Linguistics in a Colonial World A Story of Language, Meaning, and Power

by Errington, Joseph

• ISBN13: 9781405105699
• ISBN10: 1405105690
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-11
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The knowledge of "exotic" languages was an important instrument of colonial power, making linguistic studies a necessary part of colonial work. Drawing on both original texts and critical literature, Linguistics in a Colonial World surveys the methods, meanings, and uses of early linguistic projects. Examining their effects in the shaping of identities and communities, this book also uncovers how early endeavors in linguistics were used to aid in overcoming practical and ideological difficulties faced in colonial rule. Additionally, this volume looks at how the linguistic face of colonial scholarship's history continues to shape the way we think about language and cultural difference today, bringing new insight into the post-colonial controversies of endangered languages and language rights in the globalized twenty-first century.

Author Biography

Joseph Errington is Professor of Anthropology and International and Area Studies, as well as Chair of the Council of Southeast Asian Studies, at Yale University. His research and writing have focused on linguistic dimensions of modernization and identity in Java and Indonesia, reflecting his broader interests in semiotics and the politics of language.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Figures and Table

The Linguistic in the Colonial

Early Conversions, or, How Spanish Friars Made the Little Jump

Imaging the Linguistic Past

Philology's Evolutions

Between Pentecost and Pidgins

Colonial Linguists, (Proto)-National Languages

Postcolonial Postscript

References

Language Index

Persons Index

Subject Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.