E-grāmata: Language and Migration

Language and Migration explores the relationship between language and migration through real-world case studies from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand. Each chapter looks at different forms of migration and the language and literacy practices which sustain, extend or curb those migrations. Individual trajectories, family networks and societal level policy are examined through an interdisciplinary perspective on empires and colonialism, transnationalism and globalisation. Exploring the linguistic diversity which has resulted from voluntary and forced migration, this book covers theories from migration studies, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, sociology and education studies, and offers broad coverage of different contexts of migration across the globe. It provides students with:

• migration theories to interrogate current thinking on human mobility;
• concepts from Applied Linguistics combined with other disciplines to explore complex migration experiences in countries of origin and destination;
• a critical understanding of language and power in economic migration and forced migration;
• an introduction to the role of language in broader debates about the impact of migration on national and international policies such as international development, global security and education;
• practical guidance on using discourse analysis to identify how migrant identities are constructed in the media and how this effects our understandings of asylum, immigration and social cohesion.

This unique approach to understanding the complexities of language and migration is groundbreaking in it its sense of history when relating the generational consequences of migration. The voices of pioneer migrants are explored alongside the contemporary experiences of recent migrants and the intergenerational trajectories of family members are illuminated in their writing online as well as their language learning. Multilingualism is a key feature of migrants’ repertoires and is dealt with throughout as the book traces the migrants’ use of the different language resources they have at their disposal at different stages of their migrations, be that forced migrants or economic migrants.

Featuring a range of activities and two case studies in each chapter sourced from data from the US, Canada, Middle East, India, UK and Greece, Language and Migration is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying this topic.