A Sociolinguistic View of a Japanese Ethnic Church Community

Drawing on sociolinguistic approaches, this book presents unique insights into a Japanese ethnic church community in Canada and the ways in which churches mediate issues of linguistic, cultural, and religious hybridity in addressing the needs of their diverse populations.

The book integrates discourse analytic methods with ethnographic perspectives to explore the complex dynamics of negotiating their different members’ preferred language practices. The volume outlines the ways in which ethnic churches in this community build themselves around intentionally preferred Japanese language practices but make accommodations for English-language speakers in their own families, in turn making further accommodations for ESL student speakers new to the country. Barrett explores the impact of church members’ transcultural experiences in broader decisions around language planning and policy in these churches, shedding light on the distinct implications of hybrid identities on discourses in localized communities. // The volume will be of interest to scholars in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and religious studies.