35.3403, Review: General Linguistics, Sociolinguistics; Translingual Practices: Ben-Said (2024)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-35-3403. Tue Dec 03 2024. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 35.3403, Review: General Linguistics, Sociolinguistics; Translingual Practices: Ben-Said (2024)

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Date: 03-Dec-2024
From: Selim Ben-Said [sbensaid at mail.nsysu.edu.tw]
Subject: General Linguistics, Sociolinguistics; Translingual Practices: Ben-Said (2024)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35.1497

EDITOR: Sender Dovchin
EDITOR: Rhonda Oliver
EDITOR: Li Wei
TITLE: Translingual Practices
SUBTITLE: Playfulness and Precariousness
SERIES TITLE: Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2024

REVIEWER: Selim Ben-Said

SUMMARY

Translingual Practices: Playfulness and Precariousness is a rich
exploration of translingualism, demonstrating how individuals and
groups employ multiple languages creatively and critically in
precarious situations. The book, edited by Sender Dovchin, Rhonda
Oliver, and Li Wei, is divided into four thematic sections, and each
chapter offers a unique ethnographic study that illustrates how
translingual practices are shaped by both playfulness and precarity.
The editors emphasize the need to move beyond viewing translingualism
solely through the lens of joyful or creative language use, instead
showcasing the precariousness that underpins many of these linguistic
practices.

The book provides a nuanced discussion that links translingualism with
broader issues of globalization, migration, and social inequality. It
is a highly interdisciplinary work, drawing on perspectives from
sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and social theory. The editors
and contributors seek to reveal the complexity of language practices
in contemporary, multilingual, and often precarious, contexts.

Chapter-by-Chapter Overview

- Chapter 1: The introduction sets up the dual themes of playfulness
and precarity, emphasizing how translingualism transcends simple
code-switching and engages with a dynamic interplay of semiotic
resources. This chapter provides the theoretical foundation for the
book, outlining how the concept of "translingualism" connects with
broader social phenomena such as neoliberalism, migration, and
precarity.

- Chapter 2: Dovchin, Dobinson, Gong, and Mercieca explore how female
academics from the Global South in Australia engage in translingual
practices as a way to cope with both the playfulness and challenges
they encounter in academic and social spaces. They show that
translingual playfulness, such as humor, provides temporary relief
from the structural inequities these women face.

- Chapter 3: Jun and Mori examine translingualism in the workplace,
focusing on transnational workers in Canada. This chapter reveals how
seemingly playful language practices among these workers mask deeper
issues of power and job insecurity, particularly in environments where
linguistic conformity is linked to labor precarity.

- Chapter 4: Pennycook and Otsuji take a closer look at translingual
practices in a Bangladeshi store in Tokyo. They argue that
translingualism should be understood as part of larger "assemblages"
of socio-economic and cultural factors, rather than as an isolated
phenomenon.

- Chapter 5: French, Stanford-Billinghurst, and Armitage provide case
studies of women from various precarious backgrounds and how their
translingualism helps them manage multiple responsibilities. The
chapter offers a hopeful perspective on how translingualism enables
these women to maintain agency in precarious environments.

- Chapter 6: Hawkins and Tiwari focus on how youth in Uganda and India
use digital platforms to engage in translingual practices that are at
once playful and politically charged. The chapter emphasizes how these
online practices are influenced by the offline precarity experienced
by these young people.

- Chapter 7: Oliver and Exell analyze the Instagram account of
Kambarni, an Australian Aboriginal artist, to show how he uses
translingualism to navigate both his cultural identity and the
pressures of social media. The chapter reveals the tension between
creative translingual play and the pressures to conform to dominant
linguistic norms.

- Chapter 8: Chang and Canagarajah focus on the translingual practices
of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Through an analysis
of their narratives, the authors highlight how translingualism is both
a resource for identity construction and a tool for navigating the
precariousness of their legal and social status.

- Chapter 9: Wigglesworth and Oliver explore how Australian Aboriginal
children use translingual practices in educational settings,
emphasizing the tension between their playful use of language and the
precariousness imposed by dominant monolingual ideologies in schools.

- Chapter 10: Horner critiques the romanticization of translingualism
as a form of resistance, arguing instead that translingualism must be
understood in relation to the material realities of labor and social
inequality.

- Chapter 11: Hopkyns and Sultana examine how Muslim students in
English-medium universities in the UAE and Bangladesh use
translingualism as both a playful act and a form of resistance to
dominant linguistic and religious ideologies.

- Chapter 12: Makoni and Pablé argue for a "lay-oriented" approach to
translingualism, one that focuses on the everyday realities of
translingual speakers rather than on academic theorization. They
emphasize the importance of grounding translingual research in the
lived experiences of ordinary people.

- Chapter 13: In the afterword, Silva reflects on the
interconnectedness of playfulness and precarity in translingual
practices, calling for further research into the ways that these
concepts shape linguistic behavior in diverse social contexts.

EVALUATION

Translingual Practices: Playfulness and Precariousness provides an
important and timely contribution to sociolinguistic research by
highlighting the dynamic relationship between translingual creativity
and the precarious socio-economic conditions that frame many
translingual practices. The book’s interdisciplinary approach is
commendable, as it engages with theories from applied linguistics,
critical pedagogy, and social theory, offering a comprehensive view of
translingualism that goes beyond traditional linguistic frameworks.
One of the strongest elements of the volume is its clear focus on how
translingual practices, often viewed as playful and creative, are
deeply embedded within broader structures of inequality.

A notable contribution is made by Jun and Mori in Chapter 3, where
they critique neoliberal labor structures that demand linguistic
conformity in precarious employment contexts. This chapter, building
on earlier work on linguistic capital by scholars like Heller (2010),
offers a powerful example of how translingual practices mask the
underlying power imbalances and insecurities faced by transnational
workers. The discussion is a clear reminder that translingualism,
while flexible and dynamic, can also perpetuate or reflect structural
inequalities (Blommaert, 2010).

In Chapter 8, Chang and Canagarajah provide a compelling case for how
undocumented immigrants in the United States use translingualism not
only to construct their identities but also as a tool to navigate
their precarious legal and social status. Canagarajah’s earlier work
(2013) on translingual literacy practices informs this chapter, as the
authors build on his idea that translingualism can be an act of
resistance within constrained conditions. This chapter illustrates the
dual function of translingualism: it enables agency in moments of
marginalization but also reveals the limitations imposed by external
surveillance and linguistic policing.

Pennycook and Otsuji’s Chapter 4, which explores the concept of
assemblages, is innovative in how it reconceptualizes translingualism
as part of larger socio-economic and material entanglements. Their
work, which aligns with their previous writings on linguistic
landscapes and superdiversity (Pennycook & Otsuji, 2015), pushes the
boundaries of how we think about translingualism by integrating
non-human factors such as the physical environment. However, this
chapter could have further benefited from a more detailed analysis of
the political economy shaping these assemblages, particularly in
relation to global capitalism and neoliberal migration policies
(Harvey, 2005).

While the chapters on online activism, particularly Chapter 7 by
Oliver and Exell, offer intriguing insights into how translingualism
plays out in digital spaces, there is room for a deeper exploration of
digital inequalities. Scholars like Warschauer (2004) have long
pointed out the gaps in access to digital platforms, particularly in
the Global South. A more nuanced discussion of these material
conditions—such as the infrastructural limitations that shape who can
participate in translingual online spaces—would have added depth to
these discussions.

Despite these minor shortcomings, the volume remains a crucial
resource for understanding the complexities of translingual practices.
It challenges the field to move beyond a romanticized view of
translingualism as solely creative and highlights the necessity of
considering the precarious conditions that underpin many of these
practices. The book succeeds in bridging empirical studies with
theoretical insights, making it a valuable text for sociolinguists,
applied linguists, and researchers studying multilingualism and
transnationalism. In line with earlier work by scholars such as García
and Wei (2014), this volume also opens important avenues for future
research, particularly in the area of language policy and education,
where translingual practices are often constrained by institutional
norms and ideologies.

REFERENCES

Blommaert, J. (2010). The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge
University Press.
Canagarajah, S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and
cosmopolitan relations. Routledge.
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism,
and education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University
Press.
Heller, M. (2010). Paths to post-nationalism: A critical ethnography
of language and identity. Oxford University Press.
Pennycook, A., & Otsuji, E. (2015). Metrolingualism: Language in the
city. Routledge.
Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the
digital divide. MIT Press.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Selim Ben Said is an Associate Professor at National Sun Yat-Sen
University in Taiwan, specializing in sociolinguistics, linguistic
landscapes, multilingualism, and language identity. His research
explores how language policies, representations, and attitudes
intersect in multilingual settings, with a focus on the linguistic
landscape of Tunisia and multilingual advertising in Taiwan. He has
published widely on topics related to language and identity,
linguistic imperialism, and social semiotics, and he serves on the
editorial boards of several academic journals in applied linguistics.



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