Local identity categories often explain linguistic practice better than analysts’ broad sociological categories.

Evidence

Within sociocultural linguistics, the concern with identities as broader social structures is particularly characteristic of early variationist sociolinguistics (e.g. Labov, 1966) and the sociology of language (see Fishman, 1971, among others). The traditional forms of these approaches have been valuable for documenting largescale sociolinguistic trends; they are often less effective in capturing the more nuanced and flexible kinds of identity relations that arise in local contexts (but see, e.g. Labov, 1963). This analytic gap points to the importance of ethnography. Linguistic ethnographers have repeatedly demonstrated that language users often orient to local identity categories rather than to the analyst’s sociological categories and that the former frequently provide a better empirical account of linguistic practice. — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction, 35

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘orient to local rather than analyst’s categories’ move echoes ethnomethodology/Garfinkel’s critique of analysts imposing categories, and fits ‘routing and reinvention in real conversational data’. — connects to: Macro social categories poorly capture the identity relations that matter locally — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction: A…, 35; Cultures differ in whether identity derives from relationships rather than from category membership — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1626; Group identification varies qualitatively across cultures, not just in degree — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1604 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Macro social categories poorly capture the identity relations that matter locally #corroborates (0.93) — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction, 35
• Cultures differ in whether identity derives from relationships rather than from category membership #expands (0.78) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1626
• Cultural identity emerges from shared base elements uniquely combined in each local setting. #expands (0.76) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 832
• Identity ranges across macro demographic categories, local cultural positions, and fleeting interactional stances. #qualifies (0.75) — Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall, Identity and Interaction, 38
• Difference is better studied relationally than as exclusionary categories. #corroborates (0.74) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 291
• Specific relational modes offer more analytic traction than generalized conviviality. #exemplifies (0.73) — Farhan Samanani, Conviviality and its others, 84
• Group identification varies qualitatively across cultures, not just in degree #expands (0.72) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1604