Language Change: Identity Management and the Boundaries of Acceptable Verbal Conduct in School Settings
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LANGUAGE CHANGE: IDENTITY MANAGEMENT AND THE BOUNDARIES OF ACCEPTABLE VERBAL CONDUCT IN SCHOOL SETTINGS Lynn Downes BA primAry educAtion, BA pre-primary education, BTTC, Master of EducAtion, Inclusive EducAtion, QUT, Master of EducAtion, TESOL, QUT. CELTA, UQ Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Margaret Kettle Associate Supervisor: Professor Gordon Tait Associate Supervisor: Dr Peter O’Brien Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Office of Education Research Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology May 2019. This page has been intentionally left blank “Fuck is a sacred word?” you ask. Fucking A right it is. It is a word that one should not utter because it is such a terrible word of epic proportions, a word whose mere utterance is a sin. A fucking sin, can you imagine? That’s how fucking important fuck is. And because it’s a sin, using it is so enticing to the young that when they hear it for the first time they are spellbound. And when they use it for the first time, that F and the U bang so deliciously against the hard K, ripping through the lips, it’s as if a caged animal has been unleashed. They feel that they have taken that first mighty step toward adulthood. Some of them may even repeat it over and over, testing to see if God will strike them down for saying it. It’s a word you don’t use in polite conversation or in front of your parents, which makes it even more glorious when chewed up and spit out in the schoolyard or in the bowels of the basement. (Black, 2009, p. vii) Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings i Keywords Behavioural school policy, boundaried language, Critical Discourse Analysis, De Saussure, discourse, dysphemism, euphemism, exclusion, Fairclough, Foucault, -IST language, language change, suspensions, swearing, taboo, taboo language, taboo words, verbal conduct, verbal misconduct. ii Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings AbstrAct Change in the prevalence and acceptability of swearing and taboo language relates to language change but is also relevant to schools and their practices of student suspension on the grounds of verbal misconduct. Queensland Department of Education data show that verbal and non-verbal misconduct was the second highest reason for suspensions and exclusions in Queensland government schools from 2008 to 2017. Limited data is available for similar incidents of verbal misconduct in non-government schools, however, social referencing of these linguistic practices suggest verbal misconduct is prevalent in these contexts. This study was interested in changing language use and norms in society, especially around taboo language and swearing in secondary school settings. Given the high prevalence of suspensions and exclusions based on verbal misconduct, the study aimed to investigate how key institutional stakeholders, particularly teachers and school leaders, define language transgressions and engage with the policies around these issues. This Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) used snowball sampling to garner accounts of 19 teachers and school leaders from 14 secondary schools in south east Queensland. Individual interviews generated data which were analysed through a Foucaultian lens of power and governmentality, employing Fairclough’s approach to CDA. The key findings of the study indicate that policy surrounding language infringement is ambiguous; teachers and school leaders use personal parameters in defining acceptability standards and responses to taboo language and swearing, however, they are facilitating the change in swearing and taboo language by disciplining language of difference, such as racist, sexist, ableist or -IST language more. In addition, the study evidences change in use of certain words by students. This corresponds with the literature on swearing and taboo language change. Findings also reveal that participants are finding that taboo language and swearing use has increased over time, being more frequently used with less effective consequences. Findings also suggest that consistency is lacking with references made to variance and difference amongst specific teacher subjectivities. Difference and division are also apparent in gendered experiences and expectations of participants. Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings iii These findings reveal that if verbal misconduct continues to be a punishable behaviour then policy around language transgressions need to be more explicit with more dialogue required between teachers, students, and school leaders about language, its changes, and social power. iv Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct in school settings Table of Contents Keywords .................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ X Statement of Original Authorship ............................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Society, Schools, and Language ....................................................... 1 1.1 Preface ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Language and the School Environment .......................................................................... 6 1.3 The Broader Language Environment .............................................................................. 9 1.3.1 A General Acceptance .......................................................................................... 9 1.3.2 A Certain Divide ................................................................................................ 11 1.4 Aims, Objectives, and Research Questions .................................................................. 12 1.5 Significance and Scope ................................................................................................. 13 1.6 Thesis Outline ............................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Literature in the Field .................................................................... 17 2.1 The Language ............................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1 Taboo and the Connection with Language ......................................................... 18 2.1.2 Swearing and Taboo Language Change through the Ages ................................ 22 2.1.3 Euphemism, Dysphemism, and Orthophemism ................................................. 29 2.1.4 Why People Swear? The Pragmatics of Swearing ............................................. 31 2.1.5 Swearing Now and the Future: Changing Taboos and Changing Words ........... 36 2.2 Schools and Swearing Policies ..................................................................................... 40 2.2.1 Behaviour Policy in Australia and Queensland – A Short History .................... 42 2.2.2 Behaviour Policies in Schools ............................................................................ 43 2.3 Teacher Response ......................................................................................................... 45 2.4 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 3: Theoretical Perspective .................................................................. 49 3.1 The ToolboX .................................................................................................................. 49 3.2 The Order of Discourse, Discursive Formations, and the Institution ........................... 52 3.2.1 Discursive Formations ........................................................................................ 57 3.3 De Saussure and the Sign ............................................................................................. 58 3.4 Pragmatics – ConteXt and Meaning: Aligning Foucault and De Saussure ................... 62 3.5 Truth and Power ........................................................................................................... 64 3.6 Ethics, Morality, and the Self ....................................................................................... 68 3.6.1 The Subject ......................................................................................................... 68 Language change: Identity management and the boundaries of acceptable verbal conduct