1st Edition
Revisiting Ethnolinguistic Vitality Language and Subcultural Repertoires
This book examines traditional theories of linguistic vitality in the context of subcultural languages. It argues that traditional methods of investigating linguistic vitality are, according to existing literature, not as reliable as they appear and therefore limited in their testability. The author looks at themes such as the relationships between language and culture, ethnicity within the scope of sociolinguistics, and the notion of ideolinguistic vitality where traditional views intersect with more contextually current ones. She also highlights the importance of studying the nature and principles of subcultural languages which help better inform our understanding of the superdiverse linguistic world. The volume makes a major contribution to modern sociolinguistics by offering a detailed account of developing a unique measuring instrument to gauge the vitality of subcultural languages, which is applicable to more than just subcultural linguistics.
An indispensable text in the study of ethnolinguistic vitality, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, identity theory, philology, language and literature, cultural studies, and postcolonial studies.
1. The theory before the theory 2. The alchemy of theory building: An overview of methodological considerations 3. Back to the future – Ethnolinguistic vitality 4. The underworld, neo-tribes and fantasy: Culture and language 5. The nitty-gritty – An SLR for subcultural linguistic vitality elements 6. Putting it all together and testing it out 7. The as-fancy-as-it-gets-for-me stats chapter 8. A final word
Biography
Natasha E. Ravyse lectures at the North-West University (Faculty of Law), South Africa, and has also received an excellence award in lecturing. She has a PhD in linguistics and literary theory, which was accepted without condition by her international reviewers. She has dedicated her entire postgraduate career to exploring subcultural languages from both a literature and real-world perspective. Her MA received an institutional excellence award for being the best dissertation in 2014, and she is a member of an international honours society for ranking in the top 15% of scholars, on a national stage. She is continuing her research and publications in academic journals.
