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The enregisterment of English in rap braggadocio: a study from English-Afrikaans bilingualism in Cape Town

The ambiguous role of English as rap spreads globally in bilingual communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2012

Quentin E. Williams
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Extract

For the last three decades, globalization has been a major theme of sociolinguistics and studies of multilingualism, in keeping with large scale changes evident in late-modern societies (Blommaert, 2010). One of several stances within this research is the importance accorded to English in processes of linguistic globalization (see Leung et al, 2009). Three theoretical stances in particular have dealt with English globalization: World Englishes (e.g. Kachru, 1986), Linguistic Imperialism (e.g. Phillipson, 1992) and more recently Global Englishes within a context of modern-day rapid transport, electronic media, cultural hybridities and economic migration (Pennycook, 2007). All three approaches emphasise different aspects of the nature of English insertion in multilingual contexts.

Type
Original Article
Information
English Today , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , June 2012 , pp. 54 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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