Language Choice in a Nation Under Transition


Book Description

This book examines language choice in contemporary Cambodia. It uses the spread of English, and French attempts at thwarting it in favor of their own language, to study and evaluate competing explanations for the spread of English globally. The book focuses on language choice and policy, and will appeal to scholars in comparative education where language and language policy studies represent a growing area of research interest.




Communicating with Asia


Book Description

In today's global world, where Asia is an increasing area of focus, it is vital to explore what it means to 'understand' Asian cultures through English and other languages. This volume presents new research on English in Asia, alongside Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi-Urdu, Malay, Russian and other languages.




Education in South-East Asia


Book Description

This book on education in South-East Asia is the very first of its kind to comprehensively cover and discuss the education systems and issues in all the countries in the region - the ten member nations of the Association of South-East Asian nations (ASEAN) plus Timor Leste. The eleven chapters on country case studies are written by education country experts and give the readers an overview of each country’s education system, while also highlighting issues currently significant to each system. There are also thematic chapters on selected issues reckoned to be significant in the region such as: gender, education and development; higher education ; language policy; quality assurance; and sustainable development. This book is a significant contribution to academic literature in this field in that the South-East Asian region is, in general, one of the leading zones of the developing world, containing within it advancing economies, such as Brunei and Malaysia, and a key global hub, Singapore. Even the poorer countries are showing signs of significant advance. The region also contains the most populous Islamic country in the world, Indonesia, and examples of the educational legacies of a variety of forms of European and American colonialism. The book is therefore a source of reference to better understand education in a region where diverse religious, political and cultural aspects are found and interrelate in a form of serious co-operation.




English in Southeast Asia and ASEAN


Book Description

English in Southeast Asia and ASEAN embeds English in its various regional Southeast Asian and political ASEAN language habitats. Addressing the history, developmental stages and contacts with other languages, it provides in-depth information on the region and its political organization. In doing so, it analyzes the geo-political division of the region between former Anglophone and non-Anglophone colonies and shows that this distinction has led to considerable differences in the status and texture of English. This analysis includes the role and impact of American English in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia to highlight the linguistic properties of English and its linguistic and sociopolitical development, English used in specific domains, language policies and concludes with the future of English and future challenges. This book therefore provides an integrative survey of the various roles of English in ASEAN member states and studies the transformation of entire language habitats, including the major national and regional languages that participate in this process. It also explains how new societies emerge with their conflicting identities and their aspirations to act regionally or even globally and is a valuable resource for scholars and students in the fields of World Englishes, Asian Studies and those interested in language contact, policy and planning.




The Handbook of Asian Englishes


Book Description

Winner of the 2021 PROSE Humanities Category for Language & Linguistics The first volume of its kind, focusing on the sociolinguistic and socio-political issues surrounding Asian Englishes The Handbook of Asian Englishes provides wide-ranging coverage of the historical and cultural context, contemporary dynamics, and linguistic features of English in use throughout the Asian region. This first-of-its-kind volume offers a wide-ranging exploration of the English language throughout nations in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Contributions by a team of internationally-recognized linguists and scholars of Asian Englishes and Asian languages survey existing works and review new and emerging areas of research in the field. Edited by internationally renowned scholars in the field and structured in four parts, this Handbook explores the status and functions of English in the educational institutions, legal systems, media, popular cultures, and religions of diverse Asian societies. In addition to examining nation-specific topics, this comprehensive volume presents articles exploring pan-Asian issues such as English in Asian schools and universities, English and language policies in the Asian region, and the statistics of English across Asia. Up-to-date research addresses the impact of English as an Asian lingua franca, globalization and Asian Englishes, the dynamics of multilingualism, and more. Examines linguistic history, contemporary linguistic issues, and English in the Outer and Expanding Circles of Asia Focuses on the rapidly-growing complexities of English throughout Asia Includes reviews of the new frontiers of research in Asian Englishes, including the impact of globalization and popular culture Presents an innovative survey of Asian Englishes in one comprehensive volume Serving as an important contribution to fields such as contact linguistics, World Englishes, sociolinguistics, and Asian language studies, The Handbook of Asian Englishes is an invaluable reference resource for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and instructors across these areas. Winner of the 2021 PROSE Humanities Category for Language & Linguistics




The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Englishes


Book Description

The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Englishes is the first reference work of its kind to describe both the history and the contemporary forms, functions, and status of English in Southeast Asia (SEA). Since the arrival of English traders to Southeast Asia in the seventeenth century, the English language has had a profound impact on the linguistic ecologies and the development of societies throughout the region. Today, countries such as Singapore and the Philippines have adopted English as a national language, while in others, such as Indonesia and Cambodia, it is used as a foreign language of education. The chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive overview of current research on a wide range of topics, addressing the impact of English as a language of globalization and exploring new approaches to the spread of English in SEA. The volume is divided into six parts that investigate, respectively: historical and contemporary English contact in SEA; the structures of the Englishes spokes in different SEA nations; the English-language literatures of the region; approaches to English in education throughout the region; and resources for researching SEA Englishes. The handbook will be an invaluable reference work for students and researchers in areas as diverse as contact linguistics, English as a Foreign Language, world Englishes, and sociolinguistics.




Language Planning and Policy in Africa


Book Description

A longer-range purpose is to collect comparable information on as many polities as possible in order to facilitate the development of a richer theory to guide language policy and planning in other polities that undertake the development of a national policy on languages. This volume is part of an areal series which is committed to providing descriptions of language planning and policy in countries around the world."--BOOK JACKET.




Sociolinguistics


Book Description

Why do we speak the way we do? What are the social factors that influence our choices of expression? This best-selling introduction to the study of language and society encourages students to think about these fundamental questions, asking how and why we select from the vast range of different words, accents, varieties and languages available to us. In this new and updated edition, students are taken step-by-step through the analysis of linguistic expressions, speech varieties and languages in complex settings. Enriched with recent findings from different languages and speech communities around the world, this comprehensive textbook equips students with knowledge of the main concepts and gives them a coherent view of the complex interaction of language and society. • 'Questions for Discussion' help students understand how speakers' choices are conditioned by the society in which they live • New to this edition is a rich repertoire of online resources and further reading, enabling students to investigate more deeply and advance their learning • Includes a topical new chapter on research ethics, guiding students on the ethical questions involved in sociolinguistic research.




Worldwide English Language Education Today


Book Description

This book explores the ideologies, policies, and practices of English language education around the world today. It shows the ways in which ideology is a constituent part of the social realities of English language teaching (ELT) and how ELT policies and practices are shaped by ideological positions that privilege some participants and marginalize others. Each chapter considers the multiple ideologies underlying the thinking and actions of different members of society about ELT and how these inform overt and covert policies at the national level and beyond. They examine the implications of investigating ELT ideologies and policies for advancing socio-political understandings of practical aspects such as instruction, materials, assessment, and teacher education in the field. Introducing new persepctives on the theory and practice of language teaching today, this book is ideal reading for researchers and postgraduate students interested in applied linguistics and language education, faculty members of higher education institutions, English language teachers, and policy makers and planners.




Reconceptualizing English Education in a Multilingual Society


Book Description

This book brings together chapters that describe, investigate, and analyze the place of English in education in multilingual Philippines. Unlike most studies on languages in education, which take a neutral, de-contextualized stance, this volume take a pluricentric view of the English language by positioning it in relation to its varieties, as well as to other languages in the country. Because of the changing realities of English in the Philippines, traditional assumptions about the language as monolithic and unchanging, as well as about how it should be taught and learned, need to be revisited and re-conceptualized.