Abstract
This chapter presents an analysis of the sociolinguistic practice of giving places unofficial names, i.e. The practice of 'alternative place naming'. The theoretical starting point is a discussion of 'place' as a topical challenge in sociolinguistics. While place as a holder of linguistic variation can be criticized and links between people, languages and places can be deconstructed as symbolic formations, strong ideologies of monolingualism and a place-people-language unity remain to dominate in society. The chapter studies this encounter between the national ideological construction of a mono-lingual society on the one hand and the practice based polylingual reality of young people on the other. Analyses of hip-hop and graffiti practices in Copenhagen, Denmark, suggest that alternative place naming may be a means of managing diversity in the context of a monolingualism ideology. Through the use of unofficial names, the young people create their own symbolic links between themselves, their places and languages.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Sociolinguistics of Place and Belonging: Perspectives from the Margins. |
| Editors | Leonie Cornips, Vincent de Rooij |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Place of Publication | Amsterdam |
| Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company |
| Publication date | 2018 |
| Pages | 239-260 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789027200044 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789027264596 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |