ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a short outline of the linguistic features used to identify a stretch of speech as Stylized Asian English (SAE). It considers the interview reports of SAE code-switching with teachers. In terms of its interactional occasioning, switches to SAE frequently occurred when Asian youngsters were negotiating participation in an interactional enclosure in which a white adult would have some control or influence over them. When actual incidents are examined, it becomes clear that informant reports oversimplify the social relations involved in adolescent-adult SAE. In fact, understanding SAE's interactional location assists the analysis of its symbolic significance. The analysis of symbolic ritual in interaction becomes relevant. Ritual is a slippery concept. The chapter overviews the connection between micro and macro levels of social organization. It concludes with a discussion of the links between interpersonal discourse and larger political processes.
