Raciolinguistics

Raciolinguistics is an essential, must-read for scholars of race, ethnicity, and culture. Building upon Alim & Smitherman's groundbreaking Articulate While Black, Alim et al. continue the paradigm shift in linguistics to 'race language' and 'language race.' The brilliant, and most important, thing about this book is that it presents illuminating, path-breaking analyses that remind us that we ignore the critical role of language at our own peril. Raciolinguistics will undoubtedly become an indispensible contribution to all fields interested in race and ethnicity-and to the broader conversation on race in these 'hyperracial' times. * Michael Eric Dyson, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology, and author of Debating Race *
This book represents a raciolinguistic revolution by boldly, brilliantly, and unapologetically demonstrating the inextricability of language and race in all domains of social life, from politics and education to media and popular culture. Alim et. al. have produced a cutting-edge collection of rigorous scholarship representing a quantum leap forward in theorizing language and race in sociolinguistics and race/ethnic studies. Whereas "race" has traditionally been forwarded as a 'social construction,' Raciolinguistics makes it plain that this "social construction" is a sociolinguistic one. This book is both a necessary intervention and a ground-breaking intellectual contribution. * Geneva Smitherman, University Distinguished Professor Emerita, Michigan State University *
Raciolinguistics boldly challenges long-held beliefs about the nature of race and language-and their interconnectedness. By 'racing language' and 'languaging race,' the authors invite new perspectives, challenge orthodoxy, and push all of us to expand our analyses of the social world. Given its global, international reach, this is an agenda-setting book. It not only offers an epistemic rupture from traditional studies of language and race, but it also provides a critically important and much-needed research base for language and education policy makers struggling to create more inclusive, democratic, and just societies in the U.S. and elsewhere. * Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Distinguished Professor in Urban Education, University of Wisconsin *
The collection offers a broad range of topics and perspectives, Western and non-Western. The essays are grouped in three sections: the first focuses on linguistic research, the second looks at race in conjunction with social and political context, and the third addresses race and language in educational settings. Though taking differing approaches, the essays work together toward the same goal, which is to explore the complex relationships between language and race. Discussion of contemporary topics such as rap and hip-hop music, new media, and reality television will appeal to college students (of traditional age), and the writing style throughout the book is relatively approachable. This book is particularly valuable given the transition from Barack Obama's administration to that of Donald Trump, since presidential policies affect not only the US but also the rest of the world. * Choice *
Alim, Rickford and Ball have assembled an excellent set of essays that challenge the way we construct social reality. The combined force of the book is more than academic. It is a call for action in the political realm and in our personal interactions. There does not appear to be a specific audience for this book (scholars, undergraduates, general public, etc.), but rather the book seems to be intended for anyone who is interested in thinking more deeply about the interplay of race and language. The chapters are nearly uniformly coherent, well written, and pleasurable to read; they are scholarly, yet accessible. It is not hard to imagine this as a text supporting general courses in sociolinguistics or more specialized courses related to race and language. The book admirably introduces readers to a new field of inquiry and opens up vistas for potential future research on the questions it raises. * Linguist List *