Multilingualism sans frontières: unpicking the connection between language and the nation state

It has been argued by Pennycook and Makoni and others that there is no necessary presupposition that links language and nation, that in fact this presupposition is historically contingent. Multilingual constructs such as.... [ view full abstract ]

It has been argued by Pennycook and Makoni and others that there is no necessary presupposition that links language and nation, that in fact this presupposition is historically contingent. Multilingual constructs such as. translanguaging put empirical flesh on this argument when understood as routinely border crossing  language events. The subversiveness of translanguaging as speaking  from below is recognised when it falls foul of purist language ideologies that link one language with one nation. So translanguaging and perhaps subaltern multilingual language use more generally is a form of speaking back to these ideologies. 

Nor is translanguaging restricted to border crossing between languages. Empirical work shows that it operates across registers and also across the visual/verbal semiotic borders. Recent work examines the potential of the construct to understand the language body interface. 

In this colloquium we will present empirical work from a range of contexts which emphasise the unsticking of language use from  national borders and the language ideologies that police them discursively, understanding multilingual, multi varietal and transmodal language use as a powerful form of speaking from below. 

Constructs such as translanguaging and superdiversity have been critiqued as being too north focused and city oriented. Contributions to this panel will also consider the impact of location geographically and in the world order on multilingualism sans frontières.