|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewThrough micro-analysis of language use, this book chronicles young women's pathways to becoming a Tanzanian beauty queen, offering an original perspective on the intersection of language with globalization, nationalism, and inequality in urban East Africa. This compelling linguistic ethnography considers the real-life effects, both on- and off-stage, of language policy, education, and gender dynamics for the women competing in the pageants. While highlighting many contestants' struggles for escape from poverty and patriarchy, the book also emphasizes their creative strategies - linguistic and otherwise - for bettering their lives and shows how people living in a global economic periphery take part in, and sometimes feel left out of, the wider world. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Sabrina BillingsPublisher: Channel View Publications Ltd Imprint: Multilingual Matters Volume: 2 Dimensions: Width: 14.80cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 21.00cm Weight: 0.310kg ISBN: 9781783090747ISBN 10: 178309074 Pages: 232 Publication Date: 29 November 2013 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsSophisticated social theory and the tools of linguistic anthropology join together in this book, a fascinating study of beauty contests in Tanzania that reveals their complex and anxious importance to Tanzanian society. This exploration of the role that language plays in negotiations over the meaning of cosmopolitanism and the morality of gender is linguistic ethnography at its best. Niko Besnier, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Sabrina Billings' book speaks beautifully to young Tanzanian women's aspirations for cosmopolitan ascent through the global beauty pageant pyramid, contrasting their specifically gendered lot in national sociolinguistic hierarchies. Beauty pageants thus provide the lens through which we can clearly see the enabling and constraining effects of local varieties of English, of Swahili, and of Tanzania's numerous ethnic languages. Michael Silverstein, University of Chicago, USA This elegant ethnography makes vivid the role of speech as a measure of beauty in multiethnic Tanzania. Through a lucid discussion of the ways in which aspiring beauty queens are evaluated in national imaginaries, Sabrina Billings shows how speech behaviors are read as emblems of the gender, race, and ethnicity of women aspiring to become national icons of Tanzanian womanhood. Asif Agha, University of Pennsylvania, USA Sophisticated social theory and the tools of linguistic anthropology join together in this book, a fascinating study of beauty contests in Tanzania that reveals their complex and anxious importance to Tanzanian society. This exploration of the role that language plays in negotiations over the meaning of cosmopolitanism and the morality of gender is linguistic ethnography at its best. Niko Besnier, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Sabrina Billings' book speaks beautifully to young Tanzanian women's aspirations for cosmopolitan ascent through the global beauty pageant pyramid, contrasting their specifically gendered lot in national sociolinguistic hierarchies. Beauty pageants thus provide the lens through which we can clearly see the enabling and constraining effects of local varieties of English, of Swahili, and of Tanzania's numerous ethnic languages. Michael Silverstein, University of Chicago, USA Author InformationSabrina Billings is an Assistant Professor of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Arkansas, USA. Her research explores the interconnections of language with gender, education, globalization, and opportunity, especially in urban East Africa. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |