35.479, Review: Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship: Williams, Deumert, Milani (eds.) (2022)

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Subject: 35.479, Review: Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship: Williams, Deumert, Milani (eds.) (2022)

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Date: 11-Feb-2024
From: Sara Lynch [sara.lynch at ens.unibe.ch]
Subject: Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics: Williams, Deumert, Milani (eds.) (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/33.2327

EDITOR: Quentin Williams
EDITOR: Ana Deumert
EDITOR: Tommaso M. Milani
TITLE: Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship
SERIES TITLE: Multilingual Matters
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2022

REVIEWER: Sara Lynch

SUMMARY
Quentin Williams, Ana Deumert, and Tommaso M. Milani have brought
together a multi-dimensional and inspiring volume, showcasing the
widespread influence of Christopher Stroud’s (2001) concept of
Linguistic Citizenship (LC). The volume highlights the evolution and
impact of LC, particularly in giving voice to marginalised groups in
multilingual and postcolonial settings. Linguistic Citizenship
highlights the role of language in constructing vulnerability and lack
of agency, and it offers a valuable approach for analysing such
linguistic practices, particularly within multilingual and
postcolonial settings. The concept of LC, developed by Stroud in the
late 1990s, arose from concerns about the lack of indigenous inclusion
in multilingual projects such as curriculum design in the Global
South. Through its focus on the often-overlooked voices of minority
communities, LC calls attention to how political discourse is
controlled by state and institutional actors who neglect to listen to
the people directly impacted by such discourses. LC offers a lens
through which more complex and diverse configurations of citizenship
can be explored, going beyond those prescribed by constitutional
codes.
This groundbreaking edited volume represents an important contribution
to the fields of sociolinguistics and anthropology and is fundamental
reading for scholars who are interested in the significance and
limitations of citizenship, liberty, and voice. It is of particular
value to scholars interested in language rights and social inequality
in multilingual environments, and anyone engaged in language policy
planning and management of multilingualism in education. For social
workers, community organization leaders and government administrators,
the collection offers a wealth of insights into how a lack of access
to language in all of its forms can deprive individuals of their right
to basic human identity and underscores the potential value of
grassroots communities over institutional administrations.
Following the foreword and introduction, which provide background and
context of LC, the book is divided into four sections thematically.
The first section (Chapter 2 – Chapter 4) examines debates surrounding
language policy and planning, and explores the role of the researcher,
and the application of LC to studies of the Global North.  Section 2
pairs Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, which employ narrative analysis as
their primary tool of inquiry and consider chronotypes and dystopia,
respectively, in understanding post-apartheid South Africa. Part 3
(Chapter 7 – Chapter 9) illustrates the development of theory prior to
LC and the potential for LC analysis in contemporary and alternative
contexts. Part 4 surveys the future of LC, considers its expansion
into other subdisciplines, and its potential for application in
specific settings and uncharted routes of inquiry.
The foreword describes the scholarly processes over the past two
decades involved in the development of what is now known as LC (Stroud
2001). Hyltenstam and Kerfoot provide an overview of Stroud’s
influential contributions to applied linguistics, which have shaped
the field and brought attention to inequality in multilingual
communities in the Global South.

In The Introduction, Quentin Williams, Ana Deumert, and Tommaso M.
Milani discuss the challenge of dismantling institutional legacies of
colonialism to advance a decolonial, inclusive society. The practical
application of Linguistic Citizenship (LC) is central to the first
chapter. They argue that equitable access to resources and
opportunities for all can be achieved through the transformative power
of multilingualism. To demonstrate LC’s value in multilingual context
analysis, the authors examine an advertisement for an MA degree in
Creative Writing featuring Kaaps, a marginalised South African
language. They contend that by using Kaaps, the advertisement’s
creators engage in an act of LC, while contributing to the
transformation of language politics and empowerment of marginalised
communities.

In Chapter 2, ‘The Myth of Orderly Multilingualism’, Lionel Wee
challenges the ‘perceived’ orderliness of multi-language learning and
advocates for a more dynamic understanding of multilingual practices.
He argues that the concept of orderly multilingualism — where language
exposure is methodically controlled through policy and planning — is
built on a myth. Instead, Wee views language as inherently disorderly,
fluid, and non-demarcated, countering the idea that disorder in
complex social situations always leads to chaos and should be avoided.
He highlights how superdiversity in societies results in a vast array
of multilingual practices, which disrupt orderliness and complexify
identity construction. He is of the view that sociolinguistic
resilience is cultivated by embracing disruption and responding to it
effectively, rather than striving for order. Here, the dynamic nature
of the LC approach facilitates a reassessment of the myth of
orderliness and lays foundations for new and improved frameworks with
more flexibility in language policy, education and planning.

In Chapter 3 ‘Linguistic Citizenship as a Decolonial Lens on Southern
Multilingualisms and Epistemologies’, Kathleen Heugh critically
examines the role of LC in academic discourse, especially its
potential to challenge entrenched power dynamics and ownership in
postcolonial contexts. While critiquing the treatment of minority
languages by sociolinguists and their contribution to marginalising
communities, Heugh proposes merging the approaches of LC, mestizo
consciousness (Kusch 2010[1970]) and epistemic reflexivity (Bourdieu
1989; 1990) to transcend the north-south knowledge divide and foster
ethical sociolinguistic research. She reinforces her line of position
with examples such as the overlooking and muting of African scholars
in academic history, the exclusion of minority communities during
Apartheid, and the invisabilising of African and multilingual data in
scholarship. She concludes with the assertion that an ecology of
southern multilingualism cannot be captured through a northern lens,
and it is necessary to integrate southern multidimensional,
pluriversal experiences, perspectives and voices in scholarship.

In Chapter 4, ‘Linguistic Citizenship and the Questions of
Transformation and Marginality’, Ben Rampton, Melanie Cooke and Sam
Holmes apply a Hymesian perspective to investigate LC’s applicability
in the Global North. Examining language education in England over the
last 50-60 years, they question whether LC, typically used in Global
South analyses, could be modified to fit the superdiverse landscape of
England. Their investigation focuses on the significance of named
languages, the importance of focusing on practice over policy, and the
vital role of community contributions. They describe local initiatives
promoting ‘sociolinguistic citizenship’ in England (Moore 2011; Khan
2017) and examine two state-level discourses linking language to
citizenship. Ultimately, they argue that (socio)linguistic citizenship
encourages democratic participation on both political and educational
levels and demonstrate that LC principles extend beyond their original
southern and de-colonial applications.

In Chapter 5, ‘‘I Am My Own Coloured’: Navigating Language and Race in
Post-Apartheid South Africa’, Lauren van Niekerk, Keshia R. Jansen and
Zannie Bock, undertake a thought-provoking narrative analysis of the
intersection between Linguistic Citizenship and racial identity
reconstruction in post-Apartheid South Africa. They describe the
historical context of Apartheid and consider how history has
influenced the racial positioning of people who self-identity as
‘coloured’ today through use of Bakhtin’s notion of chronotype and
Georgakopuolou’s (2007, 2015) ‘small story’ approach. The authors use
the framework to explore the participants’ reflections on the meaning
of being ‘coloured’ or South African in the aftermath of the Apartheid
era. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of language and
racial developments in South Africa, as well as the major
contributions to work on identity enactment and narrative analysis.
Using two story-excerpts, the authors show how the traumatic legacies
of Apartheid continue to shape present-day identity construction,
highlighting the complexities of identity in contexts still grappling
with colonial and slavery memories and persistent race, ethnicity,
class, power, and status ideologies.

In Chapter 6, ‘Linguistic Citizenship and Non-Citizens: Of Utopias and
Dystopias’ is explored by Marcelyn Oostendorp. Inspired by Stroud’s
2017 work on utopia, Oostendorp persuasively advances the frame of the
dystopian in her analysis of migrants’ experiences in South Africa.
Drawing on art-based methods, she presents multi-modal narratives from
five migrants, vividly depicting alternative realities or the
frightening vision of the future they may face. To demonstrate these
dystopian realities, Oostendorp identifies three themes: silence (a
lack of voice or language avoidance), hope (acknowledgement of the
power to change a situation of oppression) and vigilance (our
awareness of these issues and pursuit of social betterment), which are
inextricably linked to the ideals of LC. The chapter emphasises the
importance of recognising and grappling with the darker aspects of
migration and citizenship in the contemporary global context.
Oostendorp suggests that the utopian aspects of LC need to be balanced
with an understanding of the dystopian realities faced by many
individuals.

In Chapter 7, ‘The Travels of Semilingualism: Itineraries of Ire,
Impact and Infamy’, Linus Salö and David Karlander trace the roots and
routes of semilingualism, a term coined for the supposed incomplete
language competence of bilingual individuals. This chapter offers a
thorough, informative exploration of Sweden’s language instruction
policies and debates from the 1950s to the 1980s. The ‘travel of
ideas’ is documented with reference to public, political, and news
media data spotlighting Nils Erik Hansegård, who put forth the concept
of semilingualism, and as a teacher, who championed the use of
minority languages in the classroom. The authors highlight the ways in
which semilingualism became a powerful and contested concept within
the Swedish context, impacting local politics, educational policies,
and legislative measures. Salö and Karlander highlight the importance
of understanding the political history and effects of academic ideas
on society.

In Chapter 8, ‘Turbulent Twitter and the Semiotics of Protest at an
Ex-model C School’, Amy Hiss and Amiena Peck present a nuanced
analysis that instrumentalises the concept of Linguistic Citizenship
to investigate the evolution of social media posts’ effects on a
social movement which came to the fore in 2015-2016. The authors
examine the role of Twitter, in amplifying and reshaping the
student-led ‘Fallist movement’, a protest which transpired in response
to institutionalised racism and language policy at Winterberry Girls’
High School (WBGHS) in Cape Town. Multimodal data was sourced online
and categories of (1) semiotics of surveillance and punishment, (2)
bodies in protest and (3) the emergence and popularity of trending
hashtags were identified as key themes. Through an LC-based
examination, the authors analyse the multilingual, multimodal
semiotics of protest via Twitter, which reached an international
audience. They focus on the strategies Twitter users and offline
protesters employed to express their agency, voice, and participation
in resisting hegemonic language and cultural practices and
expectations in educational settings.

In Chapter 9 ‘Remixing Linguistic Citizenship’, Quentin Williams
describes the rapid evolution of LC from an institutional concept to a
critical lens for studying popular culture and performance South
Africa. The chapter discusses ‘remixing’ LC to focus on real-world
multilingual creative practices and dynamics that are often overlooked
in larger institutionally led domains. Remixing signifies the dynamic
use of language by individuals to construct new meanings and
identities, moving beyond hierarchical, exclusive language practices.
Humility in linguistic interactions is also emphasised which is gained
through a deeper understanding of linguistic diversity and
multilingual practices. An LC approach is used to examine the ‘nooks
and crannies’ (Besnier 2009) of i) hip-hop culture in Cape Town, where
agency and voice is contested and language and multilingualism is used
as a political resource, and ii) stand-up comedy, as a performance
that captures multilingual convivial relationships and demonstrates
the entanglement of histories cultures, languages and spaces.

In Chapter 10 ‘WEIRD Psycholinguistics’ Emanuel Bylund describes WEIRD
bias (Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic) in
psycholinguistics. Bylund uses the concept of Utopia to juxtapose the
current state of research with an imagined alternative where the
agenda is not dictated by WEIRD biases. He explains the issues with
WEIRD research, (one example includes how much of the scholarship in
psycholinguistics and beyond, which is assumed to be universally
representative, is based on studies conducted on Western participants
- often college students - who do not represent the larger
population). This approach also tends to view multilingualism as an
exception. He substantiates his assertion with bibliometric figures
showing the dominance of WEIRD research in the leading
Psycholinguistics journals. He critically examines how the design of
studies on language learning, attrition, and emotional language
predominantly reflect a WEIRD perspective. Calling for a shift in the
field, Bylund envisions a non-WEIRD Psycholinguistics as a Utopian
aspiration and calls for an epistemological reorientation by future
scholars.

In Chapter 11, ‘The Sociolinguistics of Responsibility’, Don Kulick
examines the differences between ‘rights’ and ‘entitlements’ in
relation to agency and voice. He differentiates between rights, which
are claimed, and entitlements, which are owed, highlighting the
emphases on claimants’ demands versus providers’ responsibilities. He
discusses the vulnerability of refugees and stateless persons with
reference to Edmund Burke’s criticism of the idea of universal human
rights and Hannah Arendt’s observations on the dependence of human
rights on nation-states. This leads to an examination of the ‘bare
life’ concept through the Homo Sacer in Roman Law, depicting lives
reduced to mere existence by political forces. In light of this
discussion, Kulick examines the treatment of adults with significant
disabilities in Sweden and Denmark. Disabled citizens’ sexual rights,
responsibilities and freedoms are discussed in the context of respect,
dignity, and biopower. Kulick’s analysis not only brings lesser-known
human rights issues to the fore but also prompts a revaluation of our
responsibilities towards vulnerable groups in society and research.

In Chapter 12, ‘Afterword: Seeding(ceding) Linguistically – New Roots
for New Routes’ Christoph Stroud, while reflecting on the volume,
Stroud discusses the power of language. In the volume it has been
shown language can be used to maintain order and coexistence or used
as a toll of oppression that can stifle the voices and agency of
individuals, creating a hierarchy of racial groups and fostering
xenophobic attitudes towards those deemed “different”. Further, the
idea of an orderly, normative language is critiqued for its role in
institutional power dynamics, marginalising and silencing certain
voices. Stroud’s insightful summary of the preceding discussions
raises important questions about how a reconceptualisation of language
rights, practices and ideologies would allow for a more inclusive and
just society.

EVALUATION
The volume is a notable contribution to the field, and it successfully
showcases the value of adopting a Linguistic Citizenship approach in
the study of multilingual and marginalised communities. As an edited
volume, the sequencing of the chapters is well-conceived, the order of
which provides a gradual introduction to LC. This is of particular
benefit to readers less acquainted with LC. This collection
comprehensively illustrates the wide-ranging adaptability of the
approach, and the authors demonstrate how LC continues to evolve,
shape and instigate discussions about the role and power of language.
The editors have effectively compiled an impressive array of
theoretical and applied texts, which employ various data modes,
methods, and theoretical frameworks addressing diverse research
questions. As a resource for innovative research, this vibrant
collection engages with a plethora of qualitative methods of analysis
and theoretical conjectures to explore multilingualism, inequality,
minority languages, and other related issues. As a general interest
book, I found the multidimensional nature of LC initially challenging
to grasp, but as I delved deeper, the LC’s broad applicability became
clear, and I found the approach began to influence my own analyses.
Due to the wealth of information and ideas, I know this is a book I
will return to again and again.
I find the versatility of the LC approach in addressing both major
societal issues and everyday challenges for marginalised groups
particularly striking. Each chapter, whether theoretical or practical,
is anchored in a commitment to social justice. This perspective
energises the reader to take a critical lens to language and power
dynamics in society. I found the topics addressed engaging and
relevant, and they deepened my awareness of issues that I had
previously overlooked. My own interest in exploring alternative
language practices and policies, as a contrast to those enforced by
government institutions, aligns well with the insights offered by this
volume. I am optimistic that the principles outlined by Stroud could
inspire innovative thinking in research, education administration,
institutional policymaking, and collaboration with community
organisations.
The volume highlights the pressing importance of including
multilingual scholars and citizens in linguistic studies. It
underscores the importance of recognising linguistic diversity and
rethinking our roles in supporting vulnerable communities. The call
for more inclusive scholarship and its emphasis on critically
examining language policies and practices are commendable, however, it
would be motivating to see more multilingual contributions in future
volumes of this type.  Overall, this outstanding volume is an
extremely stimulating collection of new and varied applications of LC
with the potential to be a catalyst for change and stimulate powerful,
impactful research.

REFERENCES
Besnier, N. 2009. Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics.
Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
Bourdieu, P. 1989. Social space and symbolic power. Sociological
Theory 7(1). 14–25. Bourdieu, P. 1990. In Other Words: Essays Towards
a Reflexive Sociology. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Georgakopoulou, A. 2007. Thinking big with small stories in narrative
and identity analysis. In M. Bamberg (ed.) Narrative – State of the
Art. 145–154. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Georgakopoulou, A. 2015.
Small stories research: Methods – analysis – outreach. In A. De Fina
and A. Georgakopoulou (eds) The Handbook of Narrative Analysis.
255–271. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kusch, R. 2010 [1970]. Indigenous and Popular Thinking in América.
Translated by J. Price and M. Lugones. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press.
Moore, R. 2011. Standardisation, diversity and enlightenment in the
contemporary crisis of EU language policy. Paper 74. Working Papers in
Urban Language and Literacies. 74.
Khan, K. 2017. Citizenship, securitisation and suspicion in UK ESOL
policy. In K. Arnaut, M.S. Karrebaek, M. Spotti and J. Blommaert (eds)
Engaging Superdiversity: Recombining Spaces, Times and Language
Practices. 303–320. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Stroud, C. 2001. African mother-tongue programmes and the politics of
language: Linguistic citizenship versus linguistic human rights.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 22(4). 339–355.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Sara Lynch received her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland
in 2021 for her dissertation, ‘The English of The Sleeping Lady: A
sociolinguistic description of English on Kosrae, Federated States of
Micronesia’. She is currently a visiting colleague at the Charlene
Sato Center for Pidgin, Creole and Dialect Studies at the University
of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she is conducting her postdoctoral project
on Discourses of Micronesians in Hawaiʻi: Discrimination and
Resilience funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation
(2021-2024). Her current research interests are Critical Discourse
Analysis, Language Variation and Change, Micronesian Studies, Social
inequality, and Mobility.



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