Language Diversity in the USA
Language Diversity in the USA

Author: Kim Potowski

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-08-05

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 1139491261

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What are the most widely spoken non-English languages in the USA? How did they reach the USA? Who speaks them, to whom, and for what purposes? What changes do these languages undergo as they come into contact with English? This book investigates the linguistic diversity of the USA by profiling the twelve most commonly used languages other than English. Each chapter paints a portrait of the history, current demographics, community characteristics, economic status, and language maintenance of each language group, and looks ahead to the future of each language. The book challenges myths about the 'official' language of the USA, explores the degree to which today's immigrants are learning English and assimilating into the mainstream, and discusses the relationship between linguistic diversity and national unity. Written in a coherent and structured style, Language Diversity in the USA is essential reading for advanced students and researchers in sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and education.

Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US
Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US

Author: Susan Tamasi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-12-02

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1136579052

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This highly engaging textbook presents a linguistic view of the history, society, and culture of the United States. It discusses the many languages and forms of language that have been used in the US – including standard and nonstandard forms of English, creoles, Native American languages, and immigrant languages from across the globe – and shows how this distribution and diversity of languages has helped shape and define America as well as an American identity. The volume introduces the basic concepts of sociolinguistics and the politics of language through cohesive, up-to-date and accessible coverage of such key topics as dialectal development and the role of English as the majority language, controversies concerning language use in society, languages other than English used in the US, and the policies that have directly or indirectly influenced language use. These topics are presented in such a way that students can examine the inherent diversity of the communicative systems used in the United States as both a form of cultural enrichment and as the basis for socio-political conflict. The author team outlines the different viewpoints on contemporary issues surrounding language in the US and contextualizes these issues within linguistic facts, to help students think critically and formulate logical discussions. To provide opportunities for further examination and debate, chapters are organized around key misconceptions or questions ("I don't have an accent" or "Immigrants don't want to learn English"), bringing them to the forefront for readers to address directly. Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US is a fresh and unique take on a widely taught topic. It is ideal for students from a variety of disciplines or with no prior knowledge of the field, and a useful text for introductory courses on language in the US, American English, language variation, language ideology, and sociolinguistics.

Speaking Culturally
Speaking Culturally

Author: Fern L. Johnson

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0803959125

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Speaking Culturally examines the changing cultural demographics of the United States from a linguistic perspective. The author highlights the discourses associated with gender and with African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

Language in the USA
Language in the USA

Author: Edward Finegan

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2004-06-24

Total Pages: 524

ISBN-13: 9780521777476

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Languages and Dialects in the U.S.
Languages and Dialects in the U.S.

Author: Marianna Di Paolo

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-03-05

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1317916182

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Languages and Dialects in the U.S. is a concise introduction to linguistic diversity in the U.S. for students with little to no background in linguistics. The goal of the editors of this collection of fourteen chapters, written by leading experts on the language varieties discussed, is to offer students detailed insight into the languages they speak or hear around them, grounded in comprehensive coverage of the linguistic systems underpinning them. The book begins with "setting the stage" chapters, introducing the sociocultural context of the languages and dialects featured in the book. The remaining chapters are each devoted to particular U.S. dialects and varieties of American English, each with problem sets and suggested further readings to reinforce basic concepts and new linguistic terminology and to encourage further study of the languages and dialects covered. By presenting students with both the linguistic and social, cultural, and political foundations of these particular dialects and variations of English, Languages and Dialects in the U.S. is the ideal text for students interested in linguistic diversity in the U.S., in introductory courses in sociolinguistics, language and culture, and language variation and change.

Language Diversity and Education
Language Diversity and Education

Author: David Corson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2000-10-01

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1135662983

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This introductory text for students of linguistics, language, and education provides background and up-to-date information and resources that beginning researchers need for studying language diversity and education. Three framing chapters offer an update on the philosophy of social research, revealing how important language is for all the processes of learning in which humans engage, whether it is learning about the world through education, or learning about the nature of social life through research in the human sciences. These chapters also review the links between language, power, and social justice, and look at dynamic changes occurring in "language diversity and education" research. Four central chapters give state-of-the-art, comprehensive coverage to the chief areas of language diversity that affect the practice of education: standard and non-standard varieties; different cultural discourse norms; bilingual and ESL education; and gendered discourse norms. This book is intended for graduate students of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, the social psychology of language, anthropological linguistics, and other related disciplines; and graduate students of education, including in-service teachers taking advanced professional development courses. Special features enhance its usefulness as a text for courses in these areas: * A clear, jargon free writing style invites careful reading. * All ideas are well within the range that graduate students in the language disciplines or in education can relate to their work, but theoretical ideas are kept to a necessary minimum and linked with practical examples in every case. * Extensive references guide readers to the book's up-to-date, international, and cross-cultural bibliography. * "Discussion Starter" questions at the end of each chapter highlight key points and stimulate informed, reflective discussion.

Affirming Language Diversity in Schools and Society
Affirming Language Diversity in Schools and Society

Author: Pierre Orelus

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1135941971

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Language is perhaps the most common issue that surfaces in debates over school reform, and plays a vital role in virtually everything we are involved. This edited volume explores linguistic apartheid, or the disappearance of certain languages through cultural genocide by dominant European colonizers and American neoconservative groups. These groups have historically imposed hegemonic languages, such as English and French, on colonized people at the expense of the native languages of the latter. The book traces this form of apartheid from the colonial era to the English-only movement in the United States, and proposes alternative ways to counter linguistic apartheid that minority groups and students have faced in schools and society at large. Contributors to this volume provide a historical overview of the way many languages labeled as inferior, minority, or simply savage have been attacked and pushed to the margins, discriminating against and attempting to silence the voice of those who spoke and continue to speak these languages. Further, they demonstrate the way and the extent to which such actions have affected the cultural life, learning process, identity, and the subjective and material conditions of linguistically and historically marginalized groups, including students.

Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience
Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience

Author: Ila Parasnis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-08-28

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780521645652

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This edited book presents an detailed analysis of the experience of deaf people as a bilingual-bicultural minority group in America. An overview of mainstream research on bilingualism and biculturalism is followed by specific research and conceptual analyses which examine the impact of cultural and language diversity on the experiences of deaf people. The book ends with poignant personal reflections from deaf community members. The contributors include prominent deaf and hearing experts in bilingualism, ASL and Deaf culture, and deaf education.

Linguistic Diversity and Language Theories
Linguistic Diversity and Language Theories

Author: Zygmunt Frajzyngier

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005-02-28

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 9027294623

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From the refinement of general methodology, to new insights of synchronic and diachronic universals, to studies of specific phenomena, this collection demonstrates the crucial role that language data play in the evolution of useful, accurate linguistic theories. Issues addressed include the determination of meaning in typological studies; a refined understanding of diachronic processes by including intentional, social, statistical, and level-determined phenomena; the reconsideration of categories such as sentence, evidential or adposition, and structures such as compounds or polysynthesis; the tension between formal simplicity and functional clarity; the inclusion of unusual systems in theoretical debates; and fresh approaches to Chinese classifiers, possession in Oceanic languages, and English aspect. This is a careful selection of papers presented at the International Symposium on Linguistic Diversity and Language Theories in Boulder, Colorado. The purpose of the Symposium was to confront fundamental issues in language structure and change with the rich variation of forms and functions observed across languages.