• Overview
• Research Platforms
• Thematic Area A: Language, Identity and Culture
• Thematic Area B: Language Policy and Planning
• WP 4: European discourses on multilingualism: language policy-planning at the supranational level
• WP 5a: The impact of "new" migration and contested linguistic spaces
• WP 6a: Language management in the linguistic landscapes of multilingual cities
• Thematic Area C: Multilingualism and Education
• Thematic Area D: Language and Economy
• Communication, Management, Infrastructure, Training and Gender

WP 5a: The impact of "new" migration and contested linguistic spaces

Summary Results

Language Policies in Contested Multilingual Spaces

In the UK, in Switzerland and in Spain, official language policies focus on languages which are considered to be indigenous to the country. In regions where the use of more than one language is sanctioned by law, it is mainly the regional minority languages which are supported, promoted or protected. In contrast, support for migrant languages is fairly weak.
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Rationale

The over-arching topic and research question of this proposal will concern how the current "new" migration within Europe impacts on contested linguistic national spaces and how this affects language policies. By this we refer to what happens when, for example, Eastern European (or North African or subcontinent Asian or Latin American) migrants settle in areas where there is already tension or competition for the linguistic space, eg in such places as Catalonia, Wales, or Switzerland.
National policies of integration that promote multicultural approaches to societal cohesion embrace immigration as a source of increasing diversity. However the survival and promotion of minority indigenous cultures frequently compete and contest this image, bringing indigenous and immigrant minority communities into conflict. 
A further dimension to this is that whilst we would identify various urban sites (Barcelona, Valencia, Cardiff), we argue that contemporary social processes (tourism, outsourcing, dispersed services and industries) have led to opportunities for work and accommodation for the new migrants outside of the cities and often in quite rural areas, which is an even greater perceived "threat" to the heartlands of the older linguistic minorities.  This is true in Wales and in parts of Catalonia and Valencia, and the region of Switzerland's Surselva Valley - where we will work. Furthermore, we are interested in observing what if any impact on national language policies, and their implementation at local levels, the increasing "returnee" phenomenon is having.  With recession threatening to engulf parts of Europe and in particular typically migrant-dominated work such as the construction industry, many migrants are going  "home", sometimes to then return to the host country.  This is likely to have important implications for language policies, use and behaviour.

Objective

Through comparative case studies (UK, Spain, Switzerland and to a lesser extent Poland), we will explore the role of language as constructed by language policies in the acculturation of immigrants in the competing discourses of national belonging and multiculturalism and/or the right to difference. We will seek to answer the following questions:

• Do language ideologies that promote the protection of language minorities result in assimilationist or integrationist policies in these contexts?
• Do language policies resolve the tensions inherent in immigration perceived as both challenge and contribution to cultural diversity, and if so, how?
• How do current language policies adapt to new patterns of temporary, circular and transnational migration?
• What is the role of language in constructing concepts of cultural citizenship and citizenship as a cultural responsibility?

Description of work

The theoretical frame for this work will derive from work on language ideologies (e.g. Gal, Woolard, Blommaert, Heller, et al) and how this helps construct notions of citizenship in relation to language and identity and the legal and political policies that control and affect this. In addition, work from migration studies will allow us to refine meanings for key concepts such as citizenship, inclusion/exclusion in contemporary discourses. 

Whilst we will all study the national policies in each country to be investigated, we will select representative areas to study in detail – Barcelona, Valencia, Cardiff, Ilanz and possibly Poznan. At both national and regional levels we will examine primary documentation (legal documents, educational material, media reports, etc.) through the use of critical discourse analysis techniques. The analysis here will focus on particular areas to illustrate our hypotheses and provide evidence to answer our research questions. These will concentrate on rigorous empirical investigations using ethnographic observation (in public places such as markets, parks, classrooms, restaurants, concerts, football matches, train stations) and open-ended informal interviews both with "gatekeepers" (politicians, law enforcers, educators) and those at the grassroots (migrants and members of the host communities) and especially the processes of consultation in policy formation. The work of the Polish doctoral student will both to offer a semi-insider voice when interviewing Polish migrants, and allow to explore their linguistic attitudes and behaviour when returning to Poland. The case studies offer interesting and wide-ranging variation on the range of sociolinguistic and language policy typology which we wish to explore, which we will compare and contrast. Planned work: (months 19-24): Gathering information on the linguistic policies in the countries, regions and cities under consideration; (months 25-30): field work including ethnographic observation and informal interviews; (months 31-36): comparative analysis of the data collected and establishing of a synthesis.

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Contacts WP 5a