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.


Book Synopsis Language Diversity in the USA by : Kim Potowski

Download or read book Language Diversity in the USA written by Kim Potowski and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


Book Synopsis Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US by : Susan Tamasi

Download or read book Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US written by Susan Tamasi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


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.


Book Synopsis Languages and Dialects in the U.S. by : Marianna Di Paolo

Download or read book Languages and Dialects in the U.S. written by Marianna Di Paolo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-05 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


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.


Book Synopsis Speaking Culturally by : Fern L. Johnson

Download or read book Speaking Culturally written by Fern L. Johnson and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2000 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


Dialect Diversity in America

Dialect Diversity in America

Author: William Labov

Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Published: 2012-12-17

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0813933277

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The sociolinguist William Labov has worked for decades on change in progress in American dialects and on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In Dialect Diversity in America, Labov examines the diversity among American dialects and presents the counterintuitive finding that geographically localized dialects of North American English are increasingly diverging from one another over time. Contrary to the general expectation that mass culture would diminish regional differences, the dialects of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Birmingham, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New York are now more different from each other than they were a hundred years ago. Equally significant is Labov's finding that AAVE does not map with the geography and timing of changes in other dialects. The home dialect of most African American speakers has developed a grammar that is more and more different from that of the white mainstream dialects in the major cities studied and yet highly homogeneous throughout the United States. Labov describes the political forces that drive these ongoing changes, as well as the political consequences in public debate. The author also considers the recent geographical reversal of political parties in the Blue States and the Red States and the parallels between dialect differences and the results of recent presidential elections. Finally, in attempting to account for the history and geography of linguistic change among whites, Labov highlights fascinating correlations between patterns of linguistic divergence and the politics of race and slavery, going back to the antebellum United States. Complemented by an online collection of audio files that illustrate key dialectical nuances, Dialect Diversity in America offers an unparalleled sociolinguistic study from a preeminent scholar in the field.


Book Synopsis Dialect Diversity in America by : William Labov

Download or read book Dialect Diversity in America written by William Labov and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2012-12-17 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sociolinguist William Labov has worked for decades on change in progress in American dialects and on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In Dialect Diversity in America, Labov examines the diversity among American dialects and presents the counterintuitive finding that geographically localized dialects of North American English are increasingly diverging from one another over time. Contrary to the general expectation that mass culture would diminish regional differences, the dialects of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Birmingham, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New York are now more different from each other than they were a hundred years ago. Equally significant is Labov's finding that AAVE does not map with the geography and timing of changes in other dialects. The home dialect of most African American speakers has developed a grammar that is more and more different from that of the white mainstream dialects in the major cities studied and yet highly homogeneous throughout the United States. Labov describes the political forces that drive these ongoing changes, as well as the political consequences in public debate. The author also considers the recent geographical reversal of political parties in the Blue States and the Red States and the parallels between dialect differences and the results of recent presidential elections. Finally, in attempting to account for the history and geography of linguistic change among whites, Labov highlights fascinating correlations between patterns of linguistic divergence and the politics of race and slavery, going back to the antebellum United States. Complemented by an online collection of audio files that illustrate key dialectical nuances, Dialect Diversity in America offers an unparalleled sociolinguistic study from a preeminent scholar in the field.


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.


Book Synopsis Language Diversity and Education by : David Corson

Download or read book Language Diversity and Education written by David Corson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2000-10-01 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


Book Synopsis Affirming Language Diversity in Schools and Society by : Pierre Orelus

Download or read book Affirming Language Diversity in Schools and Society written by Pierre Orelus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


Language in the USA

Language in the USA

Author: Charles A. Ferguson

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1981-08-31

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 9780521231404

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Grouped under four headings -- American English, Languages before English, Languages after English and Language in use -- these essays lay to rest some myths about the monolingual nature of language in America and set forth the problems that must be confronted as a consequence of language and cultural pluralism. The essays of the first group range from U.S. language heritage to black American language. The second group deals with American Indian languages and New World Spanish. The last two groups deal with ethnic language varieties and various other topics.


Book Synopsis Language in the USA by : Charles A. Ferguson

Download or read book Language in the USA written by Charles A. Ferguson and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1981-08-31 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grouped under four headings -- American English, Languages before English, Languages after English and Language in use -- these essays lay to rest some myths about the monolingual nature of language in America and set forth the problems that must be confronted as a consequence of language and cultural pluralism. The essays of the first group range from U.S. language heritage to black American language. The second group deals with American Indian languages and New World Spanish. The last two groups deal with ethnic language varieties and various other topics.


Language Diversity, Problem Or Resource?

Language Diversity, Problem Or Resource?

Author: Sandra McKay

Publisher: Newbury House Publishers

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Language Diversity, Problem Or Resource? by : Sandra McKay

Download or read book Language Diversity, Problem Or Resource? written by Sandra McKay and published by Newbury House Publishers. This book was released on 1988 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time

Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time

Author: Johanna Nichols

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2018-12-14

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 0226580598

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In this ground-breaking book, Johanna Nichols proposes means of describing, comparing, and interpreting linguistic diversity, both genetic and structural, providing the foundations for a theory of diversity based upon population science. This book will interest linguists, archaeologists, and population specialists. "An awe-inspiring book, unequalled in scope, originality, and the range of language data considered."—Anna Siewierska, Linguistics "Fascinating. . . . A brilliant pioneering study."—Journal of Indo-European Studies "A superbly reasoned book."—John A. C. Greppin, Times Literary Supplement


Book Synopsis Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time by : Johanna Nichols

Download or read book Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time written by Johanna Nichols and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-12-14 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this ground-breaking book, Johanna Nichols proposes means of describing, comparing, and interpreting linguistic diversity, both genetic and structural, providing the foundations for a theory of diversity based upon population science. This book will interest linguists, archaeologists, and population specialists. "An awe-inspiring book, unequalled in scope, originality, and the range of language data considered."—Anna Siewierska, Linguistics "Fascinating. . . . A brilliant pioneering study."—Journal of Indo-European Studies "A superbly reasoned book."—John A. C. Greppin, Times Literary Supplement