Translinguistics

Book excerpt: Translinguistics represents a powerful alternative to conventional paradigms of language such as bilingualism and code-switching, which assume the compartmentalization of different 'languages' into fixed and arbitrary boundaries. Translinguistics more accurately reflects the fluid use of linguistic and semiotic resources in diverse communities. This ground-breaking volume showcases work from leading as well as emerging scholars in sociolinguistics and other language-oriented disciplines and collectively explores and aims to reconcile the distinction between 'innovation' and 'ordinariness' in translinguistics. Features of this book include: 18 chapters from 28 scholars, representing a range of academic disciplines and institutions from 11 countries around the world; research on understudied communities and geographic contexts, including those of Latin America, South Asia, and Central Asia; several chapters devoted to the diversity of communication in digital contexts. Edited by two of the most innovative scholars in the field, Translinguistics: Negotiating Innovation and Ordinariness is essential reading for scholars and students interested in the question of multilingualism across a variety of subject areas.