31.2432, Review: Applied Linguistics: Horner, Dailey-O'Cain (2019)

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Subject: 31.2432, Review: Applied Linguistics: Horner, Dailey-O'Cain (2019)

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Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2020 16:32:21
From: Manuela Vida-Mannl [manuela.vidamannl at tu-dortmund.de]
Subject: Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-120.html

EDITOR: Kristine  Horner
EDITOR: Jennifer  Dailey-O'Cain
TITLE: Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging
SERIES TITLE: Encounters
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2019

REVIEWER: Manuela Vida-Mannl, Technische Universität Dortmund

SUMMARY

The book ''Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of Belonging'', edited
by Kristine Horner and Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain, is divided into three parts
that each deal with a different aspect of (un)belonging. ''Part 1: Contested
Spaces: Language, Borders and (Un)belonging'' (Chapters 2-5, pp. 19-92) takes
a spatial perspective when analyzing how mobility, periphery, and belonging is
reflected through language in 'bordered-communities'. Chapter 2 focuses on
northern Catalonia and the b/ordering processes at work at the French-Spanish
border. Chapter 3 introduces the linguistic landscape of Page Hall, Sheffield,
UK, and shows how the Romani of the Slovak Roma is heard (but not seen).
Chapter 4 shows how residents of Houtiniquadorp, South Africa, are categorized
as belonging to the group of 'boorlinge' (locals) and 'inkommers' (newcomers).
The author, interestingly, discusses belonging as being reflected in a
person's embodiment of a place. Chapter 5 is a commentary which offers short
summaries and theoretical links between the three previous chapters.

''Part 2: Trajectories and Heritage: Language, Authenticities and
(Un)belonging'' (Chapters 6-9, pp. 93-174) offers insight into the relation of
multi-language use and belonging to a place or community, e.g. (choosing to)
show one's heritage and/or historical mobility (e.g. by 'speaking with an
accent'). Chapter 6 investigates how an Italian couple that migrated to
Australia shows their self-identification as 'real Italians', rather than
'Italians from Australia', i.e. second-generation migrants. Chapter 7
discussed when and by whom a 'foreign' accent is perceived as positive or
negative and brings to light potential connections to a speaker's identity
construction. Chapter 8 focuses on translanguaging and its perception in a
female entrepreneur's endeavor to bring about the empowerment and social and
economic advancement of the Roma community in multilingual and multicultural
Leeds, UK. This part ends with Chapter 9, a commentary that again interrelates
the three chapters of Part 2 and shows how they fit together on a structural
and social level.

''Part 3: Mobilities and Struggle: Languages, Hierarchies, and (Un)belonging''
(Chapters 10-13, pp. 173-243) present how belonging is influenced by social
and institutional (re)construction of power relations and (language)
hierarchies. Chapter 10 explores teachers' perception of translanguaging as
(il)legitimate within educational settings in Canada and Luxembourg. Chapter
11 presents and analyzes the social and linguistic struggles female
marriage-migrants experience as part of their 'new' lives in South Korea.
Chapter 12 investigates the (im)mobility of three Cap Verdean men who aim at
migrating to Luxembourg, incorporating concepts like unequal mobility and
Global North-Global South trajectories. Chapter 13 summarizes the three
chapters of Part 3 and interconnects them closer with aspects of social
justice and privilege.

Chapter 1, ''Introduction: Multilingualism, (Im)mobilities and Spaces of
Belonging'' by the editors Kristine Horner and Jennifer Dailey-O'Cain (pp.
1-16), offers a theoretical synopsis of the key topics the individual chapters
of the book are based on. Most prominently concepts like power relations,
identity construction and social positioning, the privilege of mobility, and
the role of language use within these concepts are discussed and put in
relation to one another. The chapter ends with a useful and handy overview of
the book's three parts and the variety of studies and issues addressed in each
of them.

Chapter 2, ''The border as a Site of Sociolinguistic Inquiry: Findings from
Northern Catalonia'' by James Hawkey (pp. 19-38), presents us with an
interdisciplinary discussion of 'borders' (e.g. linguistic or natural ones)
and a sociolinguistic study of belonging and unbelonging in northern
Catalonia. Based on language attitude questionnaires of 291 participants,
Hawkey investigates borderland identities of Catalan speakers on the French
side of the at the French-Spanish border in northern Catalonia. In this
chapter, the data is used to analyze the relationship and attitudes of these
speakers towards Catalan speakers in Barcelona. Hawkey supports ''the idea of
'border as process', rather than border as artifact'' (p. 31) and uses the
concept of 'b/ordering' (ibid., cf. Van Houtum, Kramsch & Zierhofer (eds.)
2005) to stress the nature of borders as repeatedly and actively performed.
This enacting and performing of borders, furthermore, enables flexibility and
co-occurrence: borderlanders, as Hawkey found, might not feel required to
choose between identifying as Catalan or French (p. 33).

Chapter 3, ''Ethnolinguistic Landscaping in Sheffield: The Invisible
Repertoire of the Slovak Roma'' by Mark Payne (pp. 39-59), is based on a
longitudinal study of the local Slovak Roma community and the use of their
(minority) language Romani. The author starts his chapter by offering
subchapters on ''LLS [Linguistic Landscaping Studies] as a discipline'' (pp.
41-43), ''What is the LLS method?'' (pp. 43-44), as well as their use in
minority language research (pp. 44-46) and an ethnolinguistic description of
the study's setting (pp. 46-47). An analysis of three language excerpts
follows this theoretical setup and builds the heart of this chapter. The
author analyzes one formal and two informal examples of written use of Slovak
(Romani is not visible in its written form in Sheffield) and their reference
to the Slovak Roma population. While the example of a formal reference to the
Slovak Roma community is an abbreviation in a shop's name, informal examples
are either written by or aimed at members of the author's target community.

Chapter 4, ''The Embodiment of Place: Boorlinge, Inkommers and the Struggle to
Belong'' by Yolandi Ribbens-Klein (pp. 60-82), ''investigates how the
embodiment of place and belonging (in terms of place identities) are
constructed and contested in narrative discourse of residents'' (p. 60) of the
South African town of Houtiniquadorp. In this chapter, the social
stratification of people identifying as belonging to one of the
above-mentioned communities is put in relation to their place of residence and
their perception of how this identity of place is (accurately)
enacted/embodied (e.g. Bucholtz & Hall 2016, Modan 2007). The author
impressively argues for the moralization, politicization, and stratification
of Houtiniquadorp, based on and ''through historical and socio-political
processes and local discourses'' (p. 66). Finding that the body can be a sign
of belonging to a certain place or community, the author discusses the notions
of geographic, linguistic, and social 'center and periphery', incorporating
various partakers' perspectives.

Chapter 5, ''Contested Spaces: A Commentary'' by Mike Baynham (pp. 83-92),
finalizes the first part of this edited book. The author summarizes the
previous three chapters and offers a theoretical and conceptual synopsis.
Concluding this synopsis and discussion, the author argues for the potential
that lies in cross-disciplinary analyses of data, e.g. as presented in
Chapters 2-4, and a focus on ''interdisciplinary teams to research the big
questions of our time'' (p.91). 

Chapter 6, ''Authenticity, Agency and Mobility in the Discourse of Italian
Migrants in Australia'' by Antonia Rubino (pp. 95-120), investigates how an
Italian couple that migrated to Australia in the 1990s constructs its ethnic
identities and linguistic authenticity in the 'new' environment. Like others
in this book, this author's analysis of two interviews, which are part of a
larger corpus, is based on Bucholtz and Hall's (2005) understanding of
identity as actively constructed ''social positioning of self and others'' (p.
586). Including interview excerpts about various aspects of the two migrants'
lives, e.g. their reasons to leave Italy, experiences in their workplaces, and
their family's language use, their practices of how to ''position themselves
as 'real' Italian'' (p. 99) are presented. While the male interviewee reflects
on his migration journey as being mostly positive and (at least partially)
actively shaped by him, his wife draws a more passive and negative picture of
her experience. However, the author makes clear in her analysis that both
''position themselves in strongly agentive roles'' (p. 116). In terms of
language use, the author finds a clear preference of the 'standard language'
(if it exists) over the dialects that are used by ''Italians from Australia''
(p. 116), who are typically post-war migrants and their descendants. 

Chapter 7, ''Speaking with or without an Accent: Language Ideologies and the
'Problem' of Linguistic Super-Mobility'' by Katharina König (pp. 121-144), is
concerned with the importance and the effect of speaking with 'foreign'
accents on identity constructions. The chapter is based on interviews with
first- and second-generation migrants to Germany who, respectively, speak
German with a foreign accent or their heritage language with a German accent.
''Accents are valued differently in different sociolinguistic spaces'' (p.
123) and in Germany, the accents of large migrant groups (e.g. Turkish and
Polish) have been found to be less valued by L1 German speakers than accents
of other (western) European countries (cf. Gärtig, Plewnia & Rothe 2010). The
author investigates the speakers' perception of their own accents as positive
(first-generation migrants) or negative (second generation migrants in their
'homelands'), concluding that traditional language ideologies, which link
language and locality, shape this perception and subsequently the speakers'
''transnational'' (p.138) identity construction. 

Chapter 8, ''Negative Translanguaging Space: Mobility and Immobility in
Inner-City Leeds'' by Jessica Bradley and James Simpson (pp. 145-164),
investigates the multi-language use of one female migrant from Slovakia during
the development of her business idea in Leeds, UK. The recordings analyzed in
this chapter are part of a more extensive corpus on urban multilingualism in
the UK. In the setting under investigation, the interviewee functions as a
link between the Roma community and local institutions that aim at empowering
members of the Roma community and increasing their local mobility. The authors
make use of the concept of translanguaging (cf. García & Li 2014; Ortheguy,
García & Wallis 2015) to illustrate multi-language use by the interviewee on
her way to develop a business plan. They introduce the notion of ''negative
translanguaging spaces'' (p. 151): spaces that accept or value the use of one
language only. Translanguaging spaces – positive and negative – are found to
occur in ''superdiverse contact zones'' (p. 160) and, as argued by the
authors, their investigation offers a deeper understanding of language
ideologies and the construction of identities and social structures by and of
local stakeholders.

Chapter 9, ''Trajectories and Heritage: A Commentary'' by Samantha Litty and
Joseph Salmons (pp. 165-174), summarizes the previous three chapters and
integrates them into the bigger picture of multilingualism and authenticity in
migration settings. The authors stress the value of the transdisciplinary
approaches and the shifted perspectives on existing concepts that Chapters 6-8
present. Furthermore, a key aim of this chapter is to advertise the importance
of combining relevant insight across domains and research areas for a
comprehensive understanding of mobility and society.

Chapter 10, ''Perceived Legitimacy and Translanguaging: Exploring the
Interconnectedness of Pedagogy and Policy'' by Sarah Muller, Clea Schmidt, and
Jean-Jacques Weber (pp. 177-196), examines teachers' ideologies towards
translanguaging in the classroom (cf. García & Li 2014; Ortheguy et al. 2015)
in Manitoba, Canada, and Luxembourg. To understand which translanguaging
practices are categorized as 'legitimate' or 'illegitimate' and to what extent
this categorization is influenced by language policy and politics in both
multilingual educational settings, translanguaging is primarily approached
''as pedagogy'' (pp. 181-183; cf. Stroud & Wee 2012). In Manitoba, the authors
focus on translanguaging into indigenous languages which is caused widely by
intra-national mobility. In Luxembourg, they examine translanguaging which is
caused by inter-national mobility of speakers of Romance languages. The
authors find a strong influence of language policy on the use and perception
of individual languages within the teachers' or students' translanguaging
practices. In arguing that only a change in pedagogy and policy may ''turn
today's superdiverse classrooms into spaces of belonging'' (p. 193), they end
on a hopeful note.

Chapter 11, ''Gender Ideologies and Korean Language Learning: Experiences of
Female Marriage-Migrants in Rural South Korea'' by Mi Yung Park (pp. 197-215),
addresses the social and linguistic challenges of Southeast Asian women who
migrate to South Korea for marriage purposes. The study presented in this
chapter is based on the experiences of five women who partake in language
classes to improve their Korean language skills. The author reports that, due
to the maintenance of traditional social hierarchies, which rank women lower
than man and the young lower than the elder, and the fact that most
marriage-migrants do not speak (sufficient) Korean before migrating to South
Korea, these women feel excluded and 'not-belonging' in their new lives. The
insight from this study shows that L2 learning of Korean is perceived as a way
of empowerment for the women as well as – or even more than– a way of
providing a better future for their children. In disentangling the complexity
of the migrant women's social stratification in multiple settings (e.g. at
home and in the workplace), the author presents the potential and limits of
adequate language programs as well as their impact on the identity
(re)construction of these women.

Chapter 12, ''Language and (Im)mobility as a Struggle: Cape Verdean
Trajectories into Luxembourg'' by Bernardino Tavares and Kasper Juffermans
(pp. 216-233), investigates mobility challenges and their interrelation to
multilingualism as experienced by three men. Connecting concepts like
privilege, Global South-Global North, monolingualism as a myth, as well as
mobility and multilingualism as continua, the authors present us with three
outcomes of an, at first sight, similar goal: Migrating from Cap Verde to
Luxembourg. The authors analyze the three participants' struggles for mobility
and link them to topics like globalization and privilege, stressing the
context-dependent dynamics of multilingualism, social status, and geographical
mobility.

Chapter 13, ''Mobilities and Struggle: A Commentary'' by Ana Deumert (pp.
234-243), again summarizes the previous three chapters, links their
assessments of mobility and struggle and the concepts themselves. Deumert
highlights the dynamics of social mobility and social justice and agrees with
Tavares & Juffermans (chapter 12) assessment that ''mobility is not a human
right but a privilege to be struggled over'' (p. 239).

EVALUATION

This book offers a refreshing and much-welcomed collection of research into
currently relevant topics like mobility, social stratification, and their
dynamics with language (use). With a focus on qualitative research and
(partially) unconventional, innovative methods, this book successfully offers
meaningful insight into social dynamics, reinforcing the importance of
interdisciplinary approaches. Ribbens-Klein (Chapter 4), for example, makes
use of unconventional data-elicitation methods, like commented walks (p.71),
and so unfolds impressive insight into the social structures and power
relations, as well as the attitudes of the targeted communities.

When investigating social justice, the individual speakers have to be
centered, as they are the experiencer and producer of this justice. In recent
years, this led to an increasing number of recognized and appreciated
'qualitative research' studies. Especially frameworks like translanguaging
show that not only the outcome of language use is worth investigating (as it
used to be done, i.e. in code-switching research), but also the inner-speaker
processes are equally important. The book at hand fits well into this paradigm
shift of sociolinguistics.

The book follows a clear and reader-friendly organization: e.g. the chapters
present their structure at the beginning, which is very helpful. The book is
neither limited to a certain speaker or social group nor focused on a certain
language or a certain context. This makes it interesting for a variety of
readers, who either study one of the included contexts, groups, or languages,
or more epistemic issues like language ideology, identity construction or the
dynamics of (social/spatial) mobility.

While a variety of methods are presented, e.g. commented walks (cf. Chapter
4), linguistic landscaping (cf. Chapter 3), semi-structured biographical
interviews (cf. Chapters 6 & 7) or self-study (cf. Chapter10), I would have
hoped for a more direct argument for their use. I welcome the change in
perspective as well as the decision to focus on qualitative and personal
research, the areas of research that are accessible when applying these
methods, however, could have been indicated. Chapter 3 appears to be somewhat
off-balance in its structure when theory and empirical evidence are concerned.
Payne shows that, despite using Slovak and not the Romani language, the
addressees of his examples are members of the Roma population. Discussing the
potential of Linguistic Landscape Studies to indicate the absence of a
language as well as its presence – and the meaning of both – in greater detail
would have broadened the understanding of the presented setting. 

The undertones of social stratification amongst migrants and heritage speakers
are nicely brought to light in Chapter 6. Social dynamics between the migrants
that 'had to come for economic reasons' and speak a dialect, and the
interviewees that 'chose to come' and speak 'pure' Italian (p.116) are
indicated in multiple excerpts of the original transcripts in Italian. A
presentation of agency in traditional Italian gender roles may have been
helpful to contextualize the behavior of the two spouses, especially
concerning their workplaces. Furthermore, Chapter 7 appears to miss some
theoretical underpinnings. In contrast to what is claimed, second-generation
Turkish migrants in Germany are traditionally not speakers of German as a
second language but bilinguals. This does not change how they are perceived in
Turkey. However, it might lead to a more complex theorization than is offered
by the author. In addition, the used concept of super-mobility remains unclear
in Chapter 7 as well as the actual translanguaging practices in Chapter 8.
While I assume both authors are correct in their results, a more specific
explanation could have been given to the included paradigms. All in all, this
book is a collection of meaningful findings that have the potential to change
people's lives. Especially the issue of language equity (Chapter 10) might
find application in the educational system, as the authors already suggest
that the implementation of translanguaging pedagogy requires a change in
medium-of-instruction policy (p. 193).

Despite some minor shortcomings, I enjoyed reading this book, especially as I
am interested in processes of social justice. It is a well-structured and
coherent volume that provides interested readers with valuable input and
numerous issues to think about. The variety of issues, speaker groups,
contexts, and languages considered in this volume show the relevance of and
omnipresence of inequality, might it be (im)mobility, (un)belonging, or
(mis)communication.

REFERENCES

Bucholtz, M. & Hall, K. 2005. “Identity and interaction: A sociocultural
linguistic approach”. Discourse Studies, 7, (4-5): 585-614.

Gärtig, A., Plewnia, A. & Rothe, A. 2010. ‘Wie Menschen in Deutschland über
Sprache denken: Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten Repräsentativerhebung zu
aktuellen Spracheinstellungen’. Mannheim: IDS.

Modan, G.G. 2007. ‘Turf Wars: Discourse, Diversity, and the Politics of
Place’. Oxford: Blackwell. 

Stroud, C, & Wee, L. 2012. ‘Style, Identity and Literacy: English in
Singapore’. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Van Houtum,H., Kramsch, O. & Zierhofer, W. (eds.). 2005. ‘B/ordering Spaces’.
Aldershot: Ashgate.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Manuela Vida-Mannl is a postdoctoral researcher at TU Dortmund University,
Germany. Her main research interests are multilingualism, sociolinguistics,
and the global use of English. In her PhD-thesis (University of Cologne) on
'The value of English in Cyprus' higher education', she investigated the roles
of English in non-native higher education landscapes (North and South Cyprus)
for institutions and individual speakers. She is especially interested in the
dynamics of (social & spatial) mobility and social stratification on Global
North-Global South trajectories and is currently working on an investigation
of these dynamics within tourism.





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