Social Lives in Language--sociolinguistics and Multilingual Speech Communities

Social Lives in Language--sociolinguistics and Multilingual Speech Communities
Author: Gillian Sankoff
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2008
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027218633

This volume offers a synthetic approach to language variation and language ideologies in multilingual communities. Although the vast majority of the world s speech communities are multilingual, much of sociolinguistics ignores this internal diversity. This volume fills this gap, investigating social and linguistic dimensions of variation and change in multilingual communities. Drawing on research in a wide range of countries (Canada, USA, South Africa, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu), it explores: connections between the fields of creolistics, language/dialect contact, and language acquisition; how the study of variation and change, particularly in cases of additive bilingualism, is central to understanding social and linguistic issues in multilingual communities; how changing language ideologies and changing demographics influence language choice and/or language policy, and the pivotal place of multilingualism in enacting social power and authority, and a rich array of new empirical findings on the dynamics of multilingual speech communities.

Speech Communities

Speech Communities
Author: Marcyliena H. Morgan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2014-02-20
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1107023505

What makes a speech community? How do they evolve? Speech communities are central to our understanding of how language and interactions occur in society. In this book readers will find an overview of the main concepts and critical arguments surrounding how language and communication styles distinguish and identify groups.

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Author: Janet Holmes
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2013-10-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317860713

Sociolinguistics is the study of the interaction between language and society. In this classic introductory work, Janet Holmes examines the role of language in a variety of social contexts, considering both how language works and how it can be used to signal and interpret various aspects of social identity. Written with Holmes' customary enthusiasm, the book is divided into three sections which explain basic sociolinguistic concepts in the light of classic approaches as well as introducing more recent research. This fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout using key concepts and examples to guide the reader through this fascinating area, including: - New sections on: koines and koineisation linguistic landscapes New Englishes Stylisation language and sexuality societal approaches to attitude research forensic linguistics - A new selection of informative examples, exercises and maps -Fully updated further reading and references sections An Introduction to Sociolinguistics is an essential introductory text for all students of sociolinguistics and a splendid point of reference for students of applied linguistics. It is also an accessible guide for those who are simply interested in language and the many and varied uses we put it to.

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics
Author: Rajend Mesthrie
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 598
Release: 2011-10-06
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1139500937

The most comprehensive overview available, this Handbook is an essential guide to sociolinguistics today. Reflecting the breadth of research in the field, it surveys a range of topics and approaches in the study of language variation and use in society. As well as linguistic perspectives, the handbook includes insights from anthropology, social psychology, the study of discourse and power, conversation analysis, theories of style and styling, language contact and applied sociolinguistics. Language practices seem to have reached new levels since the communications revolution of the late twentieth century. At the same time face-to-face communication is still the main force of language identity, even if social and peer networks of the traditional face-to-face nature are facing stiff competition of the Facebook-to-Facebook sort. The most authoritative guide to the state of the field, this handbook shows that sociolinguistics provides us with the best tools for understanding our unfolding evolution as social beings.

The Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages

The Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages
Author: Peter K. Austin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 581
Release: 2011-03-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 113950083X

It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.

The Interplay of Variation and Change in Contact Settings

The Interplay of Variation and Change in Contact Settings
Author: Isabelle Léglise
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2013
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027234922

This volume is at the cross-roads between two research traditions dealing with language change: contact linguistics and language variation and change. It starts out from the notion that linguistic variation is still a little researched area in most contact-induced language change studies. Intending to fill this gap, it offers a rich panorama of case studies and approaches dealing with linguistic variation in contact settings. It concentrates both on monolingual data, tracing variation and contact beneath surface homogeneity, and on bilingual data such as code-switching and other forms of variation, to trace their underlying regularities. It investigates the relationship between variation and change in language contact settings. The book will be relevant for students and researchers in contact linguistics, sociolinguistics, language variation and change, sociology of language, descriptive linguistics and linguistic typology.

Language Contact. Volume 1

Language Contact. Volume 1
Author: Jeroen Darquennes
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 868
Release: 2019-08-19
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110435357

Language Contact. An International Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of current topics in research on language contact. Broadly conceived, it stands out for its international approach to language contact, complementing the theoretical state-of-the-art with examples from traditionally eclipsed areas and languages. Next to a thorough introductory overview of the ground-breaking methodological and theoretical approaches that shaped the discipline, ample attention goes to the new and innovative insights on language contact in the 21st century. Combining concise introductory contributions with in-depth treatment of the most relevant case studies in the field, the handbook speaks to both junior and established scholars.

The Cambridge Handbook of Heritage Languages and Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of Heritage Languages and Linguistics
Author: Silvina Montrul
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1171
Release: 2021-11-25
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 110880053X

Heritage languages are minority languages learned in a bilingual environment. These include immigrant languages, aboriginal or indigenous languages and historical minority languages. In the last two decades, heritage languages have become central to many areas of linguistic research, from bilingual language acquisition, education and language policies, to theoretical linguistics. Bringing together contributions from a team of internationally renowned experts, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of this emerging area of study from a number of different perspectives, ranging from theoretical linguistics to language education and pedagogy. Presenting comprehensive data on heritage languages from around the world, it covers issues ranging from individual aspects of heritage language knowledge to broader societal, educational, and policy concerns in local, global and international contexts. Surveying the most current issues and trends in this exciting field, it is essential reading for graduate students and researchers, as well as language practitioners and other language professionals.

An Introduction to Bilingualism

An Introduction to Bilingualism
Author: Jeanette Altarriba
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2018-04-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351589792

The study of bilingualism and all of its aspects – from theory and models to social approaches and their practical applications – forms the cornerstone of the 2nd edition of this work. The chapters cover the latest advancements in the domains of psycholinguistics, neuroscience, creativity, and executive functioning. Contributions, new to this edition, offer the reader the most up-to-date research on lifespan and developmental issues. The work also provides insight into how human language is processed by all, not just by bilingual and multilingual speakers. This text is ideal for senior undergraduate and graduate courses in psycholinguistics and the psychology of language, especially those with an emphasis on bilingualism or second language learning.

Prescription and Tradition in Language

Prescription and Tradition in Language
Author: Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2016-11-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1783096527

This book contextualises case studies across a wide variety of languages and cultures, crystallising key interrelationships between linguistic standardisation and prescriptivism, and between ideas and practices. It focuses on different traditions of standardisation and prescription throughout the world and addresses questions such as how nationalistic idealisations of ‘traditional’ language persist (or shift) amid language change, linguistic variation and multilingualism. The volume explores issues of standardisation and the sociolinguistic phenomenon of prescription as a formative influence on the notional standard language as well as the interconnections between these in a wide range of geographical contexts. It balances the otherwise strong emphasis on English in English language publications on prescriptivism and breaks new ground with its multilingual approach across languages and nations. The book will appeal to scholars working within different linguistic traditions interested in questions relating to all aspects of standardisation and prescriptivism.