Description
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive discussion examines the development of this important sub-field of multilingualism from the 1970s to the present. Anne Pauwels documents the many efforts families and communities engage in to maintain their heritage or minority language, offering a critical review of the key disciplinary approaches and theoretical frameworks.
Trade Review'This comprehensive book is a thorough, critical discussion of language maintenance and shift that ranges from the historical evolution of the field as a focus of academic enquiry, its research methods and a presentation of the key findings and insights about the dynamics of multilingual communities. It is an essential resource for all who work in the field or who want to learn more about it.' Anthony J. Liddicoat, University of Warwick
'Anne Pauwels has a well-known and long-standing research reputation in the field of language maintenance and language shift. This volume offers a most welcome and excellent coverage of the history and approaches in this field of research.' Guus Extra, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
'Drawing on her many years of distinguished research, [the author] has written a most comprehensive and in-depth exploration of this growing research field. This volume will be seen as another seminal work by Professor Pauwels. Bringing together critical review and original work it will be an invaluable tool for scholars and students alike.' Antonia Rubino, University of Sydney
'Anne Pauwels' work serves as a welcome addition to the fields of language contact and sociolinguistics. … This is the first of its kind, with all other treatises on LM and LS being included as a subdiscussion in some other general work (the author providing a sample list of such works in her introductory chapter). The main purpose of the book is to introduce the reader to the field and discuss the reasons why some linguistic minorities are able to maintain their language(s), while others shift quite rapidly to the dominant language. The author adeptly takes the reader through these topics and encourages further investigation along the way.' Tyler K. Anderson, The Linguist List (linguistlist.org)
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. History, Concepts, Contexts and Approaches: 1. Pioneers in the study of language maintenance and language shift; 2. Concepts, contexts and approaches to the study of language maintenance and shift; Part II. Investigating Language Maintenance and Shift: Collecting and Analysing Data: 3. Linguistic demography: census surveys; 4. Reporting language use and exploring language attitudes: questionnaires; 5. Beyond surveys: interviews, participant observation and experiments; Part III. Identifying and Understanding Trends and Patterns in the Dynamics of Language Maintenance and Shift: 6. Trends and patterns in language maintenance and shift; 7. Understanding the dynamics of language maintenance and shift; Part IV. Language Maintenance Efforts and Reversing Language Shift: 8. Efforts, agencies and institutions for language maintenance; 9. Reversing language shift; Part V. Future Developments in the Study of Language Maintenance and Shift: 10. Opportunities and challenges for the future study of language maintenance and shift.
