An Introduction to Multilingualism

An Introduction to Multilingualism PDF Author: Florian Coulmas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198791100
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
This book offers an introduction to the many facets of multilingualism in a changing world. It begins with an overview of the multiplicity of human languages and their geographic distribution, before moving on to the key question of what multilingualism actually is and what is understood by terms such as 'mother tongue', 'native speaker', and 'speech community'. In the chapters that follow, Florian Coulmas systematically explores multilingualism with respect to the individual, institutions, cities, nations, and cyberspace. In each of these domains, the dynamics of language choice are undergoing changes as a result of economic, political, and cultural forces. Against this background, two chapters discuss the effects of linguistic diversity on the integration and separation of language and society, before a final chapter describes and assesses research methods for investigating multilingualism. Each chapter concludes with problems and questions for discussion, which place the topic in a real-world context. The book explores where, when, and why multilingualism came to be regarded as a problem, and why it presents a serious challenge for linguistic theory today. It provides the basic tools to analyse different kinds of multilingualism at both the individual and society level, and will be of interest to students of linguistics, sociology, education, and communication studies.

An Introduction to Multilingualism

An Introduction to Multilingualism PDF Author: Florian Coulmas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198791100
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book offers an introduction to the many facets of multilingualism in a changing world. It begins with an overview of the multiplicity of human languages and their geographic distribution, before moving on to the key question of what multilingualism actually is and what is understood by terms such as 'mother tongue', 'native speaker', and 'speech community'. In the chapters that follow, Florian Coulmas systematically explores multilingualism with respect to the individual, institutions, cities, nations, and cyberspace. In each of these domains, the dynamics of language choice are undergoing changes as a result of economic, political, and cultural forces. Against this background, two chapters discuss the effects of linguistic diversity on the integration and separation of language and society, before a final chapter describes and assesses research methods for investigating multilingualism. Each chapter concludes with problems and questions for discussion, which place the topic in a real-world context. The book explores where, when, and why multilingualism came to be regarded as a problem, and why it presents a serious challenge for linguistic theory today. It provides the basic tools to analyse different kinds of multilingualism at both the individual and society level, and will be of interest to students of linguistics, sociology, education, and communication studies.

Multilingualism

Multilingualism PDF Author: John C. Maher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198724993
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
John C. Maher explains why societies everywhere have become more multilingual, despite the disappearance of hundreds of the world languages. He considers our notion of language as national or cultural identities, and discusses why nations cluster and survive around particular languages even as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood.

Introduction to Language Development

Introduction to Language Development PDF Author: Shelia M. Kennison
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1452256292
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
There are between 4,000 and 6,000 languages remaining in the world and the characteristics of these languages vary widely. How could an infant born today master any language in the world, regardless of the language’s characteristics? Shelia M. Kennison answers this question through a comprehensive introduction to language development, taking a unique perspective that spans the period before birth through old age. Introduction to Language Development offers in-depth discussions on key topics, including: the biological basis of language, perceptual development, grammatical development, development of lexical knowledge, social aspects of language, bilingualism, the effect of language on thought, cognitive processing in language production and comprehension, language-related delays and disorders, and language late in life.

Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication

Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication PDF Author: Peter Auer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 311019855X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 606

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Book Description
This volume is an up-to-date, concise introduction to bilingualism and multilingualism in schools, in the workplace, and in international institutions in a globalized world. The authors use a problem-solving approach and ask broad questions about bilingualism and multilingualism in society, including the question of language acquisition versus maintenance of bilingualism. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of multilingualism and multilingual communication presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field, offers solutions of everyday language-related problems international handbook with contributions from renown experts in the field

Introducing Multilingualism

Introducing Multilingualism PDF Author: Jean-Jacques Weber
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136515151
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Introducing Multilingualism is a brand new, comprehensive and user-friendly introduction to the dynamic field of multilingualism. Adopting a compelling social and critical approach, Jean-Jacques Weber and Kristine Horner guide readers through the established theories about multilingualism. The book covers language as a social construct, language contact and variation, language and identity and the differences between individual and societal multilingualism. The authors also provide an alternative approach to studying multilingualism, introducing innovative concepts such as flexible multilingualism and literacy bridge in order to encourage students to critically question dominant discourses on topics such as integration, heritage and language testing. This highly practical textbook incorporates a wide range of engaging activities and encourages students to think critically about important social and educational issues. Throughout, the theoretical content is explored through a wide range of case studies from around the world. Clearly argued and widely applicable, this book is essential reading for undergraduate students and postgraduate students new to studying multilingualism.

Introduction to Bilingualism

Introduction to Bilingualism PDF Author: Charlotte Hoffmann
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317887662
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
An Introduction to Bilingualism provides a comprehensive review of the most important aspects of individual and societal bilingualism, examining both theoretcial and practical issues. At the level of the individual, it addresses such questios as: What is involved in the study of bilingual children? What are the patterns of bilingual language acquisition? In which ways do the language competence and the speech of bilinguals differ from those of monolinguals? Topics that sometimes arouse controversy are explored - such as the question of whether there is a relationship between bilingualsim and a child's cognitive, psychological and social development. The book is also concerned with multilingualism, that is, bilingualsim as a societal phenomenon. It focuses on such issues as language choice in bilingual and multilingual communities, national identity and the education of bilinguals. The inclusion of several case studies of European linguistic minorities serves to exemplify the topics dealt with at the theoretical level and to illustrate the linguistic complexities found in contemporary Europe.

Drama of Multilingualism

Drama of Multilingualism PDF Author: Gabrijela Aleksić
Publisher: Advances in Cultural Psychology: Constructing Human Development
ISBN: 9781648026201
Category : Language and culture
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
"This book is a literature review of important topics in studying multilingualism: dynamic multilingualism, translanguaging, language policy, bilingual education, and bilingualism and cognition. Being an immigrant herself, the author integrated her personal (dramatic) experience around most of the topics to show how they influence the lives of immigrants around the globe"--

Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging

Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging PDF Author: Kristine Horner
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 1788925068
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Certain forms of mobility and multilingualism tend to be portrayed as problematic in the public sphere, while others are considered to be unremarkable. Divided into three thematic sections, this book explores the contestation of spaces and the notion of borders, examines the ways in which heritage and authenticity are linked or challenged, and interrogates the intersections between mobility and hierarchies and the ways that language can be linked to notions of belonging and aspirations for mobility. Based on fieldwork in Africa, Asia, Australasia and Europe, it explores how language functions as both site of struggle and as a means of overcoming struggle. This volume will be of particular interest to scholars taking ethnographic and critical sociolinguistic approaches to the study of language and belonging in the context of globalisation.

Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship

Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship PDF Author: Quentin Williams
Publisher: Channel View Publications
ISBN: 1800415338
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This book offers a fresh perspective on the social life of multilingualism through the lens of the important notion of linguistic citizenship. All of the chapters are underpinned by a theoretical and methodological engagement with linguistic citizenship as a useful heuristic through which to understand sociolinguistic processes in late modernity, focusing in particular on linguistic agency and voices on the margins of our societies. The authors take stock of conservative, liberal, progressive and radical social transformations in democracies in the north and south, and consider the implications for multilingualism as a resource, as a way of life and as a feature of identity politics. Each chapter builds on earlier research on linguistic citizenship by illuminating how multilingualism (in both theory and practice) should be, or could be, thought of as inclusive when we recognize what multilingual speakers do with language for voice and agency.

An Introduction to Bilingualism

An Introduction to Bilingualism PDF Author: Jeanette Altarriba
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1135608539
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
This important text provides a general overview of the methods and theories used in the broad domain of bilingualism. The unique interdisciplinary approach, which is reflected in the various topics covered, gives students a global picture of the field. Topics range from early childhood intellectual development to educational and social-cognitive challenges to the maturing bilingual brain. Important developing areas such as cognitive aging, creativity, the social and cultural context perspective, communication disorders and sentence processing are also covered within the volume. This text is aimed towards undergraduate courses and graduate courses in psycholinguistics, especially those with an emphasis on bilingualism or second language learning.