Linguistic (Super)Diversity in Society: Introduction to Multilingualism

Multilingualism is the norm, not the exception. People draw on a vast array of linguistic resources as they engage in heterogeneous linguistic practices.

Multilingualism […] should not be seen as a collection of ‘Languages’ that a speaker controls, but rather as a complex of specific semiotic resources, some of which belong to a conventionally defined ‘language,’ while others belong to another ‘language.’ The resources are concrete accents, language varieties, registers, genres, modalities […] (Blommaert 2010: 102)

This seminar offers an introduction to the many facets of multilingualism in a linguistically (super)diverse world. We will provide an introduction to some fundamental issues in multilingualism research and give an overview of much-discussed key concepts such as diglossia, minority and majority languages, code-switching, translanguaging, heteroglossia, and many more, including diversity, superdiversity, globalization etc.

This seminar will introduce some key theoretical and methodological approaches to multilingualism and outline the struggles in defining ‘language’ and ‘multilingualism’ (and plurilingualism, and plurimultilingualism for that matter). Focusing on standard languages, global languages, as well as pidgins and creoles helps questioning the boundaries of ‘languages.’ We will also address issues of language policy and language ideologies when tackling the interplay of individual and societal multilingualism.

Readings:

• Blommaert, Jan, and Ben Rampton. 2016: “Language and Superdiversity.” MMG Working Paper 12-09. www.mmg.mpg.de/workingpapers.
• Coulmas, Florian. 2018: An Introduction to Multilingualism: Language in a Changing World. Oxford: Oxford UP.
• Creese, Angela, and Adrian Blackledge (eds). 2018. The Routledge Handbook of Language and Superdiversity. London: Routledge.
• Gramling, David. 2016: The Invention of Monolingualism. New York and London: Bloomsbury.
• Horner, Kristine, and Jean-Jacques Weber. 2018: Introducing Multilingualism. A Social Approach. 2^nd ed. London: Routledge.