35.590, Review: Multilingual Perspectives on Translanguaging: MacSwan (ed.) (2022)

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Subject: 35.590, Review: Multilingual Perspectives on Translanguaging: MacSwan (ed.) (2022)

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Date: 20-Feb-2024
From: Laura Dubcovsky [lauradubcovsky at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: MacSwan (ed.) (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/33.2348

EDITOR: Jeff MacSwan
TITLE: Multilingual Perspectives on Translanguaging
SERIES TITLE: Language, Education and Diversity
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2022

REVIEWER: Laura Dubcovsky

SUMMARY

Multilingual perspectives on translanguaging, edited by Mac Swan,
comprises a collection of studies that address aspects of
codeswitching and translanguaging from individual and social
perspectives.  In the introductory chapter the editor includes major
and interwoven themes. Following a deconstructivity thesis, MacSwan
foregrounds relevant concepts in chapter 1, from of unitary and
integrated visions of language, to codeswitching and translanguaging
practices, to overarching ideologies’ impact directly on multilingual
planning, policy, and pedagogy.  The introduction offers a
well-founded literature review that guides the reader toward
conceptual, pedagogical, and theoretical angles of translanguaging
notions, as well as raciolinguistic analyses and language rights,
advocating against deficit perspectives and for pluralistic
multilingual perspectives (Fuller, 2018).

The first part of the book is devoted to “Inter-speaker language
variation.” In Chapter 2 Cook explains “multi-competence and
translanguaging” based on a holistic model of modular systems that
defines the complex nature of language at different levels, from a
mere representation to an abstract entity, and from a set of sentences
to possession of a community. Moreover, the model presents
oppositional categories, such as internal/external, individual/shared,
countable/uncountable, and integrated/separated dimensions (Boxes 2.1
and 2.2, p. 46, respectively), that combine and interact dynamically.
The systemic modules depart from simplistic associations of languages
with specific nations or territories, acknowledging the existence of
(more than seven thousand) languages with no clear political homeland,
such as Yenish, Kurdish, and Swahili. The model also offers a
positionality criterion to evaluate the asymmetric relation between
languages, wherein only twelve languages (French, Arabic, and Spanish,
among others) occupy a ‘super-central’ position, and only one
(English) is situated in a ‘hyper-central’ situation, as it is spoken
almost everywhere.   The author emphasizes that the multicompetence
construct may enlighten current debates around code-switching and
translanguaging, as it includes an overall system, establishes
interdependent relationships, demonstrates the impact on speakers’
linguistic and cognitive structures, and contains elements from
different languages (Box 2.3, p. 48).

Gee defines “Experience coding and linguistic variation” in Chapter 3.
The author characterizes language as socially coded, composed by both
verbal repertoires of sounds, morphemes, words, sentences, discourses,
and non-verbal repertoires of images, gestures, distance, gaze, etc.
Speakers choose from these resources to produce, comprehend, and
communicate meanings, as well as position themselves, shaping and
being shaped by socially situated identities.  Chapter 3 expands the
“realms of experience” (Hacking, 2006) through five types of
identities, from familiar to public, and from authorized expert to
participatory specialist and institutional, each of them regulated by
sets of norms, conventions, values, and overall knowledge (Table 3.1,
p.67).  The different identities shape speakers’ positionality and
symmetrical/non-symmetrical relationships between them, according to
specific contexts, audiences, and purposes. Consequently, language
users may connect and share knowledge or encounter collision and
tension, demonstrating that ‘experience coding’ is a more accurate
definition of language, as it represents more than isolated features
of grammar or structure, embedded in socio-cultural contexts.  Gee’s
comprehensive paradigm is especially relevant in the educational
arena, where schools tend to maintain mainstream and more rigid
routines and regulations, often overlooking or reacting negatively
toward any ‘linguistic variation.’   Therefore, language teachers may
address issues of access, shared experiences, and academic knowledge,
especially in multilingual classrooms, where minority students speak
other languages and varieties, and frequently resort to codeswitching
and translanguaging practices.

Part 2 is dedicated to “Codeswitching,” from two complementary
traditions. In Chapter 4 MacSwan focuses on structural aspects of
“Codeswitching, translanguaging and bilingual grammar.”  He summarizes
the emblematic constraints of construction-specific (Pfaff, 1976) and
equivalence (Poplack, 1978), as well as the Matrix Language Framework
model (Myers-Scotton & Jake’s 2009), shown in Table 4.2 (p. 85).  The
author also presents three distinctive language models by which (1)
multilinguals have a “dual competence” composed by fully discrete and
non-overlapping linguistic systems, (2) they own a “unitary
competence” constituted by a single system, and (3) they have an
“integrated competence” based on coexisting and unique resources of
the previous models (Figure 4.1, p. 88).   The chapter illustrates the
models through various examples in different languages and grammatical
levels, such as changes in the word order between Farsi and English
(syntactic level), choices between singular and plural determiners in
Spanish and English (morphological level), and loanwords and
borrowings with careful attention to gender and number correspondences
(morpho-semantic level).  Moreover, MacSwan claims that the integral
understanding of the three types of competences suggests deeper
explorations of current code-switching and translanguaging practices,
urging the combination of individualized social traits.  Likewise, the
provided vast corpus that accompanies the language models suggests the
need for more robust collections of empirical evidence.

The following chapters examine sociolinguistic aspects of
codeswitching and translanguaging. Chapter 5 ponders on,
“‘Translanguaging’ or ‘Doing languages’?  Multilingual practices and
the notion of ‘codes.’”  After reviewing the literature on separated
and integrated models, Auer highlights that named languages are
traditionally defined by their geographical location and national
standards, identification that starkly contrasts with the more
flexible notion of ‘code,’ which embraces crossings between linguistic
borders and within standard and non-standard varieties.  Above all,
the author acknowledges that the practice of ‘doing’ comprises
cognitive and social repertoires that interact in constant tension.
Current “polylingual” practices in superdiverse societies (Jorgensen
at al. 2011) condense structural forms, social norms, and meaning-
making, permeating individuals’ and communities’ choices.  In
“Codeswitching and its terminological-other translanguaging,” Bhatt
and Bolonyai draw from social-psychological (Myers-Scotton & Bolonyai,
2001), political-economic (Heller, 1995), and conversational-analytic
paradigms (Auer 1998) to analyze key terms and identify switching
strategies employed in spontaneous and academic exchanges
conversations.

The authors characterize a first and a second order of language that
enable either to inform real life and concrete uses, or convey
generalized and abstract ideas, prescriptions, and norms,
respectively. Chapter 6 offers numerous examples of code switching
(Excerpts 3 and 4, pp. 159-160), translanguaging (Excerpts 6 and 7,
pp.166-168), and multi-modal expressions (Figures 6.1 and 6.2, pp.
163-164) in different languages and varieties, including event-related
episodes and cases of aphasia.  The solid body of linguistic,
cognitive, and psychological evidence succeeds in measuring the (high)
cost invested in codeswitching practices, as well as the neural
organization depicted across languages. In contrast, translanguaging
studies are mainly situated in bilingual programs, focusing on social
interaction and sociocultural beliefs, while they overlook cognitive
and structural aspects. Although they refer to a new language, they
cannot explain either unitary or separated mechanisms among bilingual
speakers. Therefore, according to Bhatt and Bolonyai, translanguaging
research fails to offer both new and generalizable knowledge, as well
as robust and empirical results.  In closing, the chapter reaffirms
Halliday’s words (1985) about codeswitching, “ as an active, agentive,
sociocognitive mechanism employed by social actors to produce and
interpret the ‘meaning- potential’ of linguistic
symbols/acts/utterances/features in the multilingual universe we
inhabit” (p. 174).

In Part 3 authors follow “Psycholinguistics” perspectives to discuss
aspects of differentiated and integrated language models, in Chapters
7 and 8, respectively. Genesee provides three major types of “Evidence
for differentiated languages from studies of bilingual first language
acquisition.” Concerning social evidence, the author summarizes
studies based on naturalistic conversations that show how bilingual
youngsters children feel at ease, both with family members and
strangers, adjusting the rate of code switching, repairing possible
breakdowns in communication during the interaction, and avoiding
utterances that violate any kind of equivalence and free morpheme
constraints (Poplack, 1978).  The author also finds morphosyntactic
evidence, such as the mandatory/optional (null) use of pronominal
subjects, changes between verbal tenses, and subtleties in connectors’
meanings across languages, which exhibit a parallel development path
for monolingual and bilingual children. For semantic evidence, the
author underlines how lexicon and vocabulary correlate with age and
developmental stages, growing at a similar pace for monolingual and
bilingual children, and also tested among bilinguals with some
language impairment.  Drawing from the three sources of evidence,
Genesee concludes that bilingual first language acquisition aligns
with the language separation paradigm. Moreover, he agrees with
mentioned integrative approaches, by which acquisitional studies need
to be situated in socio-cultural contexts, joining individualized
neuro-cognitive representations within a dynamic social interaction.

Marks, Satterfield, and Kovelman follow a psycholinguistic perspective
to understand an “Integrated multilingualism and bilingual reading
development.” Chapter 8 offers neurological tools to study whether the
bilingual reading process develops in two separated or only one
language system.  Current sophisticated tools, such as transcranial
magnetic stimulations (TMS) and neuroimages, capture complex neural
representations more accurately in the brain regions. For example,
they enable us to map phonological and articulatory connections
(Figure 8.1, p. 206), and trace the sound-to-print trajectory with the
relative contributions of morphology, vocabulary, and phonology
(Figure 8.2, p. 209) during the reading activity (Hämäläinen et al,
2018).  Marks and her colleagues also delve into cases of aphasia and
dyslexia, showing how these students face similar challenges as
bilinguals during the reading process (Chung et al, 2019).   Aligned
with previous authors in the book, the authors also suggest an
integrated multilingual model. They conclude that the complex reading
process includes discrete neural networks located in the same core
brain regions (Rueckl et al., 2015), as well as resources that are
recruited differently, not only for the monolingual/ bilingual
condition, but also because of the specific task demands, purposes,
contexts, and audiences within and across languages.

The fourth part of the book addresses “Language Policy” issues.
Nicholas and Mc Carty depart from prescriptive and colonizing
ideologies of language and propose to, “Think in a ‘different way,’
offering “a relational paradigm for indigenous language rights.”
Following a transformative and grounded movement, the authors embrace
indigenous language rights and consider their unique sociohistorical
and political context.  First, they foreground three indigenous
tribes, describing some relevant traits and cultural practices.  The
Miami people, for example, were removed from their original site in
the Southern Great Lakes region and transferred to the “Indian
territory” in the modern states of Kansas and Oklahoma.  Hopi
traditional songs, transmitted orally from generation to generation,
represent a body of popular wisdom though sayings, proverbs, and
beliefs, which serve as a guidepost to preserve the community language
and memory. Finally, the Mohawk people in Canada are an example of
self-determination and persistence in how to build a tribal nation and
take control of their children’s education. The known “Freedom
School,” for example, was founded to warrant moral principles and
knowledge of a community, which do not always correspond with western
values.  Chapter 9 also provides a relational approach that sheds
light on different ways of becoming (identity), knowing
(epistemological origins), and being (moral existence), as well as,
ultimately, understanding “who benefits and who loses,” and “what is
at stake from whom” (Meek, 2015) under the umbrella of indigenous
languages rights, language reclamation, and tribal nation-building.

Chapter 10 focuses on policies in bilingual education, which Wiley
characterizes as “The grand erasure,” and wonders, “Whatever happened
to bilingual education and language minority rights?”  The author
relates the decrease of language minorities’ programs to a
proportional increase of racism, discrimination, and restrictions
against immigration.  He judges that today’s sociopolitical climax
embraces, consciously and unconsciously, measures of linguicism that
discourage the creation and maintenance of bilingual programs and
associate bilingual learners with ‘problems’ in education rather than
valuing the wealth and potential they bring to the classroom. To
counter the prevailing ethno-racial discrimination, linguists,
educational scholars, and practitioners search for raciolinguistic
tools to analyze critically the exacerbation of xenophobic feelings,
white supremacy presence, and anti-immigrant activism (Flores et al,
2021). Wiley briefly reviews the history and politicization of
bilingual education in the United States, emphasizing the impact of
“English Only” propositions on minority languages and immigrants’
status (Tables 10.1, pp. 260-1).  He also examines seemingly casual
changes of labels used to identify speakers of languages other than
English, demonstrating how the modifications have gradually weakened
the strength of being “bilingual/multilingual” and managing two or
more languages, conferring students limited, inferior or null
qualities of the dominant language, such as the labels “English
language learners” “limited English learners” and “No English
Proficient,” respectively. Moreover, some philanthropic individuals
and agencies take systematic responsibility for defunding bilingual
programs and erasing their overall cultural wealth.  In closing, the
chapter points at policymakers who support the teaching of foreign
languages to mainstream students, praising the benefits of managing
more than one language, while they deprive minority students from a
fully bilingual education, leaving them with a “language without
rights” (Wee, 2010).

The fifth and last part of the book points at two possible types of
“Practice:” one specific endangered language program (Chapter 11), and
a broader look at bilingual teachers’ preparation (Chapter 12). McPake
and Tedick explore, “Translanguaging and immersion programs for
minoritized languages at risk of disappearing: Developing a research
agenda.”  After assessing the “multilingual turn” (May, 2014) that
affects translanguaging practices, the authors exemplify the
distinctive language models. First, they refer to the Scottish
community that supports an integrated bilingual program, in which the
endangered language coexists with the dominant English.  While
teachers purposefully foreground Gaelic as the vehicle of instruction
to ensure the maintenance and development of the language at risk,
they allow students to sway between heritage and dominant languages,
finding a delicate balance between first language revitalization and
prevailing social pressure. The former model contrasts with most
foreign language programs that follow a separated language model more
rigorously.   Foreign language teachers are usually warned to avoid
the use of students’ primary language in the classroom, while they
make efforts to maximize the quantity and quality of the second
language.   The third model is based on a submersion type of program,
typically offered to immigrants and newcomers who need to learn the
mainstream (and unknown) language through the disciplinary contents
and relegate the use of their first languages to the home domain.
Fortunately, most types of bilingual programs are gradually
incorporating hybrid practices of codeswitching and translanguaging
that enable students to interact with others, communicate personal
feelings, and convey academic concepts in a dynamic continuum that
flows between languages.  The authors finalize the chapter by
suggesting a research agenda that they consider more appropriate to
measure students’ linguistic achievement, as well as updated language
pedagogies that promote bilingual students’ academic success as well
as their aspirations and expectations, and stronger theoretical and
practical support to bilingual teachers.

Faltis frames the practice of bilingual teachers in ideological terms,
and requests, “Understanding and resisting perfect language and
eugenics-based language ideologies in bilingual teacher education.”
Chapter 12 examines how the liberal construct of multiculturalism
dilutes real discrimination, avoiding more serious discussion of
related issues of distribution, equality, and access.  Dominant
language ideologies promote a “perfect language,” dictate standards,
and discern between acceptable/unacceptable repertoires,” censoring
any “deviation” from the norm, such as grammatical errors, different
accents, other dialects, etc.  Faltis emphasizes that eugenic-based
language ideologies persist in a renewed and subtle fashion,
supporting the erasure and invisibility of minority groups. Therefore,
he encourages readers to study multiculturalism in-depth, drawing from
raciolinguistic tools that enable users to counter deficit cognitive
and linguistic models that (Flores & Rosa, 2015). The author offers
“Race radical multilingual acts of resistance and love” that promote
local languages and community bilingualism, translational literacies,
hybrid spaces, and “non-orthodox” practices of codeswitching and
translanguaging (Figure 12.2 p. 335).  Moreover, he lists useful
resources for the classroom and highlights the need to recruit a
linguistically, ethnically, and racially diverse body of bilingual
educators. Above all, Faltis urges current and future bilingual
teachers to exercise a continuous examination of their own practice,
to accept, respect and embrace different languages and cultures, as
well as to maintain a vigilant state toward policies and practices
that are prone to silence or eliminate students’ minority language.

The book closes with May’s afterword, “The multilingual turn,
superdiversity, and translanguaging-- The rush from heterodoxy to
orthodoxy.”  The author agrees with previous authors in
raciolinguistic analyses as well as the use of situated practices of
codeswitching and translanguaging within the global superdiversity
(Vertovec, 2007). After commenting briefly on the interwoven topics,
May incorporates diachronic and synchronic elements into the
discussion, moving away from simplistic and extreme oppositional
categories, such as separated/combined models, urban/rural
multilingualism, monolingual/bilingual norms, codeswitching/
translanguaging practices, familial/academic registers,
positionality/agency, and individual/ structural constraints. He
claims that the combination of simultaneous and historic factors may
strengthen the theoretical foundation and expand possible educational
implications.

EVALUATION

Multilingual Perspectives on Translanguaging constitutes a solid
contribution to the field. The editor offers a clear layout of
fundamental notions about the nature of language, its characteristics,
and possible variations within and between communities of speakers.
Different chapters consider distinctive psycholinguistic and
socio-cultural frameworks, enabling a comprehensive understanding of
relevant and sometimes opposing constructs.  The book moves from broad
conceptualizations of multi-competence, first and second language
acquisition, named languages and coding (especially Chapters 1, 2, 3,
and 7), to specific indigenous and Gaelic endangered languages
(Chapters 9 and 11), to ubiquitous language ideologies, educational
policies, and bilingual programs (Chapters 8, 10 and 12). Central
attention is given to the scope and range of codeswitching and
translanguaging (Chapters 1, 4, 5, and 6).  Most authors provide
fine-detailed analyses and up-dated bibliography, sometimes
accompanied by the visual support of tables and figures, and others by
a gamut of examples.

Special attention deserves neurolinguistic studies on multilingualism,
as they explore less known aspects of l aphasia and dyslexia, which
promise interesting paths for the advancement of the specialized area.
Despite the undoubted theoretical and practical richness condensed in
the book, some authors fail to reinforce their insightful comments
with more empirical and long-term studies, while others get trapped
into old and sterile debates around codeswitching and translanguaging.
This deviation may hinder lay readers from following the discussion,
as well as distract specialized audiences from serious and
well-documented information. Moreover, it would be advisable to
include more practical guidelines, concrete steps, and instructional
tools to reach out not only to interested lay people and specialists,
but also to monolingual and bilingual teachers immersed in
multilingual classrooms. Overall, the collected chapters comprise
valuable information applicable in different scenarios and language
practices.

REFERENCES

Auer, P. (Ed.) (1998). Code-switching in conversation: Language,
interaction and identity. London: Routledge.
Chung, S., Chen, X., & Geva, E. (2019). Deconstructing and
reconstructing cross- language transfer in bilingual reading
development: An interactive framework Journal of Neurolinguistics, 50,
149-161. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurolinfg.2018.01.003
Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing appropriateness:
Raciolinguistic ideologies and language diversity in education.
Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149-171.
Flores, N., Tseng, A., & Subtirelu, N. (Eds.). (2021). Bilingualism
for all? Raciolinguistic perspectives on dual language education in
the United States Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Fuller, J. (2018). Ideologies of language, bilingualism, and
monolingualism. In A. D. Hower & L. Ortega (Eds.), The Cambridge
Handbook of Bilingualism (pp. 119-134). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Hacking, I. (2006). Making up people. The London Review of Books,
28(16), 23-26.
Halliday, M.  (1985). An introduction to functional grammar. London:
Edward Arnold.
Hämäläinen, S., Mäkelä, N., Sairanen, V., Lehtonen, M., Kujala, T., &
Leminen, A. (2018). TMS uncovers details about sub-regional language-
specific processing networks in early bilinguals. NeuroImage, 171,
209-221. doi : https://doi.org/10.1016/j/neuroimage, 2017,12.086
Heller, M. (1995). Code- switching and the politics of language. In L.
Milroy & P. Muysken (Eds.), One speaker, two languages: Cross
disciplinary perspectives on code-switching (pp. 158-174). New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press.
Jorgensen, J., Karrebaeck, M., Madsen, L., & Moller, J. (2011).
Polylanguaging in Superdiverity. Diversities, 13(2), 23-37.
May, S. (2014). Introducing the 'multilingual turn'. In S. May (Ed.),
The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL, and bilingual;
education (pp. 1-6). Abingdon: Routledge.
Meek, B. (2015). The politics of language endangerment. In N.
Bonvillan (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of linguistic anthropology
(pp. 447-462). New York, NY: Routledge.
Myers-Scotton, C., & Bolonyai, A. (2001). Calculating strategies:
Codeswitching in a rational choice model. Language in Society, 30(1),
1-28.
Myers-Scotton, C., & Jake, J. (2009). A universal model of
code-switching and bilingual language processing and production. In
the Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Codeswitching. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
Pfaff, C. (1976). Functional and structural constraints on syntactic
variation in codeswitching. In Papers from the Parasession on
Diachronic Syntax (pp. 248-259). Chicago: Chicago linguistic society
Poplack, S. (Ed.) (1978). Quantitative analysis of constraints on
code-switching (Vol. 2). Centros Working Paper N 2.  New York, NY:
Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, City University of New York.
Rueckl, J., Paz-Alonso, P., Molfese, P., Kuo, W., Bick, A., Frost, S.,
& Frost, R. (2015). Universal brain signature of proficient reading:
Evidence from four contrasting languages. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 112(50), 15510-15515. doi:
https://doi.org/10/1073/pnas.1509321112
Vertovec, S. (2007). Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and
Racial Studies, 30(6), 1024-1054.
Wee, L. (2010). Language without rights. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

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