Book contents
- Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation
- Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- 1 Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation: Theoretical Foundations
- Part I Where Is (Social) Meaning?
- Part II The Structure of Social Meaning
- Part III Meaning and Linguistic Change
- 12 Emergence of Social Meaning in Sociolinguistic Change
- 13 Multiethnolect and Dialect in and across Communities
- 14 Changing Language, Changing Character Types
- 15 Social Meaning and the Temporal Dynamics of Sound Changes
- 16 The Role of the Body in Language Change
- 17 Afterword
- Index
- References
12 - Emergence of Social Meaning in Sociolinguistic Change
from Part III - Meaning and Linguistic Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 July 2021
By
Book contents
- Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation
- Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- 1 Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation: Theoretical Foundations
- Part I Where Is (Social) Meaning?
- Part II The Structure of Social Meaning
- Part III Meaning and Linguistic Change
- 12 Emergence of Social Meaning in Sociolinguistic Change
- 13 Multiethnolect and Dialect in and across Communities
- 14 Changing Language, Changing Character Types
- 15 Social Meaning and the Temporal Dynamics of Sound Changes
- 16 The Role of the Body in Language Change
- 17 Afterword
- Index
- References
Summary
Third wave treats linguistic variation as “a social semiotic system” (Eckert 2012, 94) and examines the emergence of social meaning in the stylistic enactment of social personae (Eckert 2012 and 2016). This chapter further develops this emergent perspective on sociolinguist variation. Drawing on my research on Cosmopolitan Mandarin in China, I treat linguistic innovation and change as emergent stylistic resources that create meanings about (new) social distinction. I combine quantitative analysis of production data with examination of metapragmatic discourse to shed light on the processes through which the social meanings of this innovative linguistic style emerge. The analyses reveal a contested indexical field mediated by changing ideologies about social and linguistic normativity and authenticity. This chapter shows that Cosmopolitan Mandarin participates in a broader sociopolitical process of the transformation of stylistic regimes in China.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social Meaning and Linguistic VariationTheorizing the Third Wave, pp. 267 - 291Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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