Language Maintenance, Revival and Shift in the Sociology of Religion

Edited by Rajeshwari Vijay Pandharipande, Prof. Maya Khemlani David, Dr. Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth

Publication date:

06 December 2019

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781788926669

This volume addresses the question ‘What role does religion play in the maintenance, revival and/or shift, of languages?’ The chapters in this volume explore the complex and dynamic relationship between religion and the maintenance, revival and/or shift of languages in different multilingual multicultural contexts, under diverse sociopolitical conditions, at different points in time. The 12 chapters cover data from Algeria, India, Israel, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, UK, USA and Uganda and discuss the impact of context, ideology, identity and education on the following religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and some religions closely associated with China such as Confucianism and Taoism, and their respective languages and varieties of language in these regions. The languages discussed by the writers in this volume include Arabic, English, Hebrew, Malay, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Pali, Sanskrit, Tamazight and Yoruba.

Chapter 1. Rajeshwari V. Pandharipande, Maya Khemlani David, and Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth: Introduction

Chapter 2. Phyllis Chew: The Decline of the Vernacular in the Chinese Religion in Singapore

Chapter 3. Andrey Rosowsky: Singing in My Language(s): How Religious Verse and Song Contribute to Minority Language Maintenance

Chapter 4. Yurni Said Sirhan: The Role of Islam in the Language Maintenance of the Malay Muslims in Singapore

Chapter 5. George Ladaah Openjuru: The role of Religion in Written Language Maintenance and Shift in Uganda

Chapter 6. Ana Souza: Faith and Language Maintenance in Transnational Places of Worship: Brazilian Christian Settings in London

Chapter 7. Sheena Kaur and Maya Khemlani David: Language Shift but Religious Maintenance: A Study of the Punjabi Sikh Community in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Chapter 8. Rajeshwari V. Pandharipande: Does Religion Promote as well as Retard Language Maintenance in a Multi-lingual Context?: The Case of Hinduism

Chapter 9. Bernard Spolsky: Religion and Education in the Preservation of Hebrew and Other Jewish Language Varieties

Chapter 10. Muhammad Amara: The Role of the Islamic Movement in Maintenance of Arabic in Israel

Chapter 11. Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth, Scott Goldberg and Tristin Wildstein: Development of Hebrew/English Biliteracy in a Jewish Day School: Issues of Language and Identity

Chapter 12. Oladipo Salami: Islamic Religious Education, Identity and the Arabic Language among University Students in Southwestern Nigeria

Chapter 13. Hind Amel Mostari: Religion and Algerian Languages in the Education System

Epilogue: James McLellan

A compelling contribution to the field of the sociology of language by an international array of renowned scholars, whose multidisciplinary research on diverse communities deepens our understanding of the role of religion in language maintenance, revival and shift.