The volume highlights the role of language ideologies in the process of negotiation of identities and shows that in different historical and social contexts different identities may be negotiable or non-negotiable. The chapters address various ways in which individuals may be positioned or position themselves in a variety of contexts. In asking questions about social justice, about who has access to symbolic and material resources, about who is 'in' and who is 'out', the authors take account not only of localised linguistic behaviours, attitudes and beliefs; they also locate them in wider...

What does it mean to young people to be multilingual? What do multilingual speakers' linguistic resources mean to them? Are they happy to discard their languages, and assimilate to English, or are there other issues at stake? Do communities set out to ensure that their languages are maintained and passed on to the next generation, and if so, how, and why?
What if speakers appropriate and make use of linguistic resources not typically associated with their 'ethnic' or 'heritage' group? Is there consensus about the role and value of particular sets of linguistic resources, or is this...

This volume presents evidence about how we understand communication in changing times, and proposes that such understandings may contribute to the development of pedagogy for teaching and learning. It expands current debates on multilingualism, asking which signs are in use and in action, and what are their social, political, and historical implications. The volume s starting-point is Bakhtin s heteroglossia, a key concept in understanding the tensions, conflicts, and multiple voices within, among, and between those signs. The chapters provide illuminating accounts of language practices as...