2 - Wonderment

Summary

In Chapter 1, I introduced the term “citizen sociolinguistic arrest” to describe one possible point of entry into conversations about language, and this chapter addresses an equally common and recognizable speech event that sparks extended language discussions: wonderment. Citizen sociolinguistic wonderment is a blend of admiration and awe (sometimes touched with silliness, fear, or skepticism) regarding ways of speaking. This type of wonderment pulls us into conversations about language when, for example we listen to a comedian talking about “the world’s sexiest accents,” or hear teenagers describing their weekend, or when we travel and hear a new variety of our “own” language. Citizen sociolinguistic wonderment sparks conversation, deliberation, and discussion not only about language, but also about people’s associated understandings of the social characteristics of speakers of these languages, generalizations that may be reinforced or debunked, perpetuated or laid to rest. The wonderment surrounding the mere idea of “sexy accents,” teen-speak, or new forms of language of any kind can spark important conversation, expand people’s language awareness, and as we will see later, even motivate social action.