Essays on A Place to Stand: Politics and Persuasion in a Working-Class Bar (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics)

A Place to Stand: Politics and Persuasion in a Working-Class Bar (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics)
In A Place to Stand, sociolinguist Bruce Ryan has written a fascinating account of the variety of ways in which language is used to construct and negotiate identity in a working-class bar. Ryan’s analysis of the bar’s linguistic ecology reveals how the local community uses language to construct and maintain a distinct social identity. Drawing on an ethnographic study of a working-class bar in the American Midwest, Ryan demonstrates how the bar’s patrons use language to construct and maintain a distinct social identity. In doing so, he provides a unique perspective on the relationship between language and social class. Ryan’s study highlights the importance of language in the construction of social identity and underscores the role of language in the negotiation of power relations.