| Local Languaging, Literacy and Multilingualism in a West African Society Contributor(s): Juffermans, Kasper (Author) |
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ISBN: 1783094206 ISBN-13: 9781783094202 Publisher: Multilingual Matters Limited OUR PRICE: $123.45 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Sociolinguistics - Language Arts & Disciplines | Literacy - Education | Bilingual Education |
| Dewey: 404.209 |
| LCCN: 2015015278 |
| Series: Critical Language and Literacy Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.8" W x 8.3" (0.80 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book aims to enhance and challenge our understanding of language and literacy as social practice against the background of heightened globalisation. Juffermans presents an ethnographic study of the linguistic landscape of The Gambia, arguing that language should be conceptualised as a verb (languaging) rather than a countable noun (a language, languages). He goes on to argue that sociolinguistics should not be defined as the study of 'who speaks what language to whom, and when and to what end' (as Fishman defined it), but as the study of who uses which linguistic features under particular circumstances in a particular place and time. The book is therefore in part an exercise to unpluralise language, which Juffermans argues is necessary for a more realistic understanding of what language is, what it does, and what people do with it. The book will be of interest to sociolinguistics researchers, especially those focusing on Africa and the global South. |
Contributor Bio(s): Juffermans, Kasper: - Kasper Juffermans is a postdoctoral researcher and principal investigator at the Institute for Research on Multilingualism at the University of Luxembourg. His research interests include language-in-education policies; literacies and linguistic landscapes; and mobility and migration. |
