Rajend Mesthrie

FOR SALE IN U.S. AND CANADA ONLY. FOR SALES IN ALL OTHER COUNTRIES, PLEASE CONTACT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS. Sociolinguistics is one of the central branches of modern linguistics and deals with the place of language in human societies. This introductory textbook expertly synthesizes the main approaches to the subject. The book covers areas such as multilingualism, code-choice, language variation, dialectology, interactional studies, gender, language contact, language and inequality, and language and power. At the same time it provides an integrated perspective on these themes by examining sociological theories of human interaction. In this regard power and inequality are particularly significant. The book also contains two chapters on the applications of sociolinguistics (in education and in language policy and planning), and a concluding chapter on the sociolinguistics of sign language. Written collaboratively by teachers and scholars with first hand experience of sociolinguistic developments on four continents, this book provides the broadest introduction currently available to the central topics in sociolinguistics. Features • Provides a solid foundation in all aspects of sociolinguistics and explores important themes such as power and inequality and new themes such as sign language and gender on the internet. • Well illustrated with maps, diagrams, inset boxes, drawings and cartoons. • Accessibly written with the beginner in mind. • Uses numerous examples from multilingual settings. • Explains basic concepts, supported by a Glossary. • Further Reading lists, a full bibliography, and a section on 'Next Steps' provide valuable guidance. Rajend Mesthrie is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cape Town and known for his sociolinguistic work in English, Asian and African languages. Joan Swann is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Language and Communication in the School of Education at the Open University. Andrea Deumert is researching language planning and the history of Afrikaans in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Cape Town. William L. Leap is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the American University, Washington DC, and a leading scholar on American Indian language education and on gender. (US & Canada only) Paul Peranteau (paul@benjamins.com) P O Box 27519 Ph: 215 836-1200 Philadelphia PA 19118-0519 Fax: 215 836-1204

Introducing Sociolinguistics

This encyclopedia provides an overview of the vast subject of sociolinguistics for an audience who may be unfamiliar or just becoming familiar with the area. It also includes a handy reference to key concepts and discipline.

Concise Encyclopedia of Sociolinguistics

Ellen Hurst-Harosh

Heather Brookes

An up-to-date, theoretically informed study of male, in-group, street-aligned, youth language practice in various urban centres in Africa.

Youth Language Practices and Urban Language Contact in Africa

Originally published in 1991. The transplantation of thousands of Indian workers to South Africa under indenture between 1860 and 1911 was a political act with far-reaching consequences for their linguistic traditions. In this book, the history of one of these Indic languages, Bhojpuri, and its adaptations to its new context are traced to the point where a distinct South African Bhojpuri koine (generally known as Hindi) came into being. The roots and subsequent evolution of this language variety, as well as the events contributing to its demise, form the basis of this study. Current patterns of usage by different generations are documented in the form of traditional folk tales, proverbs, riddles and songs, alongside personal interviews. This study offers a partial history of Bhojpuri speakers, who have been otherwise largely silent in the history of colonial Natal.

A Sociolinguistic History of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa

Language in Indenture

"The accompanying CD-ROM contains interactive maps and speech samples that supplement the printed articles and offer material and data for further research."--Book cover.

Africa, South and Southeast Asia

Mesthrie Rajend

A wide-ranging guide to language and society in South Africa. The book surveys the most important language groupings in the region in terms of wider socio-historical processes; contact between the different language varieties; language and public policy issues associated with post-apartheid society and its eleven official languages.

Language in South Africa

The most comprehensive overview available, this Handbook is an essential guide to sociolinguistics today. Reflecting the breadth of research in the field, it surveys a range of topics and approaches in the study of language variation and use in society. As well as linguistic perspectives, the handbook includes insights from anthropology, social psychology, the study of discourse and power, conversation analysis, theories of style and styling, language contact and applied sociolinguistics. Language practices seem to have reached new levels since the communications revolution of the late twentieth century. At the same time face-to-face communication is still the main force of language identity, even if social and peer networks of the traditional face-to-face nature are facing stiff competition of the Facebook-to-Facebook sort. The most authoritative guide to the state of the field, this handbook shows that sociolinguistics provides us with the best tools for understanding our unfolding evolution as social beings.

Rajend Mesthrie

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