32.513, Review: Applied Linguistics; General Linguistics; Sociolinguistics: McNamara (2019)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-32-513. Wed Feb 10 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.513, Review: Applied Linguistics; General Linguistics; Sociolinguistics: McNamara (2019)

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Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:56:31
From: Nicole Mazzetto [nicolemazzetto at libero.it]
Subject: Language and Subjectivity

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36628077


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-1780.html

AUTHOR: Tim  McNamara
TITLE: Language and Subjectivity
SERIES TITLE: Key Topics in Applied Linguistics
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2019

REVIEWER: Nicole Mazzetto

SUMMARY

“Language and Subjectivity”, written by Tim McNamara and published in 2019 by
Cambridge University Press, aims at contributing to the debate about the role
of language in shaping subjectivity. By mingling existing theoretical
approaches with innovative theoretical and empirical insights, the author
offers to the scientific community a book that investigates the relationship
between language and subjectivity in a thorough way.

The book is composed of 10 chapters, each of which tackles a different aspect
of the main topic by encompassing numerous examples and a concluding section
that pursues the goal of summarizing the content of the chapter, highlighting
its most relevant parts, as well as showing possible interconnections among
the theoretical approaches. The book is organized in such a way that the
reader can first explore the macro dimension of discourses and, subsequently,
understand their micro dimension, that is their role in everyday interactions.
The structure of the book aims at guiding the reader in the discovery of
subjectivity, its inner nature, and its self-recognition. As it is possible to
notice since the very first pages, the author unfolds a complex topic in a
gradual way, providing the reader with the appropriate terminology thanks to a
glossary and the explanation of fundamental theoretical approaches.

Based on the work of poststructuralist philosophers, such as Foucault,
Derrida, and Butler, “Language and Subjectivity” explores the micro and macro
levels of the discourses in a detailed way, while aiming at describing social
categories not as immutable, but as socially constructed categories, which
are, therefore, liable to disruption. Although discourses participate in the
definition of the Self and the Other, they can be subverted from the inside
and be part of the manifestation of the inconsistency of their binary aspect.
Regardless of the direction that the discourse takes, the author always
returns to two main assumptions: People are defined and recognize themselves
as members of specific social categories, whereas language is a site for the
iteration of violence. Although the link between language and social
domination is analyzed through the lens of the poststructuralist tradition,
this perspective is compared to other theoretical approaches in order to
unveil its weaknesses and its peculiarities.  In the end, the reader will
understand that language must not be ignored when dealing with group
categorization. The effects of this power can be perceived at a practical
level in language learning processes, language tests, and the like.

Chapter 1 introduces the main topic of the book starting from its core: “The
construction of the subject” and the role of language in the recognition of
the subject. By focusing on the poststructuralist perspective, subjectivity is
intended as a phenomenon linked to the outside world. In particular,
Foucault’s approach plays a crucial role in the analysis of subjectivity, as
it highlights the influence of society and history on beliefs and
understanding. This approach to subjectivity entails the notion of discourse,
within which social categories are shaped. By offering terms of recognition of
the Self and the Other and, consequently, building the stigma, discourses make
people identify themselves in both normal and abnormal social categories. This
introduction lets the author tackle two other controversial topics: the
awareness related to the constitution of the subject and the role of agency.
Through the comparison of different theoretical approaches, the chapter lastly
concludes that these unanswered questions in applied linguistics do not
undermine the fact that the individual is controlled by the power inscribed
within the discourse.

Discourses of gender are explored through the insightful analysis of women’s
and men’s speech: the primary goal of Chapter 2 is to enhance their
peculiarities and evolution in conversational interactions. Gender-appropriate
speech implies another type of discourse: the discourses of sexuality. As it
is possible to understand by means of an example concerning the gay liberation
movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, discourses of sexuality can be
“reversed” and significantly contribute to causes supported by the Other
(Foucault 1978). From a poststructuralist perspective, the rejection of the
binary terms constructed within discourses and the recognition of the
instability of gender and sexuality categories are at the basis of this
phenomenon. Through further examples, the author succeeds in showing how
discourses of gender prescribe the terms within which gendered behavior is
recognized and defined as normal or abnormal. 

Chapter 3 focuses on the role of language in the construction of racism in
colonial settings. The implications for subjectivity provoked by language are
discussed as visible in the past as well as in the present: meaningful
examples concern, among the others, Frantz Fanon’s experience in colonial
Martinique and the author’s own experience in London. As Edward Said (1979)
explains, language has participated in the construction of the representation
of the Orient in the Western culture and, therefore, in the adoption of
specific colonial political actions. In particular, the impact of certain
language policies on colonized communities is explained through the direct
experience of members of indigenous families, the so-called victims of
“linguistic imperialism” (Philipson 1992). 

As suggested by the previous chapter, racism is not exempt from the power of
language. Chapter 4 tackles the topic of everyday racist discourse, intended
as a site for the reproduction of racist violence. In the first part of the
chapter, the analysis of the subjectivity of German citizens under Nazism aims
at further  exploring the power of language, namely the iterated racist
discourses embedded in everyday interaction. The second part is dedicated to
the empirical study of racist discourses. Exposed to everyday anti-Semitism,
Jewish immigrants, who moved from Israel to Australia, are the informants of
an interview study, which establishes a correlation between a potential crisis
of subjectivity derived from the awareness of anti-Semitic attitudes and the
adoption of strategies aiming at denying the racist factor in discourses.

“Language Learning and Subjectivity” are the protagonists of Chapter 5, which
investigates the origins of the process of language learning and the meanings
ascribed to the language studied. As the author underlines, social context
plays a crucial role in the field of language learning. Nevertheless, the
subjectivity of the language learner, which is also fundamental in the
learning process, is still under-investigated. In this case, national and
gender identities are two examples of the most relevant discourses when
dealing with the language process. The study of the impact of politics on
language policy and the meanings ascribed to a given language is accompanied
by the fine-grained analysis of how gendered identity can structure and
influence learning opportunities. The involvement of subjectivity in the
understanding of the learning process questions the reliability of the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which measures and
defines the goals and achievements of language learning without taking into
account the subjectivity of language learners, the impact of socio-cultural
and historical contexts on the learning process, and learners’ motivation. By
means of meaningful similes and metaphors, the author stresses the fact that
the CEFR needs to consider the subjective aspects of the learning process, as
well as the meanings ascribed to languages.

The main focus of Chapters 6 and 7 is the interaction, which is conceived as
the site for the macro and micro social orders. The method of microanalysis
formulated by Harold Garfinkel and Erving Goffman, called Conversation
Analysis (CA), is the starting point to understand the concept of face-to-face
interactions and how macro-level roles can be identified in institutional
talks. Utilizing concrete examples, the author shows how interactional
patterns and behaviors are based on social categories and macro-level
institutional roles. Despite the critics coming from the adherents of Critical
Discourse Analysis and Discursive Psychology, CA proves to be the right method
to investigate the concept of gender performativity. The analysis of further
examples throws  light on the naturalized aspect of the performativity of
gender, of which people are hardly aware.

As it is possible to deduce, social category is one of the key concepts of
this book. In Chapter 8, the author offers an in-depth analysis of it,
focusing on the identity categories deployed by conversational participants.
The tools provided by the Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA), a form of
poststructuralist discourse analysis developed by Harvey Sacks (1992), are
employed to study the use of category terms in casual conversations. According
to this approach, membership categories and category-bound activities are
constructed in discourses: This phenomenon can be explored by examining
linguistic strategies, such as the use of pronouns in conversations.

Another implication of the relationship between language and subjectivity
resides in language tests. Chapter 9 mingles modern historical examples with
contemporary ones and investigates the functions of language tests according
to the different political and socio-cultural climates. The attention is drawn
to the determination of asylum claims and the categories to which claimants
belong, namely the bureaucratic procedure, called Language Analysis for the
Determination of Origin of asylum seekers (LADO), used to determine whether a
migrant requires protection or not. Through the analysis of people’s speech,
information about claimants’ language socialization and origins can be
obtained. Nevertheless, language evidence cannot provide an accurate portrait
of the origins of claimants, namely because linguistic borders rarely coincide
with political ones in postcolonial settings. Despite the guidelines aiming at
improving the level of accuracy of this language analysis, the risk of
arriving at unjust conclusions is always present and inevitable. The book
introduces some theoretical approaches, whose goal is to make language
analysis a less ambiguous and unfair practice, highlighting the fact that the
lack of research in this field is not the only reason why failures are so
abundant: In this regard, crucial roles are played by the social values
embedded in tests and by policy decisions, which often aim at reducing the
number of admitted claimants or at selecting the category of claimants that a
country is willing to welcome. Therefore, the author insists on the urgent
need to administer the refugee law and to include experts in the development
of language tests.

Chapter 10 returns to the starting point: poststructuralism. Other examples
are employed in order to show and contextualize the disciplining effects of
discourses. Although the field of subjectivity in discourse has not emerged
recently, the author concludes the book by stating that further research in
language study is necessary to achieve theoretical and methodological clarity.

EVALUATION

In “Language and Subjectivity”, the author Tim McNamara provides the
scientific community with a thorough and exhaustive contribution about a field
whose relevance can be seen at a theoretical and practical level. Despite the
broadness of the topic, the author has succeeded in keeping the focus always
on the main topic, while helping the reader identify the key concepts and the
appropriate methodological tools.

Drawing on the work of poststructuralist theorists, this book aims at
exploring the pivotal role played by language in the creation of the Self and
the Other. Through the analysis of discourses and social categories based on
the tools of CA, the author pursues his study by showing the vulnerability of
the subject and the self.  One of the main goals of the author is to show the
connection between language and subjectivity throughout daily experience and
day-to-day interactions, which embed macro-level social actions and
participate in the creation and iteration of social categories.

By mingling theoretical approaches with insightful examples based on the
author’s life, historical events, and contemporary societies, “Language and
Subjectivity” is capable of turning a complex topic into a phenomenon that can
be observed in the reader’s everyday life. Despite the heterogeneity
characterizing the examples in the book, they all suggest the same concept,
that is the need to reject the binary idea of “them and us”.

Encompassing the analysis of different types of discourse, namely nation,
sexuality, gender, and race, this book shows their implications at a practical
level, namely in the language learning process and the procedures related to
the determination of asylum claims, which, as the author underlines, serve as
a mechanism of inclusion or exclusion. The focus gradually shifts from a
purely theoretical study of social categories and discourses to specific
behaviors and actions affecting people’s daily lives and decisions. While
reading this book, the reader can identify himself in certain social
categories and understand his role in society.

To conclude, this book is undoubtedly a welcome addition to the fields of
applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. Presenting state-of-the-art
research, “Language and Subjectivity” is highly recommended to scholars and
students involved in the study of subjectivity from a linguistic perspective.
Readers would benefit from this book not only because it adds clarity to this
topic, but also because it suggests numerous research directions that still
need to be explored.

REFERENCES

Foucault, Michel. 1978. The History of Sexuality. New York: Pantheon Books.

Phillipson, Robert. 1992. Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Sacks, Harvey. 1992. Lectures on Conversation (Vols. I & II, G. Jefferson,
Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Said, Edward Wadie. 1979. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Nicole Mazzetto is a PhD candidate at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
Germany. Her research interests include the study of phraseology in Romance
languages from a cognitive and comparative perspective, conceptual phenomena
in language, namely conceptual metaphors, as well as the impact of
socio-cultural factors on linguistic codes.





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