In this paper, we discuss the affordances of an approach to the representation, interpretation, and democratization of sociolinguistic research, which utilizes the tools and methods of the theatre. Taking as an example a team ethnographic research project conducted across four cities in the UK, we discuss the process of creating drama from material observed as social practice. Drawing on observations in a welfare advice centre in a Chinese community centre, and a city-based volleyball team, we propose that theatre techniques enable audiences and academic researchers to see communicative encounters in a new light. We propose that ethnographic drama offers three opportunities in particular: (i) it has the potential to make available outcomes of research beyond the academy; (ii) it has the potential to discover understandings of ethnographic material which remain latent in accounts that do not involve performance; and (iii) it has the capacity to democratize voice, privileging the voices of research participants rather than those of academic researchers. Ethnographic drama thus offers considerable potential in the representation, interpretation, and democratization of sociolinguistic research.

中文翻译：

---

民族志戏剧在社会语言学研究的表现、解释和民主化方面的潜力

在本文中，我们讨论了社会语言学研究的表现、解释和民主化方法的可供性，它利用了戏剧的工具和方法。以在英国四个城市进行的团队民族志研究项目为例，我们讨论了从作为社会实践观察到的材料创作戏剧的过程。借鉴对华人社区中心福利咨询中心和城市排球队的观察，我们提出戏剧技巧可以让观众和学术研究人员以新的眼光看待交流。我们建议民族志戏剧特别提供三个机会：（i）它有可能使学术界以外的研究成果可用；(ii) 它有可能发现对民族志材料的理解，这些材料仍然隐藏在不涉及表演的账户中；(iii) 它有能力使声音民主化，让研究参与者而不是学术研究人员的声音享有特权。因此，民族志戏剧在社会语言学研究的表现、解释和民主化方面具有相当大的潜力。