Exploring a Sociolinguistics of Islam

Abstract

The ‘sociolinguistics of Islam’ refers to the exploration of how language and society intersect within contexts where the Islamic faith is the defining worldview shaping language, literacy, and other processes of semiosis. This article proposes a heuristic that extends sociolinguistic scholarship by advancing a research agenda focussed on Islamic sociolinguistic ecologies. We demonstrate how Islam’s rather stable textual historicity is in constant dialogue with local language ecologies, resulting in a plethora of contemporary and localized variations in spoken and written discourses and auditory cultures. A sociolinguistics of Islam not only traverses various subfields of applied linguistics, but necessitates the incorporation of theology, multilingualism, and historicity into its analytic inquiry. We argue that this framework confers us with greater theoretical and methodological purchase on how various languages adapt—or resist—the influence of Islam in autochthonous discourses, particularly in contexts where Muslim populations expand, leading to diverse forms of religious vernacularisation. This article sets the foundations for inquiry into how Islam influences language policy, learning, religious expression, and sociolinguistic phenomena within Muslim communities worldwide.