Achieving 'Unmarkedness' in Organisational Discourse: A Praxis Perspective on Ethnolinguistic Identity
- 1 September 1987
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Language and Social Psychology
- Vol. 6 (3-4) , 171-189
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927x8763002
Abstract
An ethnomethodological approach to ethnolinguistic identity is presented using the linguistic concept of 'markedness' as a heuristic innovation to explore the dynamics of ethnolinguistic minorities in work settings. A matrix is proposed that consists of a marked/unmarked boundary and a high/low power boundary. Four propositions relating to crossing the boundaries are advanced, and illustrative evidence supporting each proposition is developed in a discourse analysis of talk in a large hotel work site. The paper concludes that a more praxisoriented perspective on ethnolinguistic identity can enrich understanding of the three concepts embedded in that term ethnicity, language, and identity.Keywords
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