Xinjiang has witnessed constant state attempts to reinforce the status of Mandarin Chinese as 'the Common Language' and to make local Turkic languages -- mainly Uyghur and Kazak -- more 'suitable' to the modern world. Official efforts to transform the linguistic landscape of Xinjiang have engaged in a complex interplay with Turkic speakers' own…

This article concerns Northern Catalonia, the part of the Catalan-speaking area that today is in France. A Catalan-speaking region until the first half of the twentieth century, the effects of Frenchification -- the acceptance of the French political and economic project in the contemporary era -- and the multiple demographic changes of the…

Zambia is home to a complex set of language practices, which involve languages being used in different ways across social contexts. Historically written communication has typically been associated with English with African languages mainly associated with used spoken contexts. Recently, however, there has been a shift in this pattern with African…

While current conceptualisations of the inextricable connection between language and culture in English language education are largely informed by complex sociocultural theories that view culture as constructed in and through social practices among people, classroom practices continue to be influenced by mainstream discourses of culture that…

This special issue aims to develop a research agenda that brings language to the centre of our inquiry and critique of neoliberalism. Based on empirical case studies from across diverse contexts in Europe, North America, and East Asia, contributors to this special issue address two issues: (1) What can be said about the nature of neoliberalism…

In this paper, I draw on interview data to explore parents' constructions of language and identity in two London Turkish complementary schools. I examine parents' evaluative talk about standard Turkish, Cypriot-Turkish and other regional varieties of Turkish, the cultural values they attach to them and images of personhood these invoke. I…

This paper attempts to define cultural globalisation and cultural glocalisation in terms of cultural identity (CI) and language. Homogenisation, heterogenisation and glocalisation are three possible ways to face the challenge of cultural globalisation but glocalisation may be the most realistic solution as it seems to be the way to a better…

The Shiwiar are an indigenous nation of Ecuador and Peru, and they are one of five ethnic groups collectively known as the Jivaroan people. In stark contrast to the other Jivaroan groups, the Shiwiar have largely been overlooked by local governments until recently and are still popularly considered to be an offshoot of their closely related…

Language occupies a crucial position in neoliberalism, due to the reimagination of language as commodified skill. This paper studies the role of language ideology in this transformation by identifying a particular ideology that facilitates this process, namely the ideology which views language as pure potential. Neoliberalism treats language as a…

This paper maps out the linguistic history of nation-building in the Philippines through the politics of "p" and "f" in the country. This politics concerns the various strategic acts of naming the national language at different periods of the country's history that have shaped its fate as the most hegemonic indigenous…

The paper presents the summary of the special issue of "JMMD" "Ethnolinguistic vitality". The volume shows convincingly that ethnolinguistic vitality perceptions as measured by standard methodology such as the Subjective Ethnolinguistic Vitality Questionnaires (SEVQ) are not reliable indicators of actual vitality. Evidence that ethnolinguistic…

Tibetan civilisation is over two millenniums old and, today, its struggles in diaspora open up a new chapter in Tibetan history. Diasporic Tibetans (e.g. in India and the USA) have made tremendous efforts over the last few decades to maintain their way of life. We focus on cultural identity in the Tibetan diasporas, with special attention focused…

Nepali, the official language of administration of Nepal, has been privileged through systematic political manoeuvres throughout its history. English also enjoys special status and privileges, and despite the fact that it is officially only a "foreign" language, in practice it is one of the most dominant languages in educational and…

Outlines a research project conducted in Brittany in 1994 and 1995. The object was to investigate the attitudes of young people in Brittany (ages 8-18) toward varieties of language in the region, using a questionnaire survey and interviews. A brief description of the project is followed by a discussion of the sociolinguistic situation in France.…

Discusses a study on bilingualism and factors of ethnic identity in Saare/Tsaragi, a border area in Nigeria where two languages are used regularly. Interviews elicited information on language ability and use, language attitudes, and interethnic relations. Results indicate similar patterns between groups of bilingual ability and attitudes but…