Multilingualism: Understanding Linguistic Diversity

HOW DO LANGUAGES LIVE AND DIE? WHAT ROLE DOES TRANSLATION PLAY IN HELPING LANGUAGES TO THRIVE? ARE POLYGLOTS VIEWED WITH SUSPICION, GIVEN THE LINKS BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY? IS THE MAINTENANCE AND REVIVAL OF FLAGGING LANGUAGES WORTH THE EFFORT? CAN A LANGUAGE REMAIN ''PURE''? IF LANGUAGE PATTERNS CONSTANTLY ALTER, WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT IDENTITY? Multilingualism is everywhere in a globalized society. This book looks at the origins and development of languages, at language contact and competition, and at the emergence and the consequences of multilingualism. Edwards also examines.

Title page; Copyright page; Dedication page; Contents; Prologue ; CHAPTER ONE The Diversity of Languages ; The First Language ; Comparing Languages ; Languages and Language Families ; CHAPTER TWO Interpreting Language Diversity; Dead or Alive ; The Problem of Names ; CHAPTER THREE Multilingual Abilities ; Multilingualism in the World ; Individual Attitudes and Abilities ; Language as a Verb and Other Infelicities ; CHAPTER FOUR The Emergence and Measurement of Multilingualism; The Rise of Multilingualism ; Assessing Multilingualism ; CHAPTER FIVE The Consequences of Babel: Lingua Francas.

The Lingua Franca Languages of Wider Communication ; Pidgins and Creoles ; Constructed Languages ; CHAPTER six The Consequences of Babel: Translation ; Translation, Ownership and Secrecy ; Voice Appropriation ; Translation in Practice ; CHAPTER SEVEN Keeping Languages Pure ; Purism and Prescriptivism ; Academies ; Dictionaries ; CHAPTER eight Languages and Identities in Transition ; Languages in Contact ; Language Decline and Maintenance ; Future Directions ; CHAPTER NINE Endangered Languages and the Will to Survive ; What is Language Revival? ; Maintaining Domains of Necessity ; Willingness.

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