DOI: 10.5176/2251-3566_L31284
Authors: Basia Krupa-Ryan
Abstract: Bboying, also known as breakdancing or breakin’ is a dance form participated in by Bboy—a boy who physically “breaks” to the musical break of record— communities all over the world. Dance, however, is not merely a “structural physical pattern occurring in particular time and space” [1], but is also a communicative form that carries cultural meaning and values. Adapting a framework of anthropological linguistics and sociolinguistics grounded in the observation and description of naturally-occurring behavior, this analysis looks beyond the actions of the participants of the U.S. and South Korean community members to the keywords they use in explaining and defining their craft and its role in their lives. The keywords carry meaning for the culture as well as the individual as they reflect, construct, and promote the worldview maintained and demonstrated by its members. Ultimately, the analysis reveals the values and ideology that structure the Bboy community and the partially unique, partially shared worldview of its members.
Keywords: Bboy; breakdance; cultural relativity; ideology; keyword; linguistic relativity; speech community; worldview
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