A1 Journal article (refereed)
Participatory sociolinguistics across researchers’ and participants’ language ideologies (2023)

Bodó, C., Barabás, B., Botezatu, I., Fazakas, N., Gáspár, J., Heltai, J. I., Laihonen, P., Lajos, V., & Szabó, G. (2023). Participatory sociolinguistics across researchers’ and participants’ language ideologies. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Early online. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2023.2288814

JYU authors or editors

Laihonen, Petteri

Publication details

All authors or editors: Bodó, Csanád; Barabás, Blanka; Botezatu, Isabela; Fazakas, Noémi; Gáspár, Judit; Heltai, János Imre; Laihonen, Petteri; Lajos, Veronika; Szabó, Gergely

Journal or series: Critical Inquiry in Language Studies

ISSN: 1542-7587

eISSN: 1542-7595

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 30/11/2023

Volume: Early online

Publisher: Routledge

Publication country: United States

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2023.2288814

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/92965

Abstract

The participatory approach is becoming more widespread in the social sciences and is also starting to take hold in the study of language in society. However, there has been little research done on how critical sociolinguistics can be linked to research that is based on the involvement and engagement of as many participants as possible at a level they find relevant for themselves. We argue that the academic separation between the ‘researcher’ and the ‘researched’ is worth reexamining in sociolinguistic research, as all participants do ’ideologizing work’ that establishes the perspective from which they view language. We discuss this through a case study from Moldavia, the North-Eastern region of Romania, which aimed to explore the contemporary language practices of former students of a Hungarian-language revitalization program. We point out that being critical of language-related inequalities cannot be separated from being critical of participation in the research process, if we are to work together across a multiplicity of language ideologies.

Keywords: linguistics; sociolinguistics; participatory research; ideologies; minority languages; linguistic minorities; Hungarian language; language revival