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PART I
Theoretical and methodological considerations
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C H A P T E R 1
Introduction
One may as well begin with Blommaertās (2010: 102) definition of multilingualism:
The following chapters (especially Chapter 3) will make clear why Blommaert uses scare quotes with the term ālanguageā. He suggests that we all have a large number of linguistic resources at our disposal, and it does not really make a difference whether they belong to only one āconventionally defined ālanguageāā or several of them. Hence, multilingualism is a matter of degree, a continuum, and since we all use different linguistic varieties, registers, styles, genres and accents, we are all to a greater or lesser degree multilingual. In this book, we will say that the varieties, etc. that we use constitute our linguistic repertoire. Moreover, these repertoires are not static but dynamic, since the resources in them change over time.
At the end of the above quotation, Blommaert also mentions ālanguage ideologiesā, i.e. our beliefs about what a language is (and what multilingualism is), how language works and how it is used. This book takes up Blommaertās point about the centrality of language ideologies and offers a language-ideological approach to the study of multilingualism. The concept of ālanguage ideologyā will be fully explained in the following chapter. For instance, we will argue that seeing ālanguagesā as well-defined, bounded entities is the product of an ideological process.
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Thus, this book is situated within a theoretical framework which problematizes even such a basic concept as ālanguageā. As we will see in detail throughout the following chapters, it presents an alternative view of multilingualism not in terms of ālanguagesā but in terms of linguistic resources and repertoires, and advocates this as a more successful way of capturing what is often an elusive and intractable linguistic reality. It takes a broad definition of multilingualism as verbal repertoires consisting of more than one variety (whether language or dialect).
Hence, also, terms such as bilingualism, trilingualism, etc. are subsumed under the term āmultilingualismā; we avoid such terms as far as possible because they are based on the problematic idea that ālanguagesā are easily identifiable and can be counted. In fact, however, the question of which resources in peopleās repertoires count as ālanguagesā and which do not is a socio-political rather than linguistic one ā as we explain more fully in Chapter 3. Even āmultilingualismā itself is a rather problematic term because of this underlying assumption of languages as bounded entities which are countable. However, other terms which have been proposed are not unproblematic either: they, too, could be understood as being based on the same assumption or they are more restricted in their application. The former include āplurilingualismā (Council of Europe 2005), āpolylingualismā (JĆørgensen 2008), āinterlingualismā (Widdowson 2010) and even āmultiplurilingualismā (Ehrhart 2010), while the latter include Otsuji and Pennycookās (2010) āmetrolingualismā, which mostly refers to urban contexts (this concept is briefly discussed in Chapter 3). While all these terms refer to the same complex linguistic phenomena, we will continue in this book to use the most widely accepted term, namely multilingualism.
FOR DISCUSSION: DESCRIBING AND COMPARING LINGUISTIC REPERTOIRES
A repertoire is the set of linguistic resources (whether ālanguagesā or ādialectsā) which are at an individualās disposal. Can you describe as fully as possible your own linguistic repertoire: what varieties does it consist in? When, where and with whom do you use these varieties? How does your range of linguistic resources compare with those of your classmates? Make sure you include all your resources, whether you are highly proficient in them or not.
Note that repertoires are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 7.
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A SOCIAL APPROACH TO MULTILINGUALISM
This book can be used for any introductory course in Multilingualism, Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics or Linguistic Anthropology. It can also be used for independent study ā though you will find it helpful to discuss the activities with other people.
The book provides an introduction to the key social issues in the study of multilingualism. At the same time, we also hope to change the way many people think about these topics. We question deeply held assumptions about language and multilingualism (what sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists refer to as our ālanguage ideologiesā), and encourage readers to think critically about important social and educational issues such as the following:
ā¢ How do languages āleakā into each other (rather than being clearly defined entities), and what implications does this have for our understanding of what a language is and what multilingualism is?
ā¢ In what sense can a language be said to be endangered, and what are the benefits and pitfalls of attempting to revitalize it?
ā¢ What is the best way of organizing a multilingual system of education which is truly open to linguistic diversity?
ā¢ What are the advantages and disadvantages of mother tongue education and heritage language education?
ā¢ How can we critically analyse (verbal and/or visual) texts such as multilingual signs, online texts and media representations of multilingualism, and how can we identify the (sometimes restrictive) assumptions and ideologies underlying them?
By tackling these and many other questions, we ultimately aim at reversing the traditional paradigm by normalizing multilingualism. In other words, we see multilingualism rather than monolingualism as the normal state of affairs. After all, far more people in the world are multilingual rather than monolingual; and if we apply the above definition of multilingualism in terms of resources and repertoires, then it is hard to imagine that there are some people left in the world who are not at least to some extent multilingual!
We add two further points here in relation to the social approach to multilingualism that we are taking. First, we think that there is a need to unpack and move beyond some of the classic and often limited concepts of structuralist sociolinguistics. To give just one example, in this book we move away from the traditional concept of diglossia, which has been used to describe a community where one ādialectā or ālanguageā (e.g. standard German in German-speaking Switzerland) is the formal or āhighā variety used in education and government, whereas the other one (Swiss German) is the informal or ālowā variety used in everyday talk. Diglossia presupposes a stable language situation where languages can be compartmentalized and, in particular, where a neat separation can be made between a high and a low variety. However, the high vs. low distinction has been criticized, and it has been pointed out that the low variety can enjoy more prestige than the high one (as is the case in Switzerland ā see the discussion of the Swiss language situation in Chapter 6). Moreover, such a binary opposition frequently simplifies and hence fails to capture the full complexity of the linguistic reality, especially in our late modern age of globalization, migration and superdiversity (Vertovec 2007; see also section below on āCoping with changeā).
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Second, this book deals with the social issues in the study of multilingualism, not the cognitive ones. Thus, for instance, readers will find nothing in this book about the question of whether multilingual people have a unified linguistic competence or a compartmentalized one (with knowledge of each of their languages stored separately in the brain). We might just add here that, as with many such debates, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, namely that multilingualsā linguistic competence is neither wholly unified nor wholly separate. Readers interested in finding out more about the cognitive aspects of multilingualism are referred to the suggestions for further reading listed at the end of this chapter.
A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY
Of course, what we have said above about such concepts as ālanguageā and āmultilingualismā does not mean that we cannot use these terms any longer. It simply means that, in the case of ālanguagesā, we need to be aware that we are dealing with socio-politically rather than linguistically defined units. Apart from ālanguageā, we also sometimes use in this book other terms which are less than optimal such as, for instance, migrant children or students. The problem with this term is that it perpetuates an us vs. them distinction, which in fact needs to be overcome. What is particularly worrying is that only certain children or students tend to be perceived and categorized as āmigrantsā. For instance, in a French school, a child with one French and one Belgian parent will probably not be perceived as a āmigrantā, whereas a child with one French and one Nigerian parent most likely will be. Moreover, the latter child may be perceived as a āmigrantā even though she or he holds French citizenship and was born in France (and hence never migrated). As is the case with all forms of social categorization, the label āmigrantā is at least to some extent a matter of perception and thus socially constructed.
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Many other terms (e.g. ānon-standardā) also have negative connotations (non-standard varieties might be looked upon as inferior to standard varieties). However, in all of these cases, it is difficult to think of (widely accepted) alternative terms which avoid the negative connotations. Thus, for instance, āvernacular varietiesā does not fare much better than ānon-standard varietiesā in this respect.
Another problematic distinction is the one between minority and majority groups as well as minority and majority languages. Note, first of all, that oppressed minorities can sometimes be numerically the majority group: e.g. black people in apartheid South Africa. Note also that one and the same language can be the majority language in one social context (e.g. Spanish in Spain) and a minority language in another (e.g. Spanish in the US). Following Pavlenko and Blackledge (2004: 4), the terms āminorityā and āmajorityā are therefore used in this book ānot to draw attention to numerical size of particular groups, but to refer to situational differences in power, rights, and privilegesā.
Finally, the term āsuperdiversityā, introduced in the previous section, refers to a diversification or intensification of (social, cultural, linguistic) diversity, as experienced specifically in Europe ov...