Review: Norman Fairclough (2006). Language and Globalization / Jan Blommaert (2005). Discourse

Abstract

This review discusses two recent approaches to language and globalisation from the theoretical field of discourse analysis. FAIRCLOUGH's monograph Language and Globalization discusses a wide range of discourses of globalisation and aims to combine cultural political economy and critical discourse analysis. BLOMMAERT's book is an introduction to the study of discourse, combining an ethnographic approach influenced by American anthropological linguistics and sociolinguistics. Globalisation is integrated into his approach at all levels of analysis as shaping the conditions of language practices in society today. The books offer analyses from different thematic angles and geo-cultural perspectives: while FAIRCLOUGH focuses on the representational quality of language underlying his textual analysis of discourses of globalisation, BLOMMAERT dedicates his analysis to the shaping of linguistic repertoires and the unequal currency of language practices in a globalised world. Both offer interdisciplinary potential for readers from other disciplines of social research who are interested in language-related aspects of globalisation. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0801361