What is it about?
This book explores the language situation in Gibraltar, a unique British Overseas Territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, which has been a dynamic linguistic and cultural melting pot for centuries.
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Why is it important?
Much has been written on Gibraltar from a historical or political perspective but large-scale studies of the speech community based on empirical data are few and far between.
Perspectives
Everyone has heard of Gibraltar, but the Gibraltarian language community remains a mystery to most. Who are the Gibraltarians? What do they speak? How do they feel? What is their identity? As a British born linguist who has lived and worked in neighbouring Cádiz for more than 25 years, I have heard many opinions, judgements and misconceptionsabout about Gibraltarians and their language and identity. Views are often based on hearsay or stereotypes or judgements are reached based on a daytrip to the Rock to go shopping or to see the famous monkeys. But there is far more to Gibraltar than meets the eye - when you delve deeper and go beyond the facade you find a linguistically and culturally rich community which has always been able to change, develop and adapt to new climates and continues to do so.
Dr David T Levey
University of Cádiz
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Language Change and Variation in Gibraltar, March 2008, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/impact.23.
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