Vernacular Encounters: Politics and Possibilities

— —

Nishat Zaidi (Jamia Millia Islamia, India) Kashish Dua (University of Delhi, India)

Vernacular Encounters

Politics and Possibilities

Nishat Zaidi (Jamia Millia Islamia, India), Kashish Dua (University of Delhi, India)

$371.95 $297.42

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Routledge India
29 December 2025

Translation & interpretation; Literature: history & criticism; Regional studies; Cultural studies

This book offers new insights into the debates of vernacularity, language ideologies, and the decolonial turn. It identifies ‘vernacular encounters’ as nuanced interactions of languages that are often termed as ‘local’ with culture and power, across varied media and temporalities.

Drawing from rich literary and cultural productions across various geopolitical contexts, the book reveals how vernacular expressions serve as powerful vehicles for political negotiation and cultural transformation. It explores how vernacular encounters actively challenge power structures at various levels by asserting their own cultural authority, thereby creating spaces for alternative perspectives within dominant discourse and challenging hegemonic forces. It also illuminates the role of language as more than just a communication tool, arguing that it also functions as a vital marker of identity and cultural continuity that actively resists homogenization and erasure. This resistance, in the case of the vernacular languages of India, challenges both colonial and global hegemonic forces and sets the tone for affirming diverse cultural narratives.

The volume offers a historically grounded analysis that traces the resilience, adaptation and negotiations of vernacular languages across changing socio-political landscapes. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of language, literature, linguistics, literary and cultural studies, Indian literature, translation studies, and to those with an interest in South Asian history, culture, politics and society.

Edited by: Nishat Zaidi (Jamia Millia Islamia India), Kashish Dua (University of Delhi, India)
Imprint: Routledge India
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 570g
ISBN: 9781032962658
ISBN 10: 1032962658
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 29 December 2025
Audience: College/higher education , College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Nishat Zaidi is Professor of English and former chair at the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia. She is currently the Honorary Director of Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia. Kashish Dua is an Assistant Professor of English at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. She was a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and earned her PhD from the Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia.