1. “New” classifications and social positioning:
clusters, distinctions, and practice
Marie Maegaard
Department of Dialectology & the Lanchart Centre
University of Copenhagen
mamae@hum.ku.dk

2. Denmark and Copenhagen
Population in Denmark: 5,500,000
Covers an area of 43.000 km2
Population in greater Copenhagen:
1,700,000
Language: Danish

3. The Danish state: From absolute monarchy to
democracy
In 1660 the king Frederik III declared Denmark an absolute
monarchy
 A very centralised power in Copenhagen, politically and culturally
 The language of the capital became the prestige norm, the
“rigsmål”
The “Almueskolelov” (1814)
 a much larger group of literate persons in Denmark, and the
literacy produced standard norms, norms of the “rigsmål”
 Up through the 19th
and 20th
century the strength of local dialects
decreased ed as people began to speak the standard language, the
“rigsmål”

4. In Copenhagen
Two varieties: High Copenhagen
and Low Copenhagen
The city grew increasingly but on
limited space, and became more
and more densely populated
1850, the fortification earthworks were torn down, city
expanded rapidly
1849, constitutional monarchy
By the mid/end of the 19th century high and low Copenhagen
stood as strong as ever, but since then the distinction between
them has diminished

5. Language change in Danish in the 20th century
Changes spreading from Low Copenhagen to High Copenhagen
and to the language spoken in the rest of the country
(Brink & Lund 1975, Jørgensen 1980, Kristensen 1978, Jørgensen &
Kristensen 1994, Nielsen & Nyberg 1988)
High and Low Copenhagen sociolects?
- - -
People who were measured higher on traditional socio-economic
scales picked up linguistic practices that used to be used
primarily by people who were measured lower on these scales
 The differences between the speech of (measured) upper and
lower classes were decreased

6. Copenhagen 2010

7. Danish society today
Constitutional monarchy
One of the wealthiest countries in the world
One of the most economically equal countries in the world
Redistribution of income by taxation
Progressive taxation (up to 60%), 25% VAT
Social mobility
Free education for all (State Education Fund)
Childcare (85% of 1-2 year olds, 97% of 3-5 year olds in
institutions)
Public schools (86% of all children, 6-15 years old)

8. Class
Is class important?
Class as an analytic concept, the structural model: Society as
stratified into distinct social classes (e.g. Labov)
“the question with which all sociology ought to begin” is “that of
the existence […] and mode of existence of collectives”
(Bourdieu 1991: 250)
 boundaries must be understood in terms of social practices
rather than theoretical conjecture

9. Bourdieu’s concept of class
Both economic and symbolic aspects of class
Field
Capital – economic, cultural, social
Habitus

10. The new lower class in late modernity?
Globalisation, mobility

Unskilled migrants constitute a new marginalised class in
society
(e.g. Baumann 1998, Habermas 1996)
Critique: This view reveals a post-colonial white perspective on
society, and it produces the phenomenon that it claims to be
opposing
(Genova 2006, Goldberg 1993, Wacquant 2008)

11. New studies of youth in Copenhagen
Staunæs 2004
Quist 2005
Maegaard 2007
Madsen 2008
Stæhr 2010
Ag 2010

12. Dias 12
Girls, boys, “foreigners” and “Danes” in the City
School, Maegaard 2007

13. Frequency of two variants, Madsen 2008

14. Dias 14
Popularity index
Name # pupils mentioning the person as popular
Louise 30
Rashid 29
Manuel 27
Omar 26
Karim 20
Jeppe 15
Lykke 14
Mille 14
Maja 12
Laura 11
Mira 11
Benn 10

15. Social positionings in Madsen 2008
Dias 15
01/29/15

16. School orientation, Stæhr 2010
Mahmoud: fuck dig <jeg er ligeglad mand> [>]
fuck you <I don’t care man> [>]
Bashaar: <okay temperaturen> [<] stiger så sluk din el
<okay the temperature> [<] is rising so turn off your electricity
Mahmoud: temperaturen ja den (.) temperaturen ja den <stiger> [>]
the temperature yes it’s (.) the temperature yes it’s rising
Madiha: <kom nu lav> [<] jeres lektier få en uddannelse (.) rap koran tror I at
I får penge for det
<come on do> [<] your homework get an education (.) rap koran do
you think you’re getting payed for this
Bashaar: HVOR MEGET TROR DU JEG FIK I FRANSK I DAG (.) TI (.) HISTORIE
FIK JEG TOLV (.) MATEMATIK FIK JEG TI (.) LAD VÆRE MED AT SNAKKE WALLAH
WHAT DO YOU THINK I GOT IN FRENCH TODAY (.) TEN (.) HISTORY I
GOT TWELVE (.) MATH I GOT TEN (.) STOP TALKING WALLAH
(2.0)
Madiha: hvor skulle jeg vide det fra (.) øh ja øh I FORHOLD TIL ANDRE HVAD
FIK DU MOUD ((kælenavn))
how was I supposed to know (.) ahm well ahm COMPARED TO THE
OTHERS WHAT DID YOU GET MOUD
Bashaar: Mahmoud fik sgu også ti
Mahmoud got bloody ten too
Mahmoud: TI (.) I FYSIK OG KEMI (.) TOLV I BIOLOGI
TEN (.) IN SCIENCE (.) TWELVE IN BIOLOGY
(Wireless recording, Mahmoud and Bashaar, 06.10.09)

17. School orientation, Madsen 2008

18. Conclusions
 Social class  Social positioning through engagement in
practice
 Symbolic capital at different levels/fields
 New linguistic features in the “Foreigner” category
 Linguistic practices of the “Foreigners” – the new Low
Copenhagen?