Language crossing and the problematisation of ethnicity and socialisation

This paper begins in Section 1 by noting two processes that have been generally overlooked sociolinguistics. Firstly, the prevailing approaches to ethnicity tended neglect through which individuals can either adopt someone else's ethnicity, or get together with them and create a new one. Secondly, socialization sociolinguistics is most commonly seen as enculturation into an ingroup, not process of learning like live social ethnic difference. To throw some light on these processes, turns its focus towards practice it calls 'language crossing' ('code crossing', 'crossing'). Language crossing involves code alternation people who are accepted members group associated second language they using (code switching varieties thought belong them). kind distinct sense movement across boundaries raises issues legitimacy which, one way another, participants need negotiate course their encounter. A fuller account intricate dialectic between language, peer belonging otherness lies at heart emerges proceeds. After methodological preliminaries (Section 2) outline ways multiracial I studied be considered community 3), empirical description itself initial emphasis was integrated what shared culture 4). The following section 5) processed division race stratification within group, this further elaborated discussion socialisation 6. 7 contains conclusion briefly links crossing's treatment Bourdieu's doxa, orthodoxv heretical discourse.