Language ideologies, life-making and vitality in trans communities in the US South

This article examines how transgender individuals in South Carolina negotiate community language practices in light of personal and political projects for trans vitality. Drawing on moments of metalinguistic commentary from online group interviews with trans and nonbinary people in South Carolina, this article focuses on examples from two interviews to explore how interviewees orient to two distinct understandings of language use: a ‘self-facing’ approach and a ‘public-facing’ approach. While participants describe creatively using language for enjoyment and self-exploration, they are keenly aware that their language is up for critique once it enters the public realm. As such, they invoke a linguistic ideology that recognises multiple contextual approaches to language use. This article demonstrates how these trans South Carolinians use language for trans life-making: for the simultaneous personal and political projects of self-determination and the making of a safe and viable world for trans people.