Description
Book SynopsisThis volume aims to capture evidence of marginalized voices in various contexts globally and show how speakers seek to reclaim their voices and challenge power relations. The chapters reveal how speakers actively confront inequities in society such as the unequal distribution of resources. Through bottom-up initiatives and conscious involvement in language use, documentation and the development of language domains, speakers can address issues of language-based marginalization, (re)establish linguistic human rights and reclaim their linguistic and cultural identity. Chapters in the volume explore commitments to democratic participation, to voice, to the heterogeneity of linguistic resources and to the political value of sociolinguistic understanding. Drawing upon the framework of linguistic citizenship, they link questions of language to sociopolitical discourses of justice, rights and equity, as well as to issues of power and access within a political and democratic framework.
Trade ReviewThe Power of Voice in Transforming Multilingual Societies is an urgent call to analysts, theorists, researchers, think-tankers, policymakers, and governments to take seriously the voice and (socio)linguistic citizenship of marginalized citizens. Each chapter makes an important intervention on how to uplift every multilingual voice and advances the utility of (socio)linguistic citizenship, first developed in the global South. * Quentin Williams, University of the Western Cape, South Africa *
With its focus on minoritized and marginalized groups of speakers and signers, this book brings together case studies from often overlooked contexts, and in particular from the Global South. It makes a committed plea for the recognition of linguistic difference, for equal access to resources and rights despite difference and for multilingual interaction across difference. * Brigitta Busch, University of Vienna, Austria *
An impressive range of case studies on communities that have been largely neglected in the literature. The authors analyze multilingualism under duress and offer insights on how a world of minoritized yet resilient language communities are reclaiming territory in contested spaces such as urban centers, social media forums, and the multilingual classroom. In the grand tradition of Multilingual Matters, each contribution is replete with ideas for praxis. * Daniel Kaufman, City University of New York and the Endangered Language Alliance, USA *
Table of ContentsContributors
Julia Gspandl, Christina Korb, Angelika Heiling and Elizabeth J. Erling: The Power of Voice in Transforming Multilingual Societies: An Introduction
Part 1. Multilingual Practices
Chapter 1. Mary Edward: Multilingualism in Adamorobe and the Case for Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL)
Chapter 2. Agnes Grond: Şexbizinî Facebook Groups: Virtual Communities as Spaces for Practice, Maintenance and Exploration of an Endangered Language
Chapter 3. Vlada V. Baranova: The Grassroots Initiatives for the Revitalization of Kalmyk: Who is Involved in Language Planning, and How?
Part 2. Facilitating Voice
Chapter 4. Sandra Radinger: Reclaiming Voice in the Austrian Refugee Context through Experiences of Ambiguity
Chapter 5. Melissa Barnes and Katrina Tour: Giving Voice to Mothers from Refugee Backgrounds: Their Agentic Roles in Children’s Learning
Chapter 6. Anik Nandi, Maite Garcia-Ruiz and Ibon Manterola: Reclaiming Voice through Family Language Policies: Parental (Socio)linguistic Citizenship in Castilian-Spanish-Dominated Multilingual Settings
Part 3. Building Communities of Voicing
Chapter 7. Danny Foster: (Socio)linguistic Citizenship in Rural Tanzania: A Perspective from the Capability Approach
Chapter 8. Eilidh McEwan: Deaf Capabilities in the Global South: Reflections on Sign Languages and Emancipation Using the Capabilities Approach
Chapter 9. Khoi Nguyen: Forming (Socio)linguistic Citizenship through Philanthropy on Facebook Pages of the Vietnamese Diaspora in the UK
Chapter 10. Phoebe Siu, Bong-gi Sohn and Angel M.Y. Lin: Reclaiming a Plurilingual Voice in EMI Classrooms: Co-creating Translanguaging Space through the Multimodalities-Entextualisation Cycle
Ben Rampton, Mel Cooke, Constant Leung, Dermot Bryers, Becky Winstanley and Sam Holmes: Afterword: Localising (Socio)linguistic Citizenship
Index
