Subject: new book : sociolinguistics

nirmala srirekam purushotam negotiating language , constructing race disciplining difference in singapore 1997 . 23 x 15 , 5 cm . x , 294 pages cloth dm 178 , - / approx . us $ 111 . 00 isbn 3-11 - 015679 - 2 contributions to the sociology of language 79 mouton de gruyter * berlin * new york this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the politics that took its inspiration from , and control over , ` ordinary ' peoples ethnicities and languages . this rare , detailed social history shows how the orientalist construction of race and language in colonial singapore was transformed into a powerful practice of ` nation ' that remains today . thus , since the advent of nationalism , singapore has been presented as a multiracial social space . this multiracial character has been carefully re-constructed as constituted by four races , with mainly four distinct languages . with this policy , the ruling elite has instituted a particular discourse about language , which almost always implicates race . additionally , the discourse has also translated itself into actual institutional practices , which ` ordinary ' men , women and children cannot avoid , and must participate in . interspersed by the actual voices and experiences of common people , caught within neo - orientalists statist constructions , the study provides another angle to the contemporary postmodern assurance that difference is necessarily liberating . difference , instead , is shown to have disciplinary consequences . yet the logic of dominant discourses can , at the same time , be re-interpreted - - cleverly or innocently - for enabling legitimate pressure upon the authorities . as everyday life readings of state discourses importantly unfold within the institution of the family , the often invisible role women actually play with reference to language , race , and nation , is importantly brought to the fore . contents ` nation ' and ` race ' : realms of problematic possibilities for language * race - ing language : the institutionalisation of ` chinese ' , ` malay ' , and ` indian ' in singapore * talk about language : from political project to daily life positionings * language on the life trajectory : everyday life contexts , relevances and practices * the mother tongue : male texts and female readings * second language : official bilingualism brought home * disciplining difference * notes * references * index _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ mouton de gruyter walter de gruyter , inc . postfach 30 34 21 200 saw mill river road d-10728 berlin hawthorne , ny 10532 germany usa fax : + 49 ( 0 ) 30 26005-351 fax : + 1 914 747-1326 email : mouton @ degruyter . de this and further publications can also be ordered via world wide web : http : / / www . degruyter . com
