Thirteen international academics and independent scholars contribute ten chapters questioning assumptions about the nature of languages and how they are conceptualized. Key points addressed include the socio-political contexts within which ways of thinking about language emerged; how these ways of thinking about sign languages, indigenous literacies, or African American Vernacular may militate against the development of radically different and possibly more nuanced understandings of language; and ways in which revising how we think about language affects the nature of the language teaching materials we develop and our language-teaching goals. For linguistics theorists, scholars, students, and practitioners. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)