Language in South Africa (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521791052)

This is a comprehensive and wide-ranging guide to language and society in South Africa. The book surveys the most important language groupings in the region in terms of pre-colonial and colonial history; contact between the different language varieties (leading to language loss, pidginization, creolization and new mixed varieties). It examines language and public policy issues associated with the transition to a post-apartheid society and its eleven official languages. All the chapters are informed by the importance of socio-political history in understanding questions of language.

Author: Raj Mesthrie
ISBN-10: 0521791057
ISBN-13: 9780521791052
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/17/2002
Pages: 504
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.85lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.06d