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An Introduction to Multilingualism
This book offers an introduction to the many facets of multilingualism in a changing world. It begins with an overview of the multiplicity of human languages and their geographic distribution, before moving on to the key question of what multilingualism actually is and what is understood by terms such as 'mother tongue', 'native speaker', and 'speech community'. In the chapters that follow, Florian Coulmas systematically explores multilingualism with respect to the individual, institutions, cities, nations, and cyberspace. In each of these domains, the dynamics of language choice are undergoing changes as a result of economic, political, and cultural forces. Against this background, two chap...
Guardians of Language
This book provides an accessible account of the origins and conceptual foundations of language policy. Florian Coulmas discusses the influence of twenty intellectuals from medieval to modern times, and from a variety of cultures, who have taken issue with language, its use, development, and political potential. These 'guardians of language' range from renowned figures such as Dante, Noah Webster, and Gandhi, to less well-known individuals such as the Spanish grammarian Antonio de Nebrija and Senegalese politician and poet Leopold Sedar Senghor. Each chapter begins by providing background information on the scholar whose work is being reviewed and ends with a summary of his key thoughts on language in the form of an imaginary interview.
Functional Perspectives on Grammar and Discourse
This book, a tribute to Angela Downing, consists of twenty papers taking a broadly functional perspective on language, with topics ranging from the general (grammar as an evolutionary product, text comprehension, integrative linguistics) to particular aspects of the grammars of languages (Bulgarian, English, Icelandic, Spanish, Swedish). The more specific papers are sequenced according to Halliday s division into ideational, textual and interpersonal aspects of the grammar, and cover a wide range of areas, including aspect, argument structure, noun phrase/nominal group structure and nominalisations, pronominal clitics, theme in relation to writing skills, discourse structures and markers, the role of attention in conversation, the functions of topic, phatic communion, subjectification, formulaic language and modality. A recurrent theme in the volume is the use of corpus materials in order to base functional descriptions on authentic productions. Overall, the volume constitutes a panoramic but nevertheless detailed view of some important current trends in functional linguistics.
Identity
'Identity' as a concept has many faces, and its very versatility in different contexts can make it hard to define. Florian Coulmas discusses the many meanings of this slippery concept, considering why individual and collective identities are important to us, and discussing the problems asserting individual identities can create.
Language, Writing, and Mobility
This book brings together three subjects which command our attention because of their changing roles in everyday life, language, writing, and mobility. In different ways, borders are being crossed, redrawn, and redefined as we watch, and while comparable processes could be observed in the past, they are today more conspicuous than ever, being propelled by demographics, technological innovation, and consumer capitalism. The said three subjects interact in various ways and have an impact on language contact which, as this book is designed to show, are best captured by a processual view along the lines laid out for social analysis by Norbert Elias. The processual view of language and society ad...
Language Policy
This book offers an accessible introduction to the main issues in language policy today, and to the origins and conceptual foundations of the relationship between language and the state. Florian Coulmas draws on specific examples from around the world to explore how countries make decisions about which language - and which variety or form of that language - should be used for key functions such as primary education, government administration, and the law. The book provides historical background to shed light on present-day policy disputes concerning language, and looks at how the resulting decisions are implemented in schools and other institutions. A common thread that runs through the chapters is the question of whether the involvement of the government in language regulation is a necessity, a blessing, or a curse. Written in a concise and engaging style, Language Policy: A Slim Guide is suitable for readers from all backgrounds who are interested in the interaction between language and politics.
Writing and Society
How does writing relate to speech? What impact does it have on social organisation and development? How do unwritten languages differ from those that have a written form and tradition? This book is a general account of the place of writing in society. Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, from clay tablets to touchscreen displays, the book explores the functions of writing and written language, analysing its consequences for language, society, economy and politics. It examines the social causes of illiteracy, demonstrating that institutions of central importance to modern society are built upon writing and written texts, and are characterised by specific forms of communication. It explores the social dimensions of spelling and writing reform, as well as of digital literacy, a new mode of expression and communication posing novel challenges to the student of language in society.
Sociolinguistics
This accessible new textbook provides a clear introduction to sociolinguistics, the study of why we speak the way we do, and the social factors that influence our linguistic decisions. Based on the notion of 'choice' - that as speakers we select from the options open to us - it provides a solid theoretical framework to deal with the most fascinating characteristic of language: its variability and diversity. Topics covered include dialects, gender and age specific speech forms, professional jargons, diglossia, bilingualism, code-switching, pidgin languages, and language planning, all of which are unified by the common theme that speakers, by making choices, create their language. Drawing on linguistic variation from a wide range of societies and their languages, this is set to become a key text for all students of sociolinguistics, and will be welcomed by anyone interested in the complex interaction between language and society.
The Gift of Thanks
"A scholarly, many-angled examination of what gratitude is and how it functions in our lives" from the bestselling author of The Rituals of Dinner ( The New York Times). Known as an "anthropologist of everyday life," Margaret Visser has won numerous awards for illuminating the unexpected meanings of everyday objects and rituals. Now she turns her keen eye to another custom so ubiquitous that it often escapes notice: saying "Thank you." What do we really mean by these two simple words? This fascinating inquiry into all aspects of gratitude explores such topics as the unyielding determination of parents to teach their children to thank; the difference between speaking the words and feeling the...
A Multilingual Development Framework for Young Learners
This book presents a new extended framework for the study of early multicompetence. It proposes a concept of multilingual competences as a valuable educational target, and a view of the multilingual learner as a competent language user. The thematic focus is on multilingual skill development in primary schoolers in the trilingual province of South Tyrol, northern Italy. A wide range of topics pertaining to multicompetence building and the special affordances of multilingual pedagogy are explored. Key concepts like language proficiency, native-speakerism, or monolingual classroom bias are subjected to critical analysis.
