ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we explore the value of long-term fieldwork in the context of ever-increasing complexity in social life. This complexity stems from the phenomenon of ‘superdiversity’ (Vertovec, 2007) and the effects of globalization. These effects are visible in the contact between languages and cultures, which has spawned a range of new language-cultural phenomena. Sociolinguists and ethnographers concerned with superdiversity argue that the concepts of language and culture themselves, as separate, bounded entities, have become highly problematic and now invite new methodological approaches (Blommaert & Rampton, 2011). Linguistic and cultural change is the rule and not the exception.
