Negotiating Linguistic and Religious Diversity

This ground-breaking research brings the deep connection between religion and language under the spotlight by asking how one migrant religious institution, a Hindu temple, adapts in an era of religious superdiversity.

Nirukshi Perera is a sociolinguist with a specialisation in language in Sri Lanka and the South Asian diaspora. Her thesis, on which this book is based, received the 2018 Australian Linguistics Society/Applied Linguistics Association Michael Clyne prize for the best thesis on immigrant bilingualism and language contact. She is interested in the interplay of social justice and language, in terms of migration and multiculturalism, in health communication for linguistically marginalised groups, and in how language is used for asserting and overcoming oppression. Niru is a Research Fellow in Linguistic Analysis at Curtin University where she analyses telephone interactions in emergency ambulance calls with a view to improving the effectiveness of communication that can help to save people's lives.

1. Language and religion in superdiverse times 2. The Lankan Tamil diaspora and Hinduism 3. Language and faith challenges at an Australian Hindu temple 4. Approaches to language policy and faith transmission 5. Talking Saivism in the temple's Sunday school 6. Negotiating Lankan Tamil youth faith, language, and identity in the temple 7. Conclusion: The evolving koovil (temple)