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Displacement and local linguistic practices: R‐lessness in post‐Katrina Greater New Orleans
Author(s) -
Carmichael Katie
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12253
Subject(s) - displacement (psychology) , identity (music) , hurricane katrina , salient , orientation (vector space) , sociology , linguistics , psychology , mathematics , geometry , geography , computer science , aesthetics , art , philosophy , natural disaster , meteorology , artificial intelligence , psychoanalysis
Variable r‐lessness in New Orleans English is a salient linguistic feature tied to local place‐based identity. In this study, I examine rates of r‐lessness in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which caused large‐scale displacement in the region. Participants come from the linguistically conservative suburb of Chalmette, where r‐lessness is more robust than in New Orleans proper. Participants’ connections to Chalmette were measured in two ways: (1) post‐Katrina location status, i.e. whether participants returned or relocated after the storm; (2) place orientation, captured via an ethnographically informed, multifaceted measure of stance and exposure to places outside of Chalmette. Analysis revealed that place orientation better predicts rates of r‐lessness than post‐Katrina location. I argue that the marked quality of r‐lessness makes it available for identity‐driven use to express a connection to Chalmette. This study demonstrates one way to account for the linguistic implications of individuals’ shifting allegiances to places they live(d).