Joseph J.E. Language and Politics

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2006. — x, 170 p. — (Edinburgh Textbooks in Applied Linguistics). — ISBN: 074862452X, 0748624538.Language, this book argues, is political from top to bottom, whether considered at the level of an individual speaker's choice of language or style of discourse with others (where interpersonal politics are performed), or at the level of political rhetoric, or indeed all the way up to the formation of national languages. By bringing together this set of topics and highlighting how they are interrelated, the book will function well as a textbook on any applied or sociolinguistic course in which some or all of these various aspects of the politics of language are covered.Series Editors’ PrefaceOverview: How politics permeates language (and vice versa)
What does it mean to say that language is political?
The politics of different ways of speaking
The politics of talking to others
The politics of what ‘the language’ is
The politics of which language to speak
The politics of policing the language
Language, thought and politicians
Language and choice
Conclusion: Language is political from top to bottomLanguage and nation
Them and us
What is or isn’t ‘a language’
The role of writing
Constructing ‘the language’ by controlling variation
Language, knowledge and power
How new languages emerge: From ‘falling standards’ to ‘World Englishes’
Oppression and identity
Suggested further readingThe social politics of language choice and linguistic correctness
Hearers as speakers
The denial of heteroglossia
The role of education
Linguistic imperialism
Language rights
The linguistic performance of minority identities
Suggested further readingPolitics embedded in language
Struggle in the sign
Struggle in interaction
Deferential address
Gendered language
‘Powerless’ language
The politics of language change
Suggested further readingTaboo language and its restriction
Swearing
The language police state
The politics of (self-)censorship
Hate speech
The right to hear no evil?
Suggested further readingRhetoric, propaganda and interpretation
Rhetoric versus truth?
Language, thought and reality
Propaganda anxiety
Newspeak
Linguistic creativity and manufacturing consent
Critical Discourse Analysis
The function of language in a democracy
Suggested further readingConclusion: Power, hegemony and choices
Agency
Broccoli theoryImplications and applications References