John Edwards 
Challenges in the Social Life of Language 

The first book to highlight the most pressing sociology-of-language themes of our times. All of which have to do with the twin issues of power and identity . Important evidence and illustrations bearing upon these matters are provided and supplemented by an extensive bibliography.

Table of Content

Introduction PART I: PERCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS The Study of Attitudes: Reculer pour mieux sauter Are Attitudes Important? Language Attitudes: Contexts and Features PART II: IDENTITY MATTERS Language, Group, Identity: General Considerations Language, Group, Identity: Secular and Spiritual Allegiances Language, Group, Identity: Gender PART III: LANGUAGE CONTACT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Language and Imperialism No Good Past Dover Language Learning in Anglophone Settings Language Contact: Present and Future References Index

About the author

JOHN EDWARDS is Professor of Psychology at St Francis Xavier University, Canada. His research interests are in language, identity and the many ramifications of their relationship. He is on the editorial boards of a dozen international language journals, and is the editor of the
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development and the
Multilingual Matters book series. He is widely published and his most recent books include
Un mundo de lenguas (2009),
Language and Identity (2009) and
Language Diversity in the Classroom (2010).