Jan Blommaert is Professor of Language, Culture and Globalization at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. He also holds appointments at Ghent University (Belgium) and University of the Western Cape (South Africa). Major publications include Discourse: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge University Press 2005), Grassroots Literacy (Routledge 2008) , The Sociolinguistics of Globalization (Cambridge University Press 2010), and Ethnography, superdiversity and linguistic landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity (Multilingual Matters 2013).

• 1.Introduction; 2. The empirical study of an African ideology; Part I: Swahili and the State: The macropolitics of language; 3. The cultural philosophy of Ujamaa; 4. Ujamaa linguistics; 5. Ujamaa literature: The politics of shape, style and topic; Part II: Swahili and society: The micropolitics of register and repertoire; 6. Early fragmentation: Campus Swahili; 7. Enregistering the globalized nation; 8. Conclusions; References.

A landmark study by a leading scholar of language ideologies comes into new focus in this accessible account. Fresh empirical material and theoretical framing bring Blommaert’s vanguard perspective on globalization and vernacularization to a remarkable case of post-colonial language policy, ideology, and practices.

Jan Blommaert is Professor of Language, Culture and Globalization at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. He also holds appointments at Ghent University (Belgium) and University of the Western Cape (South Africa). Major publications include Discourse: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge University Press 2005), Grassroots Literacy (Routledge 2008) , The Sociolinguistics of Globalization (Cambridge University Press 2010), and Ethnography, superdiversity and linguistic landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity (Multilingual Matters 2013).

• 1.Introduction; 2. The empirical study of an African ideology; Part I: Swahili and the State: The macropolitics of language; 3. The cultural philosophy of Ujamaa; 4. Ujamaa linguistics; 5. Ujamaa literature: The politics of shape, style and topic; Part II: Swahili and society: The micropolitics of register and repertoire; 6. Early fragmentation: Campus Swahili; 7. Enregistering the globalized nation; 8. Conclusions; References.

A landmark study by a leading scholar of language ideologies comes into new focus in this accessible account. Fresh empirical material and theoretical framing bring Blommaert’s vanguard perspective on globalization and vernacularization to a remarkable case of post-colonial language policy, ideology, and practices.

Jan Blommaert is Professor of Language, Culture and Globalization at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. He also holds appointments at Ghent University (Belgium) and University of the Western Cape (South Africa). Major publications include Discourse: A Critical Introduction (Cambridge University Press 2005), Grassroots Literacy (Routledge 2008) , The Sociolinguistics of Globalization (Cambridge University Press 2010), and Ethnography, superdiversity and linguistic landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity (Multilingual Matters 2013).

• 1.Introduction; 2. The empirical study of an African ideology; Part I: Swahili and the State: The macropolitics of language; 3. The cultural philosophy of Ujamaa; 4. Ujamaa linguistics; 5. Ujamaa literature: The politics of shape, style and topic; Part II: Swahili and society: The micropolitics of register and repertoire; 6. Early fragmentation: Campus Swahili; 7. Enregistering the globalized nation; 8. Conclusions; References.

A landmark study by a leading scholar of language ideologies comes into new focus in this accessible account. Fresh empirical material and theoretical framing bring Blommaert’s vanguard perspective on globalization and vernacularization to a remarkable case of post-colonial language policy, ideology, and practices.