Selfing and othering through categories of race, place, and language among minority youths in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Year: 2013
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This is the first study of processes of selfing and othering by speakers of a non-standard variety of Dutch. The group studied consists of young men in the Dutch city of Rotterdam who self-identify as Surinamese while having only very limited proficiency in what is considered their heritage language, Sranan. Applying a synthesis of principles and concepts from various semiotic approaches to the study of identification processes (Baumann 2004, Bucholtz & Hall 2005, Gal & Irvine 1995), it is shown that the youngsters in this study interweave categories of language, race, and place in assembling constantly changing multi-leveled identities that help to construct self and other. We will analyze the indexical workings of these interwoven categories and show how the constantly re-defined segmenting of these categories enables speakers to authenticate or denaturalize groups and individuals in changing discursive contexts.
DOI: 10.1075/hsld.1.07cor
Authors: Leonie Cornips, Vincent A. de Rooij
Institutions: Maastricht University, Meertens Institute, University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2502161024