Crossing: Language and Ethnicity Among Adolescents

Crossing Language and Ethnicity Among Adolescents is a study of sociolinguistic processes in multiracial urban youth culture, and it focuses on language 'crossing': - the use of panjabi by adolescents of Afro-Caribbean and Anglo descent - the use of Creole by adolescents of Panjabi and Anglo descent - the use of stylised Indian English The book carefully distinguishes between crossing in different varieties, it explains the general characteristics of crossing and it addresses the central question: how far and in what ways do intricate processes of language sharing and exchange help to overcome race stratification and contribute to a new sense of mixed youth, class and neighbourhood community?

Ben Rampton is Principal Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Thames Valley University.