This is a comprehensive and wide-ranging 2002 guide to language and society in South Africa. As the authors demonstrate, the South African context offers a treasure trove of data and examples for linguistic and sociolinguistic study. The book surveys the most important language groupings in the region in terms of pre-colonial and colonial history; contact between the different language varieties, leading to language loss, pidginization, creolization and new mixed varieties; language and public policy issues associated with the transition to a post-apartheid society and its eleven official languages. It details the history of indigenous languages, the impact of European languages upon them, and of transformations to the European languages themselves. Written by a team of leading researchers, all the chapters are informed by the importance of socio-political history in understanding questions of language. The book will be welcomed by students and researchers in language and linguistics, sociology, anthropology and social history.
CONTRIBUTORS: Rajend MesthrieEAN: 9780521791052COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 840 gHEIGHT: 229 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Cambridge University PressDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / GeneralWIDTH: 152 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Republic of South Africa, Grammar, syntax and morphology
"[A] very handsome book, beautifully edited, carefully proofread, and produced on thick paper in elegant fonts." Christina Bratt Paulston, University of Pittsburgh, Language in Society
Rajend Mesthrie is Professor of Linguistics at the University of South Africa. He has researched and published extensively on a range of contact phenomena in South Africa.
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This is a comprehensive and wide-ranging 2002 guide to language and society in South Africa. As the authors demonstrate, the South African context offers a treasure trove of data and examples for linguistic and sociolinguistic study. The book surveys the most important language groupings in the region in terms of pre-colonial and colonial history; contact between the different language varieties, leading to language loss, pidginization, creolization and new mixed varieties; language and public policy issues associated with the transition to a post-apartheid society and its eleven official languages. It details the history of indigenous languages, the impact of European languages upon them, and of transformations to the European languages themselves. Written by a team of leading researchers, all the chapters are informed by the importance of socio-political history in understanding questions of language. The book will be welcomed by students and researchers in language and linguistics, sociology, anthropology and social history.
CONTRIBUTORS: Rajend MesthrieEAN: 9780521791052COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 840 gHEIGHT: 229 cm
PUBLISHED BY: Cambridge University PressDATE PUBLISHED: CITY: GENRE: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / GeneralWIDTH: 152 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Republic of South Africa, Grammar, syntax and morphology
Rajend Mesthrie is Professor of Linguistics at the University of South Africa. He has researched and published extensively on a range of contact phenomena in South Africa.
I love the bush and need new and different facts when taking friends and family out on a game drives. The majority of the information shared in the book is generally known by the average bush enthusiast, but it comes from a unique angle and there were little bits and pieces that I did not know or had never really thought about. I enjoyed the book and sure I will get to use some of the facts I learnt to amuse guests down the line. It is very light reading but would recommend to anyone who enjoys animal facts.
I just finished reading, “Theft from Delos” and “The Priest and the Gondolier.” I enjoyed both novels immensely. The author brings his characters to life in such a way that they are not only realistic but also memorable. His description of Venice and the Greek Islands made me feel as if I was there. The setting and background to his novel are meticulously researched and his plots contain many twists and unpredicted turns. I look forward to reading more from Mervyn Nel.
