ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses regional flows and the dynamics of language resources within those flows. It outlines the scholarship on language as resource, particularly in terms of migration. The chapter gives an overview of regional flows of people and the role of language within that, outlines current literature on language as a resource in migration. It considers the issue of the changing value of resources in different contexts and what implications this has for regional flows. The chapter draws mainly on research conducted in South Africa, looks at both the value of English as a resource and the value of African languages. It describes how the value of language changes within various regional flows – and how language resources are conferred value at a local level. The chapter focuses on relatively recent migratory movements – particularly those described by the sociolinguistic literature of the 21st century.
