Language as commodity : global structures, local marketplaces / edited by Peter K.W. Tan and Rani Rubdy.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Rubdy, Rani.

Tan, Peter K. W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Economic aspects.

Language and languages.

Language and languages--Political aspects.

Language and culture.

Language spread.

Communication, International.

Physical Description:

xiii, 228 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, [2008]

Summary:

Throughout human history, languages have been in competition with each other. As the world becomes more globalized, this trend increases. It affects the decision-making of those in positions of power and determines macro language policies and planning.

Often decisions about language (or dialects or language variety) are related to usefulness - defined in terms of their pragmatic and commercial currency or their value as symbols of sociocultural identity. Languages can be modes of entry into coveted social hierarchies or strongholds of religious, historical, technological and political power bases. Languages are seen now as commodities that carry different values in an era of globalization.

This volume engages with language policies and positions in relation to the roles and functions these languages adopt. It examines the 'value' of languages, defined in terms of the power they have in the global marketplace as much as within the complex matrices of the local sociopolitics. These valuations strongly underpin the various motivations that influence policy-making decisions, and in turn, these motivations create the tensions that characterise many language-related issues; tensions that arise when languages become commodified.

Contents:

1 Dimensions of globalization and applied linguistics / Paul Bruthiaux 1

2 Linguistic instrumentalism in Singapore / Lionel Wee 31

3 The commodification of Malay: Trading in futures / Lubna Alsagoff 44

4 Beyond linguistic instrumentalism: The place of Singlish in Singapore / Chng Huang Hoon 57

5 Linguistic pragmatism, globalization and the impact on the patterns of input in Singaporean Chinese homes / Ng Bee Chin 70

6 Anatomies of linguistic commodification: The case of English in the Philippines vis-a-vis other languages in the multilingual marketplace / T. Ruanni F. Tupas 89

7 The English language as a commodity in Malaysia: The view through the medium-of-instruction debate / Peter K. W. Tan 106

8 English in India: The privilege and privileging of social class / Rani Rubdy 122

9 Negotiating language value in multilingual China / Agnes S. L. Lam, Wenfeng Wang 146

10 Language policy, vernacular education and language economics in postcolonial Africa / Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu 171

11 On the appropriateness of the metaphor of LOSS / David Block 187

12 The commoditization of English and the Bologna Process: Global products and services, exchange mechanisms and trans-national labour / Michael Singh, Jinghe Han 204.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1847064221

9781847064226

184706423X

9781847064233

OCLC:

212847586