Language in Late Capitalism

This book examines the ways in which our ideas about language and identity which used to be framed in national and political terms as a matter of rights and citizenship are increasingly recast in economic terms as a matter of added value. It argues that this discursive shift is connected to specific characteristics of the globalized new economy in what can be thought of as "late capitalism". Through ten ethnographic case studies, it demonstrates the complex ways in which older nationalist ideologies which invest language with value as a source of pride get bound up with newer neoliberal ideologies which invest language with value as a source of profit. The complex interaction between these modes of mobilizing linguistic resources challenges some of our ideas about globalization, hinting that we are in a period of intensification of modernity, in which the limits of the nation-State are stretched, but not (yet) undone. At the same time, this book argues, this intensification also calls into question modernist ways of looking at language and identity, requiring a more serious engagement with capitalism and how it constitutes symbolic (including linguistic) as well as material markets.

'This volume is most suited for upper-level graduate students and researchers with backgrounds in sociolinguistics and a good grasp of economics, processes of globalization, and Bourdieusian Social Theory. Because of its prominent interdisciplinary and methodological diversity, scholars outside of sociolinguistics (and even the social sciences) may find it of benefit, as well. Perhaps one of the strongest attributes of the volume as a whole is its ability to maintain a unifying theme without adopting an overly-dogmatic stance in terms of pushing a unified theory. As a result, the authors offer their own analyses as models for continued investigation and critique, thus opening possibilities for continued fruitful research.'- Linguist List, 'The authors effectively demonstrate the immensely complex nature of how 'pride' and 'profit' function, and also reveal how richly and powerfully pervasive these tropes are.' - LINGUIST List'Overall, Language in Late Capitalism: Pride and Profit, a fitting volume in the Routledge Critical Studies in Multilingualism series, is a fascinating and insightful contribution to the field. Each of the contributors successfully illustrates the complex nature of ‘pride’ and ‘profit’ tropes in late capitalism, giving the volume as a whole a number of strengths. It illustrates how interdisciplinary research studies have the potential to lead to important findings and novel observations. Additionally, the wide range of methodologies on which the contributions are based adds to the depth and breadth of the analyses provided. Also, while sticking to the general theme of the volume, each contributor’s argument is genuinely original. This has resulted in a range of fresh ideas for future research.' - Vahid Parvaresh, University of Isfahan, Iran

Alexandre Duchêne is Professor of Sociology of language and Director of the Institute of Multilingualism of the University and HEP of Fribourg (Switzerland). His recent publications include Ideologies across Nations (Mouton de Gruyter 2008) and Discourses of Endangerment (with Monica Heller, Continuum 2007).Monica Heller is professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her most recent book is Paths to Postnationalism: A Critical Ethnography of Language and Identity (2011, Oxford University Press).