Swedish or English? : Migrants' experiences of the exchangeability of language resources
(2016) In International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 9(4). p.442-463- Abstract
- Patterns of transmigration emerging as a consequence of globalization are creating new and complex markets for communicative resources in which languages and language varieties are differently valued. In a Swedish context, where lingua franca English can facilitate communication but where monolingual norms prevail and Swedish is positioned as the key to 'integration', the purpose of this study is to examine English-speaking migrants' experiences of opportunities to use Swedish and English in communication. Interviews were conducted with 14 recently arrived migrants with English in their repertoires. Drawing on participants' experiences of language use in institutional contexts, analyses focus on the influence of value assessments,... (More)
- Patterns of transmigration emerging as a consequence of globalization are creating new and complex markets for communicative resources in which languages and language varieties are differently valued. In a Swedish context, where lingua franca English can facilitate communication but where monolingual norms prevail and Swedish is positioned as the key to 'integration', the purpose of this study is to examine English-speaking migrants' experiences of opportunities to use Swedish and English in communication. Interviews were conducted with 14 recently arrived migrants with English in their repertoires. Drawing on participants' experiences of language use in institutional contexts, analyses focus on the influence of value assessments, orientations to ideal-type norms, processes of self-surveillance and the effects of discursive positionings. While migrants' language choices are understood as a consequence of structural conditions, attention is also drawn to the ways in which such choices are flexibly negotiated. Analyses shed light on participants' creative and critical capacities and how, in their language choices, they evaluate, relate to and resist macro-social structures. Different varieties of English are shown to offer different communicative opportunities and not all are equally exchangeable. Opportunities to use English also differ as a consequence of the intersections of discursive positionings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/afa2aaa4-4b2f-4bc1-add6-e618af146651
- author
- Henry, Alastair LU
- publishing date
- 2016
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Migration, English as a lingua franca, global English, language choices, language repertoires, Sweden, Specific Languages, Studier av enskilda språk
- in
- International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
- volume
- 9
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 22 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84925423411
- ISSN
- 1367-0050
- DOI
- 10.1080/13670050.2015.1008979
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- 2018-01-10T22:09:48.148+01:00
- id
- afa2aaa4-4b2f-4bc1-add6-e618af146651
- alternative location
- http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-8811
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-06 09:01:29
- date last changed
- 2023-09-21 11:17:40
@article{afa2aaa4-4b2f-4bc1-add6-e618af146651,
abstract = {{Patterns of transmigration emerging as a consequence of globalization are creating new and complex markets for communicative resources in which languages and language varieties are differently valued. In a Swedish context, where lingua franca English can facilitate communication but where monolingual norms prevail and Swedish is positioned as the key to 'integration', the purpose of this study is to examine English-speaking migrants' experiences of opportunities to use Swedish and English in communication. Interviews were conducted with 14 recently arrived migrants with English in their repertoires. Drawing on participants' experiences of language use in institutional contexts, analyses focus on the influence of value assessments, orientations to ideal-type norms, processes of self-surveillance and the effects of discursive positionings. While migrants' language choices are understood as a consequence of structural conditions, attention is also drawn to the ways in which such choices are flexibly negotiated. Analyses shed light on participants' creative and critical capacities and how, in their language choices, they evaluate, relate to and resist macro-social structures. Different varieties of English are shown to offer different communicative opportunities and not all are equally exchangeable. Opportunities to use English also differ as a consequence of the intersections of discursive positionings.}},
author = {{Henry, Alastair}},
issn = {{1367-0050}},
keywords = {{Migration; English as a lingua franca; global English; language choices; language repertoires; Sweden; Specific Languages; Studier av enskilda språk}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{442--463}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism}},
title = {{Swedish or English? : Migrants' experiences of the exchangeability of language resources}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1008979}},
doi = {{10.1080/13670050.2015.1008979}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{2016}},
}