Speaking in Tongues

Tell me what you sing and I'll tell you who you are. Language and music are important symbols for identity. With a song, we can symbolize both belonging and exclusion: migrants listen to and make music which gives them a feeling of their homeland. Local music scenes foster regional characteristics in their songs, but international stars also market themselves with symbols of their heritage. In the face of the advanced globalization of the music market, the regional is gaining increasing significance in popular music. By way of examples from various musical cultures and scenes, as well as from the perspectives of various academic disciplines, this book describes the diverse processes of identity formation in post-migrant society and the diverse tensions between regional thinking and a world that is, if nothing else, economically globalized.

Dietrich Helms (Prof. Dr.) lehrt historische Musikwissenschaft an der Universität Osnabrück. Thomas Phleps (Prof. Dr.) lehrt am Institut für Musikwissenschaft und Musikpädagogik der Universität Gießen.