Aspiring to be Global

Language and Social Change in a Tourism Village in China

By (author) Shuang Gao

Publication date:

11 February 2019

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

210x148mm
6x8"

ISBN-13: 9781788922753

This book makes a novel contribution to the sociolinguistics of globalization by examining the dynamics between language and social change in the tourism destination of West Street, Yangshuo, China. The author makes use of multiple sources, including ethnographic interviews, tourist literature, public signage and policy documents, to examine how tourist mobilities are embedded in and interact with historical, geographical, social, cultural, economic and semiotic factors in the creation of a ‘global village’. The transformation of West Street is emblematic of changes in Chinese society under globalization, revealing new subjectivities, tensions and struggles inherent in this ongoing process of social change.

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Approaching the ‘Global Village’

Chapter 3. Commodification of Place, Consumption of Identity: Making ‘Global Village’ a Brand

Chapter 4. Tensions of Space: Living on the Margins of the ‘Global Village’

Chapter 5. Global Village as ‘English Corner’: ‘Enjoy Speaking English All the Time’

Chapter 6. Globalization: A Short Reflection

References

Appendix

Tourism and language learning are well-established as distinctive areas of investigation in sociolinguistics. What makes this book important is its identification of language learning tourism as an industry. Shuang Gao’s study of Yangshuo, China, provides important insights into the social dynamics between speakers, learners and business owners as they try to balance the goal of learning English with the desire to enjoy the region’s natural attractions.