This book discusses the effects of globalization on languages in Africa. In contrast to previous studies, the contributors examine whether or not globalization is affecting African languages in the same ways and at the same rate in different countries, and how local experiences of language change vary from place to place. Rather than seeing English as the 'killer language' par excellence, the contributors probe ways in which languages are being used side by side to complement each other in some contexts while competing against European colonial languages in others. The result is a diverse canvas of language vitality in the African context, including matters of endangerment and loss, through the lense of globalization in its various interpretations. This book is a must read for students and researchers interested in language change and death and in the fate of European languages in the rest of the world.

Globalization is a complex phenomenon that has deep ties in the past movement of people and ideas around the world. While many people voice the fear that the power of Western culture, and in particular American culture, will overwhelm or even obliterate indigenous cultures and languages, this author argues that the impact of culture is never a one-way street. The interconnectedness of the modern world allows input from the United States to the rest of the world, and at the same time allows the movement of ideas and people from faraway countries to our shores. Book jacket.

Languages are constantly changing. New words are added to the English language every year, either borrowed or coined, and there is often railing against the 'decline' of the language by public figures. Some languages, such as French and Finnish, have academies to protect them against foreign imports. Yet languages are species-like constructs, which evolve naturally over time. Migration, imperialism, and globalization have blurred boundaries between many of them, producing new ones (such as creoles) and driving some to extinction. This book examines the processes by which languages change, from the macroecological perspective of competition and natural selection. In a series of chapters, Salikoko Mufwene examines such themes as: - natural selection in language - the actuation question and the invisible hand that drives evolution - multilingualism and language contact - language birth and language death - the emergence of Creoles and Pidgins - the varying impacts of colonization and globalization on language vitality This comprehensive examination of the organic evolution of language will be essential reading for graduate and senior undergraduate students, and for researchers on the social dynamics of language variation and change, language vitality and death, and even the origins of linguistic diversity.

Contributed articles in Indian context.

We live in a world that is marked by the twin processes of economic and cultural globalization. In this thought provoking book, Kumaravadivelu explores the impact of cultural globalization on second and foreign language education.

The Handbook of Language and Globalization brings together important new studies of language and discourse in the global era, consolidating a vibrant new field of sociolinguistic research. The first volume to assemble leading scholarship in this rapidly developing field Features new contributions from 36 internationally-known scholars, bringing together key research in the field and establishing a benchmark for future research Comprehensive coverage is divided into four sections: global multilingualism, world languages and language systems; global discourse in key domains and genres; language, values and markets under globalization; and language, distance and identities Covers an impressive breadth of topics including tourism, language teaching, social networking, terrorism, and religion, among many others Winner of the British Association for Applied Linguistics book prize 2011

The impact of globalization processes on language is an emergent field in sociolinguistics. To date there has not been an in-depth look at this in Asia, although Asia includes the two most populous globalizing economies of the world, India and China. Covering the major themes in the field of globalization and language, this book will take a look at topics such as English emerging as the medium of instruction for subjects like mathematics and science. Another theme is the rise of Mandarin as a potentially 'global' language networking the Chinese diaspora. The cultural contexts of Asia, specifically the Sinic, Hindu and Islamic civililizations give the processes of globalization and language a unique dimension. This book is suitable for researchers and postgraduate students in all fields of sociolinguistic enquiry.