De-hegemonizing Language Standards

Download or read book De-hegemonizing Language Standards written by Arjuna Parakrama and published by Macmillan Pub Limited. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, an examination of so-called uneducated and otherwise non-standard usage in the Sri Lankan context, including popular cultural and protest writing and speech, shows that Sri Lankans communicate powerfully and creatively in this medium. The legitimization of this practice on the margins leads to a de-hegemonizing of language standards. What can be seen in the Sri Lankan context is not specific to it, but shown to be typical of all languages in use, and, in an analogous argument, the claim is extended from the narrowly linguistic sphere to the much broader field of discursive practice in general.