Riley Philip. Language, Culture and Identity: An Ethnolinguistic Perspective

Continuum, 2007. — x, 265 pages. — (Advances in Sociolinguistics). — ISBN: 978-08264-86288; 978-08264-86295.How language shapes and is shaped by identity is a key topic within sociolinguistics. An individual's identity is constituted through a variety of different factors, including the social, linguistic, cultural and ethnic contexts. In this book, Philip Riley looks at these issues against the theoretical background of the sociology of knowledge, and ethnolinguistics, asking how we learn who we are and how social identities are negotiated. The idea of 'the foreigner' is central to this account, yet traditional views of the role of being socially 'other' largely neglect the role of language. Riley bridges this gap by examining problematic aspects of multilingual identities, with particular reference to the notions of ‘ethos’ and the ‘communicative virtues’.This engaging analysis of language and social identity will be essential reading for students of sociolinguistics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.Theoretical and historical background
The social knowledge system
Notes on the concept of culture
Structures and functions of the social knowledge system
The social learning process
'Culture' as knowledge: cultural markers
Knowledge, identity and competence
Identity
Identity studies: some issues and approaches
Social identity: you are what you know
Communicative practices, roles and acts
Membershipping strategies, phatic communion and greetings
Rearing practices
The Stranger
The Stranger: a social type
Anomie, recognition and citizenship
Pragmatic failure
Compensation strategies
Reconfiguring identities
Ethos and the communicative virtues
Negotiating identities in intercultural service encounters
Standardization and scaffolding