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English as a Local Language: Post-Colonial Identities and Multilingual Practices

English as a Local Language: Post-Colonial Identities and Multilingual Practices

by Higgins, Christina
No customer reviews yet ISBN 9781847691804 Multilingual Matters

When analyzed in multilingual contexts, English is often treated as an entity that is separable from its linguistic environment. It is often the case, however, that multilinguals use English in hybrid and transcultural ways. This book explores how multilingual East Africans make use of English as a local resource in their everyday practices by examining a range of domains, including workplace conversation, beauty pageants, hip hop and advertising. Drawing on the Bakhtinian concept of multivocality, the author uses discourse analysis and ethnographic approaches to demonstrate the range of linguistic and cultural hybridity found across these domains, and to consider the constraints on hybridity in each context. By focusing on the cultural and linguistic bricolage in which English is often found, the book illustrates how multilinguals respond to the tension between local identification and dominant conceptualizations of English as a language for global communication.

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Product details

BrandMultilingual Matters
Pub dateJul 8, 2009
ISBN-101847691803
ISBN-139781847691804
LanguageEnglish
Dimensions8.25 × 0.4 × 5.85 in
Weight1 lb
Last updated 2026-04-14 16:13
$44.14
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