Panel at DGfS (AG11)

In sociolinguistics, the pervasive phenomenon of speakers being subjected to judgments based on their linguistic choices has sparked extensive investigation into language attitudes and ideologies, uncovering the valuation of certain speech patterns while marginalizing others. Previous research has brought to light three major points: 1) standard language is often valorized while non-standard language is devalued (cf. Dragojevic et al. 2021), 2) the evaluation of language use(rs) and varieties can reflect power relations and social injustice (cf. Spitzmüller 2022), and 3) multilingual speakers and their language use are often devaluated based on informal speech practices that are contrasted with a formal, standard-like norm of monolinguals (Wiese et al. 2022). This perspective on multilingualism is particularly dominant in monolingually biased societal macro contexts of the Global North, calling for an integration of perspectives from the Global South. Furthermore, the evaluation of registers has received less attention from both research on language attitude and language ideology. We consider registers broadly as the socially recurring linguistic response of speakers in a particular communicative situation (cf. Lüdeling & Alexiadou et al. 2019; Wiese 2021), covering varieties such as youth language, academic language, family language, or chat communication via social media.

This workshop aims to a) clarify the interplay between language attitudes, ideologies and register use, b) bring together perspectives from the Global South and North c) integrate different methods (e.g., interviews, surveys, corpus analysis, experiments) and d) integrate different theoretical approaches (e.g., variationist sociolinguistics, critical sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology). Naomi Truan, an expert in the area of language ideologies, will join as a discussant to synthesize the various perspectives and accounts presented in the workshop.

Questions that will be addressed include, but are not limited to:

• How do language ideologies and attitudes influence register use and the perception of its use?
• How does access to certain registers reflect power inequalities?
• What effects do language ideologies have on speakers (e.g., language insecurity)?
• How do different methods complement each other?
• What is the role of multilingualism for the evaluation of registers?
• What is the role of language prestige for the evaluation of registers?

Workshop organizers:

• Oliver Bunk, Humboldt University at Berlin
• Esther Jahns, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
• Annika Labrenz, Humboldt University at Berlin
• Antje Sauermann, Humboldt University at Berlin
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