Abstract
This article describes the bodily aesthetics, patterns of consumption, and daily linguistic practices undertaken by hip-hop affiliated youth in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s. I argue that through their participation in politically conscious hip hop, poor male Brazilian youth attempt to racially transform their bodies into a form of 'modern blackness.' I focus, in particular, on the quoting of rap lyrics in daily conversation, a linguistic practice that offers audible evidence of one's consumption of hip hop style. I suggest that linguistic strategies of racial empowerment constitute forms of 'techniques of the self' that allow speakers to manage the racial appearance of the body through an avoidance of the traits that are negatively associated with blackness in Brazil.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 36-47 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Language and Communication |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2012 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Linguistics and Language
- Communication
Cite this
Linguistic techniques of the self : The intertextual language of racial empowerment in politically conscious Brazilian hip hop. / Roth Gordon, Jennifer F.
In: Language and Communication, Vol. 32, No. 1, 01.2012, p. 36-47.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Linguistic techniques of the self
T2 - The intertextual language of racial empowerment in politically conscious Brazilian hip hop
AU - Roth Gordon, Jennifer F
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - This article describes the bodily aesthetics, patterns of consumption, and daily linguistic practices undertaken by hip-hop affiliated youth in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s. I argue that through their participation in politically conscious hip hop, poor male Brazilian youth attempt to racially transform their bodies into a form of 'modern blackness.' I focus, in particular, on the quoting of rap lyrics in daily conversation, a linguistic practice that offers audible evidence of one's consumption of hip hop style. I suggest that linguistic strategies of racial empowerment constitute forms of 'techniques of the self' that allow speakers to manage the racial appearance of the body through an avoidance of the traits that are negatively associated with blackness in Brazil.
AB - This article describes the bodily aesthetics, patterns of consumption, and daily linguistic practices undertaken by hip-hop affiliated youth in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s. I argue that through their participation in politically conscious hip hop, poor male Brazilian youth attempt to racially transform their bodies into a form of 'modern blackness.' I focus, in particular, on the quoting of rap lyrics in daily conversation, a linguistic practice that offers audible evidence of one's consumption of hip hop style. I suggest that linguistic strategies of racial empowerment constitute forms of 'techniques of the self' that allow speakers to manage the racial appearance of the body through an avoidance of the traits that are negatively associated with blackness in Brazil.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84856321009&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.langcom.2011.10.002
DO - 10.1016/j.langcom.2011.10.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84856321009
VL - 32
SP - 36
EP - 47
JO - Language and Communication
JF - Language and Communication
SN - 0271-5309
IS - 1
ER -