The language of change? Characterizations of in-group social position, threat, and the deployment of 'distinctive' group attributes

摘要

A considerable body of research has shown that group members establish andemphasize characteristics or attributes that define their in-group in relation tocomparison out-groups. We extend this research by exploring the range of ways inwhich members of the same social category (Welsh people) deploy a particularattribute (the Welsh language) as a flexible identity management resource. Through athematic analysis of data from interviews and two public speeches, we examine howthe deployment of the Welsh language is bound up with characterizations of thein-group's wider intergroup position (in terms of power relations and their legitimacyand stability), and one's position within the in-group. We focus in particular on therhetorical and strategic value of such characterizations for policing in-group boundarieson the one hand, and for the in-group's intergroup position on the other. We concludeby emphasizing the need to (I) locate analyses of the uses and importance ofgroup-defining attributes within the social setting that gives them meaning and (2) toappreciate such characterizations as attempts to influence, rather than simply reflectthat setting.