Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: John Edwards (St Francis Xavier University, Canada)
|
Volume: 22 Number: 1 Page: 19–38
|
|
|
|
|
Issues of Identity and Power in a Greek-Cypriot Community
|
|
Lisa J. McEntee-Atalianis and Stavros Pouloukas
|
|
An investigation of reported attitudes and language use in Cyprus has enabled an interpretation of social conditions affording status and 'price' to products available in the linguistic market-place. It
has identified boundaries of social division and provided reasons for the coexistence of multiple linguistic codes. An empirical investigation, with recourse to the theory of practice (Bourdieu,
1997), identifies and accounts for the use of national and international codes (i.e. the Greek-Cypriot dialect (GCD), Standard Modern Greek (SMG) and English), their market value and their location within
the strata of the community. Simple summary scores from factor analysis groupings suggest that despite the power and hegemonic potential of international languages such as English, the strength of the national
codes persist due to their dominance as purveyors of instrumental worth and collective symbolism. English exists in response to symbolic and pragmatic forces determined by modernity. Moreover, multivariate
analysis of variance reveals that it is those with greatest socioeconomic power who use English as a resource, enabling the construction and exploitation of multiple social identities.
© Multilingual Matters 2001
Full text PDF
|
