Multilingualism A Very Short Introduction

Author : John C. Maher
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198724993
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.95/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Multilingualism written by John C. Maher and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John C. Maher explains why societies everywhere have become more multilingual, despite the disappearance of hundreds of the world languages. He considers our notion of language as national or cultural identities, and discusses why nations cluster and survive around particular languages even as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood.

Author : Florian Coulmas
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198791100
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.02/5 ( download)

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Download or read book An Introduction to Multilingualism written by Florian Coulmas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 chapters discuss the effects of linguistic diversity on the integration and separation of language and society, before a final chapter describes and assesses research methods for investigating multilingualism. Each chapter concludes with problems and questions for discussion, which place the topic in a real-world context. The book explores where, when, and why multilingualism came to be regarded as a problem, and why it presents a serious challenge for linguistic theory today. It provides the basic tools to analyse different kinds of multilingualism at both the individual and society level, and will be of interest to students of linguistics, sociology, education, and communication studies.

Author : Stephen R. Anderson
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199590591
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Languages: A Very Short Introduction written by Stephen R. Anderson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2012-06-28 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How many languages are there? What differentiates one language from another? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? These are some of the questions considered in this Very Short Introduction. By examining the science of languages, we find that the answers are not as simple as we might expect.

Author : John Edwards
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199858616
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Sociolinguistics: A Very Short Introduction written by John Edwards and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Very Short Introduction deals with the social life of language, presenting a succinct account of the most important aspects - both "micro" and "macro" - of sociolinguistics, such as language variation, language attitudes, and the relationship between language and identity.

Author : John C. Maher
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191038067
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.68/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Multilingualism: A Very Short Introduction written by John C. Maher and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The languages of the world can be seen and heard in cities and towns, forests and isolated settlements, as well as on the internet and in international organizations like the UN or the EU. How did the world acquire so many languages? Why can't we all speak one language, like English or Esperanto? And what makes a person bilingual? Multilingualism, language diversity in society, is a perfect expression of human plurality. About 6,500-7,000 languages are spoken, written and signed, throughout the linguistic landscape of the world, by people who communicate in more than one language (at work, or in the family or community). Many origin myths, like Babel, called it a 'punishment' but multilingualism makes us who we are and plays a large part of our sense of belonging. Languages are instruments for interacting with the cultural environment and their ecology is complex. They can die (Tasmanian), or decline then revive (Manx and Hawaiian), reconstitute from older forms (modern Hebrew), gain new status (Catalan and Maori) or become autonomous national languages (Croatian). Languages can even play a supportive and symbolic role as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood, such as in the cases of Catalonia and Scotland. In this Very Short Introduction John C. Maher shows how multilingualism offers cultural diversity, complex identities, and alternative ways of doing and knowing to hybrid identities. Increasing multilingualism is drastically changing our view of the value of language, and our notion of the part language plays in national and cultural identities. At the same time multilingualism can lead to social and political conflict, unequal power relations, issues of multiculturalism, and discussions over 'national' or 'official' languages, with struggles over language rights of local and indigenous communities. Considering multilingualism in the context of globalization, Maher also looks at the fate of many endangered languages as they disappear from the world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Florian Coulmas
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192563610
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Identity: A Very Short Introduction written by Florian Coulmas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-15 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Identity has become one of the most widely used terms today, appearing in many different contexts. Anything and everything has an identity, and identity crises have become almost equally pervasive. Yet 'identity' is extremely versatile, meaning different things to different people and in different scientific disciplines. To many its meaning seems self-evident, since its various uses share common features, so often the term is used without a definition of what, exactly, is meant by it. This provokes the core question: What exactly is identity? In this Very Short Introduction Florian Coulmas provides a survey of the many faces of the concept of identity, and discusses its significance and varied meanings in the fields of philosophy, sociology, and psychology, as well as politics and law. Tracing our concern with identity to its deep roots in Europe's intellectual history, individualism, and the felt need to draw borderlines, Coulmas identifies the most important features used to mark off individual and collective identities, and demonstrates why they are deemed important. He concludes with a glimpse at the many ways in which literature has engaged with problems of identity throughout history. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Jo Labanyi
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199208050
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.50/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Spanish Literature: A Very Short Introduction written by Jo Labanyi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-26 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title explores the rich literary history of Spain which resonates with contemporary debates on transnationalism and cultural diversity. It introduces readers to the ways in which Spanish literature has been read in and outside Spain explaining misconceptions, outlining insights of scholarship and suggesting new readings.

Author : Matthew Reynolds
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191020095
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.94/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Translation: A Very Short Introduction written by Matthew Reynolds and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-20 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Translation is everywhere, and matters to everybody. Translation doesn't only give us foreign news, dubbed films and instructions for using the microwave: without it, there would be no world religions, and our literatures, our cultures, and our languages would be unrecognisable. In this Very Short Introduction, Matthew Reynolds gives an authoritative and thought-provoking account of the field, from ancient Akkadian to World English, from St Jerome to Google Translate. He shows how translation determines meaning, how it matters in commerce, empire, conflict and resistance, and why it is fundamental to literature and the arts. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : John C. Maher
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192598538
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Language Communities in Japan written by John C. Maher and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-21 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a comprehensive sociolinguistic overview of the linguistic situation in Japan. Contemporary Japan displays rich linguistic diversity, particularly in urban areas, but the true extent of this diversity has often been overlooked. The contributors to this volume provide a new perspective, with detailed accounts of the wide range of languages spoken in different contexts and by different communities across the Japanese archipelago. Each chapter focuses on a specific language community, and systematically explores the history of the variety in Japanese culture and the current sociolinguistic situation. The first part explores the indigenous languages of Japan, including the multiple dialects of Japanese itself and the lesser-known Ryukyan and Ainu languages. Chapters in Part II look at community languages, ranging from the historic minority languages such as Korean and Chinese to the languages spoken by more recent migrant communities, such as Nepali, Filipino, and Persian. The final part examines languages of culture, politics, and modernization, from the use of English in international business and education contexts to the ongoing use of Latin and Sanskrit for religious purposes. The volume sheds new light on Japan's position as an important multilingual and multicultural society, and will be of interest to scholars and students not only of Japanese and sociolinguistics, but of Asian studies and migration studies more widely.

Author : Rita Kothari
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199095329
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Multilingual Nation written by Rita Kothari and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does India live through the oddity of being both a nation and multilingual? Is multilingualism in India to be understood as a neatly laid set of discrete languages or a criss-crossing of languages that runs through every source language and text? The questions take us to reviewing what is meant by language, multilingualism, and translation. Challenging these institutions, A Multilingual Nation illustrates how the received notions of translation discipline do not apply to India. It provocatively argues that translation is not a ‘solution’ to the allegedly chaotic situation of many languages, rather it is its inherent and inalienable part. An unusual and unorthodox collection of essays by leading thinkers and writers, new and young researchers, it establishes the all-pervasive nature of translation in every sphere in India and reverses the assumptions of the steady nature of language, its definition, and the peculiar fragility that is revealed in the process of translation.