The Power of Voice in Transforming Multilingual Societies

This volume explores how marginalized voices reclaim their voices and challenge power relations through bottom-up initiatives,documentation,language development,and democratic participation. It links language to sociopolitical discourses of justice,rights,and equity and emphasizes the political value of sociolinguistic understanding.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2023
Publisher: Multilingual Matters

This comprehensive volume seeks to uncover and showcase the diverse perspectives of marginalized individuals and communities across the globe, highlighting their efforts to reclaim their voices and challenge power dynamics. The chapters delve into the intricate ways in which speakers address societal inequalities, such as the unequal distribution of resources. By engaging in bottom-up initiatives and actively participating in language documentation and the development of language domains, speakers strive to combat language-based marginalization, (re)establish linguistic human rights, and reclaim their linguistic and cultural identity.

The volume explores profound commitments to democratic participation, voice, the richness of linguistic resources, and the political significance of sociolinguistic understanding. Drawing upon the framework of linguistic citizenship, the chapters establish connections between language and sociopolitical discourses of justice, rights, and equity, as well as power dynamics within a political and democratic context.

Through their narratives and experiences, the contributors to this volume provide valuable insights into the complexities of marginalized voices and their unwavering determination to overcome social barriers and assert their rightful place in the world. Their stories serve as a testament to the power of language as a tool for empowerment, social change, and the promotion of inclusive societies.

Dimension: 234 x 156 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800412033