Intercultural Contact, Language Learning and Migration

Description

At the heart of this volume lies an exploration of what actually happens to languages and their users when cultures come into contact. What actions do supra-national institutions, nation states, communities and individuals take in response to questions raised by the increasingly diverse forms of migration experienced in a globalized world? The volume reveals the profound impact that decisions made at national and international level can have on the lives of the individual migrant, language student, or speech community. Equally, it evaluates the broader ramifications of actions taken by migrant communities and individual language learners around issues of language learning, language maintenance and intercultural contact. Reflecting Jan Blommaert's assertion that in a world shaped by globalization, what is needed is 'a theory of language in society... of changing language in a changing society', this volume argues that researchers must increasingly seek diverse methodological approaches if they are to do justice to the diversity of experience and response they encounter.

Barbara Geraghty is Lecturer in Japanese at the School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication, University of Limerick, Ireland. Jean E Conacher is Senior Lecturer in German, at the School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication, University of Limerick, Ireland.

This book is an important addition to the literature on the complex interaction between migration, language and culture at societal, community and personal levels. Its diversity of themes, perspectives and research methods aptly reflects the multifarious realities we inhabit, and the editors' introductory and concluding commentaries do an excellent job of relating the concerns of individual chapters to the larger picture. -- David Little, Associate Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland This volume explores the diversity and tension caused by population movement and technological and social transformation. The book has been successful in advocating the advantages of being open to different influences, research cultures and methodologies in intercultural studies. * The Linguist List *