From 'multi-ethnic urban heteroglossia'to 'contemporary urban vernaculars.' 2011 (original) (raw)
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This chapter traces the chronology of youth language in London from the arrival of the first post-Second World War migrants from Jamaica in 1948 to the early 2000s, by which time what is now known as Multicultural London English (MLE) had become a well-established, recognised variety. Referring to earlier work by Beaken, Hurford, Sebba and Hewitt, we argue that MLE was preceded by two previous youth languages: London Jamaican and a 'multiracial vernacular'. Both of these were contingent on users (ethnicity) and on context (expressing solidarity), and neither was a 'vernacular' in Labov's (1972) sense. MLE emerged, we argue, in the early 1980s, when London's inner city had become highly multilingual, with the children of migrants now constituting up to a half their local age cohorts. Children were acquiring English in communities where the older London variety no longer dominated. The resulting variety, MLE, became for many speakers their vernacular. We also argue that the early Jamaicans formed a 'founding' population for youth culture, and that this status is reflected in the present day through MLE's slang. Other linguistic features of MLE, however, only resemble Caribbean Creole to the extent that they are also shared by other input varieties to the mix.
Contact and ethnicity in "youth language" description: in search of specificity
This article questions the specificity of the “contemporary urban vernaculars” (Rampton) usually called “youth languages”. Starting from a review of the different labels designating these language practices, it shows that many of them link them to the expression of ethnicity, hence the success of the category of “(multi)ethnolect”. After having criticized this recourse to ethnicity, the authors discuss the role of linguistic contact in contemporary urban vernaculars since their linguistic hybridity if one of their mostly noticed features. They argue for the necessity to take thoroughly into account the social context of these language contacts in a way to understand their outcomes. Henceforth, the authors examine the role played by factors in the shaping of heteroglossic urban vernaculars: social attitudes towards immigrant languages and identification processes on the one hand, and specific forms of verbal interactions within the speakers’ “street culture” on the other hand.
The heterogeneous homogenisation of dialects in England.
Taal en Tongval 63: 43-60., 2011
As a result of high levels of mobility in contemporary England, one outcome of the resultant dialect contact that has been regularly highlighted in the literature is supralocalisation – the success of dialect variants that have a wide geographical currency at the expense of those which are much more locally restricted. This article begins by presenting the case for the existence of supralocalisation, but then goes on to problematize it, thereby suggesting where we must look in order to fully understand the linguistic consequences of present-day social and geographical mobility. I begin by pointing out that supralocal forms mentioned in the literature are often still minority forms in their communities, but suggest that this is understandable given the multiscalar nature of our own mobilities. Secondly, I argue that whilst mobility is often portrayed as a democratising force that is driving linguistic convergence, contemporary mobilities themselves are extremely socially differentiated. I suggest, consequently, that this diversity needs to be taken into consideration when we examine the linguistic consequences of movement – we need to ask who is mobile. Finally, I propose that we need to socialise studies of supralocalisation, which, until now, have largely ignored the dynamics of the social indexicality of supralocal forms. Both supralocalisation and mobility have been depicted as forces of convergence – this article attempts to show that the diversity of the latter undermines a simplistic view of the former.
Multicultural London English and New-Dialect Formation
Roczniki Humanistyczne
Peter Trudgill has suggested that a number of the processes involved in new-dialect formation may be of a widespread or universal type. Multicultural London English (MLE) is a new dialect that emerged in a different and more complex sociolinguistic situation than those considered previously, so it provides an opportunity to further consider the extent to which the processes are widespread or universal. I argue that the characteristic features of MLE emerged as a result of dialect mixture, including traditional London English, colonial and creole-influenced varieties of English, and many different interlanguage varieties of English. Some MLE features confirm the relevance of the levelling of minority forms, and perhaps also of simplification. There is also evidence of drift. Above all, their emergence confirms the importance of linguistic accommodation in face-to-face interactions. In this, as for so many sociolinguistic issues, Peter Trudgill was right!
The acquisition of Manchester dialect variants by adolescent Roma migrants
This PhD dissertation reports the results of an ethnographically informed, variationist sociophonetic account of the acquisition of vernacular English dialect features by adolescent Roma migrants attending a Manchester high school. As one of the first studies of Romanian Roma acquisition of English, this work speaks to ongoing discussions about migration, integration, and social factors impacting upon language acquisition. I also address discussions concerning methodological approaches to and the importance of the study of the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in a new language. Recently, Manchester has seen an influx of Roma migrants. Previous research suggests that migrants can acquire local patterns of variation in a new language and that social networks may impact upon this acquisition. What remains unclear is why certain speakers acquire more local features than others. The findings of this study contribute to knowledge through the use of a mixed methods approach combining quantitative analysis of speech data with ethnographic observations to provide a fine-grained, methodologically robust analysis of linguistic variation. I report analyses of three vocalic variables. Results indicate that speaker’s friendship networks have a statistically significant effect on linguistic production. The more open speakers’ friendship networks are, the more likely they are to reproduce local patterns of variation. Ethnography exposes the unreliability of participants’ self-report data on friendships and give context to the quantitative results, indicating complex interactions between speakers’ Roma and local identities. These findings give weight to the argument that more mixed methods variationist SLA research is needed. Increasing superdiversity in urban centres make this an important area of research both for the experience of migrants and those who live in the countries they move to. Where there is evidence of dialect acquisition, this can be seen as an indicator of the way in which an individual is positioning himself or herself within the local culture.