Sociolinguistics and the narrative turn : researching languages and society in contexts of change and transition

In proposing the use of an alternative method for generating knowledge in the field of sociolinguistics, this book presents a fresh point of view. To introduce his argument, the author gives a well-considered critique of some of the guiding principles of traditional sociolinguists. Then, conducting a small-scale study involving seven participants, he shows how a qualitative narrative approach can renew the theorisation of the relationship between language and society. Sociolinguistics and the Narrative Turn presents a fresh approach to sociolinguistics. Located within a qualitative paradigm, it proposes an alternative method for generating knowledge in the field. To start with, there is an argued critique of some of the guiding principles of traditional sociolinguistics which is driven by a trend of scholarship that draws on the meta-narrative of the researcher. In this traditional approach to sociolinguistics, the interpretation of the language phenomenon is not only decontextualised but also stripped of human experience. To illustrate his argument that a qualitative narrative approach to knowledge generation can offer different perspectives and can renew the theorisation of the relationship between language and society, the author has conducted a small-scale study consisting of seven participants. Contents 6 Acknowledgements 10 Preface 11 Introduction: My Narrative of Sociolinguistics as a Discipline 14 Part 1: A Critique of Traditional Sociolinguistics 38 1 The Grand Narrative of the Researcher: a Case Study Approach of Macrosociolinguistic Research 40 2 The ‘Grand Narrative’ behind Historical Sociolinguistics 65 3 Social Categorisation and Sociolinguistics 80 Part 2: Narrative Research and Sociolinguistics 106 4 The Narrative Turn: an Alternative Perspective for Scholarship in Sociolinguistics 108 5 From Macrosociolinguistics to the Narratives of the Ordinary Citizen 126 6 Language Shift and Language Death: the Narratives of the Ordinary Citizen 145 7 Sociolinguistics and Social Categories: the Narratives of Ordinary Citizens 165 8 Sociolinguistics and Qualitative Research 184 Bibliography 200 Index 216