Article published in:
Letter Writing in Late Modern EuropeEdited by Marina Dossena and Gabriella Del Lungo Camiciotti
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 218] 2012
► pp. 65–88
Performing identities and interaction through epistolary formulae
This article studies the exchange of correspondence between Finnish emigrants and their close relations in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The main goal of the article is to describe how the linguistic and social identities as writers are constructed in these letters on the basis of both the written standard and the resources available in spoken Finnish. One focus of the analysis is on epistolary formulae that cannot be seen as empty or non-analyzable elements. The meanings of these constructions are negotiated in the global context of nineteenth-century Finnish society, as well as in the local interaction and power relations between the writer and the addressee(s). This article discusses historical sociolinguistics ‘from below’, and aims to contribute to the topical discussions in sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics, especially concerning the fact that social styles not only reflect social meanings, but also construct them.
Published online: 16 April 2012
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.218.05lai
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.218.05lai
Cited by
Cited by other publications
No author info given
Kaislaniemi, Samuli, Mel Evans, Teo Juvonen & Anni Sairio
Laitinen, Mikko & Anita Auer
Nordlund, Taru & Heli Pekkarinen
Säily, Tanja, Arja Nurmi, Minna Palander-Collin & Anita Auer
van der Wal, Marijke & Gijsbert Rutten
Włodarczyk, Matylda
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 december 2020. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.