The Languages of Global Hip Hop

Description

In the case of hip-hop, the forces of top-down corporatization and bottom-up globalization are inextricably woven. This volume takes the view that hip-hop should not be viewed with this dichotomous dynamic in mind and that this dynamic does not arise solely outside of the continental US. Close analysis of the facts reveals a much more complex situation in which market pressures, local (musical) traditions, linguistic and semiotic intelligibility, as well as each country's particular historico-political past conspire to yield new hybrid expressive genres. This exciting collection looks at linguistic, cultural and economic aspects of hip-hop in parallel and showcases a global scope. It engages with questions of code-switching, code-mixing, the minority language/regional dialect vs. standard dynamic, the discourse of political resistance, immigrant ideologies, youth and new language varieties and will be essential reading for graduates and researchers in sociolinguistics and discourse analysis.

Marina Terkourafi is Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

"This book is a feast not just for hip hop specialists but for all those interested in the interfaces between music, language and society. The chapters illustrate the diversity of contexts where this music is enjoyed, but also the common features found in the hip hop production of various cultures: the expression of both specific preoccupations and universal themes, the affirmation of identity and the opening up to the Other, the combination of local and global outlooks. Above all they offer analyses of how the choice and manipulation of language(s) can serve to advance these ends. Thanks to the range of materials studied (Norway, Egypt, Cyprus, South Korea and more) and the detail provided in the individual analyses, the book represents a key contribution to work in this fascinating field, and will be essential reading for future research." -- Abdelali Bentahila and Eirlys Davies, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tangier, Morocco ... the substance of each contribution is wonderfully rich and causes one to consider not only the impact of global hip hop, but also how academia attempts to address the evolving world of the genre... [the book] is rich with analysis and insight. Terkourafi's ability to find scholars with such diverse research skills yet allied research goals makes this book a joy to read. -- Popular Music Volume 30/2 ... provides key insights into the sociolinguistics of hip hop as the chapters use a range of theoretical and methodological frameworks... Likewise, the representation of different cultural manifestations of hip hop provides scholars with rich literature in approaching hip hop in their own contexts... the book is a valuable resource not only because it expands work concerning the languages of global hip hop, but also because it is an exciting contribution that will spark constructive debate among scholars in the field. -- Discourse & Society Volume 22 (3)