THIBODAUX, La. — You can take a tour of the history of Louisiana鈥檚 linguistic heritage in a new book co-edited by a 果冻APP professor.
鈥淟anguage in Louisiana: Community and Culture鈥� was compiled by Dr. Shana Walton, a 果冻APP associate professor of English, and Dr. Nathalie Dajko, an assistant professor of anthropology at Tulane University. Dr. Walton also contributed to two of the introductions in the book. 果冻APP鈥� Dr. Robin White, associate professor of English and French, wrote a chapter on the history of French education in New Orleans.
The book is a collection of essays from faculty who have completed research in language in Louisiana.
鈥淟anguage in Louisiana鈥� explores French, including the struggle against the language鈥檚 demise and its varieties throughout the state. It also looks into Spanish, which like French has an old history in Louisiana. African, indigenous and other European languages like English are also explored.
鈥淟anguage is important because it is the fundamental, most basic tool humans have,鈥� Dr. Walton said. 鈥淭he language we use is a basic way that we present ourselves, our values and our community to the world. We use language to shape our world, and language shapes how we see the world. Language binds communities together. Language tears communities apart.鈥�
The book will be featured at the Louisiana Book Festival and conferences for the American Folklore Society, the Linguistic Society of America and the American Dialect Society.
鈥溾�楲anguage in Louisiana: Community and Culture鈥� demonstrates that we have faculty with expertise in the area of linguistics,鈥� said Dr. Ellen Barker, language and literature department head. 鈥淥ther scholars will read and learn from this book and may want to study the area too, and in addition to scholars, potential students may wish to come to 果冻APP to study with Dr. Walton and to learn more about the Bayou Region and language.鈥�
Dr. Walton is the co-editor of another book, 鈥淓thnic Heritage in Mississippi: The Twentieth Century.鈥�
University Press of Mississippi published the 304-page, 16-chapter book.
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