Language, the Singer and the Song: the sociolinguistics of folk song performance

Watts, Richard; Andres Morrissey, Franz (2019). Language, the Singer and the Song: the sociolinguistics of folk song performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10.1017/9781316285657

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The relationship between language and music has much in common - rhythm, structure, sound, metaphor. Exploring the phenomena of song and performance, this book presents a sociolinguistic model for analysing them. Based on ethnomusicologist John Blacking's contention that any song performed communally is a 'folk song' regardless of its generic origins, it argues that folk song to a far greater extent than other song genres displays 'communal' or 'inclusive' types of performance. The defining feature of folk song as a multi-modal instantiation of music and language is its participatory nature, making it ideal for sociolinguistic analysis. In this sense, a folk song is the product of specific types of developing social interaction whose major purpose is the construction of a temporally and locally based community. Through repeated instantiations, this can lead to disparate communities of practice, which, over time, develop sociocultural registers and a communal stance towards aspects of meaningful events in everyday lives that become typical of a discourse community.

Item Type:	Book (Monograph)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies > Institute of English Languages and Literatures > Modern English Linguistics
UniBE Contributor:	Watts, Richard, Andres Morrissey, Franz
Subjects:	800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism > 820 English & Old English literatures 400 Language > 420 English & Old English languages 400 Language > 410 Linguistics
ISBN:	9781316285657
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Language:	English
Submitter:	Federico Erba
Date Deposited:	25 Apr 2019 09:27
Last Modified:	14 Mar 2024 12:31
Publisher DOI:	10.1017/9781316285657
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/124886