Revisualizing Boundaries: A Plurilingual Ethos

by Lachman M. Khubchandani

The prevailing paradigm of modern linguistic scholarship is based on the notion of conflict resolution, which makes it imperative to demolish one theory in favor of another. Revisualizing Boundaries sets out to create a new agenda that probes the contours of plurality consciousness in studies of language. Focusing on the strengths of complementary orientations, author Lachman M. Khubchandani examines areas ranging from methodological constructs, the role of minority languages and diglossia, to language modernizations and planning the role of language elites. Khubchandani also makes a strong case for moving away from the monolith of language traditions to a framework that places the boundaries of speech spectrums in a fluid transactional mode. Focusing on the dynamics of language as an institution, this unique study highlights the nonlinear characteristics of natural languageùits openness and overlapping boundaries, which meet the demands of a fuzzy reality. This approach promotes a dialogue among those who treat language as an instrument of power and those who wish to move beyond narrow definitions to regard language as a synergetic network inspiring trust in cross-cultural settings. Lucidly written, Revisualizing Boundaries will be interest to all those involved with sociolinguistics, linguistic theory, cultural studies, and communication in a plural setting.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 14, 1997