'Don't even [θ/f/h]ink aboot it': An ethnographic investigation of social meaning, social identity and (θ) variation in Glasgow

Lawson, Robert (2014) 'Don't even [θ/f/h]ink aboot it': An ethnographic investigation of social meaning, social identity and (θ) variation in Glasgow. English World-Wide, 35 (1). pp. 68-93. ISSN 01728865 (ISSN)

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

As a relatively new phenomenon in the phonology of Scottish English, TH-fronting has surprised sociolinguists by its rapid spread in the urban heartlands of Scotland. While attempts have been made to understand and model the influence of lexical effects, media effects and frequency effects, far less understood is the role of social identity. Using data collected as part of an ethnographic study of a high school in the south side of Glasgow, Scotland, this article addresses this gap in the literature by considering how TH-fronting is patterned across three all-male, working-class, adolescent Communities of Practice, and how this innovative variant is integrated within a system of the more established variants [θ] and [h]. Drawing on recent work on linguistic variation and social meaning, the article also explores some of the social meanings of (θ), particularly those variants which previous research has reported as being associated with 'toughness', and suggests how these meanings are utilised in speakers' construction of social identity. © John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Item Type: Article
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.35.1.05law
Dates:
DateEvent
2014Published
Uncontrolled Keywords: (θ), Adolescent male language use, Community of Practice, Ethnography, Glaswegian, Linguistic variation, Sociophonetics
Subjects: CAH19 - language and area studies > CAH19-01 - English studies > CAH19-01-01 - English studies (non-specific)
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > Birmingham Institute of Media and English > School of English
Depositing User: Robert Lawson
Date Deposited: 02 Mar 2017 14:49
Last Modified: 03 Mar 2022 15:59
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/1863

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Research

In this section...