Global Portuguese: Linguistic Ideologies in Late Modernity (Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism) - Hardcover

"This volume’s originality rests with its focus upon Portuguese as a palpable example for working through theories and concepts of linguistic globalization. Instead of merely presenting theoretical approaches, the use of a concrete example such as Portuguese across the world speaks to the multiple, transnational, transcultural, and transidiomatic characteristics of languages in a world of intense and complex cultural movement." –Nelson Vieira, Brown University, USA

"The contributions are diverse (discourse analyses, ethnographies, participant observations, interviews, etc.) but theoretically coherent (post-modern). The volume covers a multiplicity of geographic areas (Europe, America, Asia and Africa) where Portuguese is spoken as a majority language (Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique and East Timor) and a minority language (Canada, Uruguay)." ―Ana M. Carvalho, University of Arizona, USA

"A timely and fascinating volume of essays bringing current cutting-edge debates on linguistic ideologies in an era of globalization and super-diversity to analyze linguistic policies, ideologies, practices and attitudes of the Portuguese-speaking world." ―Clare Mar-Molinero, University of Southampton, UK

This book aims at deconstructing and problematizing linguistic ideologies related to Portuguese in late modernity and questioning the theoretical presuppositions which have led us to call Portuguese ‘a language.’ Such an endeavor is crucial when we know that Portuguese is a language which is increasingly internationalized, used as the official language in four continents (in ten countries) and which has come to play a relevant role in the so-called linguistic market on the basis of the geopolitical transformations in a multipolar world. The book covers a wide range of social, political and historical contexts in which ‘Portuguese’ is used (in Brazil, Canada, East-Timor, England, Portugal, Mozambique and Uruguay), and considers diverse linguistic practices. Through this critique, contributors chart new directions for research on language ideologies and language practices (including research related to Portuguese and to other ‘languages’) and consider ways of developing new conceptual compasses that are better attuned to the sociolinguistic realities of the late modern era, in which people, texts and languages are increasingly in movement through national borders and those of digital networks of communication.