Challenges in the Social Life of Language [Hardcover]

The first book to highlight the most pressing sociology-of-language themes of our times. All of which have to do with the twin issues of power and identity . Important evidence and illustrations bearing upon these matters are provided and supplemented by an extensive bibliography.Introduction PART I: PERCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS The Study of Attitudes: Reculer pour mieux sauter Are Attitudes Important? Language Attitudes: Contexts and Features PART II: IDENTITY MATTERS Language, Group, Identity: General Considerations Language, Group, Identity: Secular and Spiritual Allegiances Language, Group, Identity: Gender PART III: LANGUAGE CONTACT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Language and Imperialism No Good Past Dover Language Learning in Anglophone Settings Language Contact: Present and Future References Index

'For more than a quarter of a century Professor John Edwards has stood as the traffic cop at the intersection of Psychology and Sociolinguistics, insisting that those coming from one direction pay heed to the other, and personally ensuring the forward movement of ideas. Besides his original research, he is one of the few scholars with the ability to produce a grand narrative of what the field has accomplished and where it is headed. Challenges in the Social Life of Language sees him, in his own words, reculer pour mieux sauter take a step back, the better to jump ahead. The book provides an unprecedentedly full and mature perspective on sociolinguistics and its adjacent disciplines that will enrich every reader's understanding of language, from the beginning student to the life-long adept.' John E. Joseph, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

'John Edwards has produced an incisive critique of the current scholarship on social dimensions of language. Particularly informative are his assessment of various conceptions of the 'ecology' of language, his discussion of the role that religion as an identity marker can play in language maintenance or revitalizationlÌ