Enregisterment:LinguisticFormandMeaninginTimeandSpace
BarbaraJohnstone
CarnegieMellonUniversity
Draft,June2014,forSpracheimurbanenRaum/LanguageinUrbanSpace,ed.byBeatrix
BusseandIngoH.Warnke(deGruyter,inpreparation)
Linguistshavetraditionallythoughtaboutlinguisticvariationintermsofrelativelystable
setsoflinguisticrulesorconventionscalled‘varieties’thatcanbemappedontophysicalor
socialspaces.Thevarietiescalled‘dialects’areonesthatcanbemappedontogeographical
space,or,inthecaseof‘socialdialects,’ontodemographicallydefinedsocialgroups.A
personwhoemploysfeaturesofaparticularvarietycan,inthiswayofthinking,be
identifiedwiththeplaceorgroupthedialectmapsonto.Butsociolinguists’workoverthe
pastdecadeortwohasproductivelycomplicatedthispicture.Wenowaskquestionsabout
whypeopleusefeaturesofonevarietyoranother,ratherthanassumingthatpeople
inevitablyspeakthewaytheyfirstlearnedtospeak,andtheanswerswearriveathaveto
dowithidentityandagencyratherthanonlywithgeographyanddemography.Andweask
howlinguisticfeaturesgetlinkedwithvarietiesinthefirstplace.Howdoparticularwords,
waysofpronouncingwords,grammaticalpatterns,andpatternsofintonationcometo
pointtoparticularidentitiesandactivities?
Onewayofansweringthisquestioncomesfromlinguisticanthropologistsinthesemiotic
tradition.DrawingontheworkofRomanJakobsonandCharlesS.Peirce,anthropologists
MichaelSilverstein(1992,1993,2003)andAsifAgha(2003,2007)havedevelopeda
frameworkthathelpsusseehow‘socialmeanings’andlinguisticchoicescancometobe
linkedandhowsetsoflinguisticchoicescancometobeunderstoodasvarieties.Twoof
thekeyconceptsinthisframeworkareindexicalityandenregisterment.Asignisindexical
ifitisrelatedtoitsmeaningbyvirtueofco‐occurringwiththethingitistakentomean.
Whenwehearthunder,weoftenexperiencelightening,rain,andadarkeningsky,sothe
soundofthundermayleadustoexpectastorm.Becausethesoundofthunderevokes
storminessinthisway,thundernoisecanbeusedtoevokeastorminastagedplay.
Likewise,ifhearingaparticularwordorstructureused,orawordpronouncedaparticular
way,isexperiencedinconnectionwithaparticularstyleofdressorgrooming,aparticular
setofsocialalignments,oraparticularsocialactivity,thatpronunciationmayevoke
and/orcreateasocialidentity,eventuallyevenintheabsenceofothercues.
Indexicallinksarecreatedinthecontextofalready‐availablemodelsofwhatmeaningsare
possibleandwhatkindsofformscanindexthem.Forexample,peopleoftenhearthe
differencebetweentwovariantsasmeaning‘correct’inthecaseofoneand‘incorrect’in
thecaseoftheother;orasmeaning‘us’inthecaseofoneand‘them’inthecaseofthe
other.Totalkaboutthis,itisusefultouseAgha’s(2003,2006)conceptofenregisterment.
Aregisteremergeswhenanumberofindexicalrelationshipsbegintobeseenasrelated;a
particularlinguisticform(ornonlinguisticsign)isenregisteredwhenitbecomesincluded
inaregister.
Theconceptofenregistermentcanbeofuseintheexplorationoflinguisticvariationlinked
withcontextualvariationofanykind.Muchofthesociolinguisticresearchabout
enregistermenthashadtodowithlinguisticformsorsetoflinguisticformsthatarelinked,
bylinguistsand/orbylaypeople,withplaces(Beal,2009,2012;Campbell‐Kibler,2012;
Cramer,2013;Johnstone,Andrus,&Danielson,2006;Johnstone&Kiesling,2008;
Johnstone,2011a,2011b,2013a;Remlinger,2009;Slotta,2012),buttheideahasalsobeen
fruitfulinthestudyoflanguagestandardization(Agha,2003;Dong,2010;Frekko,2009;
Jaspers&VanHoof,2013;Managan,2011;Romero,2012),genresandsituationalvarieties
(Babel,2011;Donaldson,2013;Madsen,2013;Squires,2010;Wilce,2008;Williams,2012),
personasoridentities(Bennett,2012;Gibson,2011;Marzo&Ceuleers,2011;Newell,
2009;Podesva,2011),socialgroups(Eberhardt,2012;Henry,2010),andsocialrelations
(Goebel,2007,2008).
Inthischapter,Iproposeadefinitionofenregistermentandthenconsidereachofthe
elementsoftheenregistermentprocess,drawingonmyworkinPittsburgh,USfor
illustrations.
Whatisenregisterment?
AccordingtoAgha(2007,p.81),‘enregisterment’refersto‘processesandpractices
wherebyperformablesignsbecomerecognized(andregrouped)asbelongingtodistinct,
differentialllyvalorizedsemioticregistersbyapopulation.’‘Registers’(whichAghaalso
calls‘semioticregisters’or‘registerformations’)are‘culturalmodelsofactionthatlink
diversebehavioralsignstoenactableeffects,includingimagesofpersona,interpersonal
relationshipandtypeofconduct’(p.145).Aregister,inAgha’ssense,maybeawayof
speakinglinkedwitha‘socialsituation.’Thisis,ofcourse,howthetermistraditionally
usedinlinguistics(Reid1956);(Biber&Finegan,1994).Inkeepingwithhissocial
constructivist,emergentiststance,however,Aghacallsattentiontothedifficultyofusinga
countnoun,register,totalkaboutaprocess.Registersonlyappeartostabilizeinto
nameable,describableobjectswhenpeopleorienttothem,andpeopleorienttoa
particularsetofformsincertaincontexts,forcertainreasons.AsAghaputsit,‘Aregister
existsasaboundedobjectonlytoadegreesetbysociohistoricalprocessesof
enregisterment,processeswherebyitsformsandvaluesbecomedifferentiablefromthe
restoflanguage…foragivenpopulationofspeakers’(2007,p.168).Registers,as
countable,boundedentities,onlycomeintoexistencewhenthereissomereasonfor
peopletoreflectonthem;theyare,inotherwords,‘reflexive.’
Aregister,then,islikeawayofspeaking(Hymes,1989),asetoflinguisticformslinked
withandconstitutiveofacontext.Likeallmodesofmeaning‐making,languageisonly
interpretableincontext.Activitiesthataresometimesthoughttoremovespeechforms
fromcontext–activitieslikedefiningwords,forexample,talkingaboutappropriateusage,
orwritinggrammars–areofcourseembeddedinregistersoftalkandotheraction,too;the
ideaofdecontextualized,‘denotative’or‘referential’meaningispartofaWittgenstinian
‘languagegame’(Wittgenstein,1953)thatisassociologiallyandhistoricallysituated,
enabled,andconstrainedasanyotherdiscursivepractice.AsErvingGoffman(1986)and
JohnGumperz(1992)showedus,figuringoutwhattherelevantcontextis‐‐whatisgoing
onhere,whatframeisinplay,thuswhattheutterancewearehearingmeans‐‐isperhaps
thebasicactivityininteraction.Wordsmeannothingunlesswecanlinkthemwitha
contextfortheiruseandorusethemtocreateacontext,andsincemeaningisalways
dependentoncontext,allmeaningstartsoutastheresultofthejuxtapositionofalinguistic
actionwithacontext.Ifaformmeansanythingtoanyone,itisbecauseithasbeen
enregistered,linkedwithoneormorewaysofspeaking,oneormorecontextsinwhichit
canbeusedandwhichitcanevoke.Thisistruewhetherornotpeopleareconsciously
awareofthethemeaningoftheformandwhetherornottheytalkabouttheformandits
meaning.Alinguisticactionthatisnotenregisteredisnotinterpretable;adifferencethatis
notenregisteredisnotnoticeable.
Sociolinguistshaveoccasionallytalkedasif‘enregistered’wereasynonymforthefocusof
awarenessoreventhetopicofcommentary,using‘enregistereddialects’tomeandialects
thatpeoplenoticeortalkabout,asiftherewereonlyonesetofmeaningswithwhich
linguisticformscouldbelinkedandasifalready‐existing‘dialects’werethetargetof
enregisterment.Ifwewanttotakeadvantageoftherealpoweroftheconceptof
enregisterment,however,itisnotenoughsimplytolabelaformorasetofformsas
‘enregistered.’‘Enregister’isamulti‐placepredicate.AisenregisteredwithBbyCin
termsofDbecauseEandF,whereAislinguisticformorsomeotherpotentiallymeaningful
act;Bisaregisterofoneoranotherofmanykinds;Cisanagent;Disanideological
schema,Eisaninteractionalexigencyinwhichcallingattentiontotheenregistermentofor
enregisteringoneormoreformsservessomerhetoricalfunction,andFissociohistorical
exigencythatgivesrisetometapragmaticpracticesofvarious.Inwhatfollows,Idiscuss
eachoftheseaspectsofenregistermentinturn.
Enregistermentofwhat?
Linguisticandotheractsofanykind,atanylevel,canbecomesemioticallylinkedwiththe
culturally‐relevantwaysofactingandbeingthatAghacallsregisters,andthepracticesin
whichtheselinksareformedcanservetoenregisterasingleformorasetofforms.
Likewise,performancesorrecognitionsofaregistercanturnonjustonefeatureorthey
canrequireaconstellationoffeatures.Figure1showsastickeronascooteronwhich
representationsoftwokeyboardkeysspellout‘N@.’Underneathistheword
‘PITTSBURGHESE.’Tosomeonewhoknowshowtointerpretstickerslikethis,thisonecanbe
readasmakingasemioticlinkbetweenonelinguisticform,pronounced[næt],andacity,
Pittsburgh.
Figure1.N@stickeronscooter
Aviewerwhocanunderstandthestickerisonewhoknowsthatstickerslikethis(agenre
borrowedfromEurope,wherestickerslikethesewereonceusedtoidentifyvehicles’
nationsoforigin)areoftenusedintheUSasholidaysouvenirs,withanabbreviationofa
holidayspot’sname,likeOBX,inthespotwhereN@is,andthename,OUTERBANKS,spelled
outwherethisstickerhas‘PITTSBURGHESE.’Inthisgenreofvehiclestickers,thesmaller,
longernameunderneathtellstheviewerhowtointerprettheabbreviationinthemiddle.
OBXindexesthatapersonhasvisitedtheOuterBanks.N@isPittsburghese.Aviewerwhois
alreadyfamiliarwiththewordsandphrasesthatarerepeatedlycitedasexamplesof
PittsburghesewillalsoseeN@asacleverspellingoftheformmoreconventionallyspelled
<n’at>,the‘generalextender’(Overstreet,1999)andthat,meaning‘etcetera’or‘andother
thingslikethat’.
ThecoffeemuginFigure2,ontheotherhand,onwhichPITTSBURGHESEissurroundedwith
thirtyotherwords,makesasemioticlinkbetweenthirtyformsandawayofspeaking
characteristicofacity,anditlinkseachofthosethirtyformswiththeothers.
Figure2:Pittsburghesemug
Aswiththesticker,interpretivepracticesthatcirculatewidely(atleastintheUS)makeit
possibleformembersofthemug’sintendedaudiencetounderstandhowtoreadit.An
outsider,unfamilarwithPittsburghese,couldseethatthewordPITTSBURGHESEislarge,
central,andbordered,suggestingthatitrepresentsthecommonmeaningofallthewords
aroundit:‘theMon,’‘chippedham,’‘jyntigle,’‘iron,’‘keller,’andtherestareallPittsburgh
words,andPittsburgh,conversely,ischaracterizedbythesewords.Eachofthewordsis
alsolinkedtotheothers.Aninsider,alreadyfamiliarwithPittsburghese,wouldknowhow
toreadthewordsandwhattheyreferto.(Infact,severaldifferentstrategieswouldbe
requiredhere:someofthewordsarelocalplacenames,somearerespellingsmeantto
representlocalpronunciationsofwords,andothersarestandardspellingsforwords
representinglocalartifactsandpractices.)
Enregistermentwithwhat?
Inthetwoexamplesintheprevioussection,writtenrepresentationsofwordsare
enregistered,forviewerswhoknowhowtointerprettheartifactsinquestion,witha
registerofspeechassociatedwithaplace(Pittsburghese)Butthetargetsofenregiserment
canbealsoregistersassociatedwithstyles,personas,times,activities,individuals,orany
otherculturally‐relevantcategoryofpeopleorevents,andalinguisticactcanenregister
linguisticfeatureswithmultiplecontexts.Hereforexample,isatranscriptionofaradio
skitinwhichthepotentialsforenregistermentaremultiple,sothatwecannotbesurewhat
indexicallinkswillbeforgedorwhatculturalschematawillbeevokedtoenregisterthem.
Theconstructionofhumorouspersonaeliketheoneintheskitcanenregisterparticular
linguisticformsinmultipleoverlappingways,somelinkedtoplaceandsomenot,
sometimesaligningdifferentculturalschematawithoneanotherbutsometimes
juxtaposingconflictingschemata.
Theskit,called‘Mother,’wasperformedonapopularPittsburghradioshow,byDJRandy
Baumann,singingandaccompanyinghimselfontheguitar,andCrisWinter,afellowDJ,
whoplayedtheMothercharacter.IfocusonWinter’sperformancehere,thoughthelyrics
sungbyBaumannareincludedinthetranscription.Manyregularlistenerstotheprogram
willhearthesongasatake‐offonasongofthesamenamebyPinkFloyd,releasedonthe
albumcalled‘TheWall.’ThelyricsofthesongarebasedlooselyonthoseofthePinkFloyd
song,andthechorusesarethesameasthePinkFloydones.ThePinkFloyd‘Mother’
depictsableakback‐to‐the‐wombfantasy.Intheskit,linesofthenowparodically
sentimentalsongaboutthesinger’smotheralternatewithspoken‐wordillustrationsbya
‘mother’character.Theparodyinviteslistenerstorecognizetheskitasatake‐offonthe
PinkFloydsong,althoughnotallactuallydo,andpeoplewhodonotgetthePinkFloyd
connectioncanstillenjoytheskit.Agreatdealthepotentialhumoroftheskithastodo
withthemismatchbetweenthesentimental‐soundingsonglyricsandthepersonaofthe
mothercharacterwhoillustratesthem,andnoticingthisdoesnotdependonknowingthe
originalsong.
OfthemanypotentialmeaningsofthelinguisticchoicesCrisWintermakesasshevoices
theMothercharacter.Iwillfocusonthree:Wintercouldbesaidtouselinguisticvariation
tosoundlikeamother,tosoundworkingclass,and/ortosoundlocal.(Theskitcanbe
auditedat{URL}).Inthetranscript,elementsoftheperformancethatmightindexa
mother’sstyleareunderlined,elementsthatmightindexaworking‐classpersonaare
italicized,andelementsthatmightindexaPittsburghidentityareinbold‐face.Phonetic
featuresthatcouldbesemioticallyassociatedwithPittsburgharealsotranscribed
phonetically.(Ihavenottriedtohighlighteveryfeaturethatcouldconceivablybetakenas
anindexofoneoranotherofthesethreestyles,onlytheonesIwillbetalkingabout.)Some
featurescanindexmorethanonesocialidentity.ThephoneticfeaturesIwillbediscussing
areasfollows:
o Monophthongalrealizationof/au/,sothatslouchcanbepronounced[slaːtʃ]
o Frontedrealizationof/o/,sothatovercanbepronounced[o<vǝr]
o Lowered,roundedrealizationofthelowbackvowel/a/,sothatsoccercanbe
pronounced[sɔkǝr]
o Vocalizedrealizationof/l/,sothatoldcanbepronounced[oʷd]
o Deletionof/δ/,sothatthatcanbepronouncedas[ӕt]
o Alveolarrealizationof–ing,sothatsmokingcanbepronouncedas[smo<kɪn]
o Elidedpronunciationsofgoingto[gʌnǝ],haveto[hӕftǝ],letme[lɛmi],etc.
Extract1
1
Randy
MothersaysIbettersitupstraight.
Baumann
(RB)
Mother(M) You’regonna[gʌnǝ]getcurvatureofthespinelikeyourUncleLoudon’t
[don]slouch[slaːtʃ]!
2
RB
Mothertellsmenottomakethatface.
M
Ifyoukeepmakin’[mekɪn]‘at[ӕt]faceyou’regonna[gʌnǝ]freezelike
‘at[ӕt]!
3
RB
Mothercallsmeoutbyallmybrothers’names.
M
Jim,Frank,Charlie,Gar‐,whateverthehellyournameis,getover[o<vr̩ ]
here!
4
RB
Ooohahh,motherdrivestoallthegames.
M
Git[gɪt]yourassinthecarIhaveta[hætǝ]pickupyoursisteratsoccer
[sɔkǝr]afterIdrop[drɔp]youoff[ɔf]atkarate[kǝrɔdi]!
5
RB
MothertoldmetoeatallItook.
M
There’skidsstarvin’inAfricathat’lllove[ðæDllʌv]themBrusselssprouts
[sprauts]!Ain’tyinzpaidno[no]attentiontothatSallyStruthers4
commercial?
6
RB
Mothermadeitclearshewasn’tmycook.
M
Ohh[oː<],youdon’t[dõ ]likeBrusselssprouts[sprauts]?Wellfeelfree
toorderoff[ɔf]themenu!WehaveLikeIt,orLumpIt.
7
RB
Motheralwaysspitontissuestocleanmyface.
M
Comehere,yourfaceisfilthy.Lemme[lɛmi]getthatcrudoff[ɔf]it!
8
RB
OooohahhMamahatesamessyplace.
M
Whatthehellhappenedinhere?Whatifcompany[kʌmpni]comesover
[ovr̩ ]?
9
RB
Hush,nowbaby,baby,don’tyoucry.
M
Ifyou’regonna[gʌnǝ]cryI’mgonna[gʌnǝ]giveya[yǝ]somethingtocry
about[abaut].
10 RB
Mama’sgonnabeyouralarmclockforyou.
Git[gɪt]outta[aDǝ]bed!
M
11 RB
Mamawillbeyourdoctortoo.
PutVick’son[ɔn]yourchest!
M
12 RB
Mama’sgonnawaitupuntilyougetin.
Mamawillalwaysfindoutwhereyou’vebeen.
M
Wereyoudown[daun]at’ta[ӕtǝ]parkdrinkin’[drɪŋkɪn]Boone’s
Farm7?
13 RB
Mama’sgonnamakesureyourunderwear’sclean.
So[so]helpme,ifyougetinanaccidentand[n̩ ]yougot[gɔt]skidmarks
M
inyourunderwearI’mgonna[gʌnǝ]die.
14 RB
Ooooh,babe,ooooh,babe,ohbabe,you’llalwaysbebabytome.
Nomatterhowold[o<ʷd]yougetyou’llstillbemybaby,andyou’renot
M
[nɔt]tooold[oʷd]foralickin’[lɪkɪn]!
15 RB
Mothercaughtmeoutbackgetting…high.
Wereyou’unzbehindthegaragesmokin’[smo<kɪn]pot[pɔt]?
M
Themotheridentityisclearestonthelevelofreferenceandwordchoice.Thesungpartof
theskitsetsthecharacterupasamother,depictingherasdoingthingsmothersdosuchas
tellingtheirchildrentositupstraight,chauffeuringthem,spittingontissuestocleantheir
faces,occasionallygettingtheirnameswrongintheheatofthemoment.Amongthemany
thingsthemothercharacterdoesthatcouldbetakentoindexthatsheisspeakingasa
motherareusingthekintermsyouruncle(line1)andmybaby(14);reusingformulasthat
manylistenerswouldassociatewithastereotypicalmother(‘Ifyoukeepmakingthatface
you’regoingtofreezelikethat’;‘Therearekidsstarvingin[partoftheworld]thatwould
lovethat[fooditemchildisn’teating]’);andadoptingsing‐songyintonationin‘Nomatter
howoldyougetyou’llstillbemybaby’(14).Themothercharacterisbothtypicaland
atypical:herbehaviordepartssometimesfromthesentimentalculturalschemaofgood
motherhoodwithwhichheraudienceisfamiliar(andwhichisevokedinthelyrics)and
teetersonthebrinkoftheculturalschemaofthebadmother,whoshouts,curses,and
threatenstohit.Yetsheremindssomelistenersoftheirmothersandothersofthemselves
asmothers,sometimesbecausetheytooactinsomeofthesewaysbutwouldnotpublicize
thefact.
Itwouldbehardtoimagineanyoneunderstandingorappreciatingthisskitwithout
noticingatleastsomeofthewaysinwhichthesocialidentityofthemotherisplayedwith.
Butthereareanumberofpossiblewaysofhearingwherethismotherislocatedinclass
andspace.Foronething,shecouldbeaworking‐classmother.Linguisticvariantsthat
soundworking‐classtoatleastsomeAmericansincludevoicequality(lowpitch,relatively
monotoneintonation),morphosyntacticfeaturessuchasmultiplenegation(‘Ain’tyinzpaid
noattention…’),git[gɪt]forget,thealveolarvariantof‘ing(mak[ɪn]inline2,starv[ɪn]in5,
drink[ɪn]in12,lick[ɪn]in14,andsmok[ɪn]in15),andelisionassociatedwithfast,casual
speech(gonna[gʌnǝ],haveta[hætǝ],that’lllove[ðæDllʌv],lemme[lɛmi]‘letme’,comp’ny
[kʌmpni])‘company’.Heightenedrhoticity,particularlyatthebeginningoftheskit,could
soundworking‐class;itcouldalsosoundplace‐linkedtosomehearers,sinceitcanbeheard
inAppalachianspeech.Likewise,thestoppingofinterdentals(that[æt],the[ǝ],them
[dɛm],andsoon)isinitsdistributionbothworkingclassandlocalandcanbeheardeither
way.Referencestoclass‐andgender‐linkedpracticeslikedrinkingBoone’sFarmmight
alsoencourageahearingofthecharacterthatevokedworking‐classregisterand,possibly,
enregisteredsomeofthesefeatureswithit.
Foranotherthing,thismothercouldsoundlikesheisfromthePittsburgharea.Winter
makesagesturetowardthisreadingofhercharacter’sidentityattheverybeginning.Inthe
(stressed)lastwordofthefirstlineshepronouncesslouchwithmonophthongal/au/,as
[slaːtʃ].Monophthongizationof/au/(sothathousecansoundlike[haːs]oroutlike[aːt])is
stereotypicallyassociatedwithPittsburghese,orthelocaldialectasitislocallyimagined.
Winterdoesnotmonophthongize/au/ineverypossibleenvironmentintheskit,sothat,to
someonewhocanhearthisvariantasdifferentfromthestandardvariant,itmaystandout
perceptuallywhenshedoes.Offiveopportunitiestomonophthongize/au/,Winterdoesso
onlyonce.Interestingly,shedoesnotmonophthongizethe/au/inBrusselssprouts,thus
failingtotakeadvantageofanotherphrase‐final,stressed,‘phono‐opportunity,’touse
Coupland’saptterm(Coupland,1985)todisplaythefeature.Thisinconsistencycouldbe
takentoindexthefactthatWinterdoesnotmonophthongize/au/inher‘real’
(unselfconscious,everyday)persona;wereturntothissortofenregistermentbelow.
AnotherwidelyrecognizedindexofaPittsburghidentityistouseyinzoryou’unz,rather
thanyou,asthesecond‐personpluralpersonalpronoun.Winterdoesthistwice.Another
featureoftheperformancethatcouldsoundlocal,atleasttosomelisteners,isthefronting
of/o/.Likemonophthongal/au/,thisfeatureisvariableinWinter’sperformance.Often
opportunitiestofront/o/,Winterdoessofourtimes,allinparticularlyaudibleplaces
wherethefrontingislikelytostandout:‘Getover[o<vr̩ ]here!’inline4,‘Ohhh[oː<],you
don’tlikeBrusselssprouts?’inline6,‘Nomatterhowold[o<ʷd]youget’inline14,and
‘Wereyou’unz…smokin’[smo<kɪn]pot?’inline16.Vocalizationof/l/,afeatureoflocal
speechthatoutsidersoftennotice,occursonlytwiceinWinter’sperformance,bothtimesin
thesameword,old[oᵂd]in‘nomatterhowoldyouget,’line14.
Line8includesthewordssoccerandkarateinstressed,phrase‐finalandinonecaseline‐
finalposition.Winterpronouncesbothwiththeroundedlowbackvowel,[ɔ],thatlinguists
identifyascharacteristicofthePittsburgharea.Toanoutsider’searitmaysoundasif
soccerandkaratehadbeenchosen,overotheractivitiesmotherscoulddrivechildrento,
preciselybecausetheyprovideopportunitiestoshowcasethisvowel.Pittsburghersdonot
noticethisfeatureoflocalspeech,sinceitistheresultofamergerandthussoundsthe
sametothemastheother,morewidespreadvariantofthisvowelinNorthAmerica.So
locallistenerscouldnot,forthemostpart,hearthisasanindexoflocalidentity.Winter
pronouncesthemergedlowbackvowelthiswayinvariably,throughouttheskit,which
suggeststhatitmaynotbepartoftheperformancefromherpointofview,either.Still,itis
hearabletoanon‐PittsburgherasevokingaPittsburghidentity.
Tosumup,Winter’scharacterislikelytobetakenasamotherbyanylistener.Thismeans
thataspectsofthewayWintertalksevokeandcreateoneormoreculturalschemasof
motherhood.Thelinguisticformssheusesmayalreadybeenregisteredasindexesofone
oranotheroftheseschemasforagivenlistener.Foranotherlistener,theperformancemay
enregisterthem.Formostlisteners,whathappensisprobablyamixofthetwoprocesses:
theyhearcertainformsasfamiliarindicesofmodelsofmotherhood,whileotherforms
becomeassociatedwithmotherhoodforthefirsttime.Additionally,somelistenersmay
taketheMothercharactertobeaPittsburgher.Somemaytakehertobeworkingclass.
SomemayhearCrisWinterinherpublicpersonaasCrisWintertheDJ,inadditionto
hearingthecharactershecreatesinthisskit.
Thefactthatthemothervoicealternateswithlinesofasonghighlightsthecontrast
betweenthevoice(orvoices)representedinthesongandthevoice(orvoices)
representedinthespokenlines.Thisjuxtapositionalsocontributestotheenregisterment
processbywhichfeaturesofthemother’sspeechbecomelinkedwithsocialidentities.But
thisdoesnotworkthesamewayforeverylistener.Somemayheartheskitasacomment
onthePinkFloydsong,sothatthemotherschemaevokedintheoriginalsongbecomes
overlaidwiththeonesevokedintheparody.Forsome,theperformancemayoverlaya
motherschemaonaPittsburgherschema,sothatthesongisaboutwhataPittsburgh
motherislike.Orthesongcouldbeinterpretedasadepictionofaworking‐classmother,or
asacommentonallmothers,orasaparodyofone’sownmother.Inotherwords,the
languageoftheperformance,onalllevels,canpotentiallybeorbecomeenregisteredwith
multipleculturalschemata.Likewise,multiplehearingscanenregisterthesameformsin
differentwaysforthesamelistener.
Enregistermentbyandtowhom?
Thesameformcanbeenregisteredindifferentwaystodifferentindividuals,atdifferent
times.ThisisillustratedinresponsesbyfourPittsburghers,belongingtothreegenerations
andsociallysituatedinavarietyofothercontrastingways,toamatched‐guisepromptthat
wasmeanttoelicitpeople’ssenseoftheindexicalmeaningsoftwovariantsofthevowel
/au/,onepronouncedasadiphthong[au]andtheotherasamonophthong[a:].Both
variantscanbeheardinthePittsburgharea;peoplewithlocalaccentstendtousethe
monophthongalvariant,whichisalsononstandardinNorthAmericanEnglish.The
matched‐guisetaskwaspartofasetofsociolinguisticinterviewsconductedinPittsburgh.
Intervieweesheardtwoversionseachofaseriesofsentences,theversionsdiffereringonly
inthepronunciationofasingleword.Theywereaskediftheycouldhearadifference,and,
iftheysaidyes,theywereaskedaseriesofquestionsaboutwhatkindsofpeoplewouldbe
morelikelytouseeachvariant.Theintervieweeswerealsoasked,elsewhereinthe
interview,totalkaboutwhattheythoughtPittsburghesewasandwhatitconsistedof,and
thefollowinganalysisdrawsonthematched‐guiseresponsestothepromptthatelicited
responsestothe(aw)variable(‘Iboughta[ha:s]/Iboughta[haus]’)andonwhattheysaid
aboutlocalspeech.
EstherR.wasbornin1917.Shesaidshedidnothearadifferencebetweenthetwo
variantsinthe(aw)prompt.Forher,localspeechformsdonotfunctionasindexesof
socialidentities.Sheclaimednevertohaveheardof‘Pittsburghese’andsaidshedidnot
thinkthereisalocalaccent.Laterintheinterview,shedidclaimtousesomelocalwords,
likereddup(totidy),andtoknowpeoplewhouseyunz(‘you,pl’.,alsopronouncedand
spelledyinz).However,shelinkedtheseformsonlytopersonalidentitiesofofindividual
speakers,asshedidhere,addressingherson:‘YouknowwhoIoftenthinkaboutusing
[yunz]?Ann.Remember?’Hereandelsewhereintheinterview,sheappearsnevertohave
thoughtaboutlocalformsintermsofschematizationslinkingthemtolocalness,
standardness,region,gender,oranyotherlargersocialcategory.
LydiaH.,bornin1920,claimedtohearadifferencebetweentwovariantsof/au/,butshe
saidthatneithersoundedmorelikethewayaPittsburgherwouldsaytheword.When
presentedwiththenonstandardversionof(au),sheremarked,‘Ihaven’theardanybody
saythat.’LydiaH.does,however,thinkthatthereisalocaldialect.Whenshetalkedabout
it,shedrewonanideologicalschematizationthatisreflectedinthefolkdictionary
(McCool,1982)shereportspurchasing(‘TheyhaveaPittsburghesebookIpickedupfrom
Borders’).Thisschematizationlinksregionaldialectwithwordchoiceratherthan
grammarorphonology(Johnstone,2006):‘Well,sometimespeopleputthean’at[andthat]
…they’llsay“an’at”’.Shealsodrawsonaschematizationthatlinksstandardnesswith
grammarandusage,includingtheprohibitionofsentence‐finalprepositions:‘Well,and
oftenpeopleputprepositionsattheendofthesentencesandthat,thatbothersme’.This,
sheclaims,istheresultofhereducation:‘HavingbeensteepedinEnglishWriting
Composition,Iknowthat’snotsomethingyoudo’.Phonologydoesnotenterintothesetof
resourcesthat,forher,canfunctionasindexesofnonstandnessorregionally‐marked
speech.Whenaskedwhethershehaseverbeentoldshehasanaccent,LydiaH.recalls
beingtoldbyateacheratherelitecollegethatPittsburghhad‘thesecondworstspeechin
alloftheUnitedStates.’However,becausesheconsidersherselfwelleducatedandlinks
standardnesstoeducation,shedoesnotseemtotakethistosuggestthatherown
phonology,orthatofotherPittsburghers,mightsoundnonstandard.
DennisC.,bornin1949,chosethemorestandarddiphthongalvariantastheonemost
likelytobethewayaPittsburgherwouldsaythewordhouse.Ashedidthematchedguise
task,DennisG.expressedstrongopinionsabouttheindexicalmeaningofphonological
variants.UnlikeLydiaH,hedoesusephonologyasaresourceforinterpretingsocial
meaning.DennisC.saidhewasunawareofhavinganaccentwhilehewasgrowingupand
stillhastroubleacknowledgingthatothershearhimashavingone:‘Actually,Iwasnever
awarethat…wehadanyparticular[accent.Wordslike]slippyandreddsomething,I
thoughtthesewerejustnormal.Ididn’trealizethatpeopledidn’tusethosewords[in]
otherpartsofthecountry.Iknewthatdownsouththeyhadthisaccent,butInever,Inever
thoughtofmyself,ashaving‐‐Eventothisday,Ihaveahardtimethinkingofmyselfas
having[an]accent’.UnlikeEstherR.orLydiaH.,DennisC.doeslinklocalspeechwith
phonology.However,hehasapositiveattitudeaboutthelocalaccentand,perhapsbecause
ofthis(cf.Niedzielski,1999)hearsthemorestandardformaslocal,despitehisownuseof
thenonstandardform.Duringthematched‐guisetask,DennisC.saidthathehearsthelocal
formasrural.
JasonE.wasbornin1986.Intheperceptiontask,heidentifiedtheguisewith[ha:s]asthe
onethatsoundsmorelikethewayaPittsburgherwouldsayit.Thoughheisanative
Pittsburgher,heclaimednottospeakthelocaldialect.Nevertheless,hewaseagerto
discussandperformbothwhathecalled‘theactualaccentofthePittsburgher’and‘the
wordsthatweuseandnooneelseuses.’JasonE.alsoshowedthatheassociates
monophthongal/aw/withlocalidentityintheinterview,wherethiswasthefirstfeature
heusedtoexemplify‘Pittsburghese’asanaccent.ToJasonE.,astoLydiaH.,
monophthongal/aw/soundsincorrect;JasonE.alsocallsthelocalaccent‘ugly.’Although
hedoesonceincludehimselfinthegroupthatusesPittsburghese,hedidagreatdealof
workintheinterviewtodistancehimselffromlocalspeech,whichheclaimsnottospeak.
LocalnessandsocialstigmaareexplicitlylinkedforJason,andmonophthongal/aw/is
explicitlylinkedwithboth.
Enregistermentaccordingtowhat?
WhydoesitmakesenseforDennistolinkmonophthongal/aw/withruralnessandfor
JasontolinkitwithPitttsburgh?WhatsetofideasshapesLydia’sideathatnonstandard
speechisungrammaticalspeech?Theconceptofideologicalschemasisusefulhere.
Linguisticvariantscanonlybelinkedwithcontextsfortheirusebyvirtueofcirculating
ideasabouthowlanguageworks.Figure4sketcheshowthisworks.Ifyouthink,for
example,thatwhentherearetwowaysofsayingsomethingoneofthemmustbecorrect
andtheotherincorrect(manyAmericansthinkthis;it’sanideawearetaughtinschool),
thenyouarelikelytohearthediphthong[au]ascorrectandthemonopthongal[a:]as
incorrect.Ifyouhavereasontothinkthatworking‐classpeoplespeakdifferentlythan
middle‐orupper‐classpeople,thenyoumayhearthemonophthongalvariantassounding
working‐class.Iftheideologicalschemainplaylinkswaysofspeakingwithplaces(this
ideaiswhatgivesrisetolistsof‘youknowyou’refromplacexifyousaywordy’),thena
wordlike‘hahs’willsoundlikePittsburghese.Andsoon.
language‐ideologicalschema
linguisticvariant
contextofuse
Figure4:language‐ideologicalschemataintheenregistermentoflinguisticvariation
Thecirculationof(enregistered)meaning.
Connectionsbetweenlinguisticformandindexicalmeaningarehighlightedaspeople
interact.Thesestrategiesaresometimesreferredtoundertherubricofmetapragmatics
(Silverstein1993,Agha2006).Metapragmaticsencompassesallthewaysinwhichan
utterancecanbeframed(Goffman,1986;Tannen,1979)orcontextualized(Gumperz,1982,
1992),thatis,linkedwithaparticularcontext.Formscanbemetapragmaticallylinked
withsocialidentitiesexplicitly.Forexample,inastoryaboutusingtheconstructionneed+
pastparticipleinconversationwithherroommateatuniversity,awomansumsupher
roommate’sobjectionto‘Myshirtneedsironed’bysaying,‘That’saPittsburghthing,I
think.’InacontributiontoanonlinediscussionforumaboutPittsburghesethatwas
sponsoredbyaPittsburghTVstation,awomantoldastoryinwhichitispresupposedthat
peoplefromPittsburghhave‘accents’:‘WhenIfirstwenttocollege…Itriedtogetridofmy
accentbecauseotherstudentsandtheprofessorwouldpointitout.’
Slightlylessdirectmetapragmaticlinkscaninvolvemetalinguisticcommentaryabout
communicativedificulties.Forexample,inastoryaboutherfirstvisittoPittsburgh,a
womandescribedwatchinganinterviewwithaworking‐classPittsburgheronTV,
claimingthatshe‘couldn’tunderstandawordthemanwassaying!’
Butnotallmetapragmaticframingoccursexplicitly,astalkabouttalk.Perhapsthemost
basicmetapragmaticpracticeis‘text‐metricality.’Theideaoftext‐metricalityoriginated
withlinguistandphilologistRomanJakobson(1960),whopointedoutthat,intraditional
poeticlanguageinEuropeandelsewhere,termswithsimilarmeaningsappearinparallel
places.Parallelismprovidesaframeinwhichtheitemoritemsthatdifferfromlinetoline
arehighlightedandsemanticallyjuxtaposed.Becausetheitemsoccurinthesamecontext,
weareledtocompareorcontrastthem.Andjustastext‐metricalitycandrawonandcreate
referentiallinksbetweenlinguisticforms(connectinglovewithdovesoncountless
greetingcards,forexample,byusingthewordsloveanddoveasarhymingpair),itcan
createlinksbetweenformandsocialcontext.Thishashappenedintheexperienceofmany
formerPittsburgherswhonowliveinthesouthernUS,wherey’allisinwidespreadusethe
second‐personpluralpronoun.Hearingy’allusedinthesamegrammaticalcontextasthey
useorrememberhearingyunz(theformtheyrememberfromPittsburgh)servesto
enregisteryunzwithPittsburghspeech.
Ifwethinkof‘text’moreinclusively(asanystripofinteractionratherthanonlyaverbal
exchange)andextendthenotionofparallelismtoincludemorelooselystructured
juxtapositions,wecanusetheideaoftext‐metricalityasacoverconceptforotherwaysof
linkinglinguisticformsandsocialidentities.‘Interactionaltexts’aremoreoftenthannot
multimodal,involvingverbaldiscoursebutalsomodesofdress,carriage,orgesture.A
personwhousesaparticularformwhilelookingaparticularwaycanlinkthelinguistic
formtothelook,ifco‐participantsareabletoattendtotheformandmakethelink.
Writtentextsandpicturescanalsohelplinklinguisticformandsocialidentity,aswhena
folkdictionaryof‘Pittsburghese’isillustratedwithsketchesofworking‐classmendoing
thingslikenappingonthe‘cahch(‘couch’)’orcheeringforthe‘Stillers(‘Steelers’).’
Whendoesenregistermenthappen?Interactionalexigencies
Whenisitinteractionallyusefultodothemetapragmaticworkoflinkinglinguisticformsto
contexts?Whendopeopleneedtoenregisterformsinnewwaysorre‐enregisterthemin
familiarways?Amongthemanyrhetoricalusesforenregistermentarethese:
Creatingcomonground.OnanonlinediscussionforumaboutPittsburghese,participants
needtoshowthattheyarepartoftherelevantcommunity,insiders,peoplequalifiedto
comment.Theyoftendothisbymeansof‘featuredropping’(Johnstone&Baumgardt,
2004),showingthattheyknowlocalformsbyusingthemearlyintheircontributions.One
forumparticipant,forexample,startedhercontributionwith‘IgottatellyunzIthinkthey
waywetalkisneat,’enregisteringyunzwith‘us’and‘thewaywetalk’(or,formostfellow
participants,strengtheningtheexistingsemioticlink).
Narrativeevaluation.Inpersonal‐experiencenarrativesaboutbeingelsewhereor
encounteringpeoplewhotalkdifferently,plotsoftenhingeoncommunicativedifficulties,
oftenexaggeratedforthepurposeofenhancedtellability(JohnstoAne,2007).Forexample,
thewomanquotedabovewhoclaimedthatshe‘couldn’treallyunderstandawordtheman
wassaying’wastellingawell‐rehearsedstoryaboutherself,andmakingthestoryeffective
apparentlyrequiredrepresentingcommunicativedifficultyascompletefailureto
communicate.(Justbeforeclaimingthatshedidn’tunderstandanythingthemansaid,the
narratorhadparaphrasedeverythingthemansaid.)
Supportforaclaiminargument.Anothercontributortothediscussionforumabout
Pittsburgheseusedthismetadiscursivemovetosupportherargumentthatpeopleshould
notbeembarrassedtosoundlikePittsburghers:
Ifit’ssuchanembarassmenttotalkthisway…ifwesoundstupid…howcomeIam
auniv.profandIstillsaygumbands,pop,anddropthe‘g’offanywordendingin
‘ing’?
Enregisteringtheuseofgumbands(rubberbands),pop(soda)andthealveolar
pronunciationof–ingwiththesocialidentityofuniversityprofessorprovidessupportfor
theclaimthatPittsburgheseshouldnotbeembarrassing.
Stancetaking.MetapragmaticallypointingtofeaturesofPittsbughesecanalsobeawayof
takingastancetowardit.Forexample,theheadlinesofnewspaperarticlesabout
PittsburghspeechalmostinvariablyincludeatleastonefeatureofPittsburghese,asinthe
headline‘ThisColumnNeedsRead.’Heretheneed+pastparticipleconstruction,whichis
nonstandardinwrittenAmericanEnglish,isusedanunexpectedcontextandcallsupits
usualcontext,colloquialPittsburghspeech.Thishastheeffectofframingthearticleas
humorous,whetherornotthereporterwhowrotethearticleintendeditthatway.
Whendoesenregistermenthappen?Historicalexigencies
Particularkindsofenregistermentcanbeexpectedtooccuratparticularjuncturesinthe
livesofindividualsandthehistoriesofcommunities.Researchinschoolsandmulti‐ethnic
communitieshowshowadolescentsusenewlinguisticforms,ormakenewusesofold
forms,aspartoftheworkofcreatingindependent,adultidentities(Bucholtz,2011;
Cheshire&Williams,2002;Eckert,1989,2000;Kerswill&Williams,2000;Rampton,
1995).Onalargerscale,socialandgeographicmobilityoftengivesrisetonewwaysof
speakingenregisteredwithnewcontextsfortheiruse(Beal,2009;Johnstoneetal.,2006;
Kerswill,2005;Madsen,2013).InPittsburgh,speechformsthathadpreviouslybeen
enregisteredasincorrectand/orworkingclasswerere‐enregistered,startinginthe1960s,
withplace(Johnstone,2013b),asPittsburghersbecamemobileinnewwaysandeconomic
changemeantthattheyneededtofindnewidentities.
Conclusion
TheapproachtoenregistermentthatIhavetakeninthischaptergoesbeyondhowthe
termhastypicallybeenusedinsociolinguisticsandanthropologicallinguistics,where
enregistermentistreatedasamodelofthecreationandcirculationofnon‐denotational,
‘social’meaning.Iclaimthatmeaningisalwaystheresultofthelinkingofformswith
contexts,whetherthecontextsinquestionareonesthatwethinkofas‘social’oronesthat
wethinkofas‘semantic’or‘syntactic.’ItisonlybyvirtueofthelongstandingWestern
traditionofseparatinglanguagefromdiscourse,meaningintheabstractfromsituated
meaning‐making,thatwefinditsodifficulttoseelanguagingasaction,asdeeply
embeddedinsocialcontextasanyothermodeofhumanaction.
Whetheritisusedtomodelthecreationofaspectsofmeaningthataretraditionally
thoughtofassocial–personas,genders,placeidentities,styles,andthelike–oraspectsof
meaningthatarenot,theprocessofenregistermentisalwaysshapedandconstrainedby
thefactorsIhavetouchedoninthischapter:whatsortofformoractionisbeinglinked
withwhatsortof‘culturalmodelofaction,’bywhom,towhom,how,andbyvirtueofwhat
ideological,interactional,andhistoricalfacts.Thisdoesnotmeanthateverydescriptionof
aprocessofenregistermenthastodescribeeveryaspectoftheprocess.ThelistoffactorsI
havepresentedhereisintendedasaheuristic,notasasetofrequirements.Whatitdoes
meanthatwhenwedescribeprocessesofenregistermentweshouldbeawareofthe
complexity,andthusthecontingency,oftheprocess,andavoidthetemptationtoassume
thatmeaningsaremoresharedandstablethantheyare.
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