On the basis of interviews with music audiences, heritage practitioners, and cultural industry workers, this article explores how language use in Dutch popular music relates to local and historically situated taste patterns and music practices. Most popular music in the Netherlands is sung in English, Dutch, or dialects of the Dutch language.

We discuss how these languages are used in Dutch popular music as an expression of cultural taste, cultural identities, and local heritages. Furthermore, we describe historical trends in the attention to various languages and their associated genres, focusing on processes of classification and cultural legitimization.

hdl.handle.net/1765/79624
Popular Music & Society
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC)

van der Hoeven, A., Janssen, S., & Driessen, S. (2015). Articulations of identity and distinction. Popular Music & Society, 39(1), 43–58. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/79624