Overview

The ways in which young people use language provides fascinating insights into language practice and contact. Written by a team of key scholars in the field, this book describes and theorises 'male, in-group, street-aligned, youth language practice' in urban centres in Africa, exploring the creative use of language, and its function in peer sociality and contestation of social identities. The book contributes to theoretical debates surrounding multimodal language, language contact, standards and variation, and language change. It highlights that 'youth languages' are not to be confused with the urban languages, varieties, and vernaculars of the general population, and that claims of autonomy and candidacy as national languages are flawed. The book demonstrates that the youthful practices of males are nevertheless worthy of scholarly attention: the framing of youth languages within the field of language contact will stimulate situated and comprehensive studies of the role and significance of youth practices.

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9781107171206

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Rajend Mesthrie has been teaching and researching in the field of multilingualism, language contact and variation for over 40 years. He was President of the International Congress of Linguists (2013–2018). Among his publications is the edited book Language in South Africa (Cambridge, 2002). Ellen Hurst-Harosh has gained an international reputation for her work since 2004 on African youth language practices. In 2012 she established an international network of academics working in the field, and is chair of the African Youth Language Conference (held in Cape Town, 2013 and Nairobi, 2015). Heather Brookes has worked on youth language practices from a multimodal perspective since 1998. She is co-director of Child Language Africa. In 2020, she was a finalist for the Newton Prize for her work on language development in South Africa. She was a Vice President of the International Society for Gesture Studies from 2002 to 2005.

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