Signs of Difference: Language and Ideology in Social Life

by Susan Gal, Judith T. Irvine

How are peoples' ideas about languages, ways of speaking and expressive styles shaped by their social positions and values? How is difference, in language and in social life, made - and unmade? How and why are some differences persuasive as the basis for action, while other differences are ignored or erased? Written by two recognised authorities on language and culture, this book argues that ideological work of all kinds is fundamentally communicative, and that social positions, projects and historical moments influence, and are influenced by, people's ideas about communicative practices. Neither true nor false, ideologies are positioned and partial visions of the world, relying on comparison and perspective; they exploit differences in expressive features - linguistic and otherwise - to construct convincing stereotypes of people, spaces and activities. Using detailed ethnographic, historical and contemporary examples, this outstanding book shows readers how to analyse ideological work semiotically.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language

326 pages, Hardcover

Published August 8, 2019

About the author

Susan completed her BFA at Art Center College of Design and began her illustration career as a poster and calendar artist in Los Angeles. Her love of drawing lively characters earned her an internship with Walt Disney Feature Animation and she became a member of the original animation team at the Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. But the lure of the silver screen was not to last. Susan returned to her native California to continue her passion of creating whimsical illustrations and captivating picture books.

Reviews

[Sean Lundergan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to help understand pretty much any social differentiation in any context, not just linguistic. It’s also really accessible and enjoyable, especially compared to other work based on Peircean semiotics.

[livewugreactions · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a semiotician but I engage with a lot of semiotic theory in linguistics, and this book was really fascinating in the way that it explains how ideological work pervades everyday life. I'm most familiar with their three processes of iconization (renamed rhematization here), making an axis of differentiation and erasure, but this book made the concepts a lot clearer. The processes are very reminiscent of membership categorization analysis, and I'm sure that these processes can be synthesized under that theoretical approach. I didn't quite grasp the explanation of sites and scale making, but Blommaert's explanations have helped me in that respect. Although useful for my area of linguistic research, the processes semiotic differentiation and ideological work are applicable to a wide range of disciplines.