Sociolinguistics Of Globalization, The

Description:
Human language has changed in the age of globalization: no longer tied to stable and resident communities, it moves across the globe, and it changes in the process. The world has become a complex 'web' of villages, towns, neighbourhoods and settlements connected by material and symbolic ties in often unpredictable ways. This phenomenon requires us to revise our understanding of linguistic communication. In The Sociolinguistics of Globalization Jan Blommaert constructs a theory of changing language in a changing society, reconsidering locality, repertoires, competence, history and sociolinguistic inequality.

Review:
'Theoretically bold, clearly written, and politically engaged. The arguments are illustrated with a host of ingenious examples, drawn from many parts of the world.' James Collins, University at Albany/SUNY 'We need a new sociolinguistics in the era of globalization. Jan Blommaert leads the way in developing the critical perspectives we now need to understand the global mobility of people and discourses, and new global sociolinguistic inequalities. His book is provocative, transformative and inspiring.' Nikolas Coupland, Centre for Language and Communication Research, Cardiff University

Table of Contents:
1. A critical sociolinguistics of globalization; 2. A messy new marketplace; 3. Locality, the periphery and images of the world; 4. Repertoires and competence; 5. Language, globalization, and history; 6. Old and new inequalities; 7. Reflections.

Author Biography:
Jan Blommaert is Professor of Linguistic Anthropology in the Department of Language and Culture Studies at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.