The Contribution of Sociolinguistic Theory and Practice To the Study of Multilingualism

With Special Reference To West Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID4908403
AuthorsGerda Mansour (Cairo University, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume35
Issue137
Pages134-155
Publication date1987-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiogenes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0392-1921 • E-ISSN: 1467-7695
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/039219218703513708
OpenAlexW1995046679
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

Given the predominance of multilingualism in many countries there is great need for a new, interdisciplinary approach to the problem. Sociolinguistics-or the sociology of language-provides such an approach and can help to shed new light on a phenomenon which is often discussed in terms that tend to create more problems than they solve. In order to demonstrate how sociolinguistic theory and practice can contribute to the study of multilingualism this paper will attempt to outline briefly some of the basic premises of sociolinguistic theory which appear relevant to the understanding of the phenomenon of multilingualism and also to define multilingualism as a social behaviour in response to a contact situation

Linguistics · Multilingualism · Sociolinguistics · Sociology · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub