Applied Linguistics Review· 2015Q1
Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics
- 2,068citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
Translanguaging is redefined as the deployment of a bilingual's full linguistic repertoire, distinct from code-switching, by viewing mental grammars as unitary and named languages as social constructs.
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Key points
- Translanguaging involves selecting features from a unitary mental grammar, not switching between separate grammars.
- Named languages are social constructs, not defined by linguistic features, existing primarily from an outsider's perspective.
- A bilingual's true linguistic repertoire is a single, personal collection of features, not bound by socially defined language borders.
- Schools often restrict translanguaging and misassess bilingual proficiency by testing adherence to named language boundaries.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract The concept of translanguaging is clarified, establishing it as a particular conception of the mental grammars and linguistic practices of bilinguals. Translanguaging is different from code switching . Under translanguaging, the mental grammars of bilinguals are structured but unitary collections of features, and the practices of bilinguals are acts of feature selection, not of grammar switch. A proper understanding of translanguaging requires a return to the well known but often forgotten idea that named languages are social, not linguistic, objects. Whereas the idiolect of a particular individual is a linguistic object defined in terms of lexical and structural features, the named language of a nation or social group is not; its boundaries and membership cannot be established on the basis of lexical and structural features. The two named languages of the bilingual exist only in the outsider’s view. From the insider’s perspective of the speaker, there is only his or her full idiolect or repertoire, which belongs only to the speaker, not to any named language. Translanguaging is the deployment of a speaker’s full linguistic repertoire without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named (and usually national and state) languages . In schools, the translanguaging of bilinguals tends to be severely restricted. In addition, schools confuse the assessment of general linguistic proficiency, which is best manifested in bilinguals while translanguaging, with the testing of proficiency in a named language, which insists on inhibiting translanguaging. The concept of translanguaging is of special relevance to schools interested in the linguistic and intellectual growth of bilingual students as well as to minoritized communities involved in language maintenance and revitalization efforts.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Applied Linguistics Review, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Linguistics and Language
Linguistics and LanguageSocial Sciences