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

Citation

Livingstone AG, Spears R & Manstead ASR (2009) The language of change? Characterizations of in-group social position, threat, and the deployment of 'distinctive' group attributes. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48 (2), pp. 295-311. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466608X329533

Abstract
A considerable body of research has shown that group members establish and emphasize characteristics or attributes that define their in-group in relation to comparison out-groups. We extend this research by exploring the range of ways in which members of the same social category (Welsh people) deploy a particular attribute (the Welsh language) as a flexible identity management resource. Through a thematic analysis of data from interviews and two public speeches, we examine how the deployment of the Welsh language is bound up with characterizations of the in-group's wider intergroup position (in terms of power relations and their legitimacy and stability), and one's position within the in-group. We focus in particular on the rhetorical and strategic value of such characterizations for policing in-group boundaries on the one hand, and for the in-group's intergroup position on the other. We conclude by emphasizing the need to (1) locate analyses of the uses and importance of group-defining attributes within the social setting that gives them meaning and (2) to appreciate such characterizations as attempts to influence, rather than simply reflect that setting.

Journal
British Journal of Social Psychology: Volume 48, Issue 2