Shifting Languages [Paperback]

A fascinating account of the role of language in radical social transformation in Javanese-Indonesian community.Until recently, Indonesian, the national language of a vast, plural nation state, was spoken by very few of the Javanese who live in south-central Java. But the national language is now being learned, along with a national identity, and is the key vehicle for modernity and progress in these communities. Errington has written a fascinating account of the role of language in radical social transformation.Until recently, Indonesian, the national language of a vast, plural nation state, was spoken by very few of the Javanese who live in south-central Java. But the national language is now being learned, along with a national identity, and is the key vehicle for modernity and progress in these communities. Errington has written a fascinating account of the role of language in radical social transformation.Until recently, Indonesian, the national language of a vast, plural nation state, was spoken by very few of the Javanese who live in south-central Java. But the national language is now being learned, along with a national identity, and is the key vehicle for modernity and progress in these communities. Errington has written a fascinating account of the role of language in radical social transformation.1. Introduction; 2. A city, two hamlets, and the stage; 3. Speech styles, hierarchies and communities; 4. National development, national language; 5. Public language and authority; 6. Interactional and referential identities; 7. Language contact and language salad; 8. Speech modelling; 9. Shifting styles and the modelling of internal states; 10. Javanese-Indonesian code-switching; 11. Shifting perspectives. This book is a major contribution that shows how such work can be done. It succeeds as a fully realized study of socially, culturally, and politically grounded language phenomena. This rich accomplishment is itself the very best argument for Errington's analyl.