociolinguistic other phenomena. This paper provides a critical analysis of the existing folk linguistic research into language variation in a number of different contexts: the UK, the USA, France and Japan. It is hoped that the information gained will help build up a more detailed sociolinguistic picture of the complex and often contradictory nature of lay individuals' attitudes towards linguistic variation. In the final sections of the paper the authors argue for a greater deal of recognition within modern linguistics of the value of examining folk perceptions of language diversity.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/aila.24.08mck

Publication date: 2011-01-01

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