Courageous voices: how we create and participate in stressing the dominant culture

ABSTRACT

When looking at the cross-section of language and culture, we must also look at the belief systems held within a culture and how they are reinforced by language use. How do the actions of individuals from a subculture stress the dominant culture in an effort to be unique and to create change? This paper focuses on how the language of a subculture stresses the dominant culture, by expressing its belief systems which are deeply ingrained in the culture it belongs to. Examples are provided that show how subcultures are asserting themselves within dominant cultures, finding success in creating change within that dominant culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Stressing the dominant discourse
• language and culture
• society
• technology
• hip-hop
• norms of behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.