Includes bibliographical references (pages 332-346) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Prologue. Language and music -- Part I. Creating community and identity through song. "Breaking through" into performance ; The communality of folk song : co-performance and co-production ; Answering back : Rebels with and without a cause -- Part II. Variation in language and folk song. "The times they are a-changin" : Language change and song change ; Ideologies, authenticities and traditions ; "Insects caught in amber" : Preserving songs in print, transcript and recording -- Part III. Folk song performance and linguistics. Voices in the folk song ; The song : Text and entextualisation in performance ; Going out there and doing your thing ; Enregisterment through song : The performer's credibility -- Epilogue. Whiter folk song, whither sociolinguistics? -- Appendix : Overview of musical concepts.
Summary:
The relationship between language and music has much in common - rhythm, structure, sound, metaphor. Exploring the phenomena of song and performance, this book presents a sociolinguistic model for analysing them. Based on ethnomusicologist John Blacking's contention that any song performed communally is a 'folk song' regardless of its generic origins, it argues that folk song to a far greater extent than other song genres displays 'communal' or 'inclusive' types of performance. The defining feature of folk song as a multi-modal instantiation of music and language is its participatory nature, making it ideal for sociolinguistic analysis. In this sense, a folk song is the product of specific types of developing social interaction whose major purpose is the construction of a temporally and locally based community. Through repeated instantiations, this can lead to disparate communities of practice, which, over time, develop sociocultural registers and a communal stance towards aspects of meaningful events in everyday lives that become typical of a discourse community. -- Page [4] of cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.