book notice: Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World: Blackledge

[Harold Schiffman]

Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World: Blackledge


Title: Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World
Series Title: Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture 15
Published: 2009
Publisher: John Benjamins
                http://www.benjamins.com/

Book URL: http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=DAPSAC%2015

Author: Adrian Blackledge

Abstract:

Now available in paperback!

In this book the discourse of politicians and policy-makers in Britain
links languages other than English, and therefore speakers of these
languages, with civil disorder and threats to democracy, citizenship and
nationhood. These powerful arguments travel along 'chains of discourse'
until they gain the legitimacy of the state, and are inscribed in law. The
particular focus of this volume is on discourse linking 'race riots' in
England in 2001 with the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002,
which extended legislation to test the English language proficiency of
British citizenship applicants.

Adrian Blackledge develops a theoretical and methodological framework which
draws on critical discourse analysis to reveal the linguistic character of
social and cultural processes and structures; on Bakhtin's notion of the
dialogic nature of discourse to demonstrate how voices progressively gain
authority; and on Bourdieu's model of symbolic domination to illuminate the
way in which linguistic-minority speakers may be complicit in the
misrecognition, or valorisation, of the dominant language.

Contents: Preface vii - Acknowledgments ix - 1. Language, ideology and
power 1-29 - 2. Language ideologies in multilingual contexts 31-58 - 3.
Discourse and discrimination in the social arena 59-92 - 4. Political
discourse and the rhetoric of discrimination 93-119 - 5. Political
discourse and the media 121-153 - 6. Representing the voice of the people
155-180 - 7. The legitimation of discriminatory discourse 181-205 - 8.
Discourse, power and the multilingual world 207-231 - Notes 233-237 -
References 239-248 - Index 249-252

"Discourse and Power in a Multilingual World' is a timely contribution to
our understanding of how deeply-rooted ideologies of language, nation and
State give rise to current racialized discourses of inclusion and exclusion
under contemporary conditions of globalized transnational movements. By
situating discourses emanating from actors of the British State and its
agencies in the context of the dilemmas confronted by liberalism in the
early 21st century, Blackledge succeeds in demonstrating just how strong a
hold nationalism still has, and how State discourses frame understandings
of diversity and position immigrants as excluded Others, within
legitimizing discourses of equality and democracy." -Professor Monica
Heller, CREFO, OISE, Université de Toronto, Canada

"In this day and age where xenophobia is spreading like wildfire and
national and global policies originate from fear and threats of 'the
other', this book offers a unique and comprehensive analysis of the process
through which the discourse and language of politicians, the media and
others in authority serve as such powerful tools contributing and
perpetuating such ideologies of discrimination. This book should be on the
required reading list not only for students of applied linguistics and
discourse, but also for those in political science, sociology and public
policy whose research engages with the role of language within policy
making." -Professor Elana Shohamy, Tel Aviv University, Israel

"This is an excellent book. [...] It represents an excellent example of
critical discourse analysis that links social theory with detailed text
analysis to help us better understand and potentially intervene in reality.
This is a great model to follow considering the current state of affairs in
a diverse and globalized world where assimilationist and homogeneous
ideologies prevail. I highly recommend this book to those interested in
issues of language and power in multilingual society, critical discourse
analysis, immigration, bilingualism, and communication studies." -Mariana
Achugar, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh

http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-1566.html

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