Language, Vernacular Discourse and Nationalisms : Uncovering the Myths of Transnational Worlds

'This pathbreaking study shows that anti-(African) immigrant rhetoric is part of a widespread ethno-centric political vernacular and demonstrates how these negative ethnic stereotypes have arisen from severe economic inequalities and the uneven development. This is a deeply grounded analysis of local-level ethno-centrism which places the issue firmly in the context of the local and global political economy. It deserves a wide readership.' --Don Robotham, City University of New York, USA 'This is a must read not only for scholars in the emerging field of the sociolinguistics of (de)coloniality and globalisation, but also those interested in language and the political and ideological formations in the construction of nation-states in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia.' --Felix Banda, University of the Western Cape, South Africa 'Professor Finex Ndhlovu's is an important voice in the field of language studies. His trade mark being the careful but consistent contextualization of knotty language questions within the broader terrain of equally complex identitarian politics, while at the same time bringing into creative dialogue African and non-African empirical case studies to demonstrate the global implications and resonance of his research findings.' --Sabelo J Ndlovu-Gatsheni, University of South Africa This book examines the linguistic and discursive elements of social and economic policies and national political leader statements to read new meanings into debates on border protection, national sovereignty, immigration, economic indigenisation, land reform and black economic empowerment. It adds a fresh angle to the debate on nationalisms and transnationalism by pushing forward a more applied agenda to establish a clear and empirically-based illustration of the contradictions in current policy frameworks around the world and the debates they invite. The author's novel vernacular discourse approach contributes new points of method and interpretation that will advance scholarly conversations on nationalisms, transnationalism and other forms of identity imaginings in a transient world. Finex Ndhlovu is Associate Professor of Language in Society at the University of New England, Australia, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA, and Visiting Research Professor at the University of South Africa.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction—Theories, Concepts, Debates (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 3-39 Emergent Political Languages, Nation Building, Social Cohesion (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 41-62 Front Matter ....Pages 63-63 Language Policy, Vernacular Discourse, Empire Building (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 65-104 Language, Mobility, People (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 105-131 Front Matter ....Pages 133-133 Chimurengas, Indigenisation, Black Economic Empowerment (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 135-205 Alternative Language of Development and Economic Empowerment (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 207-239 Front Matter ....Pages 241-241 Migration, Integration Discourse, Exclusion (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 243-290 Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders—A World Without Others? (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 291-336 Front Matter ....Pages 337-337 Conclusion—Transnationalism or Resurgent Narrow Nationalisms? (Finex Ndhlovu)....Pages 339-349 Back Matter ....Pages 351-388