Linguistic mudes: An exploration over the linguistic constitution of subjects
-
Joan Pujolar
Abstract
The concept of muda has recently been used to name the specific biographical junctures where individuals enact significant changes in their linguistic repertoire. Given that the use of different linguistic varieties constitutes a resource to construct social categories and to evaluate an actor’s claims to specific social identities, those who change their repertoire must deal with all the potential implications, namely how their social position to date may be affected. In this article, I explain how the notion of muda originated and how it has developed, and discuss how I believe that it can contribute to expand the purview of sociolinguistic research on multilingualism. I argue first that they provide an interesting angle from which to explore forms of agency through language. Secondly, I contend that muda makes time more visible in sociolinguistic processes. Finally, I show that these two aspects of mudes yield specific insights to address issues of linguistic legitimacy and their social consequences, particularly how linguistic capital participates in the construction of social difference and inequalities and, therefore, in the structuration of symbolic and economic markets.
Acknowledgements
Various projects are involved in the trajectory leading to this article. First the “Study on Language and Youth” funded by the Secretaria de Política Lingüística and the Observatori de la Joventut of the Catalan Government. Second, the project “New speakers, new identities: linguistic practices and ideologies in a post-national era”, funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, ref. FFI2011-24781. Thirdly, a further grant by the same Ministerio for the project: “Linguistic Mudes: an ethnographic approach to new speakers in Europe”, ref. FFI2015-67232-C3-1-P. It has also benefitted from academic exchanges conducted within the ISCH COST action IS1306 “New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges”.
References
Agha, Asif. 2004. Registers of language. In Alessandro Duranti (ed.), A companion to linguistic anthropology, 23–45. Malden, Massachusets: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.10.1002/9780470996522.ch2Search in Google Scholar
Auer, Peter. 1988. A conversation analytic approach to code-switching and transfer. In Monica Heller (ed.), Codeswitching: Anthropological and sociolinguistic perspectives, vol. 48, 187–213. Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter.Search in Google Scholar
Behar, Ruth. 1990. Rage and redemption: Reading the life story of a mexican marketing woman. Feminist Studies 16(2). 223–258.10.2307/3177849Search in Google Scholar
Blom, Jan-Peter & John J. Gumperz. 1972. Social meaning in linguistic structures: Code-Switching in Norway. In John J. Gumperz & Dell Hymes (eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication, 407–434. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.Search in Google Scholar
Blommaert, Jan & Ad Backus. 2013. Superdiverse repertoires and the individual. In Ingrid de Saint-Georges, Jean-Jacques Weber (eds.). Multilingualism and multimodality: Current challenges for educational studies, 11–32. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.10.1007/978-94-6209-266-2_2Search in Google Scholar
Boix-Fuster, Emili & Anna Paradís. 2015. Ideologies and trajectories of ‘new speakers’ in bilingual families in Catalonia. Revista de Llengua I Dret 63. 165–185. doi:10.2436/20.8030.02.98.Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2000. Esquisse D’une Théorie de La Pratique: Précédé de Trois Études D’ethnologie Kabyle. Paris: Editions du Seuil.Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2001. Langage et Pouvoir Symbolique. Edited by John Brookshire Thompson. Paris: Editions du Seuil. http://books.google.com/books?id=GqJpQgAACAAJ.Search in Google Scholar
Busch, Brigitta. 2012. The linguistic repertoire revisited. Applied Linguistics 33(5). 503–523.10.1093/applin/ams056Search in Google Scholar
Chambers, J. K. 2002. Sociolinguistic theory: Linguistic variation and its social significance. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Search in Google Scholar
Coupland, Nikolas. 2004. Handbook of Communication and Aging Research. Age in social and sociolinguistic theory. In Jon F. Nussbaum & Justine Coupland (eds.), 69–90. New York: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Dannevig, André Nilsson. 2016. “Language conversion to Nynorsk in an language conversion to Nynorsk in an Oslo High School: A critical sociolinguistic approach.” University of Oslo.Search in Google Scholar
Duranti, Alessandro. 2004. Agency in language. A companion to linguistic anthropology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. doi:10.1002/9780470996522.ch20.Search in Google Scholar
Eckert, Penelope. 1998. The Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Age as a sociolinguistic variable. In Florian Coulmas (ed.), vol. 4, 151–167. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://www.msu.edu/course/lin/471/snapshot.afs/Articles-FS06/Eckert 1997.pdf.10.1002/9781405166256.ch9Search in Google Scholar
Ferguson, Charles A. 1959. Diglossia. Word 15(2). 325–340. doi:10.1080/00437956.1959.11659702.Search in Google Scholar
Fina, Anna De. 2003. Identity in narrative: A study of immigrant discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/sin.3Search in Google Scholar
Fina, Anna De, Deborah Schiffrin & Michael Bamberg. 2006. Discourse and identity. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511584459Search in Google Scholar
Fishman, Joshua. 1967. Bilingualism with and without Diglossia: Diglossia with and without Bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues 23. 29–38.10.1111/j.1540-4560.1967.tb00573.xSearch in Google Scholar
Flors-Mas, Avel·lí. 2017. “Usos Lingüístics I Identitats Socials Entre Adolescents Catalans I Valencians.” Universitat de Barcelona.Search in Google Scholar
Gal, S. 1979. Language shift. New York: Academic Press.Search in Google Scholar
Garcia, Ofelia. 2009. Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the twenty-first century. In Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (ed.), Social justice through multilingual education, 140–158. Clevedon: Multlingual Matters Clevedon.10.21832/9781847691910-011Search in Google Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1981. Forms of talk. Philadelphia: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr.Search in Google Scholar
Gonzàlez, Isaac, Joan Pujolar, Anna Font & Roger Martínez. 2014. Llengua I Joves. Usos I Percepcions Lingüístics de La Joventut Catalana. Estudis. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Joventut/Observatori Català de la Joventut/documents/arxiu/Publicacions/Coleccio_Estudis/Estudis30.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Greco, Monica & Paul Stenner. 2013. Emotions: A social science reader. London and New York: Taylor & Francis.10.4324/9781315881393Search in Google Scholar
Gumperz, John J. 1982. Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511611834Search in Google Scholar
Heller, Monica. 1988. Codeswitching: Anthropological and sociolinguistic perspectives. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter.10.1515/9783110849615Search in Google Scholar
Heller, Monica. 1999. Linguistic minorities and modernity: A sociolinguistic ethnography. London: Longman.Search in Google Scholar
Heller, Monica, Lindsay Bell, Michelle Daveluy & Mireille McLaughlin. 2015. Sustaining the nation: The making and moving of language and nation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199947195.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Holquist, Michael. 1990. Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world, vol. 1. London: Routledge.10.4324/9780203330340Search in Google Scholar
Hornsby, Michael. 2015. Revitalizing minority languages: New speakers of Breton, Yiddish and Lemko. New York: Springer.10.1057/9781137498809Search in Google Scholar
Julia, Kristeva. 1988. Etrangers À Nous-Mêmes. Paris: Fayard.Search in Google Scholar
Kramsch, Claire. 2009. The multilingual subject. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Kristeva, Julia. 1986. The Kristeva reader. Edited by Toril Moi. New York: Columbia University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Labov, William. 1966. The social stratification of English in New York City Second Edition. The social stratification of English in New York City Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511618208.Search in Google Scholar
Lamarre, Patricia, Stéphanie Lamarre, Marina Lefranc & Catherine Levasseur. 2015. La Socialisation Langagière Comme Processus Dynamique. Suivi D’une Cohorte de Jeunes Plurilingues Intégrant Le Marché Du Travail. Québec: CONSEIL SUPÉRIEUR DE LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE. http://www.cslf.gouv.qc.ca/publications/pubf329/f329.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Martin Rojo, Luisa & Lilia Rebeca Rodríguez Torres. 2016. Muda Lingüística Y Movilidad Social. Trayectorias de Jóvenes Migrantes Hacia La Universidad. Discurso & Sociedad 10(1). 100–133.Search in Google Scholar
Mishler, Elliot G. 2006. Narrative and identity: The double arrow of time. In Anna De Fina, Deborah Schiffrin & Michael Bamberg (eds.), Discourse and identity, 30–47. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511584459.003Search in Google Scholar
Ochs, Elinor & Lisa Capps. 1996. Narrating the self. Annual Review of Anthropology 25. 19–43.10.1146/annurev.anthro.25.1.19Search in Google Scholar
Ortega, Ane, Estibaliz Amorrortu, Jone Goirigolzarri, Jacqueline Urla, Belen Uranga, Begoñako Andra & Mari Irakasle. 2014. Hiztun Berrien Hizkuntza-Identitatea: ‘nolako Euskalduna Naiz?’. BAT Soziolinguistika Aldizkaria 87–88. 151–170.Search in Google Scholar
Page, R. B. Le & A. Tabouret-Keller. 1985. Acts of identity: Creole-based approaches to ethnicity and language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Pavlenko, Aneta. 2005. Emotions and multilingualism. vol. 5. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Pennycook, Alastair & Emi Otsuji. 2015. Metrolingualism: Language in the City. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge.10.4324/9781315724225Search in Google Scholar
Petit Cahil, Kevin. 2017. Les Stages D’immersion D’irlandais Comme Rite de Passage - Militantisme et Valeur Ajoutée. In Saïd Berkaine, Mohammed, Chahrazed Dahou, Alexia Kis-Marck & Françoise Roche (eds.). Actes Du Colloque Jeunes Chercheurs: Construction/Déconstruction Des Identités Linguistiques. Saint Denis: Editions connaissances et savoirs.Search in Google Scholar
Petit Cahill, Kevin. 2016. Successful learners of Irish as an L2: Motivation, identity and linguistic mudes. Studia Celtica Posnaniensia 1(1). 39–56. doi:10.1515/scp-2016-0003.Search in Google Scholar
Phipps, Alison. 2006. Learning the arts of linguistic survival, vol. 1. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781845410551Search in Google Scholar
Puigdevall, Maite, John Walsh, Estibaliz Amorrortu, and Ane Ortega. 2018. “I’ll be one of them’: Linguistic mudes and new speakers in three minority language contexts.” Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development 39 (5). 445–57. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1429453.Search in Google Scholar
Pujolar, Joan & Isaac Gonzàlez. 2013. Linguistic ‘mudes’ and the de-Ethnicization of Language Choice in Catalonia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 1–15. doi:10.1080/13670050.2012.720664.Search in Google Scholar
Querol, Ernest. 2006. El Coneixement Del Català 2001. Mapa Sociolingüístic de Catalunya. Barcelona: Departament de Vicepresidència. Generalitat de Catalunya.Search in Google Scholar
Rampton, Ben. 1995. Crossing: Language and ethnicity among adolescents. London: Longman.Search in Google Scholar
Rampton, Ben. 1998. Language crossing and the redefinition of reality. In Peter Auer (ed.), Code-switching in conversation, 290–317. London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Sankoff, Gillian. 2004. Adolescents, young adults and the critical period: Two case studies from ‘seven up.’ In Carmen Fought (ed.). Sociolinguistic Variation: Critical Reflections, 121–39. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Smith, Richard Candida. 2002. Analytic strategies for oral history interviews. In Jaber F. Gubrium & James A. Holstein (eds.), Handbook of interview research. Context & method, 711–731. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications London.10.4135/9781412973588.n41Search in Google Scholar
Smith-Christmas, Cassie. 2016. Family language policy: Maintaining an endangered language in the home. Basingstoke: Palgrave.10.1057/9781137521811Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, John & Bernadette O’Rourke. 2014. Becoming a new speaker of Irish: Linguistic mudes throughout the life cycle. Digithum 16. 67–74.Search in Google Scholar
Walsh, John & Bernadette O’Rourke. 2015. Mudes Teangeolaíocha Agus Nuachainteoirí Na Gaeilge. COMHARTaighde 1. 1–14. doi:https://doi.org/10.18669/ct.2015.09.Search in Google Scholar
Wilce, James MacLynn. 2009. Language and emotion. Handbook of affective sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511626692.Search in Google Scholar
Woolard, Kathryn A. 1989. Doubletalk: Bilingualism and the politics of ethnicity in Catalonia. Stanford: Standford University Press.10.1515/9781503624443Search in Google Scholar
Woolard, Kathryn A. 2011. Is there linguistic life after high school? Longitudinal changes in the bilingual repertoire in metropolitan Barcelona. Language in Society 40(5). 617–648. doi:10.1017/S0047404511000704.Search in Google Scholar
Woolard, Kathryn A. & T. J. Gahng. 1990. Changing language policies and attitudes in autonomous Catalonia. Language in Society 19(3). 311–330.10.1017/S0047404500014536Search in Google Scholar
© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction: Language and speakerhood in migratory contexts
- Language surveillance: Pressure to follow local models of speakerhood among Latinx students in Madrid
- Biographizing migrant experience
- Unvoicing practices in classroom interaction in Galicia (Spain): The (de)legitimization of linguistic mudes through scaling
- When language mixing is the norm: documenting post-muda language choice in a state school in Barcelona
- Language socialisation and muda: The case of two transnational migrants in Emmaus Barcelona
- Linguistic mudes: An exploration over the linguistic constitution of subjects
- Book Review
- Monica Heller Bonnie McElhinny: Language, capitalism, colonialism: Toward a critical history
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction: Language and speakerhood in migratory contexts
- Language surveillance: Pressure to follow local models of speakerhood among Latinx students in Madrid
- Biographizing migrant experience
- Unvoicing practices in classroom interaction in Galicia (Spain): The (de)legitimization of linguistic mudes through scaling
- When language mixing is the norm: documenting post-muda language choice in a state school in Barcelona
- Language socialisation and muda: The case of two transnational migrants in Emmaus Barcelona
- Linguistic mudes: An exploration over the linguistic constitution of subjects
- Book Review
- Monica Heller Bonnie McElhinny: Language, capitalism, colonialism: Toward a critical history
