Indexicality of language and style-shifting in Kebab Norwegian
“Kebab Norwegian” is traced to “Kebab Svenska” (Kebab Swedish, now “Rinkebysvenska”) and was imported to Norway in the mid-1990s. Kebab Norwegian was rapidly adopted by the media and by word of mouth, and generally refers to the vernacular, the most relaxed and least conscious way of speaking, Norwegian amongst young people with and without immigrant background in the multilingual urban spaces of Oslo. The term was first coined in 1995, then as a designation of slang from other languages, including Arabic, Spanish, Urdu, and Berber to mention a few, combined with the dominant standard Norwegian dialect. Language varieties as these are purposeful as “they index, or point to a speaker’s …show more content…
The stereotypes of Kebab Norwegian speakers are based on a repeated connection between a given style of conversation and alleged activities or inactivity, personal characteristics and values of speakers who are assumed to be identical to or similar to other members of the supposed group. Such recurrent connections between language, personae and place helps to (re)produce stereotypical beliefs about a given way of talking, pointing towards or index a given group of people and their alleged personal qualities and values, residence and socioeconomic backgrounds. Analyzing Kebab Norwegian, we can see how the variety of language is used to construct a bond with a supposed group of people – “youth of immigrant origin” (Svendsen, “Kebabnorskdebatten”). These young people's linguistic practices is perceived in debates as "poor Norwegian" deviant and incomprehensible, and placed against a notion of a "standardized" or "pure" Norwegian language. Svendsen’s article shows how this "poor language" in part through journalistic grip, connects to problems socially, educationally and in the workplace, and how language is an outward sign or a vicarious theme for other more unspoken social identities. The debates of Kebab Norwegian debate helps to construct and maintain stereotypical perceptions about young people in multilingual urban areas of "non-standard" linguistic …show more content…
Speaking Kebab Norwegian in certain situations may evoke images of the absence of personal characteristics such as education, knowledge, modernity, progress and urbanity. In an interview conducted by Opsahl and Nistov in 2010, it appears that young people have the knowledge of that language use varies in different contexts. Through research conducted by Svendsen in Oslo, showed that the youth generally used a more standard pronunciation in formal contexts, namely, in interviews with the scientists, than they did in conversations among themselves. However, there is a kind of subcultural covert prestige or status in certain venues, especially among peers as it carries positive social values amongst speakers in opposition to the standard Norwegian dialect. For many, Kebab Norwegian is viewed as a ‘restricted code’, because the general Norwegian population does not have access to this speech community. It is seen as rude to speak the vernacular Kebab Norwegian to family members, older people, strangers and potential bosses; this is known amongst the speakers and is a motivation for style shifting to standard Norwegian.
Given the arguments above, the usage of Kebab Norwegian carries notions of indexicality – how the use of language points to primarily a person’s social group and then stereotyping for that group in particular. Through the
“Kebab Norwegian” is traced to “Kebab Svenska” (Kebab Swedish, now “Rinkebysvenska”) and was imported to Norway in the mid-1990s. Kebab Norwegian was rapidly adopted by the media and by word of mouth, and generally refers to the vernacular, the most relaxed and least conscious way of speaking, Norwegian amongst young people with and without immigrant background in the multilingual urban spaces of Oslo. The term was first coined in 1995, then as a designation of slang from other languages, including Arabic, Spanish, Urdu, and Berber to mention a few, combined with the dominant standard Norwegian dialect. Language varieties as these are purposeful as “they index, or point to a speaker’s …show more content…
The stereotypes of Kebab Norwegian speakers are based on a repeated connection between a given style of conversation and alleged activities or inactivity, personal characteristics and values of speakers who are assumed to be identical to or similar to other members of the supposed group. Such recurrent connections between language, personae and place helps to (re)produce stereotypical beliefs about a given way of talking, pointing towards or index a given group of people and their alleged personal qualities and values, residence and socioeconomic backgrounds. Analyzing Kebab Norwegian, we can see how the variety of language is used to construct a bond with a supposed group of people – “youth of immigrant origin” (Svendsen, “Kebabnorskdebatten”). These young people's linguistic practices is perceived in debates as "poor Norwegian" deviant and incomprehensible, and placed against a notion of a "standardized" or "pure" Norwegian language. Svendsen’s article shows how this "poor language" in part through journalistic grip, connects to problems socially, educationally and in the workplace, and how language is an outward sign or a vicarious theme for other more unspoken social identities. The debates of Kebab Norwegian debate helps to construct and maintain stereotypical perceptions about young people in multilingual urban areas of "non-standard" linguistic …show more content…
Speaking Kebab Norwegian in certain situations may evoke images of the absence of personal characteristics such as education, knowledge, modernity, progress and urbanity. In an interview conducted by Opsahl and Nistov in 2010, it appears that young people have the knowledge of that language use varies in different contexts. Through research conducted by Svendsen in Oslo, showed that the youth generally used a more standard pronunciation in formal contexts, namely, in interviews with the scientists, than they did in conversations among themselves. However, there is a kind of subcultural covert prestige or status in certain venues, especially among peers as it carries positive social values amongst speakers in opposition to the standard Norwegian dialect. For many, Kebab Norwegian is viewed as a ‘restricted code’, because the general Norwegian population does not have access to this speech community. It is seen as rude to speak the vernacular Kebab Norwegian to family members, older people, strangers and potential bosses; this is known amongst the speakers and is a motivation for style shifting to standard Norwegian.
Given the arguments above, the usage of Kebab Norwegian carries notions of indexicality – how the use of language points to primarily a person’s social group and then stereotyping for that group in particular. Through the