Language is Politics (Paperback)

Frank van Splunder

ISBN 10: 0367365421 / ISBN 13: 9780367365424

Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd, London, 2019

About this Item

Paperback. Language is Politics discusses power relations between languages in the world, with a particular focus on English. Even though English is the most widely spoken and the most powerful language worldwide, it is not the lingua franca it is often supposed to be. The basic tenet of this book is that languages do not exist in the natural world; they are artefacts made by humans.The book debunks some common myths about language and it suggests that we should be more modest in our assumptions, for instance concerning the linguistic uniqueness of our own species. The author argues in favour of an ecological or balanced approach to language. This approach sees humans and other animals as part of the larger ecosystems that life depends on. As in nature, diversity is crucial to the survival of languages. The current linguistic ecosystem is out of balance, and this book shows that education can help to restore the balance and cope with the challenges of a multilingual and multicultural world.With an ecological approach to language and a focus on narratives and personal language histories, this will be key reading for researchers and academics, as well as students of English language and linguistics. Language is Politics discusses power relations between languages in the world, with a particular focus on English. With an ecological approach to language and a focus on narratives, personal language histories, this will be key reading for researchers and academics as well as students of English language and linguistics. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780367365424

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Language is Politics (Paperback)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0367365421
• ISBN 13: 9780367365424
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Language is Politics discusses power relations between languages in the world, with a particular focus on English. Even though English is the most widely spoken and the most powerful language worldwide, it is not the lingua franca it is often supposed to be. The basic tenet of this book is that languages do not exist in the natural world; they are artefacts made by humans.

The book debunks some common myths about language and it suggests that we should be more modest in our assumptions, for instance concerning the linguistic uniqueness of our own species. The author argues in favour of an ecological or balanced approach to language. This approach sees humans and other animals as part of the larger ecosystems that life depends on. As in nature, diversity is crucial to the survival of languages. The current linguistic ecosystem is out of balance, and this book shows that education can help to restore the balance and cope with the challenges of a multilingual and multicultural world.

With an ecological approach to language and a focus on narratives and personal language histories, this will be key reading for researchers and academics, as well as students of English language and linguistics.

About the Author

Frank van Splunder teaches academic writing in a multilingual context at Linguapolis, the language centre of the University of Antwerp. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University.

He is a sociolinguist with a particular interest in relations between languages and how they are used to construct identities of people and nations. The focus of his research is English as the language of globalization and its use in higher education in non-English speaking countries.