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Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Preface -- 1. Face Masks and Liberty -- 2. Theoretical Foundations: Max Weber, Norbert Elias and Michel Foucault -- 3. Conceptual Analysis: Coming to Terms in Modernizing Japan -- 4. Formal Perfection: The Tokugawa State -- 5. Becoming a Civilized Country: Modernization in Meiji Japan -- 6. Continuity and Change: Social Disciplining after World War II -- 7. Lessons Learned: Social Disciplining, Culture and Politics -- References -- Index.

This book brings together three subjects which command our attention because of their changing roles in everyday life, language, writing, and mobility. In different ways, borders are being crossed, redrawn, and redefined as we watch, and while comparable processes could be observed in the past, they are today more conspicuous than ever, being propelled by demographics, technological innovation, and consumer capitalism. The said three subjects interact in various ways and have an impact on language contact which, as this book is designed to show, are best captured by a processual view along the lines laid out for social analysis by Norbert Elias. The processual view of language and society adopted here is congenial with the sociolinguistic paradigm developed over the past several decades, with one important difference, it assigns writing a central position. Sociolinguistics has always concentrated heavily on speech and largely ignored writing, although the social importance of writing cannot be denied. Giving written language its due in this book, then, has four reasons. (1) Writing is the most consequential technology ever invented. (2) Writing both suggests stability and defines borders. (3) Linguistics, while emphasizing that writing is external to language, is nevertheless indebted for its analytic categories to writing. (4) By turning virtually everyone into a writer/producer of texts, the digital revolution has fundamentally changed communication patters in ways that impact both social formations and language. Computer mediated communication (CMC) has transformed the social functions of writing and, through it, language.

Introduction: an 'identity' wave -- "Who am I?" Identity in philosophy -- Identity in logic and the classical law of thought -- Given or constructed? Identity in cultural anthropology -- Adam and Eve, Hijra, LGBTQs, and the shake-up of gender identities -- Identity in politics: promises and dangers -- 'Your station in life': social identities in our time -- Citizenship, legal status, and proof of identity: identity as a legal concept -- Selfhood and personality: the psychology of identity -- 'They don't speak our language': identity in linguistics -- Who is behind the mask? Identity in literature.

This book offers an introduction to the many facets of multilingualism in a changing world, bringing in approaches from linguistics, sociology, history, political philosophy, and psychology. It provides the basic tools to analyse different kinds of multilingualism, and suggests questions and problems for discussion at the end of each chapter.

This text provides an accessible account of the origins and conceptual foundations of language policy. Florian Coulmas discusses the influence of twenty intellectuals from medieval to modern times, and from a variety of cultures, who have taken issue with language, its use, development, and political potential.

Dieses Buch gibt in konziser und leicht lesbarer Form Antworten auf Fragen, die Japan-Interessierte typischerweise stellen. Rezension: Eine Aktualisierung dieser leicht lesbaren Einführung zur Geschichte und Gegenwart Japans war nach der Katastrophe von Fukushima 2011 zwingend nötig geworden, zumal die sozio-ökonomischen Herausforderungen des Landes durch die Energieproblematik nun noch deutlicher hervor getreten sind. In bewährter Form (vgl. die Erstausgabe 2011) präsentieren F. Coulmas (Direktor des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien, Tokio) und J. Stalpers (Japankorrespondentin einer niederländischen Zeitung; von beiden Autoren: "Fukushima", 2011) alles Wissenswerte, wobei besonders hinsichtlich (Atom-)Technik, Umwelt, Politik und Wirtschaft alle Daten auf den aktuellen Stand gebracht wurden, bzw. hier einzelne Passagen komplett neu geschrieben wurden. Deshalb: Austauschempfehlung für die alte Auflage der informativen Einführung für alle Bibliotheken. (1 S)

Intro -- Contents -- Praefatio -- European integration and the idea of the national language -- Factors of constraints and freedom in setting a language policy for the European Community: A sociolinguistic approach -- Language conflicts in multilingual Europe - prospects for 1993 -- Linguistic minorities and language conflict in Europe: Learning from the Swiss experience -- Language politics and the new European identity -- Society, civilization, mentality: Prolegomena to a language policy for Europe -- Multilingualism in European Community meetings - a pragmatic approach -- Legal aspects of a language policy for the European Communities: Language risks, equal opportunities, and legislating a language -- The impact of European Community rules on linguistic policies of the Member States -- Reflections about minority languages in the European Community -- Linguistic "integration" and "identity" - the situation of migrant workers in the EC as a challenge and opportunity -- Educational language planning in England and Wales: Multicultural rhetoric and assimilationist assumptions -- The status of German and other languages in the European Community -- National and international dimensions of language policy when the minority language is a national language: The case of Irish in Ireland -- Linguistic nationalism and European unity: The case of Greece -- Italian in the European Community: An educational perspective on the national language and new language minorities -- Contributing authors -- Index of subjects -- Index of names.

How does writing relate to speech? What impact does it have on social organisation and development? How do unwritten languages differ from those that have a written form and tradition? This book is a general account of the place of writing in society. Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, from clay tablets to touchscreen displays, the book explores the functions of writing and written language, analysing its consequences for language, society, economy and politics. It examines the social causes of illiteracy, demonstrating that institutions of central importance to modern society are built upon writing and written texts, and are characterised by specific forms of communication. It explores the social dimensions of spelling and writing reform, as well as of digital literacy, a new mode of expression and communication posing novel challenges to the student of language in society

Der Direktor des "Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien" in Tokio und die Journalistin Stalpers haben bereits für "Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen - Japan" (ID-A 15/11) zusammengearbeitet. Coulmas schrieb auch über "Hiroshima" (ID-A 17/10). "Fukushima" erscheint ein gutes halbes Jahr nach der Katastrophe, doch das Warten hat sich gelohnt (bisher D. Roulet: ID-A 26/11, J. Hano: "Das japanische Desaster", ID-A 40/11, begrenzt auch "Restrisiko", ID-A 23/11). Die Autoren haben Erdbeben und Chaos in der japanischen Hauptstadt miterlebt und analysieren mithilfe vieler Experten den zeitlichen Ablauf, die Informationspolitik der Regierung, die internationalen Hilfsmaßnahmen, die Bedeutung der Atomkraft für das rohstoffarme Land, die Verflechtung von Politik und Konzernen, die mögliche Rolle alternativer Energien und anderes. Dazu kommt Kritik an der oft sensationslüsternen weltweiten Berichterstattung. Der mit Zahlen, Fakten und Grafiken angereicherte Text zeigt eine intime Kenntnis Japans und seiner besonderen Mentalität. Als bisher beste Darstellung der Ereignisse nachdrücklich zu empfehlen. (1 S) (Rolf Raschka)