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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1320

Part of Session 181: Folk linguistics and society (Other abstracts in this session)

“This language is called Norwegian for retarded immigrants” – Non-linguists’ ideas about linguistic practices in multilingual Oslo, Norway

Authors: Ims, Ingunn Indrebø
Submitted by: Ims, Ingunn Indrebø (University of Oslo, Norway)

The title of the paper is one out of many similar responses to questions about linguistic practices in Oslo given in an online survey, the so-called ‘Oslo survey’ (www.aftenposten.no). The survey was prepared in co-operation with Aftenposten, one of the largest national newspapers in Norway. The survey received massive attentions with more than 100 000 responses from respondents all over Norway, and was the second most read case in Aftenposten during 2010. The respondents were asked to evaluate a wide range of lingustic features and they were encouraged to leave comments on how they categorize ways of speaking among adolescents in linguistically and culturally diverse neighborhoods in Oslo today.

The paper presents a preliminary analysis of the 40 000 survey responses given by people raised in Oslo, with a view to reveal attitudes to linguistic practices in the city’s ethnically mixed urban neighborhoods. The linguistic practices in question are contact based, scientifically labeled various terms such as multiethnolects (cf. e.g. Quist & Svendsen 2010) or ‘contemporary urban vernaculars’ (Rampton 2010) dependent on the theoretical and methodological approaches. In Oslo, the linguistic practices in question are popularly labeled ‘Kebab Norwegian’, albeit many young people find the term pejorative (Svendsen & Røyneland 2008).

The preliminary analyses shows that the revealed attitudes are dependent on social categories such as age, geography and social class. Differences in attitudes are related to whether the respondents use two or more languages on a daily basis. Respondents who report that they are multilingual are less negative to what most respondents called ‘Kebab Norwegian’ than respondents who reports that they only use Norwegian on a daily basis. Moreover, these data also show that the languages involved in the multilingual’s repertoire may affect their perceptions related to linguistic diversity in Oslo.

The paper discusses the significance of these background categories in relation to attitudes, with an emphasis on age, since the linguistic practices in question are in general conceived of as a youth phenomenon (e.g. Quist & Svendsen 2010). Furthermore, the data reveal that questions about the assessment of language related to multicultural environments often trigger, as shown in the title, reviews that marginalize immigrants in general.

References:

Rampton, Ben 2010. “Post-adolescent urban heteroglossia”. Paper at Sociolinguistic Symposium 18, University of Southampton, 3.9.2010.

Svendsen, Bente A. & Unn Røyneland 2008. ”Multiethnolectal facts and functions in Oslo, Norway.” Cornips, L. & J. Nortier red.: International Journal of Bilingualism, Special Issue.

Quist, Pia & Bente A. Svendsen eds. 2010. Multilingual Urban Scandinavia. New Linguistic Practices. Bristol, Multilingual Matters.

http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Skal-male-Oschlo-spraket-5324106.html

http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Folk-har-dilla-pa-Oschlo-test-5327093.html