Word-Sound-Power

Singh, Jaspal (2025). Word-Sound-Power. In: Lee, Jerry Won and Rüdiger, Sofia eds. Entangled Englishes. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 52–69.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003441304-5

Abstract

The Rastafarian spiritual analytic word-sound-power allows for a decolonial sociolinguistic approach to studying the entanglements of global Englishes in the context of global reggae performances. Using the lyrics and visuals of a music video by an Indian reggae artist as a case study, the chapter shows how language, music, materiality, technology, knowledge and politics get entangled in ways that are both globally connected and locally rooted. These semiotic entanglements, or what can also be conceptualised as ephemerally emergent vibrations, enable reggae artists from around the world to run their own systems of sound, language and politics, amplify their unique postcolonial voices and collaborate with others to celebrate global decolonial solidarities.

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