Book notice

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Forwarded from Linguist list:

Title: Languages in a Globalising World

(2003)  Cambridge University Press
           http://www.cup.org

Book URL: http://us.cambridge.org/titles/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521821738

Editors: Jacques  Maurais, Office of French Language of Quebec, and
 Michael A. Morris, Clemson University


Abstract:

Throughout human history, the fate of languages has been closely
linked to political power relationships. Political shifts in the
international system continue to affect linguistic patterns, which
today are still in a state of flux following the end of the Cold
War. This book considers the effects of present-day trends in global
politics on the relative status of languages, and the directions in
which the linguistic hierarchy might develop in the future. What are
the prospects for the continuing spread of English? Will other
traditionally prominent languages such as French and German gain or
lose influence? Will languages such as Arabic and Japanese increase in
international status? Will minority languages continue to lose ground
and disappear? The book assesses these prospects, looking at the major
world regions, and with its interdisciplinary approach it will appeal
to researchers and students of sociolinguistics and language planning
as well as of international relations.

1. Introduction (Jacques Maurais and Michael A. Morris)

Part I. Global Communication Challenges:
2. Toward a new global linguistic order? (Jacques Maurais)
3. The geostrategies of interlingualism (Mark Fettes)
4. Language policy and linguistic theory (Douglas A. Kibbee)
5. Babel and the market: geostrategies for minority languages (Jean
   Laponce)
6. Forecasting the fate of languages (William F. Mackey)

Part II. Major Areas:
7. Language geostrategy in Eastern and Central Europe: assessment and
   perspectives (Ferenc Fodor and Sandrine Peluau)
8. Languages and supranationality in Europe: the linguistic influence
   of the European Union (Claude Truchot)
9. Regional blocs as a barrier against English hegemony? The language
   policy of Mercosur in South America (Rainer Enrique Hamel)
10. Effects of North American integration on linguistic diversity
    (Michael Morris)
11. Sociolinguistic changes in transformed Central Asian societies
    (Birgit N. Schlyter)
12. Language and script in Japan and other East Asian countries:
    between insularity and technology (Stefan Kaiser)
13. Sub-Saharan Africa (Roland Breton)
14. Australasia and the South Pacific (Richard B. Baldauf Jr. and
    Paulin G. Djit)

Part III. Languages of Wider Communication:
15. The international status of the German language (Ulrich Ammon)
16. Arabic and the new technologies (Foued Laroussi)
17. Russian in the modern world (Vida Io. Mikhalchenko and Yulia
    Trushkova)
18. Geolinguistics, geopolitics, geostrategy: the case of French
    (Robert Chaudenson)
19. Toward a scientific geostrategy for English (Grant McConnell)
20. On Brazilian Portuguese in Latin American Integration (Maria da
    Graa Krieger)
21. Conclusion: the search for a global linguistic strategy (Humphrey
    Tonkin)

Hardback: ISBN: 0521821738, Pages: 362, Price:  U.S. $: 65
Hardback: ISBN: 0521821738, Pages: 362, Price:  U.K. : 47.50
Hardback: ISBN: 0521821738, Pages: 362, Price:  AUS $: 160
Hardback: ISBN: 0521821738, Pages: 362, Price:  Europe EURO: 65.97