Essays/Articles/Chapters in Books
Abstract:
This article examines variation in the use of two Taiwan Mandarin features,
de-retroflection of sibilant fricatives [ʂ] > [s], and labial glide deletion [wɔ]
> [ɔ], in the speech of Taipei County high school students. The features
become resources for the negotiation of identity positions within the highly
structured school institution. I discuss the correlations between the use of
Taiwan Mandarin and two social factors: membership in the small culture
(Holliday 1999) of a particular bānjí or class, and individual aspirations.
Holliday’s concept of small cultures is proposed as a variant of the
Community of Practice. I refer to Bucholtz & Hall’s (2004) tactics of
intersubjectivity framework as a possible tool for explaining variation at the
school. I argue that the two Taiwan Mandarin features are invoked to perform
different social goals, which is possible because they are imbued with related
but significantly different sociocultural meanings (Brubaker 2012, Baran
2007).