LINGUIST List 9.955

Fri Jun 26 1998

Books: Sociolinguistics

Editor for this issue: Anita Huang <anitalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Vivien Eng, Sociolinguistics

ENDANGERED LANGUAGES: CURRENT ISSUES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Endangered Languages: Current Issues and Future Prospects; ISBN:
0-521-59102-3; Hardback, 6 x 9, 380 pp.; Lenore A. Grenoble,
ed. (Dartmouth College); PUBLISHER:Cambridge University Press; $69.95;

The issue of language loss is currently the focus of much linguistic
research. This edited volume brings together work by theoretical
linguists, field linguists and nonlinguist members of minority
communities to provide an integrated view of how language is lost,
from sociological and economic as well as from linguistic
perspectives. It maps out some of the strategies applied by native
communities and professional linguists in the face of language
endangerment. Several authors address the understudied issue of what
(beyond a linguistic system) is lost when a language becomes
obsolescent.

Contents: 

Preface 

PART I. GENERAL ISSUES: 1.Western language
ideologies and small-language prospects NANCY DORIAN; 2.Toward a
typology of language endangerment LENORE GRENOBLE, LINDSAY WHALEY;

PART II. LANGUAGE COMMUNITY RESPONSES: 3.Technical, emotional, and
ideological issues in reversing language shift: examples from
Southeast Alaska NORA AND RICHARD DAUENHAUER; 4. Mayan efforts toward
language preservation NORA ENGLAND; 5. A chronology of Mohawk language
instruction at Kahnaw:ke KAIA'TITAHKHE ANNETTE JACOBS; 6. Language
endangerment in South America: a programmatic approach COLETTE
GRINEVALD; 

PART III. WHAT IS LOST: LANGUAGE DIVERSITY: 7. The
significance of diversity in language endangerment and preservation
MARIANNE MITHUN; 8. On endangered languages and the importance of
linguistic diversity KEN HALE; 9. Living words and cartoon
translations: longhouse "texts" and the limitations of English
CHRISTOPHER JOCKS; 10. Documenting rhetorical, aesthetic, and
expressive loss in language shift ANTHONY WOODBURY; 

PART IV. MECHANISMS OF LANGUAGE LOSS: 11. Impact of language variation and
accomodation theory on language maintenance: an analysis of Shaba
Swahili ANDR^D'E KAPA! NGA; 12. A way to dusty death: the matrix
language turnover hypoth 13. Copper Island Aleut: a case of language
'resurrection' NIKOLAI VAKHTIN; References; Index of languages; Index
of names; General index.; 

Order Info: http://www.cup.org/order.html

THE LANGUAGE WEB: THE POWER AND PROBLEM OF WORDS

Jean Aitchison (University of Oxford); The Language Web: The Power and
Problem of Words; The 1996 BBC Reith Lectures; ISBN: 0-521-57385-8;
Hardback, 5 1/4 X 8, 152 pp.; Pub. Date: 4/13/97; PUBLISHER:Cambridge
University Press; $49.95; 

Language is like a vast interconnected spider's web. In this volume
Jean Aitchison explores the different facets of this web, ranging from
its biological nature and the way in which language is acquired by
children to the way the web has aided language evolution. This is the
text of the 1996 BBC Reith lectures, with the addition of
illustrations, suggestions for further reading and notes. An Afterword
looks at the reception of the lectures. 

Contents: 
1. A web of worries: anxiety about language; 2. A web of
deceit: the origin of language; 3. Building the web: acquiring
language; 4. A web of words: remembering words; 5. A world-wide web:
options and snares.; Order Info: http://www.cup.org/order.html


ENGLISH AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE

David Crystal; English as a Global Language; ISBN: 0-521-59247-X;
Hardback, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, 160 pp.; PUBLISHER:Cambridge University
Press; $19.95; 

David Crystal, world authority on the English language, has written a
timely and informative account of the phenomenon of English as a
global language. It includes a historical summary of the global facts
and figures, of the current spread and status of English as a first or
second language internationally; and an informed assessment of the
future of English. The book answers three basic questions: What makes
a world language? Why is English the leading candidate? and why it
will continue to hold that position. It steers even-handedly through
the minefield of political debate about the cultural hegemony of
English, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in language
issues, whatever their political views on the subject.

Order Info: http://www.cup.org/order.html

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