Edwards J. Language and Identity

(Key Topics in Sociolinguistics). - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. - 322 p.The language we use forms an important part of our sense of who we are - of our identity. This book outlines the relationship between our identity as members of groups - ethnic, national, religious and gender - and the language varieties important to each group. What is a language? What is a dialect? Are there such things as language 'rights'? Must every national group have its own unique language? How have languages, large and small, been used to spread religious ideas? Why have particular religious and linguistic 'markers' been so central, singly or in combination, to the ways in which we think about ourselves and others? Using a rich variety of examples, the book highlights the linkages among languages, dialects and identities, with special attention given to religious, ethnic and national allegiances.An introductory note
s and topics
A concluding note
Identity, the individual and the groupIdentity: personal and social
The construction and maintenance of groupness
Language and circumstance
Identifying ourselves
Personal names
Names for groups
The appropriation of names and narratives
Cultural voices and scholarly research
Ethnocentrism and relativism
Language, dialect and identity
Language
Dialect
Dialect and identity: beyond standard and nonstandard
The ‘logic’ of dialect
Ebonics
Further work on dialect evaluation
Language, religion and identityLinking language and religion
God’s language – and ours
Modern times
Missionaries
Language, gender and identityStereotyping sex and gender
Gender variations in speech
Concluding remarks
Ethnicity and nationalismEthnic identity
Nationalism
Assessments of nationalism
Civic nationalism
Evaluating nationalism
Language and nationalism
The basic link
Language purism and prescriptivism
Language planning and language ecology
Language planning
The ecology of language
The consequences of Babel
Bilingualism and identity
Glossary Notes