The French Language:
identity, diversity and
changing environments.
Lecture 1
Michaelmas term 2012
Introduction to Language and Identity
An introduction to language and
identity
Aims of this course:
 To illustrate the connections between language
and identity
 To examine the symbolic and ‘marking’
functions of language
 To examine the importance of the
contextualisation of identity and different
environments
Course outline
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French identity: the individual and the
group (3 to 4 weeks)
Personal and social identity
Construction and maintenance of group
identity
Speech mobility in France
Individual, regional and migrant identities in
France
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French language, ethnicity and nationalism
(3 to 4 weeks)
French language and ethnic identity
French language and nationalism
New French identities
The language of French identity negotiation
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French identity and computer-mediated
communication. ( 3 to 4 weeks)
Language and the construction of online
identity
The construction of new French identities
online
The effects of digital media on the French
language
Lecture 1
French identity: the
individual and the group
Reading for this week
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Edwards, J. (2009) Language and Identity.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.:
Introduction and Chapter 2
Introducing the concept of identity
Paradoxical term:
Latin root idem ‘the same’
However, the term implies both similarity and
difference. How?
Introducing the concept of identity
(1) Identity is unique to us
(2) Identity also implies relationship(s)
Examples?
Introducing the concept of identity
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Much of the debate around identity derives
from the tension between these two aspects:
self vs (multiple) identifications with others.
‘Who I am’ or ‘who I think I am’ also varies
according to a number of factors:
Concept of identity
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Concern with questions of identity is not a new
development.
It has taken on a new urgency in the
contemporary world.
Accounting for identities
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Psychological and sociological approaches.
Identity, the individual and the group
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Writings of Erik Erikson (1968) situated
individual aspects of identity in their social
contexts.
Early 1980’s saw the appearance of important
studies focusing on the linguistic aspects of
identity: e.g. Gumperz (1982) and Le Page and
Toubouret Keller (1985)
Identity, the individual and the group
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In more recent times: linguistic ethnography
(Rampton et al, 2007)
Assumption: contexts for communication
should be investigated rather than assumed.
Identity, the individual and the group
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Language can also be considered as a marker at
the individual level.
e.g. idiolect
It could be argued that even idiolectal usage is a
social or group phenomenon because most
language involves a communicative intent.
Identity, the individual and the group
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However, the importance of language at the
group level is much more evident than that.
Examples of different linguistic factors which
mark identity?
Identity, the individual and the group
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So, besides our uniquely personal sense of self,
we also have social identities based on the
various groups to which we belong.
Language and Circumstance
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Speech mobility: everyone possesses a range of
speaking styles.
Bi-dialectalism and accent and style variations
exist along a continuum.
Style: what is style?
Stylistic variation: Martin Joos (1967)
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Five distinct styles of English usage: frozen,
formal, consultative, casual, intimate
Attempts to illustrate that all ordinary speakers
have a range of possibilities in their linguistic
repertoire.
They pick and choose from this according to
their sense of occasion
Speech accommodation
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If context determines linguistic choice, equally,
language choice can affect the socialpsychological situation.
e.g. Giles and Coupland, 1991: language
accommodation model
Takes into account psychological position of
speakers as well as listeners.
Speech accommodation
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(1) speakers may not be ‘consciously aware’ of
their accommodative intent.
(2) not just a desire for approval which may be
behind speech accommodation.
(3) convergent accommodation does not always
produce the desired effect – it does not
invariably lead to social approval.
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Speech accommodations can be seen as identity
adjustments.