“Language Policing” and the Fight Against Social Inequality in an Anti-Capitalist Organization
“Language Policing” and the Fight Against Social Inequality in an Anti-Capitalist Organization
Author(s): Ognjen KojanićSubject(s): Sociolinguistics, Politics and communication
Published by: Центар за хуманистичке науке »Синтезис«
Keywords: Food Not Bombs; metapragmatic discourse; language ideology; enregisterment;
Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I focus on the sociolinguistic aspects of membership in a "Food Not Bombs" group in Athens, Georgia. I analyze the members’ metapragmatic discourse in the instances of “language policing” to describe the language ideology I refer to as situated personalism, a register that was crucial in the performance of membership, and how the members were trying to create an inclusive frame of interaction free of discrimi-nation. I discuss the paradoxical consequences of the members’ reflexive language use, due to which a cer-tain way of speaking effectively became a crucial prerequisite for group membership, contrary to the com-mitment to inclusion the members espoused.
Journal: Синтезис - часопис за хуманистичке науке и друштвену стварност
- Issue Year: VII/2015
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 1-19
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English
