Book Review

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Forwarding an announcement from Linguist-List:

From: Paul Peranteau <paul at benjamins.com>
Subject: Sociolinguistics: Language and National Identity.


John Benjamins Publishing announces a new work in Sociolinguistics:

Language and National Identity. Comparing France and Sweden.
Leigh OAKES (University of London)

IMPACT: Studies in Language and Society 13 2001. x, 305 pp. Hardcover US &
Canada: 1 58811 116 4 / USD 91.00 Rest of world: 90 272 1848 X / EUR
100.00

This book re-examines the relationship between language and national
identity. Unlike many previous studies, it employs a comparative approach:
France and Sweden have been chosen as case studies both for their
similarities (e.g. both are member states of the European Union)  as well
as their important differences (e.g. France subscribes in principle to a
civic model of national identity, whereas the basis of Swedish identity is
undeniably ethnic). It is precisely differences such as these which allow
for a more comprehensive understanding of the ethnolinguistic implications
of some of the major challenges currently facing France, Sweden and other
European countries:  regionalism, immigration, European integration and
globalization.

The present volume benefits from the use of a multidisciplinary approach,
and differs from others on the market because of the variety of methods of
inquiry used. A series of societal analyses is complemented by an
empirical component, bringing a more grounded understanding to the issue
of language and national identity.

                        John Benjamins Publishing Co.
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