Investigating a Register Label: Integrated Speech in Copenhagen

Naming and labelling are key means of constructing linguistic codes. The understanding that certain speech practices and linguistic forms belong together requires taxonomic labels in the first place (Makoni 2012), and the metapragmatic labels we attach to such practices contribute significantly to their social enregisterment by hinting at indexical links between speech repertoires, typical speakers, social-interpersonal relationships and associated forms of conduct (Agha 2007: 145). Since giving names to speech practices is far from a trivial endeavor, recent sociolinguistic discussions have increasingly been concerned with research on the political and ideological aspects of professionals’ metalinguistic labelling (e.g. Jaspers 2008; J0rgensen