Research Methods in Language Attitudes

An interdisciplinary guide to traditional as well as cutting-edge methods for the study of language attitudes.

Ruth Kircher (Edited by), Lena Zipp (Edited by)

9781108811668, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 July 2022

475 pages
24.3 x 16.9 x 2.3 cm, 0.733 kg

'This book gives a wonderful overview of techniques and methods in language attitude research, and offers a discussion of the opportunities and challenges that investigators in this highly interdisciplinary field encounter. I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to investigate the relationship between societal and political structures and our views about language in more detail.' Nanna H. Hilton, University of Groningen

Attitudes towards spoken, signed, and written language are of significant interest to researchers in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, communication studies, and social psychology. This is the first interdisciplinary guide to traditional and cutting-edge methods for the investigation of language attitudes. Written by experts in the field, it provides an introduction to attitude theory, helps readers choose an appropriate method, and guides through research planning and design, data collection, and analysis. The chapters include step-by-step instructions to illustrate and facilitate the use of the different methods as well as case studies from a wide range of linguistic contexts. The book also goes beyond individual methods, offering guidance on how to research attitudes in multilingual communities and in signing communities, based on historical data, with the help of priming, and by means of mixed-methods approaches.

1. An introduction to language attitudes research Ruth Kircher and Lena Zipp
Part I. Analysis of the Societal Treatment of Language: 2. Discourse analysis of print media Olivia Walsh
3. Content analysis of social media Mercedes Durham
4. Discourse analysis of spoken interaction John Bellamy
5. Analysis of communication accommodation Jakob Leimgruber
6. Variable analysis James Hawkey
Part II. Direct Methods of Attitude Elicitation: 7. Semi-structured interviews Petros Karatsareas
8. Focus groups Michael Hornsby
9. Questionnaires to elicit quantitative data Ruth Kircher
10. Questionnaires to elicit qualitative data Lena Zipp
11. Perceptual dialectology Chris Montgomery
Part III. Indirect Methods of Attitude Elicitation: 12. The matched-guise technique Verónica Loureiro-Rodríguez and Elif Acar
13. The verbal-guise technique Marko Dragojevic and Sean Goatley-Soan
14. The theatre-audience method Tore Kristiansen
15. Experimental methods to elicit language attitudes among children Jasmine M. DeJesus, Radhika Santhanagopalan, and Katherine D. Kinzler
16. The Implicit Association Test paradigm Laura Rosseel
Part IV. Overarching Issues of Language Attitudes Research: 17. Researching language attitudes in multilingual communities Bernadette O'Rourke
18. Researching language attitudes in signing communities Annelies Kusters, Maartje De Meulder, and Erin Moriarty
19. Researching language attitudes based on historical data Anna D. Havinga and Andreas Krogull
20. The use of priming in language attitudes research Abby Walker, Katie Drager, and Jennifer Hay
21. Mixed-methods approaches to the study of language attitudes Ruth Kircher and James Hawkey.