Language and Ethnicity, Key Topics in Sociolinguistics

Language and Ethnicity

What is ethnicity? Is there a “white” way of speaking? Why do

people sometimes borrow features of another ethnic group’s

language? Why do we sometimes hear an accent that isn’t

there? This lively overview reveals the fascinating relationship

between language and ethnic identity, exploring the crucial

role it plays in both revealing a speaker’s ethnicity and helping

to construct it. Drawing on research from a range of ethnic

groups around the world, it shows how language contributes

to the social and psychological processes involved in the formation

of ethnic identity, exploring both the linguistic features of

ethnic language varieties and also the ways in which language

is used by different ethnic groups. The first overview of this

important topic, Language and Ethnicity will be welcomed by students

and researchers in sociolinguistics, as well as anybody

interested in ethnic issues, language and education, interethnic

communication, and the relationship between language

and identity.



Cambridge University Press. 2006