Carnivalesque language use and the construction of local identities

Abstract

This article aims to encourage the interdisciplinary study of ‘languageculture’, an approach to language and culture in which ideology, linguistic and cultural forms, as well as practices are studied in relation to one another. An integrated analysis of the selection of linguistic and cultural elements provides insight into how these choices arise from internalized norms and values, and how people position themselves toward received categories and hegemonic ideologies. An interdisciplinary approach will stimulate a rethinking of established concepts and methods of research. It will also lead to a mutual strengthening of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and anthropological research. This contribution focuses on the province of Limburg and the linguistic-political context of this Southern-Netherlands region where people are strongly aware of their linguistic distinctiveness. The argument of the paper is based on a case study of languageculture, viz. the carnivalesque song ‘Naar Talia’ (To Italy) by the Getske Boys from the city of Heerlen.