The community of workers in thoroughbred horseracing attaches language-specific names to the typical social roles enacted by horsetrainers and jockeys. Since these “argot roles” illustrate common behaviors and expectations, differentiate between and rank the social positions of trainer and jockey, and reflect the community focal concerns of knowledge, hard work, honesty, and style, they create a type of social order. Actual discourse that names the meaningful categories and organizes interaction between the community actors is used to demonstrate the social system that emerges.
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