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The book was co-edited by Brian Spooner, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. Language policy in Central Asia, Afghanistan and the immediately surrounding neighboring countries has a long and varied history. The Iranian revolution of 1978, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan since 2001 have left the area in a state of flux. This volume gives a better picture about what is official and explicit, what is not official but implicit or general practice, and what the likely future developments might be. It is very clear that multilingualism, whether it involves Persian, Russian or English in addition to other languages, not only has long been a part of the scene, but will probably continue to be so.
This is a study of an almost inaccessible area of the intricate linguistic fabric of Afghanistan – namely, its secret codes of communication. The text draws on a profound knowledge of Afghanistan and neighbouring regions, as well as the cultural and sociolinguistic processes at work across Eurasia. The author situates these sociolinguistic matters within the appropriate diachronic and comparative background, and traces the numerous threads which connect them to areas both close to and distant from Afghanistan. The book will be of great interest to scholars from a wide range of disciplines, including, but extending beyond, the realms of linguistics, cultural history, and sociology. It will also be of practical value in many areas, notably with regards to military and political issues, as well as humanitarian aid.
Earlier ed. pub. under title: The modern Pushtu instructor.