Introducing Multilingualism

Introducing Multilingualism is a comprehensive and user-friendly introduction to the dynamic field of multilingualism. Adopting a compelling social and critical approach and covering important social and educational issues, the authors expertly guide readers through the established theories, leading them to question dominant discourses on subjects such as integration, heritage and language testing. This second edition has been fully revised and updated, featuring new chapters on multilingualism in new media, the workplace and the family. Other key topics include: - language as a social construct - language contact and variation - language and identity - the differences between individual and societal multilingualism - translanguaging - flexible multilingual education. With a wide range of engaging activities and quizzes and a comprehensive selection of case studies from around the world, this is essential reading for undergraduate students and postgraduate students new to studying multilingualism.

Kristine Horner is Reader in Luxembourg Studies and Multilingualism at the University of Sheffield, where she is also Director of the Centre for Luxembourg Studies. Her upcoming publications include a new edition of The German-speaking World (2018). Jean-Jacques Weber is Professor of English and Education at the University of Luxembourg. His most recent book publications are Language Racism (2015) and Flexible Multilingual Education: Putting Children's Needs First (2014).

Acknowledgements Part I: Theoretical and methodological considerations Chapter 1: Introduction A social approach to multilingualism A note on terminology Coping with change How the book is structured Chapter 2: Theoretical and methodological framework The construction of meaning Dominant vs. critical readings Towards an ethnographically based discourse analysis The study of language ideologies Conclusion Part II: Multilingualism within and across languages Chapter 3: What is a language? Discourse models of language What is standard English? 'English' is a mere label The fuzzy boundaries of named languages Consequences for teaching Consequences for research Conclusion Chapter 4: Language variation and the spread of global languages African-American English Caribbean 'nation language' Singlish The global spread of English Two French youth languages Conclusion Chapter 5: Revitalization of endangered languages Australian Aboriginal languages: a history of oppression Maori in New Zealand: a revitalization success story Sámi and Kven in Norway: differential positionings on the success-failure continuum Hebrew in Israel: the costs of revitalization Breton in France: how (not) to standardize Corsican and the polynomic paradigm Conclusion Part III: Societal and individual multilingualism Chapter 6: Societal multilingualism Ukraine Switzerland Singapore Hong Kong and China South Africa Nigeria Conclusion Chapter 7: Language and identities Categorization Gee's four ways to view identity Identity: a peach or an onion? Ethnic and national identity Code-switching and identity Translanguaging identities Conclusion Chapter 8: The interplay between individual and societal multilingualism The Canadian policy of bilingualism and multiculturalism Some consequences for First Nations people Quebec francophone nationalism Individual bilingualism through institutional monolingualism Exclusion through French, inclusion through English Shifting ideologies Conclusion: the commodification of language Part IV: Multilingualism in education and other institutional sites Chapter 9: Flexible vs. fixed multilingualism US vs. EU language-in-education policy Case Study 1: Luxembourg Case Study 2: Catalonia and the Basque Country Discussion and conclusion: towards flexible multilingualism Chapter 10: Mother tongue education or literacy bridges? The case for mother tongue education: African-American English The case against mother tongue education (in four steps): South Africa The problems with mother tongue education Towards literacy bridges Conclusion: a possible solution for South Africa Chapter 11: Heritage language education From mother tongue education to heritage language education Language and heritage in the United States Language and heritage in England The dominance of the standard language and purist ideologies Discussion and conclusion: implications for the EU policy of multilingualism 12 Multilingualism in other institutional sites Multilingualism in the workplace Multilingualism in legal settings and asylum procedures Language use in multilingual families Part V: Critical analysis of discourses Chapter 13: Institutional discourses on language and migration The discourse of integration Language testing and citizenship Conclusion: unpacking the discourses of integration and language testing Chapter 14: Media representations of multilingualism Past vs. present perceptions of multilingualism in the media Firwat ass alles schief gaangen?: responses to Luxembourg's PISA results Constructing the UK as an English-only space The English Only movement in the US Conclusion: a historical perspective on the one nation-one language ideology Chapter 15: Multilingualism in the new media New media sociolinguistics Digital ethnography Language contact phenomena in digital language The limited multilingualism of the Internet Language policing in the social media Conclusion Chapter 16: Linguistic landscape Limitations of (some) linguistic landscape analyses Language contact phenomena on multilingual signs Some basic distinctions Contextualizing and historicizing linguistic landscapes Exploring the context of reception Discussion and conclusion: discourses in place Part VI: Further directions in the study of multilingualism Chapter 17: Conclusion Further directions in the study of multilingualism Moving into a multilingual future Normalizing multilingualism Notes on the activities Notes on the quizzes Author index Subject index