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Combining text with practical exercises and discussion questions to stimulate readers, this textbook covers a wide range of sociolinguistic issues relating to the Spanish Language and its role in societies around the world.
This book traces how and why Spanish has arrived at its current position, examining its role in the diverse societies where it is spoken from Europe to the Americas.
This book contributes to understanding research approaches for studying multilingualism in the context of contemporary superdiversity, in environments that are being dramatically transformed by transnational migration and movement of peoples. It explores language in urban contexts: the city as a site for experimentation and creativity in language practices. This involves considering theoretical frameworks in which to examine these practices, but above all, it focuses on how we do, or could do, research into these language practices and their users. What methodologies are we using to understand urban linguistic contexts? What do we want to learn? The chapters explore complex and challenging situations, capturing the evolution of new forms of language practice and changing attitudes to language in the city.
The contributors to Language Ideologies, Policies and Practices investigate the workings of language ideologies in relation to other social processes in a globalizing world. They explore in detail the specific ways in which language ideologies underpin language policy and the relationship between public policies and individual practices. Particular attention is given to Europe, where the impetus to social transformation within and across national boundaries is in renewed tension with conflicting national and supra-national interests, with these tensions reflected in the complex issues of language choice and language policy.
The Handbook of Language and Globalization brings together important new studies of language and discourse in the global era, consolidating a vibrant new field of sociolinguistic research. The first volume to assemble leading scholarship in this rapidly developing field Features new contributions from 36 internationally-known scholars, bringing together key research in the field and establishing a benchmark for future research Comprehensive coverage is divided into four sections: global multilingualism, world languages and language systems; global discourse in key domains and genres; language, values and markets under globalization; and language, distance and identities Covers an impressive breadth of topics including tourism, language teaching, social networking, terrorism, and religion, among many others Winner of the British Association for Applied Linguistics book prize 2011
One of the most pressing issues in contemporary European societies is the need to promote integration and social inclusion in the context of rapidly increasing migration. A particular challenge confronting national governments is how to accommodate speakers of an ever-increasing number of languages within what in most cases are still perceived as monolingual indigenous populations. This has given rise to public debates in many countries on controversial policies imposing a requirement of competence in a 'national' language and culture as a condition for acquiring citizenship. However, these debates are frequently conducted almost entirely at a national level within each state, with little if any attention paid to the broader European context. At the same time, further EU enlargement and the ongoing rise in the rate of migration into and across Europe suggest that the salience of these issues is likely to continue to grow. This volume offers a critical analysis of these debates and emerging discourses on integration and challenges the assumptions underlying the new 'language testing regimes'.
Nationalism has recently been the focus of considerable interest, but relatively little is known about nation-building and competing identities in Spain and Portugal. In examining the roots of Iberian nationalism, and the conflicts and tensions which have come to the fore in the twentieth century, this timely collection offers a broad interdisciplinary base and socio-historical context through which to understand the region's nationalist challenges. Topics include:- how nationalism is constructed and used as a tool by political groups;- how language is used as a nationalist emblem; and- how cultural representations of nationalism manifest themselves at both a popular level and at the level of elites.This book will provide a welcome addition to Iberian studies and invaluable insights for students and specialists alike.
Compiled for use in the Open University MA course E825. The 15 articles sample the ideas over the past decade on the importance of social factors in language and literacy development. They include theoretical and ethnographic accounts, cross-cultural and historical perspectives, and explorations of the political aspects and the discourses within which language and literacy are discussed. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The Romance languages offer a particularly fertile ground for the exploration of the relationship between language and society in different social contexts and communities. Focusing on a wide range of Romance languages – from national languages to minoritised varieties – this volume explores questions concerning linguistic diversity and multilingualism, language contact, medium and genre, variation and change. It will interest researchers and policy-makers alike.