KHAWLA BADWAN, LANGUAGE IN A GLOBALISED WORLD. SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVES ON MOBILITY AND CONTACT. SPRINGER, 2022

Ran Yi

KHAWLA BADWAN, LANGUAGE IN A GLOBALISED WORLD. SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVES ON MOBILITY AND CONTACT. SPRINGER, 2022

The Grove, vol. 31, 2024

Universidad de Jaén

Ran Yi

The University of New South Wales, Australia


How to cite : Yi, Ran. “Khawla Badwan, Language in a Globalised World. Social Justice Perspectives on Mobility and Contact. Springer, 2022). Ediciones Cátedra, 2021.” The Grove. Working Papers on English Studies, vol. 31, 2024, e8371. https://doi.org/10.17561/grove.v31.8371



Received: october , 26, 2023

Accepted: April , 02, 2024

The persistent and lasting question that has piqued the interests of our social scientists, scholars, and the general public remains—Why has World Englishes become so pervasive in almost every known and unknown corner of our world? What makes English language education so popular among world populations far and wide? In order to answer these questions, we need the right lens and perspective to frame and guide our discovery. This interdisciplinary book is about World Englishes, language empowerment through language education, social justice and linguistic equity for migrants and mobile populations in the broader context of Global North and South dynamics.

Standing out from conventional English studies that merely focus on the linguistic aspect of this elusive question, this book refreshes our mindset by retrieving from the very notion of the so-called “authentic English” and its multi-faceted and context-specific traits represented by diverse user groups in both developing and developed worlds. Positioning the English language as an empowering tool for ethnic and linguistic minorities to access developmental opportunities and upward mobility, this comprehensive book reviews the role of the English language and translation and interpreting in the increasingly globalised world.

Language in a globalised world is a manifesto for social change. With a balanced perspective, the author of this monograph sits us down to have a heart-to-heart conversation about the ways language manifests itself at the individual, national, and transnational levels in a variety of spheres of public life, from historical, political, ideological, and sociolinguistic perspectives. As linguists and social scientists, we are sensitive to the nuanced yet profound implications of the way we use languages in society and the way we might sound in everyday interactions. When engaging with speakers from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds, communication breakdowns may occur. Translations can be lost or misinterpreted in a foreign language, or intentions can be misrepresented. When we appear in a civil court outside our native country, our accent is perceived unfavourably or disadvantageously. It is not uncommon for job applications to be denied for lack of understanding of local socio-cultural contexts that are embedded in language nuances.

Globalisation, mass migration, intercity and transnational mobility have shifted how we think about language in today's society and the role of language education plays in promoting social justice through empowering mobile populations and linguistic minorities in host societies. In a globalised world, thanks to international development aids, humanitarian and peace-building missions, vulnerable and socio-economically underprivileged mobile populations, such as refugees and asylum-seekers who have been displaced by wars, regional conflicts, prosecutions, and other forms of oppression, now can access opportunities to start a new life in host countries. However, challenges still exist with respect to providing equitable access to education and further development opportunities for the present and future generations to evolve and thrive. This interdisciplinary book takes us on a fascinating tour of English language evolution and advocates the legitimate recognition of World Englishes through education as an empowering tool for ethnic and linguistic minorities to access developmental opportunities and upward mobility.

With a strong focus on the dynamics of the Global North and Global South, the author outlines the evolution of language in the globalised world. Specifically, the author highlights the need for re-imagining our language identity amid a time of drastic social changes, uncertainty, and vulnerability with a positive and rational mindset. With respect to its intellectual inquiries, the cooperative volume revolves around race-related concepts and themes. These concepts and themes include (1) the historical evolution and global spread of English; (2) language and the sociolinguistic marker; (3) language as becoming in the world; (4) language and languaging; (5) language and semiotic mobility; (6) language, place, and ethics in applied linguistics; (7) language and identity in a globalised world; (8) language and social (in)justice; and (9) vulnerability-minded language teaching in a globalised world. With both academic and professional readership in mind, it is written in an accessible style with academic rigour.

In terms of its structure, the book comprises ten chapters. The author begins with a succinct introduction that outlines the concepts of language and languaging, mobile populations, and Englishes in a globalised world. Building on the conceptual foundations, Chapter 2 examines the historical circumstances under which English has become the world’s lingua franca. It critiques the influences of colonialism, imperialism, globalisation, neoliberalism, and late capitalism on (re)producing and reinforcing dominant language ideologies that favour English compared with other languages. By expanding on these theorising efforts, Chapter 3 contributes to understanding language about language in public discourses. In this chapter, sociolinguistic markets are constructed on the basis of principles and concepts that are derived from a globalised world. Located in societies and speech communities, this metaphorical market shapes the way language is spoken, accepted, and valued.

Taking a step back from the symbolic and metaphorical market engendered by neoliberal discourses about language value and language as a commodity, Chapter 4 presents a different narrative about language and challenges of the dominant discourses that influence the way individuals think and speak about language. There is more to language than value and utility, as the author argues. Rather, language is about being and becoming in the world (p. 41). Ontologies of language as a normative noun, a performative verb, and a political marker of (un)belonging are discussed in Chapter 5 as a natural extension of intellectual discourses on language identity. Through engagement with transdisciplinary conceptual lenses such as posthumanism, new materiality, affective feminist perspectives, and chronotopic contextualisation, the author examines applied linguistics’ attempts to change normative thinking about language. By adopting a performative perspective on language, the author develops an expansive understanding of language (p. 53). In Chapter 6, the concept of identity is defined as a means to address the question of what happens to language as individuals move across time and space (p. ç89). This line of inquiry continues in Chapter 7, which examines language and mobility in relation to applied linguistics and social geography, revealing the in-between-ness of language in space, time, place, and people (p. 113).

Centred around the concept of in-between-ness, Chapter 8 rethinks linguistic and ethnic diversity through a critical reflection on identity struggles, feeling strange, and being in-between in a society that has established normative discourses and public education as desirable. Language is further scrutinised in Chapter 9 within the context of social justice, and the different approaches to social justice that are reflected in language education and how they are contested in different ways. From universal concerns to individual experiences, Chapter 10 canvasses the author’s experience of language teaching and re-envisions the role of a language educator as a cultural shaper in the lives of language learners, particularly those with a multitude of life-altering vulnerabilities.

The approach of the book aims to be multidisciplinary and integrative, as reflected in the structure of the book. Many social scientists have theorised the relationship between the economic or social standing of a group and their tolerance of immigrants. However, theoretical insights obtained in one field of research may lead to a neglect of other perspectives. This book brings together and integrates work from across the social sciences. Drawing on sociology, history, and political science, the author of the book offers a thorough analysis of the paradox at the micro, meso, and macro levels. The book contributes to theoretical and practical aspects of our understanding of languages in a globalised world.

Theoretically, the book contributes to the emerging knowledge of various theoretical approaches to interpreting the historical processes of English language evolution. By exploring the links between language, power, legitimacy, exchange value, and the social stratification of languages, the author engages with conceptual constructs that explain how and why language is socially stratified. The author of the monograph endorses a contextual, indexical and explicitly referenced approach and influences normative thinking about language in societies and its further role in an age of accelerated globalisation, highlighting the political, economic, social, and ideological confluences that shape the perceptions of World Englishes used by ethnically and culturally diverse populations. To be more specific, contributions to holistic language theory are manifested through three main arguments.

Firstly, language as a social reality is heavily shaped by historical and ideological processes that intersect and intertwine in complex and nuanced ways to influence individuals' perceptions of languages and languages themselves. Secondly, situated in the sociolinguistic nexus between the carvings of (un)belonging and linguistic rights and symbolic violence, it argues for a balanced (re)construction of language identity in relation to time, people, place, and space and advocates the role of language as an empowering tool for vulnerable mobile populations in super-diverse or hyper-diverse societies. Thirdly, with focused situatedness in semiotic mobility, it contests conventional rigidness in assessing the usefulness of Englishes on a sociolinguistics scale in support of individual agency and positionality in societies based on how they project themselves in and through language. This claim is further supported by an ecological orientation to many practical aspects of language pedagogies.

Practically, it contributes to critical reflections on the way languages are taught in globalised classrooms. Noteworthily, it endorses the role of language educators as change-makers and cultural shapers in classroom pedagogies. Informed by ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse learner demographics, vulnerability-aware language educators are able to develop a context-specific creative pedagogy with an overarching aim to foster learner confidence and challenge learner mastery of language use and their manner of speaking the language in society. In particular, the author integrates theoretical insights in the teaching and learning experiences by consolidating.

Firstly, it takes a firm stance in de-colonised epistemologies that take language learners on an unpredictable journey towards resilient and hopeful entanglements. By demystifying the perceptions of accent and other aspects of language uses in society, the author galvanises languaging as an enabler and as a scaffolding tool for language learners to critique their identity subjectivities mediated through power structures and emotions in language learning. Secondly, it decouples the perceptions of language under the frame of a geographical city-rural divide, contesting the idea of “city” being a primary site for language contact and linguistic diversity, and championing the idea of geographical granularity in language learning. By researching language in time and place, educators can stay substantially informed of transformative narratives about place identity. Last, but not least, it proposes a powerful grounding of language sociology and pedagogy in the nourishing and inclusive soil of social justice. Pinpointing the inseparability of language from anti-discrimination legislation, it highlights the need to protect the language rights of vulnerable mobile populations against any form of oppressive and discriminatory ideologies and practices. The chapter moves on to present a roadmap or language advocacy based on awareness, solidarity and activism. It concludes with a reckoning on World Englishes today, hinting “grievable” language (Butler 2009) and “strategic essentialism” (Pennycook 2018).

So coming back to the essential question, can we benefit from the globalised use of English to access infinite opportunities for learning and growth? The collective volume addresses the question by offering us a refreshing look at these crucial issues of language as an empowering tool manifested and experienced through identity (re)-building in post-colonialism world.

On the one hand, it invites readers to critically reflect on language education through the symbiotic relationship of sociology and linguistics that shape and reshape our world today. This interdisciplinary book maps out a fascinating atlas of English language evolution. On the other hand, it advocates the legitimate recognition of World Englishes through education as an empowering tool for ethnic and linguistic minorities to access developmental opportunities and upward mobility.

There are many scholarly literatures on the subject of English uses by migrants in their host society (Yi, 2023). Overall, the book is written in a highly readable style and intended for language learners, scholars, researchers, policymakers, and interested readers in English studies, language and literature, language education, applied linguistics, translation and interpreting, international development studies, and beyond. It is thus recommended to inform practices in social justice and inclusion through linguistically equitable education.

References

Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Verso, 2009.

Pennycook, Alastair. “Repertoires, Registers and Linguistic Diversity.” The Routledge Handbook of Language and Superdiversity. Eds. Angela Creese and Adrian Blackledge. Routledge, 2018, pp. 3-15.

Yi, Ran. “The Promise of Linguistic Equity for Migrants in Australian Courtrooms: a Cross-disciplinary Perspective.” Australian Journal of Human Rights, vol. 29, no. 1, 2023, pp. 174-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/1323238X.2023.2232171

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The Grove
ISSN: 1137-005X
31
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Año. 2024

KHAWLA BADWAN, LANGUAGE IN A GLOBALISED WORLD. SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVES ON MOBILITY AND CONTACT. SPRINGER, 2022

Ran Yi
Australian Human Rights Institute, Faculty of Law and Justice; School of Humanities and Languages, The University of New South Wales,Australia
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