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Part of
The Sociolinguistics of Place and Belonging: Perspectives from the margins
Edited by Leonie Cornips and Vincent A. de Rooij
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 45] 2018
► pp. 125–148

Chapter 7
The politics of place-making and belonging through language choice within center-periphery dynamics in Limburg, The Netherlands

| Maastricht University
This contribution analyses a case of carnival celebration in Maasniel, Limburg, the Netherlands, a village that was annexed as a neighborhood of the larger city of Roermond in 1959. During the event, the Dutch ritual of Sinterklaas was combined with the carnival celebration, resulting in a staged language conflict between Dutch and dialect. I argue that this language conflict was used by the actors on stage to engage in the politics of place-making and belonging. These politics express who and what practices are perceived as in and out of place during this particular carnival event. I show that the actors of the event, through Bakhtinian carnivalesque manners, centralize the carnival celebration, dialect use, and Maasniel while peripheralizing Sinterklaas celebration practices, the use of Dutch, and the city of Roermond. I argue that the eventual switch from Dutch to dialect may be considered as a way to resist and subvert dominant center-periphery ideas.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Sinterklaas and carnival celebrations
    • 1.1The nationwide Sinterklaas celebration
    • 1.2The local carnival celebration
    • 1.3The prince announcement event at De Katers
  • 2.Language ideology in practice during the prince announcement
  • 3.Centralizing dialect carnival practices and peripheralizing Dutch Sinterklaas practices through the politics of place-making and belonging
    • 3.1The language discussion
    • 3.2In and out of place: Centralizing dialect, peripheralizing Dutch
    • 3.3Centralizing the carnival celebration at the expense of the Sinterklaas celebration
  • 4.Centralizing Maasniel and peripheralizing Roermond through the politics of place-making and belonging
    • 4.1Local center-periphery dynamics: Neel blief Neel!
    • 4.2In and out of place: Centralizing Maasniel, peripheralizing Roermond
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Media and interviews
  • Transcription conventions
Published online: 7 March 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.45.07thi
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