”High” and ”Low” in urban Danish speech styles

TY - JOUR

T1 - ”High” and ”Low” in urban Danish speech styles

AU - Madsen, Lian Malai

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - This article approaches on-going sociolinguistic processes in Copenhagen by focusing on the overt metalinguistic activities of a group of adolescents. The article sheds light on how social power differences are refracted in the metalinsguistic activities of these adolescents in spite of the relatively homogenous (or hegemonic) sociolinguistic conditions of Danish society. In the article, I investigate how social status relations understood as cultural interpretations of societal high and low are relevant to on-going social value ascriptions to the contrasting ways of speaking labelled integrated and street language. The metalinguistic data I present points to a sociolinguistic transformation. Linguistic signs that used to be seen as related to migration, on an insider/outsider dimension of comparison, are now related to status on a high/low dimension as well. (Sociolinguistic transformation, ethnicity, social class, enregisterment, metalinguistic reflections)*

AB - This article approaches on-going sociolinguistic processes in Copenhagen by focusing on the overt metalinguistic activities of a group of adolescents. The article sheds light on how social power differences are refracted in the metalinsguistic activities of these adolescents in spite of the relatively homogenous (or hegemonic) sociolinguistic conditions of Danish society. In the article, I investigate how social status relations understood as cultural interpretations of societal high and low are relevant to on-going social value ascriptions to the contrasting ways of speaking labelled integrated and street language. The metalinguistic data I present points to a sociolinguistic transformation. Linguistic signs that used to be seen as related to migration, on an insider/outsider dimension of comparison, are now related to status on a high/low dimension as well. (Sociolinguistic transformation, ethnicity, social class, enregisterment, metalinguistic reflections)*

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0047-4045

VL - 42

SP - 115

EP - 138

JO - Language in Society

JF - Language in Society

IS - 2

ER -