Introduction: Non‐standard orthography and non‐standard speech

Abstract

This Introduction provides a framework of the key issues surrounding the non‐standard orthographic representation of non‐standard language varieties. Orthographic choices and their interpretation are framed as metalinguistic, socially conditioned phenomena which shed light on people's attitudes towards both specific language varieties and social identities and on the relationship between linguistic form and the social world in general. From this perspective, the introduction addresses the following specific topics: 1) the selective nature of orthographic choice; 2) the relational and contrastive meaning of orthographic conventions; 3) the interplay of sameness and difference in the use of orthography to make claims on linguistic and cultural identity; 4) orthography and representational control: writing the self vs. representing others and 5) orthographic esthetics: the role of the visual in the interpretation of the oral.

Enregistering internet language

“…Elspaß 2002, cited in Dürscheid 2004, personal note-taking (Janda 1985), and telegraph messages (cf. Baron 2002) (this point is also discussed in Herring 2004 andShortis 2007; for non-internet-specific discussions of the prevalence and significance of orthographic variation, see, for instance, Androutsopoulos 2000, Jaffe 2000, Sebba 2007). Second, while some features may in fact emerge specifically within the bounds of internet discourse, they will not be used uniformly across every setting or by every user of the internet (cf.…”

Variation in transcription

“…I will not weigh in on this debate here, since I myself as well as other scholars have already discussed some of the merits and limitations of both perspectives (e.g. Bucholtz, 2000;Jaffe, 2000;Luebs, 1996). Instead, I take a somewhat maverick view, given that much of the criticism of the use of non-standard orthography comes from my own discipline of linguistics.…”

Typographic landscaping: creativity, ideology, movement

“…This special issue can be seen as a sequel to several other recent collections, mostly special journal issues, such as Visual Communication on The New Typography (Triggs 2005); Journal of Sociolinguistics on Non-standard Orthography (Jaffe 2000) and The Sociolinguistics of Writing (Lillis and McKinney 2013); European Journal of English Studies on Visual Text (Kendall, Portela, and White 2013). While they all touch on some similar themes discussed in this special issue, they do so from different perspectives.…”

“…While they all touch on some similar themes discussed in this special issue, they do so from different perspectives. Addressing the issues of linguistic variation and inequality, the issue edited by Jaffe (2000) shows how nonstandard orthographies are linked to linguistic hierarchies and language ideologies, transforming orthography into "a potent and often contested focus for issues of social and symbolic control" (500). Jaffe (2000, 509) also encourages further examination of how the "look" and "visual signature" of all written language can serve to develop "graphic sensibility" and literacy.…”