Acts Of Identity: Creole-Based Approaches To Language And Ethnicity

With every speech act all individuals perform, an 'act of identity', revealing through their personal use of language their sense of social and ethnic solidarity or difference. At the same time, people have powerful (if unconscious) stereotypes about the norms and standards of their own language and those of others - often at variance with observable behaviour. The authors' extensive fieldwork in the Creole-speaking Caribbean and among West Indian communities in London illustrates how language use relates to identity, race, and ethnicity, re-examining concepts such as 'a language', 'correct usage', 'race', and 'ethnic groups' to reveal the complex role of language in social and regional relationships.