The Sociolinguistics of Identity

Tope Omoniyi isProfessor in English Language and Linguistics at Roehampton University, London, UK. Goodith White is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Leeds, UK.

Across the social and behavioural sciences there has been an increased interest in identity as a subject of inquiry. Despite this, there remain questions to which researchers need to find answers and challenges to be made to older paradigms of analysis in order to continue to push the frontiers of knowledge in this research domain.Identity is a problematic concept inasmuch as we recognise it now as non-fixed, non-rigid and always being co-constructed by individuals of themselves, or by people who share certain core values or perceive another group as having such values.This volume re-examines the analytical tools employed in the sociolinguistic research of 'identity' in order to assess their efficiency, establish the roles of language in the identity claims of specific communities of people, and determine the place of identity in a variety of social contexts, including work places and language classrooms. It will be of interest to academics and students working in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and second language learning.

Available for the first time in paperback.

1. Introduction, Tope Omoniyi (Roehampton University, UK) & Goodith White (Leeds University, UK)Part I: Identity and Sociolinguistic Theory and Methods2. Hierarchy of Identities: A Theoretical Perspective, Tope Omoniyi (Roehampton University, UK)3. Identity in Applied Linguistics, David Block (University of London, UK)4. Constructing languages, constructing national identities, Yasir Suleiman (University of Cambridge, UK)Part II: Identity in Micro-sociolinguistics5. English Pronunciation and Learner Identity, Jennifer Jenkins (Southampton University, UK)6. Shifting identities and orientations in a border town, Carmen Llamas (University of Aberdeen, Scotland)7. Regional variation and identity in Sunderland, Lourdes Burbano-Elizondo (University of Sheffield, UK)Part III: Identity in Macro-Sociolinguistics9. Guernsey French, identityy and language endangerment, Julia Sallabank (Lancaster University, UK)10. Narrative constructions of gendered and professional identities, Louise Mullany (University of Nottingham, UK)11. Masculine identities on an academic writing programme, Sian Preece (University of Westminster, UK)12. Ethnolinguistic identity in a Dutch Islamic primary Classroom, Massimiliano Spotti (Tilburg University, Netherlands)12. Negotiating Identities in a multilingual science classRoberta J. Vann (Iowa State University, USA), Katherine Richardson Bruna (Iowa State University, USA) & Moises D. Perales Escudero (Universidad Juarez Autonoma, Mexico)13. Standard Irish English as a marker of Irish identity, Goodith White (Leeds University, UK)Index