Jan Blommaert Libros

Exploring linguistic landscaping, the author examines his neighborhood through the lens of superdiversity, highlighting the intricate interplay of multilingual signs. These signs serve as chronicles that reveal the complex histories and cultural narratives of the area, prompting a reevaluation of traditional analytical tools. The innovative approach emphasizes the significance of language in understanding the dynamics of diverse communities.

Ethnography must be seen as a full theoretical system, not just as a method. In this book, a range of authors are examined, whose work was either instrumental in creating this theoretical system, or might productively be used in developing it further. Authors discussed include Hymes, Scollon, Kress, Bourdieu, Bakhtin and Lefebvre.

Exploring the impact of globalization, this book examines how it influences our perception of literacy and highlights the growing divide between grassroots literacies—expressions from everyday individuals and local communities—and elite literacies. It delves into the significance of these differing forms of literacy in understanding societal changes and the implications for cultural identity and communication in a globalized world.

The book explores ethnography as a comprehensive theoretical system rather than merely a methodological tool. It analyzes the contributions of key authors such as Hymes, Scollon, Kress, Bourdieu, Bakhtin, and Lefebvre, highlighting their instrumental roles in shaping and advancing ethnographic theory. By examining their works, the text aims to deepen the understanding of ethnography's theoretical foundations and its potential for future development.

Exploring the evolution of human language amidst globalization, Jan Blommaert examines how cultural and social dynamics influence communication. He delves into the impact of technology, migration, and the interconnectedness of societies, highlighting the shifting linguistic landscape and its implications for identity and interaction in a rapidly changing world.

Sociolinguistic evidence is an undervalued resource for social theory, and in this book, Jan Blommaert uses contemporary sociolinguistic insights to develop another sociological imagination. Taking Durkheim as the point of departure, he first demonstrates how the facts of language and social interaction can be used as conclusive refutations of individualistic theories of society such as 'Rational Choice'. Next, he engages with theorizing the post-Durkheimian social world in which we currently live. This new social world operates 'offline' as well as 'online' and is characterized by 'vernacular globalization'. These fundamental changes, announced by theorists such as Castells and Appadurai, require a new set of theoretical and conceptual tools capable of capturing the complexity and dynamics of contemporary societies. Blommaert proposes new theories of social norms, social action, identity, social groups, integration, social structure and power, all of them animated by a deep understanding of language and social interaction. - website publisher

Tanzania is often seen as an exceptional case of successful language planning in Africa, with Swahili being spread to all corners of the country. Yet, this objective success has always been accompanied by a culture of complaints proclaiming its utter failure. State Ideology and Language in Tanzania sets out to explore this paradox through a richly documented historical, sociolinguistic and anthropological approach covering the story of Swahili from the early days of independence until today. Focusing on the ways in which Swahili was swept up in the 'Ujamaa revolution' - the transition to socialism led by president Nyerere - Jan Blommaert demonstrates how the language became an emblem not just of the Tanzanian 'cultural' nation, but above all of the 'political' nation. Using Swahili meant the acceptance of socialism, and the spread of Swahili across the country should equal the spread of Ujamaa socialism. When this did not happen, the verdict of failure was proclaimed on Swahili, which did not prevent the language from becoming one of the most widely used and dynamic languages on the continent. This book is a thoroughly revised version of the 1999 edition, which was welcomed at the time as a classic. It now extends the period of coverage to 2012 and includes an entirely new chapter on current developments, making this updated edition an essential read for students and scholars in language, linguistics and African Studies.

The authors draw on their experiences in explaining the complexities of ethnographic fieldwork as a knowledge trajectory. They do so in an accessible way that makes these complexities easier to understand and to handle. The 2nd edition of this bestselling book updates the 1st edition and includes a new postscript on ethnography in an online world.

Superdiversity has rendered places, groups and practices complex and the usual tools of analysis need rethinking. Using an innovative approach to linguistic landscaping, the author investigates his own neighbourhood from a complexity perspective and demonstrates how multilingual signs can be read as chronicles documenting the histories of a place.

Organized thematically, this introduction outlines the basic principles and moves on to examine the methods and theory of CDA (critical discourse analysis). Topics covered include text and context, language and inequality, choice and determination, history and process, ideology and identity. Jan Blommaert focuses on how language can offer a crucial understanding of wider aspects of power relations, arguing that CDA should specifically analyze the effects of power.