32.30, Review: Discourse Analysis; Sociolinguistics: Evans (2019)

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Subject: 32.30, Review: Discourse Analysis; Sociolinguistics: Evans (2019)

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Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 16:34:40
From: Roxana Birsanu [roxanabirsanu25 at yahoo.com]
Subject: Language, Identity and Symbolic Culture

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/30/30-4632.html

EDITOR: David  Evans
TITLE: Language, Identity and Symbolic Culture
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly The Continuum International Publishing Group)
YEAR: 2019

REVIEWER: Roxana Birsanu, Romanian-American University, Bucharest, Romania

INTRODUCTION

“Language, Identity and Symbolic Culture” is a collection of 12 articles,
organized into four sections, which cover different areas of the topic that
makes the focus of the book, namely the intricate relationships between
language and culture and the impact the former has on the formation of
identity. The articles are preceded by a list of illustrations and the volume
closes with notes on the contributors and an index. Each part is introduced by
an intervention of the editor, who makes brief summaries of the respective
papers. 

SUMMARY

Part I (“Language and Identity: A Theoretical Perspective”) comprises three
articles, all signed by David Evans, who is also the volume editor. In the
Introduction, Evans presents the main thesis of the volume (the relationships
between language, identity and culture, with emphasis on the influence of
language on identity formation/manifestation) and makes some succinct comments
on the component articles. In “Meaning: From Inner Structure to
Post-Structure”, the author makes a diachronic review of modern linguistic
models with an emphasis on how these distinct perspectives on language have
shaped the concept of identity. Thus, he starts from Descartes, goes through
Chomsky’s cartesian linguistics and the constructivists’ idea that language
development is socially dependent, and finally explores Bakhtin’s view of
identity as a process which mixes otherness and self-awareness. The
structuralism of Saussure continues the theory that language is constructed
socially, but that meaning takes shape in the mind, while Derrida’s
deconstruction advances the idea of plural identities and that one’s voice
actually consists of those of others. The other article signed by Evans.
“Discourse Formation”, deals with various definitions of discourse. Although
Saussure does not use the word ‘discourse’ per se, he claims that language is
more than a mere association of words. As the focus of the paper is on the
connection between discourse and identity, Evans quotes Bakhtin for whom
language and discourse is the manifestation of identity as a blend of self and
other. Ideological discourse is also mentioned in the context of Fairclough’s
discourse typology: socio-economic, institutional and interactional, while in
close connection with the concept of ideology and power he quotes Bourdieu on
the idea of language as symbolic capital and the potential source of conflict
and tension between center and margin. Finally, he emphasizes two of
Foucault’s highly important tenets: that language is never objective, but
ideologically inscribed, and that discourse analysis if valid only if
considered in context. 

Part II (“Urban Discourses”) consists of two papers, Christopher Anderson’s
“DFLs versus Locals’: Discursive Conflict on Social Media and the Battle for
Regional Identity” and Patricia Giardiello’s “Youth Identities: Media
Discourse in the Formation of Youth”. Both papers analyze discourse in two
sociocultural contexts in the UK as a potential source of conflict and social
marginalization. In Anderson’s article, the focus is on the discourse of
‘gentrification’ – a process under which poorer regions of a country are
‘rediscovered’ mainly by artists due to their beautiful, yet cheap
accommodation and proximity to large cities. Starting from an online article
praising the regeneration of Margate due to Londoners’ intervention, the
author identifies the ‘hipster’ type of discourse that generates a locals –
non-residents binary. The antagonism self-other, visible here at discourse
level, generates a conflict stemming from differences of cultural identity in
terms of class and region. Giardiello’s paper, also embedded in the British
sociocultural context, looks into how the media discourse impacts identity
formation in teenagers and how, in turn, they make use of it to create their
image of the self. Relying on Bourdieu’s notion of habitus and Marcia’s
identity status paradigm, Giardiello presents the findings of a small-scale
study on ten teenage students, focus falling on identity development and the
enhancement of self-other relationships following the use of technological
devices and the degree to which the media influences the outcome of young
people’s quest for identity. 

Part III (“Marginalized Discourse”) is made of four papers, two signed by
Henry Kum, “Language-Culture: Marginalization or Opportunity in Cameroon’s
Official ‘State Bilingualism’” and “Refugee Communities: The Disappearance of
Voice and Impact on Care and Identity”, one authored by Joseph Mundananikkal
Thomas, “Subalterity, Language and Projects of Emancipation: An Analysis of
Dalit Literature”, and a fourth one entitled “Mandarin Chinese in Education
and Society in Xinjiang”, signed by Mamtimyn Sunuodula. The focus of this
third part is the power relationship between languages and cultures, the key
words here being hierarchy, marginalization and resistance – attempts, more or
less successful, of language-cultures in controlling positions to dominate and
marginalize minority ones. This is very clearly illustrated in the first paper
signed by Henry Kum, which tackles the issue of dominance between two
presumably equal official state languages, i.e. French and English, in
Cameroon. Taking a historico-sociological stand, Kum brings to the fore the
language situation in postcolonial Cameroon, insisting on a conflict that
seems to hinder the formation of a linguistic identity in this highly
diversified multicultural and, thus, multilingual country. The rich linguistic
fabric of Cameroon, with over 270 local languages, is dominated by French and
English, the two official languages that make the country a bilingual state.
Although ensured equal status of power under the Constitution, English and
French are treated differently in the state apparatus.  As revealed by this
paper, the word ‘conflict’ describes best the relationships between the
above-mentioned languages at two levels – there is tension between the use and
prestige associated with the official languages and the local ones, but also
in the relation between the two official languages themselves, French being
given prominence over English. In this light, Anglophones claim to be the
subject of marginalization and even stigmatization, against which they are
fighting in a vehement manner which also takes the form of reactions and
violent protests. The author’s conclusion is a recommendation towards a
reappraisal of the language policy of Cameroon which considers multilingualism
instead of official bilingualism. 

The second paper signed by Henry Kum, “Refugee Communities: The Disappearance
of Voice and Impact on Care and Identity” addresses the way in which the
anti-immigration rhetoric has silenced refugees’ voices with a direct effect
on identity expression within these socially, emotionally and economically
sensitive communities. Starting from the assumption that, because of
stereotypical approaches, refugees have been negatively labeled and
homogenized particularly in the media of recent years, he looks into a number
of case studies (based in USA, UK and Scotland) that focus on how the voice
and image of refugees are shaped and conditioned by the views of the host
community. Following his analysis, he draws the conclusion the forced
voicelessness of refugees has as a direct consequence a lower standard of care
and fewer rights that those to which they are entitled. In “Subalternity,
Language and Projects of Emancipation: An Analysis of Dalit Literature”,
Joseph Mundananikkal Thomas takes a closer look at Dalit literature as a still
marginalized, though increasingly visible branch of Indian literature. After a
brief presentation of the caste system and the place of Dalists therein, the
author presents a series of specific features of Dalit literature which set it
apart from mainstream Indian literature. Relying on Bhabha’s notion of “third
space”, Thomas sets to demonstrate that despite their forced marginalized
status within national literature, Dalit writings suggest the formation of a
new sense of the self in the space between “collaboration and contestation”
(p. 169), a novel identity image of a minor culture making its way towards
recognition by the dominant one. 

The last paper in this part, “Mandarin Chinese in Education and Society in
Xinjiang”, authored by Mamtimyn Sunuodula, gives an account of the recent
language policy in Xinjiang and its impact on the reflection of regional
identity in the tension between the dominant Han culture and the minority
Uyghur culture. Under a national policy of linguistic centralization, in
Xianjing, a region mainly inhabited by an Uyghur population, speaking
preponderantly their regional language, the government gradually, but firmly,
imposed Mandarin Chinese as a language of instruction, relegating the language
and culture of the Uyghurs to a second plan. The so-called ‘bilingual
education’ policy was actually a means to force the local population to
abandon their native culture and language under economic and social pressures.
Relying on Bourdieu’s concepts of symbolic capital and language domination and
on his personal research on identity reflection among young Uyghur people, the
author demonstrates that this linguistic reform is actually a concealed form
of propaganda and, under the guise of prospective economic development, its
true aim is to subordinate the local culture and language to the dominant Han
practices, which creates tension as the Uyghurs consider language a
significant part of their ethnic identity. 

The last part (“Pedagogical Discourse”) consists of three articles: “Cultural
Discourses in the Foreign Language Classroom: Economic Opportunity,
Instrumental Motivation or Cultural Understanding”, by David Evans, “Teacher
Development through Classroom Discourse Analysis: The Self-Evaluation of
Teacher Talk Instrument Developed by Walsh”, signed by Karin Zotzmann, and
“Conclusion: A Pedagogy for Marginalized Language-Culture” signed also by
David Evans. In the first paper, Evans approaches the manner in which foreign
language classroom discourses and the discourses of ampler social frameworks
collaborate in the formation of learner identity, starting from the assumption
that the pedagogic activity is inscribed within larger sociocultural
ideologies. He gives an account of learner identity from three perspectives:
Kramsch’s intercultural view of language learning as a means for the creation
of a ‘third culture’, Dorneyi and Ushioda’s paradigm of the future self
benefiting the present language learning process, and Norton’s socio-economic
approach to language learning as the acquisition of ‘cultural capital’. The
author also presents the findings of his own research on the connection
between learner identity and the meanings ascribed to language learning by
secondary school students. The data reveal two types of learner identity: one
that associates language learning with familiarization with cultural
differences, and another which views language acquisition as a means to obtain
material gains. Zotzmann’s paper represents an appraisal of a methodological
approach called SETT – the self-evaluation of teacher talk, designed by Welsh
for the purpose of assisting teachers in becoming aware of their classroom
behavior or the adequacy of their discourse to their pedagogic aims. Zotzmann
conducted a SETT study comprising four Spanish teachers, the findings of which
revealed that SETT is valuable in providing a metalanguage useful for teachers
to analyze their pedagogical practice and improve it. However, this instrument
fails to take into account context factors and the fact that learning is
actually a product of the interaction between instruction participants and
their environment. That is why Zotzmann proposes instead an ecological view of
pedagogy which also considers the influence on this process of the larger
social framework, which provides further value to and insight into the
classroom discourse analysis. 

In the concluding chapter, “Conclusion: A Pedagogy for Marginalized
Language-Culture”, the volume editor David Evans sums up the main ideas
explored in the volume papers. In addition, he revisits the notion of identity
from the perspective of Bourdieu’s structuralism and his concept of symbolic
capital, and Derrida and Foucault’s post-structuralist approaches that view
identity as an ongoing process. He further reiterates the huge importance of
discourse in the formation of identity, which is deeply embedded in social
structures and systems and concludes with a plea for a critical pedagogy in
Freire’s vein, which should settle linguistic and cultural imbalances and
restore status to marginalized minority language-cultures. 

EVALUATION

Language, Identity and Symbolic Culture is a valuable resource for
undergraduates and researchers in various fields of study, as it proposes a
cross-disciplinary approach to the so current issues of identity, language and
culture. Therefore, any person with an interest in power studies, linguistics,
sociology, education or communication will find the book useful on two levels,
as Part I provides a theoretical framework of the above-mentioned topics,
while the remaining parts discuss specific case studies that illustrate the
intricate relations established among them. The List of contributors at the
end reveals that the authors of the articles are specialists in these areas of
instruction, which vouches for the authority and competence of their input.
The book achieves its goal announced by the editor in the Introduction, as it
successfully manages to “explore the interwoven connections between language,
identity and symbolic culture” (p. 3). 

The central idea that crosses the volume like a red thread is that of
discourse – that is, language in context – and how it can be used in the
formation and manifestation of identity, but also to more ideologically loaded
purposes such as the imposition of a dominant language-culture onto local
ones. The volume is well-organized and coheres both due to the topics covered
and to the cited works, since the theoretical scaffolding of most papers is
constructed on the works of acclaimed authors in the fields of identity
studies, power studies or communication such as P. Bourdieu, M. Foucault. M.
Bakhtin or H. Bhabha. The two major fields of study approached in this volume
are media discourse and discourse as the topos of tension between languages
and cultures that share the same national area. From among the papers covering
the former topic, Anderson’s article, although slightly subjective, makes good
use of a case study to demonstrate that media discourse can be a powerful
influencing tool. In the latter category of topics, both Kum’s articles are
well-written, thoroughly documented and the points are rigorously
demonstrated.    
  
One strength of the volume resides in its topicality. In the last decades,
intercultural exchanges have been one of the major coordinates of our world,
with people from various cultural and educational backgrounds interacting
along the personal-professional axes. In this context, issues pertaining to
the inevitable conflicts and tensions arising from variations of and gaps in
terms of expectations, knowledge and cultural and linguistic awareness seem to
be more current than ever. In this light, Part III – “Marginalized Discourse”
– seems to be the most intriguing and compelling. The marginalization of local
cultures and languages under the pressure of the dominant ones as indicated in
the case studies referring to Cameroon and China and the attempts at resisting
such forced assimilation and devaluation illustrate an awareness of the power
of language to dominate, but also to assist the survival of identity. The same
is valid about the red flag raised by Henry Kum related to refugees’
increasing loss of voice and, with it, of visibility and rights. 

The book stimulates further research particularly in the areas of media
discourse and its impact on the formation/reflection/manifestation of local
identity and youth identity, but also in the domain of imbalances that occur
when a dominant language-culture, to use Evans’ s term, intersects with a
minority one. This is all the more relevant due to the dynamics of such
relations and encounters, as people are constantly on the move and,
unfortunately, not all encounters are beneficial to all the parties involved.
Likewise, refugee discourse (or lack thereof) would definitely benefit from
more attention from researchers, as this form of forced migration will most
likely continue to be part of the social fabric of our world.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Roxana Ștefania Bîrsanu is a lecturer and is currently teaching English for
Specific Purposes and Romanian as a Foreign Language at the Romanian-American
University in Bucharest, Romania. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies,
which she obtained at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Her research
interests mainly encompass Romanian translations from modernist Anglo-American
literature, translation norms in the Romanian literary system, and
intercultural communication. She has published numerous translations of French
and English works, both fiction and non-fiction, and has co-authored textbooks
on general and business communication in English.





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