Residential segregation and ethnolinguistic variation

Authors

  • Daniel Duncan Newcastle University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.33634

Keywords:

segregation, ethnolinguistic variation, housing policy, variationist sociolinguistics, United States

Abstract

One oft-hypothesized cause of ethnolinguistic variation is residential segregation. This review article synthesizes several strands of variationist sociolinguistic research, particularly among whites and African Americans in the United States, to show that the degree of residential segregation in a space does indeed have a strong effect on patterns of ethnolinguistic variation. In highly segregated spaces, ethnic groups diverge in their use of linguistic features, while in less segregated spaces, groups converge. Meanwhile, literature on housing policy indicates that residential segregation results from state influence. That residential segregation conditions patterns of variation thus entails that housing policy plays a role in this conditioning. This suggests that housing policy constitutes indirect language policy, in contrast to explicit policies which refer to some aspect of language use (media, education, etc.). In this situation, state efforts to separate ethnic groups have an indirect impact on the appearance of ethnolinguistic variation. Further research into the interface of language policy and variationist sociolinguistics is necessary, as housing policy carries clear links to variationist sociolinguistic theory.

Author Biography

  • Daniel Duncan, Newcastle University

    Daniel Duncan is Lecturer in Sociolinguistics at Newcastle University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on the interaction of suburbs and suburbanization with language variation and change, using the St. Louis, Missouri, area as a case study. He has recently published on the use of the lexical item hoosier as a slur in this region.

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Published

2019-05-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Duncan, D. (2019). Residential segregation and ethnolinguistic variation. Sociolinguistic Studies, 12(3-4), 481-501. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.33634