Spelling and society : the culture and politics of orthography around the world / Mark Sebba.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sebba, Mark.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Orthography and spelling.

Language and languages.

Sociolinguistics.

Physical Description:

xix, 189 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Summary:

Spelling matters to people. In America and Britain every day, members of the public write to the media on spelling issues, and take part in spelling contests. In Germany, a reform of the spelling system has provoked a constitutional crisis; in Galicia, a 'war of orthographies' parallels an intense public debate on national identity; on walls, bridges and trains globally, Punx and Anarkists proclaim their identities orthographically. The way we spell often represents an attempt to identify with, or dissociate from, other languages (as in the spelling of some languages of previously colonised peoples), or other groups of speakers of our own language (as in the spelling of young people and subcultural groups). In Spelling and Society, Mark Sebba explores why matters of orthography are of real concern to so many groups, as a reflection of culture, history and social practices, and as a powerful symbol of national or local identity.

Contents:

Diagrams x

Note on transcription xiii

Introduction: society and orthography 1

1 Approaching orthography 10

2 Orthography as social practice 26

3 Language contact, linguists and the emergence of orthographies 58

4 'Postcolonial' Orthographies 81

5 Between language and dialect: orthography in unstandardised and standardising vernaculars 102

6 Reform or revolution: where angels fear to tread 132

7 Why do we spell? 157.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 172-182) and indexes.

ISBN:

0521848458

9780521848459

OCLC:

75087929

Online:

Publisher description