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Translanguaging: A Matter of Sociolinguistics, Pedagogics and Interaction?

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The Multilingual Edge of Education

Abstract

This chapter forms part of an analytical-interpretative exercise in coming to terms with one of the key concepts in contemporary writings on globalization-affected multilingual classrooms: translanguaging (TL). What is the term’s precise scope? What are the theoretical-methodological frameworks which bear upon the formulation of a basis for its implementation? And how can an answer to these two questions be informed by an analysis of instances where TL has been accomplished successfully in classroom practice? As a specific point of departure, we suggest a triadically formulated question: is translanguaging primarily a sociolinguistic, a pedagogical and/or an interactional concept? And, if the conclusion to be drawn is that an affirmative answer is invited for each of the three dimensions, then how might one understand the various interconnections between these dimensions?

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We are assuming here that TL as an educational practice is not exclusively a matter of relying on language bridging strategies in the construction of learnt knowledge; it equally extends into the management of social relationships.

  2. 2.

    Relative (in)formality as an observable characteristic of human social interaction then simultaneously applies to at least three axes of restriction/leeway. The relevant dimensions are the topics that can be talked about, the appropriate styles in which to formulate and thirdly the relational identities and activity-specific foci that are typically or can be invoked.

  3. 3.

    Preston and Niedzielski (2009) repeatedly observe how in user perceptions dialect features and colloquial features are grouped together with erroneous features as ‘bad language’.

  4. 4.

    The data were collected in the context of one of the seven sub-projects of the SBO-IWT-funded project, titled ‘Valorising Linguistic Diversity’ (VALIDIV, 2012–2015). PI of the sub-project: S. Slembrouck.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linguistics Department, MULTIPLES, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Stef Slembrouck

  2. LaDisco, Center for Linguistic Research - Faculty of Literature, Translation and Communication, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Kirsten Rosiers

Authors
  1. Stef Slembrouck
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  2. Kirsten Rosiers
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

    Piet Van Avermaet

  2. Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

    Stef Slembrouck

  3. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Koen Van Gorp

  4. Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

    Sven Sierens

  5. Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

    Katrijn Maryns

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Slembrouck, S., Rosiers, K. (2018). Translanguaging: A Matter of Sociolinguistics, Pedagogics and Interaction?. In: Van Avermaet, P., Slembrouck, S., Van Gorp, K., Sierens, S., Maryns, K. (eds) The Multilingual Edge of Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54856-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54856-6_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54855-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54856-6

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