Concept
Multilingual mindset
A necessary concept for fostering inclusive multilingualism in migrant societies
In this paper, I examine the changing currency of languages in the context of migration and mobility based on case
studies of Filipino migrants in Australia. Drawing on two sociolinguistic studies conducted with and for Filipino migrants, I
highlight how the “monolingual mindset” (
Clyne, 2008) reinforced by the “White-English
complex” (
Piller, Torsh, & Smith-Khan, 2023) negatively impact on the value and
currency of Philippine languages. As an alternative, I offer the concept
multilingual mindset as an inclusive
framework for valuing multilingual migrants in the diaspora.
I first introduce the linguistic ecology and national language policies of both the Philippines and Australia to
set the scene for my argument. I then map out the migration trends in both countries and the simultaneous socio-political events
that have driven the growth of Filipino migration in Australia and introduce the two sociolinguistic studies with and for (
Blackledge, 2006;
Tetteh, 2015) Filipino
migrants. This is followed by the presentation and critical discussion of three key conceptual arguments of this paper derived
from these studies. Employing the “monolingual mindset” (
Clyne, 2008) and
“White-English complex” (
Piller et al., 2023) as lenses, I then critically discuss how
these concepts are detrimental to heritage language maintenance and
inclusive multilingualism and argue that the
maintenance of migrant languages in the diaspora would best be facilitated by an adoption of a
multilingual
mindset. The paper concludes with a discussion on the significance of the
multilingual mindset to
sociolinguistic studies and migration linguistics (
Borlongan, 2023), in general, and to
language attitudes, language practices, and language policies across different sectors, in particular.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Migration trends and two sociolinguistic studies in the Australian diaspora
- 3.Three monolingual phenomena
- Other-silencing of LOTEs
- Self-silencing of LOTEs
- Erasure of LOTEs
- 4.Discussion: Through the lenses of “monolingual mindset” versus “the multilingual mindset”
- 5.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
References
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Tankosić, Ana, Eldin Milak, Carly Steele & Toni Dobinson
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