Brian King
2022
King, Brian
Biopolitics and intersex human rights: A role for applied linguistics Book Chapter
In: Chapter 7, Bloomsbury, 2022, ISBN: 9781350098237.
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title = {Biopolitics and intersex human rights: A role for applied linguistics},
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abstract = {In this chapter, I contribute to this volume by addressing the potential for applied linguistics to participate in the critical investigation of biopolitics. More specifically, I ask how epistemologies and ethical aspirations of applied linguistics might assist researchers to contribute responsibly to knowledge about the “anatomo-politics of the human body” (Foucault, 1980, p. 139). I prioritize, as a set of localized biopolitical social justice projects in multiple geopolitical locations, the human rights of people who live intersex embodiments. Thus, I narrow the focus in this case to the widespread hegemonic regulation of intersex bodies by biomedicine whereby intersex people (i.e. those whose natural bodies do not fit in the male/female binary) are forced into a heteronormative and bionormative system of hegemonic coercion. Biomedicine is the dominant contemporary technology of the body and therefore at the centre of biopolitics.},
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In this chapter, I contribute to this volume by addressing the potential for applied linguistics to participate in the critical investigation of biopolitics. More specifically, I ask how epistemologies and ethical aspirations of applied linguistics might assist researchers to contribute responsibly to knowledge about the “anatomo-politics of the human body” (Foucault, 1980, p. 139). I prioritize, as a set of localized biopolitical social justice projects in multiple geopolitical locations, the human rights of people who live intersex embodiments. Thus, I narrow the focus in this case to the widespread hegemonic regulation of intersex bodies by biomedicine whereby intersex people (i.e. those whose natural bodies do not fit in the male/female binary) are forced into a heteronormative and bionormative system of hegemonic coercion. Biomedicine is the dominant contemporary technology of the body and therefore at the centre of biopolitics.
2021
King, Brian
Engaging peers and future parents, creating future turbulence: Activist biocitizenship practices and intersex transgression in the classroom Journal Article
In: Sex Education, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 519-534, 2021.
@article{King2021,
title = {Engaging peers and future parents, creating future turbulence: Activist biocitizenship practices and intersex transgression in the classroom},
author = {Brian King},
doi = {10.1080/14681811.2021.1958772},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-09-03},
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journal = {Sex Education},
volume = {21},
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abstract = {This study aims to develop a more fully theorised concept of biocitizenship as part of the teaching of intersex in critical approaches to sex education. It advances a perspective in which the options of students, as future parents and as biocitizens, are not limited to compliance to biomedicine, but one in which formal education experiences might prepare them to be neighbours and parents who, as allies of intersex family/community members, can engage in political activism to effect change where deemed necessary. Data take the form of classroom talk drawn from a study based in an Aotearoa/New Zealand secondary school, focusing on transgressive acts of citizenship by an intersex activist visiting the sex education classroom and assisting students with social justice projects. Transcripts of audio-recorded classroom interactions are analysed using a version of critical discourse analysis that directs attention to semiotic modes such as visual cues of bodies as well as affect. Findings reveal that biocitizenship can also include those who accept intersex bodies, altering established practices to accommodate those bodies and the people who live them.},
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This study aims to develop a more fully theorised concept of biocitizenship as part of the teaching of intersex in critical approaches to sex education. It advances a perspective in which the options of students, as future parents and as biocitizens, are not limited to compliance to biomedicine, but one in which formal education experiences might prepare them to be neighbours and parents who, as allies of intersex family/community members, can engage in political activism to effect change where deemed necessary. Data take the form of classroom talk drawn from a study based in an Aotearoa/New Zealand secondary school, focusing on transgressive acts of citizenship by an intersex activist visiting the sex education classroom and assisting students with social justice projects. Transcripts of audio-recorded classroom interactions are analysed using a version of critical discourse analysis that directs attention to semiotic modes such as visual cues of bodies as well as affect. Findings reveal that biocitizenship can also include those who accept intersex bodies, altering established practices to accommodate those bodies and the people who live them.
King, Brian
Language and Embodied Sexuality Book Chapter
In: Oxford University Press, 2021.
@inbook{King2021b,
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abstract = {Embodiment has long been of interest to scholars of language in society, and yet theoretical discussions of the inseparability of language and the body have been paradoxically minimal until quite recently. Focusing on the processes by which sexualized bodies are understood, this chapter examines two research case studies-intersex bodies and male bodies-to outline the ways that language and sexuality scholarship can contribute to knowledge of the confluence of the social and the soma during social interaction. Bodies are both subjective and social: in one sense we have subjective, embodied knowledge of what it means to live in our sexualized bodies and 'speak from' them as part of lived experience, and in another sense our bodies are also observed from outside and 'spoken about' as sexual. The analysis presented here explores the relationship between physical features of bodies, language, and power, and links these insights to notions of confluence, demonstrating that bodies can be unruly, obtrusive, overdetermined, and excessive. The chapter considers the implications of this analysis for language use, intelligibility, and sexual agency.},
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Embodiment has long been of interest to scholars of language in society, and yet theoretical discussions of the inseparability of language and the body have been paradoxically minimal until quite recently. Focusing on the processes by which sexualized bodies are understood, this chapter examines two research case studies-intersex bodies and male bodies-to outline the ways that language and sexuality scholarship can contribute to knowledge of the confluence of the social and the soma during social interaction. Bodies are both subjective and social: in one sense we have subjective, embodied knowledge of what it means to live in our sexualized bodies and 'speak from' them as part of lived experience, and in another sense our bodies are also observed from outside and 'spoken about' as sexual. The analysis presented here explores the relationship between physical features of bodies, language, and power, and links these insights to notions of confluence, demonstrating that bodies can be unruly, obtrusive, overdetermined, and excessive. The chapter considers the implications of this analysis for language use, intelligibility, and sexual agency.
2020
King, Brian
Language, Sexuality and Education Journal Article
In: Journal of English Linguistics 48(2): DOI:, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 204-208, 2020.
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2015
King, Brian
Wikipedia writing as praxis: Computer-mediated socialization of second-language writers Journal Article
In: Language, Learning and Technology, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 106-123, 2015.
@article{King2015,
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abstract = {This study explores the writing of Wikipedia articles as a form of authentic writing for learners of English in Hong Kong. Adopting Second Language Socialization and Identity approaches to language learning inquiry, it responds to an identified shortage of research on computer-mediated socialization and language socialization. Focus is placed on the development of participant identities as valid writers of English texts for a perceived mass public. As part of Wikipedia writing praxis, writers are, to varying degrees, socialized into the community of Wikipedians. This study focuses on Hong Kong university students’ reported experiences as legitimate peripheral participants, looking at the early stages of potential community membership. Ethnographic observations serve to provide a description of both the classroom and the Wikipedia site as dynamic social settings. Data sources include field notes, participant-generated written reflections, and transcripts of focus group interviews. Through these various channels it becomes clear that perception of a potentially vast reading public wields a subtle but important influence, and experiences with the Wikipedia community also play a role, motivating some participants to think deeply about their writing and prompting them to invest in writer identities online and in their local context.},
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This study explores the writing of Wikipedia articles as a form of authentic writing for learners of English in Hong Kong. Adopting Second Language Socialization and Identity approaches to language learning inquiry, it responds to an identified shortage of research on computer-mediated socialization and language socialization. Focus is placed on the development of participant identities as valid writers of English texts for a perceived mass public. As part of Wikipedia writing praxis, writers are, to varying degrees, socialized into the community of Wikipedians. This study focuses on Hong Kong university students’ reported experiences as legitimate peripheral participants, looking at the early stages of potential community membership. Ethnographic observations serve to provide a description of both the classroom and the Wikipedia site as dynamic social settings. Data sources include field notes, participant-generated written reflections, and transcripts of focus group interviews. Through these various channels it becomes clear that perception of a potentially vast reading public wields a subtle but important influence, and experiences with the Wikipedia community also play a role, motivating some participants to think deeply about their writing and prompting them to invest in writer identities online and in their local context.
King, Brian
Language and sexuality in education Book Chapter
In: Whelehan, Patricia; Bolin, Anne (Ed.): pp. 649-719, Wiley and Sons, 2015, ISBN: 978-1-4051-9006-0.
@inbook{King2015c,
title = {Language and sexuality in education},
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abstract = {Language use mediates knowledge of sexuality, a fact that leads to important questions about the “putting into words” of sex and sexuality in educational contexts. In the broader institutional environment of “school,” language plays a key role in the narrowly gendered construction of heterosexualities and the problematic othering of non-normative sexualities. In sexuality education classes (i.e., classes where sexuality enjoys a sustained pedagogical focus), the same themes arise, but it is through talk that students begin to come to terms with their own identities as sexual subjects in control of their desires. Talk plays a similarly important role during the learning of additional languages, for sexuality cannot be separated from the formation of identities in the new language. Through inquiry into cultural discourses around sexuality, learners can acquire an understanding of socio-sexual literacy in a target culture. Sexual desires and identities can also be closely tied to language learning investments and motivations, thereby influencing success or failure with language learning as well as specific learning pathways.},
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Language use mediates knowledge of sexuality, a fact that leads to important questions about the “putting into words” of sex and sexuality in educational contexts. In the broader institutional environment of “school,” language plays a key role in the narrowly gendered construction of heterosexualities and the problematic othering of non-normative sexualities. In sexuality education classes (i.e., classes where sexuality enjoys a sustained pedagogical focus), the same themes arise, but it is through talk that students begin to come to terms with their own identities as sexual subjects in control of their desires. Talk plays a similarly important role during the learning of additional languages, for sexuality cannot be separated from the formation of identities in the new language. Through inquiry into cultural discourses around sexuality, learners can acquire an understanding of socio-sexual literacy in a target culture. Sexual desires and identities can also be closely tied to language learning investments and motivations, thereby influencing success or failure with language learning as well as specific learning pathways.
King, Brian
Online Writing as a Discovery Process: Synchronous Collaboration Book Chapter
In: Chik, Alice; Costley, Tracey; Pennington, Martha C (Ed.): Chapter 16, pp. 321-345, Equinox, 2015, ISBN: 9781781791059.
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abstract = {Online writing as a discovery process - CityU Scholars | A Research Hub of Excellence Researcher login City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong CityU Scholars A Research Hub of Excellence Home Researchers Research Units Research Output Projects Activities Prizes/Honours Student Theses Datasets Impact Press/Media Online writing as a discovery process : Synchronous collaboration Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works (RGC: 12, 32, 41, 45) › 12_Chapter in an edited book (Author) Overview View graph of relations Author(s) Brian Walter KING Related Research Unit(s) Department of English Detail(s) Original language English Title of host publication Creativity and Discovery in the University Writing Class Editors Martha Pennington, Tracey Costley.},
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Online writing as a discovery process - CityU Scholars | A Research Hub of Excellence Researcher login City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong CityU Scholars A Research Hub of Excellence Home Researchers Research Units Research Output Projects Activities Prizes/Honours Student Theses Datasets Impact Press/Media Online writing as a discovery process : Synchronous collaboration Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works (RGC: 12, 32, 41, 45) › 12_Chapter in an edited book (Author) Overview View graph of relations Author(s) Brian Walter KING Related Research Unit(s) Department of English Detail(s) Original language English Title of host publication Creativity and Discovery in the University Writing Class Editors Martha Pennington, Tracey Costley.
King, Brian
Investigating digital sex talk practices: A reflection on corpus-assisted discourse analysis Book Chapter
In: Jones, Rodney H.; Chik, Alice; Hafner, Christoph A. (Ed.): Chapter 9, pp. 130-143, Routledge, 2015.
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King, Brian
Reclaiming masculinity in an account of lived intersex experience: Language, desire, and embodied knowledge Book Chapter
In: Milani, Tommaso (Ed.): Chapter 11, pp. 220-242, Routledge, 2015, ISBN: 9781138791961.
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title = {Reclaiming masculinity in an account of lived intersex experience: Language, desire, and embodied knowledge},
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abstract = {This paper applies a queer lens to one person’s account of an intersex body and self in order to examine the ‘intersections’ of masculinity with constructions of biologically grounded innateness. The approach taken to the analysis of discourse is poststructuralist in orientation, drawing on data from media interviews and group discussion recordings. Its application reveals the limitations of the social category ‘man’ as a location for masculinity. Through narrative and talk in interaction the informant strategically mobilises normative discourses of masculinity, appropriating these dominant discourses and constructing a subject position as intersex while drawing upon binary terminology (both biological and social) in order to construct a non-binary body and self. The examination of masculinity in this person’s case cannot be separated from questions of the innate. This is because innate difference forms an important part of the informant’s experience with masculinity. To some extent, masculinity and femininity ‘float free’ of body parts or characteristics which have been consolidated as direct indexes of maleness and femaleness, yet this case study supports the idea that the freedom to float has limits. Therefore, to dismiss innateness from discussions of masculinity is to place limits upon our ability to hear and see, and thus to perpetuate the unintelligibility of intersex experience.
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This paper applies a queer lens to one person’s account of an intersex body and self in order to examine the ‘intersections’ of masculinity with constructions of biologically grounded innateness. The approach taken to the analysis of discourse is poststructuralist in orientation, drawing on data from media interviews and group discussion recordings. Its application reveals the limitations of the social category ‘man’ as a location for masculinity. Through narrative and talk in interaction the informant strategically mobilises normative discourses of masculinity, appropriating these dominant discourses and constructing a subject position as intersex while drawing upon binary terminology (both biological and social) in order to construct a non-binary body and self. The examination of masculinity in this person’s case cannot be separated from questions of the innate. This is because innate difference forms an important part of the informant’s experience with masculinity. To some extent, masculinity and femininity ‘float free’ of body parts or characteristics which have been consolidated as direct indexes of maleness and femaleness, yet this case study supports the idea that the freedom to float has limits. Therefore, to dismiss innateness from discussions of masculinity is to place limits upon our ability to hear and see, and thus to perpetuate the unintelligibility of intersex experience.
2014
King, Brian; Holmes, Janet
Gender and Pragmatics Book Chapter
In: Chapelle, Carol A. (Ed.): Blackwell, 2014.
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title = {Gender and Pragmatics},
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abstract = {In the field of language and gender, there is a widely accepted origin narrative in which Robin Lakoff's seminal article is identified as the inaugural publication that launched investigations of a relationship between men, women, and language. Following its publication, there was a veritable explosion in language and gender research, with pragmatic issues attracting a good deal of attention. In the earliest decades, researchers examined features which could be interpreted as interactional dominance or power strategies, such as the distribution of turns of talk, the number of interruptions, and the amount of feedback contributed by women and men in different contexts, as well as features which expressed politeness, such as linguistic hedges and intensifiers.},
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In the field of language and gender, there is a widely accepted origin narrative in which Robin Lakoff's seminal article is identified as the inaugural publication that launched investigations of a relationship between men, women, and language. Following its publication, there was a veritable explosion in language and gender research, with pragmatic issues attracting a good deal of attention. In the earliest decades, researchers examined features which could be interpreted as interactional dominance or power strategies, such as the distribution of turns of talk, the number of interruptions, and the amount of feedback contributed by women and men in different contexts, as well as features which expressed politeness, such as linguistic hedges and intensifiers.
King, Brian
Inverting virginity, abstinence, and conquest: Sexual agency and subjectivity in classroom conversation Journal Article
In: Sexualities, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 310-328, 2014.
@article{King2014,
title = {Inverting virginity, abstinence, and conquest: Sexual agency and subjectivity in classroom conversation},
author = {Brian King},
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date = {2014-06-01},
urldate = {2014-06-01},
journal = {Sexualities},
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abstract = {This study examines youth sexual agency during sexuality lessons in a New Zealand secondary school. Employing poststructuralist discourse analysis, examples are highlighted in which girls (and boys) gain access to sexual agency. Through conversation, girls are simultaneously positioned as ‘asked’ and ‘pursuer’ and boys as ‘asker’ and ‘pursued’ whilst abstinence and virginity are imbued with sexual agency for both sexes. This study demonstrates that it is discursive versions of agency which hold central importance in youth sexual development. Thus the ‘capacities for sexual action’ which are fostered in classroom conversation cannot plausibly be separated from agentive sexual practices of young people beyond the classroom’s walls.},
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This study examines youth sexual agency during sexuality lessons in a New Zealand secondary school. Employing poststructuralist discourse analysis, examples are highlighted in which girls (and boys) gain access to sexual agency. Through conversation, girls are simultaneously positioned as ‘asked’ and ‘pursuer’ and boys as ‘asker’ and ‘pursued’ whilst abstinence and virginity are imbued with sexual agency for both sexes. This study demonstrates that it is discursive versions of agency which hold central importance in youth sexual development. Thus the ‘capacities for sexual action’ which are fostered in classroom conversation cannot plausibly be separated from agentive sexual practices of young people beyond the classroom’s walls.
King, Brian; Marra, Meredith; Holmes, Janet
Trivial, mundane, or revealing? Food as a lens on ethnic norms in workplace talk Journal Article
In: Language & Communication, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 46-55, 2014.
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abstract = {Talk about food has often been overlooked in existing investigations of workplace discourse. In earlier research, we established that food talk clearly ‘indexes’ interactional boundaries and informality in typical New Zealand workplaces. In this paper we identify the very different status of food as a legitimate topic in Māori workplaces. Within the normative constraints of the meeting genre, analysis compares food talk as mundane in a Māori organisation, but trivial in a Pākehā (majority group) context. Food talk thus provides an unexpected means of accessing information about distinctive cultural norms, offering an innovative lens on areas of cross-cultural sensitivity.},
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Talk about food has often been overlooked in existing investigations of workplace discourse. In earlier research, we established that food talk clearly ‘indexes’ interactional boundaries and informality in typical New Zealand workplaces. In this paper we identify the very different status of food as a legitimate topic in Māori workplaces. Within the normative constraints of the meeting genre, analysis compares food talk as mundane in a Māori organisation, but trivial in a Pākehā (majority group) context. Food talk thus provides an unexpected means of accessing information about distinctive cultural norms, offering an innovative lens on areas of cross-cultural sensitivity.
King, Brian
Tracing the emergence of a community of practice: Beyond presupposition in sociolinguistic research Journal Article
In: Language in Society, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 61-81, 2014.
@article{King2014b,
title = {Tracing the emergence of a community of practice: Beyond presupposition in sociolinguistic research},
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abstract = {This study examines the language-driven aspects of the formation of a classroom-based community of practice (CofP), placing emphasis on ways in which researchers can verify the status of observed practices. Discourse analysis is reinforced by such an evidence-based understanding of the social milieu of a research site. However, when determining whether an aggregate of people is functioning as a CofP, the nature of the measuring stick is a vital question. When institutional forces have brought a group of participants together, how can an observer verify empirically the dynamic development of mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire? In a sample case study, representative features outlined by Wenger (1998:130–31) are identified, and their emergence traced, via analysis of ethnographic fieldnotes and audio recordings. These features provide evidence of the development of localised practices (i.e. ways of doing grounded in this community) as distinct from more widely recognisable practices. Identifying the difference increases the likelihood that results of discourse analysis can be useful to educators.},
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This study examines the language-driven aspects of the formation of a classroom-based community of practice (CofP), placing emphasis on ways in which researchers can verify the status of observed practices. Discourse analysis is reinforced by such an evidence-based understanding of the social milieu of a research site. However, when determining whether an aggregate of people is functioning as a CofP, the nature of the measuring stick is a vital question. When institutional forces have brought a group of participants together, how can an observer verify empirically the dynamic development of mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire? In a sample case study, representative features outlined by Wenger (1998:130–31) are identified, and their emergence traced, via analysis of ethnographic fieldnotes and audio recordings. These features provide evidence of the development of localised practices (i.e. ways of doing grounded in this community) as distinct from more widely recognisable practices. Identifying the difference increases the likelihood that results of discourse analysis can be useful to educators.
King, Brian
Response to Donna Gabaccia, Spatializing gender and migration: the periodization of Atlantic Studies, 1500 to the present Journal Article
In: Atlantic Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, 2014.
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title = {Response to Donna Gabaccia, Spatializing gender and migration: the periodization of Atlantic Studies, 1500 to the present},
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King, Brian; H, Marra M; Holmes, Janet
Marra M H, King B W, Holmes J, Trivial, mundane or revealing? A study of topic and ethnic norms in meeting discourse Journal Article
In: Language and Communication, 2014.
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title = {Marra M H, King B W, Holmes J, Trivial, mundane or revealing? A study of topic and ethnic norms in meeting discourse},
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2013
King, Brian; Holmes, Janet; Marra, Meredith
In: Gerhardt, Cornelia; Frobenius, Maximiliane; Ley, Susanne (Ed.): pp. 191-209, John Benjamins, 2013.
@inbook{King2013,
title = {How permeable is the formal-informal boundary at work? An ethnographic account of the role of food in workplace discourse},
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abstract = {Talk about food at work is typically overlooked as peripheral, just like other relationally-oriented discourse (e.g. small talk and humour). Drawing on a data set of workplace interactions recorded in formal and informal settings, we demonstrate how food talk erodes and troubles formality boundaries. The distinctive distribution of food talk at the boundaries of workplace interaction creates a duality: because it occurs at boundaries, food talk is regarded as irrelevant; when it occurs in non-boundary positions, it has the interactional effect of reducing formality, regardless of its legitimacy as a business topic. In practice, food talk “indexes” boundaries and informality. Each time it occurs at boundaries, or creates informality, this indexicality is reinforced. We demonstrate just how food talk indexes informality in meeting talk.},
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Talk about food at work is typically overlooked as peripheral, just like other relationally-oriented discourse (e.g. small talk and humour). Drawing on a data set of workplace interactions recorded in formal and informal settings, we demonstrate how food talk erodes and troubles formality boundaries. The distinctive distribution of food talk at the boundaries of workplace interaction creates a duality: because it occurs at boundaries, food talk is regarded as irrelevant; when it occurs in non-boundary positions, it has the interactional effect of reducing formality, regardless of its legitimacy as a business topic. In practice, food talk “indexes” boundaries and informality. Each time it occurs at boundaries, or creates informality, this indexicality is reinforced. We demonstrate just how food talk indexes informality in meeting talk.
2012
King, Brian
Location, lore and language An erotic triangle Journal Article
In: Journal of Language and Sexuality, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 106-125, 2012.
@article{King2012,
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number = {1},
pages = {106-125},
abstract = {This study addresses how language interacts with the erotic and 'place' (our socially understood surroundings) in an online, text-only, mostly linguistic en-vironment to create an erotic atmosphere, and how eroticised atmosphere relates to linguistically driven sexual subject formation. Analysis focuses on extracts from a conversation in which public erotic discussions unfold between partici-pants who are (ostensibly) men who desire men. A 'room' spatiality is continual-ly performed, sometimes relying upon idealised images of 'erotic oases' from the offline world to build an erotic atmosphere. These offline erotic oases are places of 'deviance' characterised by semi-public sex (e.g. parks, public washrooms, and saunas). This type of atmosphere is contested by some participants while others embrace it. Analysis demonstrates that eroticism, spatiality, and language adapt to one another along a reformulating path. This suggests that a more nuanced understanding of language and the erotic depends on spatial investigations as much as discursive theory.},
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This study addresses how language interacts with the erotic and 'place' (our socially understood surroundings) in an online, text-only, mostly linguistic en-vironment to create an erotic atmosphere, and how eroticised atmosphere relates to linguistically driven sexual subject formation. Analysis focuses on extracts from a conversation in which public erotic discussions unfold between partici-pants who are (ostensibly) men who desire men. A 'room' spatiality is continual-ly performed, sometimes relying upon idealised images of 'erotic oases' from the offline world to build an erotic atmosphere. These offline erotic oases are places of 'deviance' characterised by semi-public sex (e.g. parks, public washrooms, and saunas). This type of atmosphere is contested by some participants while others embrace it. Analysis demonstrates that eroticism, spatiality, and language adapt to one another along a reformulating path. This suggests that a more nuanced understanding of language and the erotic depends on spatial investigations as much as discursive theory.
2011
King, Brian
Language, sexuality and place: The view from cyberspace Journal Article
In: Gender and Language, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-30, 2011.
@article{King2011,
title = {Language, sexuality and place: The view from cyberspace},
author = {Brian King},
doi = {10.1558/genl.v5i1.1},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-07-20},
urldate = {2011-07-20},
journal = {Gender and Language},
volume = {5},
number = {1},
pages = {1-30},
abstract = {This study attempts to use space/place as a tool in discourse analysis, focusing on the immediate surroundings of interaction. Analysis focuses on data taken from a corpus of computer-mediated chat-room interaction. It investigates the ongoing performance of sexualised place (and place-based sexuality) through the use of language in online chat-rooms. The central questions focus on how the shared imaginary of a room helps to shape the performances of genders and sexualities and how the gendered and sexualised discourses sexualise the room. Guided by the triangle of space model (Gotved, 2002, 2006), attention is paid to the chat rooms’ user interface, the spatial metaphor of the ‘room,’ and to participant interaction as part of the three dimensions of online spatiality. These are queer places for performances (in this case) of non-heterosexual, masculine identities and desires. Gotved’s model of online spatiality enables the investigation.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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This study attempts to use space/place as a tool in discourse analysis, focusing on the immediate surroundings of interaction. Analysis focuses on data taken from a corpus of computer-mediated chat-room interaction. It investigates the ongoing performance of sexualised place (and place-based sexuality) through the use of language in online chat-rooms. The central questions focus on how the shared imaginary of a room helps to shape the performances of genders and sexualities and how the gendered and sexualised discourses sexualise the room. Guided by the triangle of space model (Gotved, 2002, 2006), attention is paid to the chat rooms’ user interface, the spatial metaphor of the ‘room,’ and to participant interaction as part of the three dimensions of online spatiality. These are queer places for performances (in this case) of non-heterosexual, masculine identities and desires. Gotved’s model of online spatiality enables the investigation.
2010
King, Brian
Sexual identities in English language education: Classroom conversations Journal Article
In: Journal of Language Identity & Education, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 159-162, 2010.
@article{King2010,
title = {Sexual identities in English language education: Classroom conversations},
author = {Brian King},
doi = {10.1080/15348451003704909},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-04-30},
urldate = {2010-04-30},
journal = {Journal of Language Identity & Education},
volume = {9},
number = {2},
pages = {159-162},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
King, Brian
“All us girls were like euuh!”: Conversational work of be like in New Zealand adolescent talk Journal Article
In: New Zealand English Journal, vol. 24, pp. 17 - 36, 2010.
@article{King2010b,
title = {“All us girls were like euuh!”: Conversational work of be like in New Zealand adolescent talk},
author = {Brian King},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-01-01},
urldate = {2010-01-01},
journal = {New Zealand English Journal},
volume = {24},
pages = {17 - 36},
abstract = {The prolific use of vernacular like in the speech of teenagers in New Zealand (and abroad) has stimulated some debate concerning the efficacy and desirability of its various forms. Sociolinguists have traced the origin and development of one form (i.e. be like as a quotative marker), convincingly demonstrating that it is put to systematic use by speakers. The contribution of the present study is to examine the deployment of quotative be like as a meaningful resource during talk in interaction. The data have been taken from recordings of classroom sexuality-education activities in a Year 12 (age 16) Health programme in New Zealand. Participants deploy be like as a resource for the management of conversation, using it to frame their contributions as versions of opinions which are up for analysis. Be like stimulates collaboration and/or evaluation from the other participants, and after debate the original version can be modified or retracted without fear of censure. Concurrently be like enables rapport management, allowing for face work and the fulfilling of role-based responsibilities while speakers pursue the transactional goals of a sexuality-focused lesson. It is not clear, from these data, whether these are the primary interactional functions of be like or merely two functions amongst many. However, these findings demonstrate that be like is a means to social and communicative ends for these adolescent speakers of English, adding to a factual knowledge base about vernacular like which can critically inform value judgments about its desirability.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The prolific use of vernacular like in the speech of teenagers in New Zealand (and abroad) has stimulated some debate concerning the efficacy and desirability of its various forms. Sociolinguists have traced the origin and development of one form (i.e. be like as a quotative marker), convincingly demonstrating that it is put to systematic use by speakers. The contribution of the present study is to examine the deployment of quotative be like as a meaningful resource during talk in interaction. The data have been taken from recordings of classroom sexuality-education activities in a Year 12 (age 16) Health programme in New Zealand. Participants deploy be like as a resource for the management of conversation, using it to frame their contributions as versions of opinions which are up for analysis. Be like stimulates collaboration and/or evaluation from the other participants, and after debate the original version can be modified or retracted without fear of censure. Concurrently be like enables rapport management, allowing for face work and the fulfilling of role-based responsibilities while speakers pursue the transactional goals of a sexuality-focused lesson. It is not clear, from these data, whether these are the primary interactional functions of be like or merely two functions amongst many. However, these findings demonstrate that be like is a means to social and communicative ends for these adolescent speakers of English, adding to a factual knowledge base about vernacular like which can critically inform value judgments about its desirability.
2009
King, Brian
Building and Analysing Corpora of Computer-Mediated Communication Book Chapter
In: Baker, Paul (Ed.): pp. 303-322, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2009.
@inbook{King2009,
title = {Building and Analysing Corpora of Computer-Mediated Communication},
author = {Brian King},
editor = {Paul Baker},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
urldate = {2009-01-01},
pages = {303-322},
publisher = {New York: Continuum International Publishing Group},
abstract = {This chapter addresses problems encountered during the construction and analysis of a synchronic corpus of computer-mediated discourse. The corpus was not primarily constructed for the examination of the linguistic idiosyncrasies of the online chatting medium; rather it is to be used for corpus-based sociolinguistic inquiry into the language use and identity construction of a particular social group (which in this case could be classed as 'vulnerable'). Therefore the corpus data needed considerable adaptation during compilation and analysis to prevent those idiosyncrasies from acting as noise in the data. Adaptations include responses to spam (in the form of 'adbots'), cyber-orthography, the ubiquity of names, overlapping conversations and challenges of annotation. Diffi culties with gaining participant permis-sions and demographic information also required signifi cant attention. Attempted solutions to these corpus construction and analysis challenges, which are closely bound to the fi elds of both cyber-research and corpus linguistics, are outlined.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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This chapter addresses problems encountered during the construction and analysis of a synchronic corpus of computer-mediated discourse. The corpus was not primarily constructed for the examination of the linguistic idiosyncrasies of the online chatting medium; rather it is to be used for corpus-based sociolinguistic inquiry into the language use and identity construction of a particular social group (which in this case could be classed as 'vulnerable'). Therefore the corpus data needed considerable adaptation during compilation and analysis to prevent those idiosyncrasies from acting as noise in the data. Adaptations include responses to spam (in the form of 'adbots'), cyber-orthography, the ubiquity of names, overlapping conversations and challenges of annotation. Diffi culties with gaining participant permis-sions and demographic information also required signifi cant attention. Attempted solutions to these corpus construction and analysis challenges, which are closely bound to the fi elds of both cyber-research and corpus linguistics, are outlined.
2008
King, Brian
“Being Gay Guy, That is the Advantage”: Queer Korean Language Learning and Identity Construction Journal Article
In: Journal of Language Identity & Education, vol. 7, pp. 230-252, 2008.
@article{King2008,
title = {“Being Gay Guy, That is the Advantage”: Queer Korean Language Learning and Identity Construction},
author = {Brian King},
doi = {10.1080/15348450802237855},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-08-19},
urldate = {2008-08-19},
journal = {Journal of Language Identity & Education},
volume = {7},
pages = {230-252},
abstract = {This study works against heteronormativity, which is prevalent in the second language acquisition field, adding queer perspectives to the growing body of research that questions a narrower, 1-dimensional view of the language learner. There is a common belief that learning an additional language (L2) while surrounded by L2 speakers in a naturalistic setting is best. Theories of identity and language learning have destabilized this notion, pointing to the effects of ongoing identity construction on learning. While forming identities in the L2, a learner invests in certain groups of speakers (often imagined communities), leading them to seek out such speakers. Access to speakers in real naturalistic settings is not guaranteed, and social marginalization often prevents learning. This qualitative study explores the naturalistic language-learning experiences of 3 Korean gay men whose marginalized sexual identities assist them with access while articulating other aspects of their identities (e.g., race, nationality) as well as sexual desire.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study works against heteronormativity, which is prevalent in the second language acquisition field, adding queer perspectives to the growing body of research that questions a narrower, 1-dimensional view of the language learner. There is a common belief that learning an additional language (L2) while surrounded by L2 speakers in a naturalistic setting is best. Theories of identity and language learning have destabilized this notion, pointing to the effects of ongoing identity construction on learning. While forming identities in the L2, a learner invests in certain groups of speakers (often imagined communities), leading them to seek out such speakers. Access to speakers in real naturalistic settings is not guaranteed, and social marginalization often prevents learning. This qualitative study explores the naturalistic language-learning experiences of 3 Korean gay men whose marginalized sexual identities assist them with access while articulating other aspects of their identities (e.g., race, nationality) as well as sexual desire.
2007
King, Brian
The Language and Sexuality Reader Journal Article
In: Gender and Language, vol. 2, no. 1, 2007.
@article{King2007,
title = {The Language and Sexuality Reader},
author = {Brian King},
doi = {10.1558/genl.v2i1.129},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-10-31},
urldate = {2007-10-31},
journal = {Gender and Language},
volume = {2},
number = {1},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}