Applied Linguistics· 2017Q1
Translingual Practice as Spatial Repertoires: Expanding the Paradigm beyond Structuralist Orientations
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- Q1SCImago
- 2017year
Short summary
This paper proposes a spatial orientation to translingualism, moving beyond structuralist views of language as a closed system to understand communication as an assemblage embedded in space and time.
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Key points
- Translingualism requires a move away from structuralist linguistics, which views language as a closed system.
- A poststructuralist paradigm offers a spatial orientation to translingualism, embedding communication in space and time.
- Communication is conceptualized as an assemblage of resources (language, non-verbal artifacts, context) shaping meaning.
- Research with international STEM scholars informs the redefinition of communicative proficiency.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The expanding orientations to translingualism are motivated by a gradual shift from the structuralist paradigm that has been treated as foundational in modern linguistics. Structuralism encouraged scholars to consider language, like other social constructs, as organized as a self-defining and closed structure, set apart from spatiotemporal ‘context’ (which included diverse considerations such as history, geography, politics, and society). Translingualism calls for a shift from these structuralist assumptions to consider more mobile, expansive, situated, and holistic practices. In this article, I articulate how a poststructuralist paradigm might help us theorize and practice translingualism according to a spatial orientation that embeds communication in space and time, considering all resources as working together as an assemblage in shaping meaning. I illustrate from my ongoing research with international STEM scholars in a Midwestern American university to theorize how translingualism will redefine the role of constructs such as language, non-verbal artifacts, and context in communicative proficiency.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Applied Linguistics, 2017 · DOI ↗
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Field: Linguistics and Language
Linguistics and LanguageSocial Sciences