Multilingualism

Hardback

Main Details

Title Multilingualism
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Anat Stavans
By (author) Charlotte Hoffmann
SeriesKey Topics in Sociolinguistics
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:319
Dimensions(mm): Height 222,Width 144
Category/GenreSociolinguistics
ISBN/Barcode 9781107092990
ClassificationsDewey:306.446
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 6 Tables, black and white; 4 Maps; 15 Halftones, unspecified; 4 Line drawings, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 15 January 2015
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

How do children and adults become multilingual? How do they use their languages? What influence does being multilingual have on their identities? What is the social impact of multilingualism today and how do societies accommodate it? These are among the fascinating questions examined by this book. Exploring multilingualism in individuals and in society at large, Stavans and Hoffmann argue that it evolves not from one factor in particular, but from a vast range of environmental and personal influences and circumstances: from migration to globalisation, from the spread of English to a revived interest in minority languages, from social mobility to intermarriage. The book shows the important role of education in helping to promote or maintain pupils' multilingual language competence and multilingual literacy, and in helping to challenge traditional monolingual attitudes. A clear and incisive account of this growing phenomenon, it is essential reading for students, teachers and policy-makers alike.

Author Biography

Anat Stavans is a Professor in Applied Linguistics at Beit Berl College and a researcher at the Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Charlotte Hoffmann was formerly Reader in Sociolinguistics at the University of Salford, UK.

Reviews

'The authors of this book demonstrate that multilingualism is as old as humanity itself. Language and politics have always been intertwined, creating amazing and conflictual complexity ... This is a very clear and highly informative book.' Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London