32.2181, Review: Sociolinguistics: Rymes (2020)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-32-2181. Fri Jun 25 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.2181, Review: Sociolinguistics: Rymes (2020)

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Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2021 16:57:25
From: Marijana Javornik Čubrić [mjavorni at pravo.hr]
Subject: How We Talk about Language

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-3266.html

AUTHOR: Betsy  Rymes
TITLE: How We Talk about Language
SUBTITLE: Exploring Citizen Sociolinguistics
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2020

REVIEWER: Marijana Javornik Čubrić

SUMMARY

The 200-page book consists of a Preface, Introduction, six chapters, and a
Conclusion, accompanied by References and an Index. In the preface the author
discusses the meaning of “meaning“ and how to find it, proposing that this
could be done by looking at talk about language. As we consider all realities
of life by labeling them with words and discussing them, meaning results from
these discussions. According to the author, the purpose of the book is to
illustrate the various ways people enter into conversations about language and
to suggest ways of promoting the everyday deliberation that can come from
considering multiple perspectives and where they come from.

Citizen sociolinguistics is defined as the study of the world of language and
communication by the people who use it and, as such, have devised ways to
understand it that may be more relevant than the ways professional
sociolinguists have developed (5). The author, however, clarifies that she
calls everyday talk about language “sociolinguistics” and that she understands
it as an approach to language that differs both from standardized
prescriptions (such as in grammar books) and from the systematic description
of language change (such as trained sociolinguists might provide). Thus, talk
about language provides a means for resistance to the idea that there are some
standardized forms of expression that count more than others. 

According to Rymes, anyone can engage in citizen sociolinguistics. All one has
to do is look around, listen and observe how people talk about language, as
well as talk to others about their language. If one shares and compares the
answers one gets, one becomes a citizen sociolinguist. The main idea is that
language is very complex. Language may be defined as a system of conventional
spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which human beings
express themselves. For people, language is the primary way of communicating
their experiences and emotions. Rymes aptly comments that language is at the
same time our primary means for building barriers between each other and
fomenting discord. That is why it is so important to learn to have
conversations about language.

Chapter 1, “Citizen's Arrest!”, describes a metaphorical arrest which occurs
when someone gets called out and criticized for their language use. Citizen
sociolinguistic arrest may involve confronting others on what language to use,
what words to say or not to say, how to speak, and sometimes even what to
speak about. The chapter provides numerous examples of everyday situations in
which people are reprimanded for their use of language and how it might affect
them. It also urges the reader to keep exploring and noticing how people use
language and how they discuss it. Rymes points out that conversations about
language are powerful tools for shaping public opinions and for  understanding
the world around us.

Chapter 2, “Wonderment: The Spark that Starts Talk about Language”, focuses on
the moments when we feel curiosity about any unique or strange aspect of
language. It investigates words, phrases, or ways of speaking that make us
wonder and which provoke talk about language. The author shows how single
words or their pronunciation can spark debates. One of the best examples is
the pronunciation of the word ‘croissant’ by English speakers. A whole series
of different pronunciations is mentioned and discussed, ranging from “kruh
SANT“ to “quackson“.  The chapter also discusses relatively new phenomena, the
memification of everyday life and viral YouTube videos. The chapter ends by
explaining linguistic gentrification as a process by which lowbrow,
non-standard, and even scandalous language becomes trendy, and provides
several examples.

Chapter 3, “Doing Citizen Sociolinguistics: The Medium Is the Method”, deals
with the means that can be used to explore citizen sociolinguistic
conversations once people become curious about a particular language use. The
premise of the chapter is that the medium of the conversation creates the
methods for sociolinguistic investigation. In this chapter, readers are
provided with “A Guide for Exploring How We Talk about Language”, which offers
a set of steps to start a citizen sociolinguistic inquiry. These steps include
formulating questions about language which spark our interest, gathering data
from people (online or in the media), analyzing why different views on
language exist and how they are related to each other, and finally
disseminating new knowledge. It is stressed that we do not need standardizing
authorities to tell us what is interesting or who our audience is, because
that could only inhibit our thinking. 

Chapter 4, “Fomenting Arrest and Wonderment: Citizen Sociolinguistic Feedback
Loops”, deals with viral internet dissemination and how it affects
perspectives on language by disrupting the usual institutionalized feedback
mechanisms. It first deals with the positive effects of feedback loops, mostly
expressed through positive comments and likes, and then deals with the
negative ones, such as digital enclaves or ideological echo chambers as places
in which like-minded people use language in ways that make sense only to them.

Chapter 5, “Citizen Sociolinguistics and Narrative”, deals with the personal
narrative as a potential means of gaining authority through everyday
conversations about language. It is pointed out that citizen sociolinguists
inevitably tell stories that provide context to their particular language use.
Citizen sociolinguistics thrives online because people feel free to share
their stories and experiences that explain how their choice of language
contributes to who they are. Social media and the Internet make it easy to
find people who are interested in the same things we are, as well as people
who speak like we do. It is much easier to engage in conversations about
language with people we do not know personally, but who have shown an interest
in something related to language that we find interesting, or to join a group
of people discussing something we would like to discuss. It should not be
ignored that nowadays most children and young people use language most
actively in their interactions on social media. Therefore, the talk about
language should also include the way language is used in these contexts.

Chapter 6, “Acts of Citizen Sociolinguistics”, explores how talking about
language makes someone engaged in citizen sociolinguistics. The chapter
focuses on the word “act”. Acts of talking about language make people citizen
sociolinguists. Acts of sociolinguistic arrest and acts of sociolinguistic
wonderment raise our awareness about the role of language in our lives and
relationships and stimulate new perspectives on language and society.

In the Conclusion Rymes argues that talk about language should be recognized
as an important activity everywhere and encourages everyone to listen and
observe how people talk about language and to talk to other people about their
language. If they share and compare the answers they get, then they are
engaged in citizen sociolinguistics.

EVALUATION

The book is well written and well organized, highly interesting, and amusing
at times. Most importantly, it makes you think and it sparks curiosity about
the situations we have all encountered: occasions in which we might have
wanted to make a citizen sociolinguistic arrest or those in which we
experienced it, strange ways of using language, and unique words and phrases
we have all heard but have not thought through. Because of its easy style and
concise language, the book is very readable. Additionally, the book mentions a
wide variety of interesting (and available) YouTube videos about language use.

As a language teacher, I was particularly intrigued by the following
statement: “While teaching language, and teaching other subjects through
language, our schools have failed to become environments where students and
teachers are able to talk about language. As a result, language has become
weaponized in many school contexts, and teachers, students, administrators and
community members don't know how to have critical conversations.“ (186).
Believing this to be true, I agree with the author that it is important to
learn how to talk about language. Talking about language may deepen our
understanding of others and perhaps tear down barriers between us. Also, it
reminds us that we should not only teach our students about language, but also
learn from them because they are certainly more in tune with recent
developments in everyday speech than we are.
Most importantly, Rymes reminds us that we need to keep up with language
because it is constantly changing and because there are no rules that regulate
who can or cannot say something, when and where something can be said, or how
it may be said. Obviously, there are good and bad ways to use language, but we
can truly know how language works only if we are aware of how other people use
it. In order to become aware of that, we need to listen, learn, and share what
we have learned.
This book is for all people who care about language and are interested in it.
It is definitely not intended for trained linguists only. Reading this book
has been a pleasurable and worthwhile experience, and I heartily recommend it
to everyone even remotely interested in the way we talk and to those who want
to learn more about how to talk about language.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

I am a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb. My
research interests are LSP, legal linguistics and teaching methods.





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