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Blommaert Et Al 2011, Superdiversity
Blommaert Et Al 2011, Superdiversity
Blommaert Et Al 2011, Superdiversity
2, 2011
Language and Superdiversities
Guest Editors: Jan Blommaert,
Ben Rampton, Massimiliano Spotti
Polylanguaging in Superdiversity 23
by J. N. Jørgensen, M. S. Karrebæk, L. M. Madsen, and
J. S. Møller, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
mpimmg
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization MAX PLANCK S OCIET Y
Publication Director: Paul de Guchteneire
© UNESCO (2011)
ISSN 2079-6595
and
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
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Language and Superdiversity
By Jan Blommaert (University of Tilburg, the Netherlands) and
Ben Rampton (King’s College, UK)
Abstract
This paper explores the scope for research on language and superdiversity.1 Following a
protracted process of paradigm shift, sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology are well
placed to engage with the contemporary social changes associated with superdiversity.
After a brief introductory discussion of what superdiversity entails, the paper outlines key
theoretical and methodological developments in language study: named languages have
now been denaturalized, the linguistic is treated as just one semiotic among many, inequality
and innovation are positioned together in a dynamics of pervasive normativity, and the
contexts in which people orient their interactions reach far beyond the communicative event
itself. From here, this paper moves to a research agenda on superdiversity and language
that is strongly embedded in ethnography. The combination of linguistics and ethnography
produces an exceptionally powerful and differentiated view of both activity and ideology.
After a characterization of what linguistic ethnography offers social science in general, this
paper sketches some priorities for research on language and communication in particular,
emphasizing the need for cumulative comparison, both as an objective in theory and
description and as a resource for practical intervention.
written in two forms of ‘Chinese’: a mixture of traditional diaspora groups towards new émigrés
the simplified script which is the norm in the from the PRC; (b) the fact that such a transition is
People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the tradi articulated in ‘small’ and peripheral places in the
tional script widespread in Hong Kong, Taiwan Chinese diaspora, such as the inner city of Ant
and earlier generations of the Chinese dias werp, not only in larger and more conspicuous
pora. (2) The text articulates two different styles ‘Chinatowns’ such as London (Huang 2010).
or voices, that of the producer and that of the So this text bears the traces of worldwide
addressee(s), and the mixed script suggests that migration flows and their specific demographic,
their styles are not identical. In all likelihood, the social and cultural dynamics. Migration makes
producer is someone used to writing traditional communicative resources like language varie
script, while the addressee is probably from the ties and scripts globally mobile, and this affects
PRC. (3) The latter point is corroborated by the neighbourhoods in very different corners of the
use of ‘Yuan’ rather than ‘Euro’ as the currency, world. In this Antwerp neighbourhood, Chinese
and (4) the mixed character of the text suggests people are not a very visible group, and in fact,
a process of transition. More specifically, it sug this handwritten notice was the very first piece
gests that the producer (probably an ‘older’ dias of vernacular Chinese writing observed here (the
pora Chinese person) is learning the script of the two Chinese restaurants in the area have profes
PRC, the unfinished learning process leading to sionally manufactured shop signs in Cantonese,
the mixing of the scripts. Thus (5) this text points written in traditional calligraphic script). Still, the
towards two very large-scale phenomena: (a) a notice shows that the neighbourhood probably
gradual change in the Chinese diaspora, in which includes a non-uniform and perhaps small com
the balance of demographic, political and mate munity of Chinese émigrés, and the marks of his
rial predominance gradually shifts away from the torical struggles over real and symbolic power are
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
being transplanted into the Antwerp inner city. vocabulary of linguistic analysis is no longer suffi
Plainly, there are distinctive communicative pro cient. In fact, the study of language in society has
cesses and outcomes involved in migration, and itself participated in the major intellectual shifts
this paper argues that the detailed study of these in the humanities and social sciences loosely
can make a substantial contribution to debates identified with ‘post-structuralism’ and ‘post-
about the nature and structure of super-diversifi- modernism’ (see e.g. Bauman 1992). It is worth
cation. now turning to this refurbished apparatus, perio
In fact, these demographic and social changes dically aligning it with questions that the notion
are complicated by the emergence of new media of superdiversity raises.
and technologies of communication and infor
mation circulation – and here an orientation to 2. Paradigm shifts in the study of language in
communication necessarily introduces further society
uncharted dimensions to the idea of superdiver Over a period of several decades – and often
sity. Historically, migration movements from the emerging in response to issues predating su
1990s onwards have coincided with the devel perdiversity – there has been ongoing revision
opment of the Internet and mobile phones, and of fundamental ideas (a) about languages, (b)
these have affected the cultural life of diaspora about language groups and speakers, and (c)
communities of all kinds (old and new, black about communication. Rather than working with
and white, imperial, trade, labour etc [cf. Cohen homogeneity, stability and boundedness as the
1997]). While emigration used to mean real sepa starting assumptions, mobility, mixing, politi
ration between the emigré and his/her home cal dynamics and historical embedding are now
society, involving the loss or dramatic reduction central concerns in the study of languages, lan
of social, cultural and political roles and impact guage groups and communication. These shifts
there, emigrants and dispersed communities have been influenced by the pioneering work
now have the potential to retain an active con of linguistic anthropologists like John Gumperz,
nection by means of an elaborate set of long-dis Dell Hymes and Michael Silverstein, the founda
tance communication technologies.2 These tech tional rethinking of social and cultural theorists
nologies impact on sedentary ‘host’ communi like Bakhtin, Bourdieu, Foucault, Goffman, Hall
ties as well, with people getting involved in trans and Williams, as well, no doubt, as substantial
national networks that offer potentially altered changes in the linguascape in many parts of the
forms of identity, community formation and world. In fact with this kind of pedigree, ‘robust
cooperation (Baron 2008). In the first instance, and well-established orthodoxy’ might seem
these developments are changes in the material more apt as a characterization of these ideas
world – new technologies of communication and than ‘paradigm shift’ or ‘developments’. Never
knowledge as well as new demographies – but theless, superdiversity intensifies the relevance
for large numbers of people across the world, of these ideas, and if the exposition below some
they are also lived experiences and sociocultural times sounds a little gratuitously alternative or
modes of life that may be changing in ways and oppositional, this is because the notions they
degrees that we have yet to understand. seek to displace continue with such hegemonic
If we are to grasp the insight into social trans force in public discourse, in bureaucratic and
formation that communicative phenomena can educational policy and practice, and in everyday
offer us, it is essential to approach them with an commonsense, as well as in some other areas of
adequate toolkit, recognizing that the traditional language study.
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
proper language is bounded, pure and com and registers come into view, most of which
posed of structured sounds, grammar and voca are themselves ideologically marked and active
bulary designed for referring to things (Joseph (Agha 2007). Instead, a much more differentia
& Taylor 1990; Woolard, Schieffelin & Kroskrity ted account of the organization of communica
1998). Named languages – ‘English’, ‘German’, tive practice emerges, centring on genres, activi
‘Bengali’ – are ideological constructions histori ties and relationships that are enacted in ways
cally tied to the emergence of the nation-state in which both official and commonsense accounts
the 19th Century, when the idea of autonomous often miss. Indeed, this could be seen in Figure 1.
languages free from agency and individual inter
vention meshed with the differentiation of peo 2.2 Language groups and speakers
ples in terms of spiritual essences (Gal and Irvine Deconstruction of the idea of distinct ‘langua
1995; Taylor 1990). In differentiating, codifying ges’ has followed the critical analyses of ‘nation’
and linking ‘a language’ with ‘a people’, linguis and ‘a people’ in the humanities and social sci
tic scholarship itself played a major role in the ences (Said 1978; Anderson 1983), and within
development of the European nation-state as sociolinguistics itself, anti-essentialist critique
well as in the expansion and organization of em has led to the semi-technical notion of ‘speech
pires (Said 1978; Robins 1979:Chs 6 & 7; Hymes community’ being more or less abandoned (Pratt
1980a; Anderson 1983; Pratt 1987; Gal and Ir 1987; Rampton 1998; Silverstein 1998).3 ‘Speech
vine 1995; Collins 1998:5, 60; Blommaert 1999; community’ has been superseded by a more em
Makoni & Pennycook 2007; Errington 2008), and pirically anchored and differentiating vocabulary
the factuality of named languages continues to which includes ‘communities of practice’, ‘insti
be taken for granted in a great deal of contem tutions’ and ‘networks’ as the often mobile and
porary institutional policy and practice. Indeed, flexible sites and links in which representations
even in sociolinguistic work that sets out to chal of group emerge, move and circulate. Historically,
lenge nation-state monolingualism, languages a good deal of the model-building in formal, de
are sometimes still conceptualized as bounded scriptive and applied linguistics has prioritized
systems linked with bounded communities (Urla the ‘native speakers of a language’, treating early
1995; Heller 2007:11; Moore et al. 2010). experience of living in families and stable speech
The traditional idea of ‘a language’, then, is an communities as crucial to grammatical compe
ideological artifact with very considerable power tence and coherent discourse. But sociolinguists
– it operates as a major ingredient in the appara have long contested this idealization, regarding
tus of modern governmentality; it is played out it as impossible to reconcile with the facts of
in a wide variety of domains (education, immi linguistic diversity, mixed language and multilin
gration, education, high and popular culture etc), gualism (Ferguson 1982; Leung, Harris & Ramp
and it can serve as an object of passionate per ton 1997). Instead they work with the notion of
sonal attachment. But as sociolinguists have long linguistic repertoire. This dispenses with a priori
maintained, it is far more productive analytically assumptions about the links between origins,
to focus on the very variable ways in which indi upbringing, proficiency and types of language,
vidual linguistic features with identifiable social and it refers to individuals’ very variable (and
and cultural associations get clustered together often rather fragmentary) grasp of a plurality of
whenever people communicate (e.g. Hudson differentially shared styles, registers and genres,
1980; Le Page 1988; Hymes 1996; Silverstein
1998; Blommaert 2003). If we focus on the 3 For a long time, linguists considered a speech com
links and histories of each of the ingredients in munity to be an objective entity that could be empiri
any strip of communication, then the ideologi cally identified as a body of people who interacted
cal homogenization and/or erasure achieved in regularly, who had attitudes and/or rules of language
use in common, and it would be the largest social unit
national language naming becomes obvious, that the study of a given language variety could seek
and a host of sub- and/or trans-national styles to generalize about.
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
which are picked up (and maybe then partially treated as emblematic of group belonging, and
forgotten) within biographical trajectories that this will become clear if we now turn to ‘com
develop in actual histories and topographies munication’.
(Blommaert & Backus 2011). Indeed, speech it
self is no longer treated as the output of a unitary 2.3 Communication
speaker – following Bakhtin’s account of ‘double- Linguistics has traditionally privileged the struc
voicing’ (1981) and Goffman’s ‘production for ture of language, and treated language use as
mats’ (1981), individuals are seen as bringing little more than a product/output generated by
very different levels of personal commitment to semantic, grammatical and phonological systems,
the styles they speak (often ‘putting on’ different which are themselves regarded either as mental
voices in parody, play etc), and of course this also structures or as sets of social conventions. But
applies with written uses of language (see 2.3.3 this commitment to system-in-language has
below). been challenged by a linguistics of communica
So although notions like ‘native speaker’, tive practice, rooted in a linguistic-anthropolo
‘mother tongue’ and ‘ethnolinguistic group’ have gical tradition running from Sapir through Hymes
considerable ideological force (and as such should and Gumperz to Hanks (1996), Verschueren
certainly feature as objects of analysis), they (1999) and Agha (2007). This approach puts situ
should have no place in the sociolinguistic toolkit ated action first, it sees linguistic conventions/
itself. When the reassurance afforded by a priori structures as just one (albeit important) semiotic
classifications like these is abandoned, research resource among a number available to partici
instead has to address the ways in which people pants in the process of local language production
take on different linguistic forms as they align and interpretation, and it treats meaning as an
and disaffiliate with different groups at different active process of here-and-now projection and
moments and stages. It has to investigate how inferencing, ranging across all kinds of percept,
they (try to) opt in and opt out, how they perform sign and knowledge. This view is closely linked to
or play with linguistic signs of group belonging, at least five developments.
and how they develop particular trajectories of
group identification throughout their lives. Even 2.3.1 First, the denotational and propositional
in situations of relative stability, contrast and meanings of words and sentences lose their pre
counter-valorization play an integral part in lin eminence in linguistic study, and attention turns
guistic socialization, and people develop strong to indexicality, the connotational significance of
feelings about styles and registers that they can signs. So for example, when someone switches
recognize but hardly reproduce (if at all). So as a in speaking and/or writing into a different style
way of characterizing the relationship between or register, it is essential to consider more than
language and person, the linguist’s traditional the literal meaning of what they are saying. The
notion of ‘competence’ is far too positive, narrow style, register or code they have moved into is
and absolute in its assumptions about ability and itself likely to carry associations that are some
alignment with a given way of speaking. Habitu how relevant to the specific activities and social
ally using one ideologically distinguishable lan relations in play, and this can “serve as the ral
guage, style or register means steering clear and lying point for interest group sharing”, “act[ing]
not using others (Parkin 1977; Irvine 2001; 3.2.2 as [a] powerful instrument… of persuasion in
below), and notions like ‘sensibility’ or ‘structure everyday communicative situations for partici
of feeling’ are potentially much better than ‘com pants who share [the] values [that are thereby
petence’ at capturing this relational positioning indexed]” (Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz 1982:
amidst a number of identifiable possibilities (Wil 7, 6). To achieve rhetorical effects like this in the
liams 1977; Harris 2006:77-78; Rampton 2011b). absence of explicit statements about group inter
In fact, much of this can be generalized beyond ests, there has to be at least some overlap in the
language to other social and cultural features interpretive frameworks that participants bring
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
to bear in their construal of a switch. The overlap jectivity. Instead non-shared knowledge grows in
doesn’t come from nowhere – it emerges from its potential significance for communicative pro
social experience and prior exposure to circum cesses. The example of code-switching in 2.3.1
ambient discourses, and if the interpretations shows indexical signs contributing to rhetorical
are almost automatic and unquestioned, this persuasion, but this is by no means their only
may be regarded as an achievement of hege effect. Indexical signs are also unintentionally
mony (as in e.g. common evaluations of different ‘given off’, with consequences that speakers may
accents). Indeed, the relationship here between, have little inkling of (Goffman 1959:14; Brown &
on the one hand, signs with unstated meanings Levinson 1978:324-5). When speakers articulate
and on the other, socially shared interpretations, literal propositions in words, they have quite a
makes indexicality a very rich site for the empiri high level of conscious control over the meaning
cal study of ideology (cf. Hall 1980:133). In fact, of what they are saying, and even though there
this can also extend far beyond language itself. are never any guarantees, their interlocutor’s
response usually provides material for monito
2.3.2 This is because meaning is multi-modal, ring the uptake of what they have said (see
communicated in much more than language e.g. Heritage and Atkinson 1984:8). But these
alone. People apprehend meaning in gestures, words are accompanied by a multi-modal barrage
postures, faces, bodies, movements, physical of other semiotic signs (accent, style of speaking,
arrangements and the material environment, posture, dress etc), and the interlocutor can also
and in different combinations these constitute interpret any of these other elements in ways
contexts shaping the way in which utterances that the speaker is unaware of, perhaps noting
are produced and understood (Goffman 1964; something privately that they only later disclose
Goodwin 2000; Goodwin 2006; Bezemer & Jew to others. So if we look beyond literal and refe
itt 2009). This obviously applies to written and rential meaning and language on its own, we
technologically mediated communication as well increase our sensitivity to a huge range of non-
as to speech (Kress & Van Leeuwen 1996), and shared, asymmetrical interpretations, and in fact
even when they are alone, people are continu many of these are quite systematically patterned
ously reading multi-modal signs to make sense in relations of power.
of their circumstances, as likely as not drawing Looking beyond multimodality, diversity itself
on interpretive frameworks with social origins of throws up some sharp empirical challenges
which they are largely unaware (Leppänen et al. to traditional ideas about the achievability of
2009). In fact, with people communicating more mutual understanding and the centrality of
and more in varying combinations of oral, writ shared convention.
ten, pictorial and ‘design’ modes (going on Face First, if it brings people together with very
book, playing online games, using mobile phones different backgrounds, resources and commu
etc), multi-modal analysis is an inevitable empiri nicative scripts, diversity is likely to pluralize
cal adjustment to contemporary conditions, and indexical interpretation, introducing significant
we are compelled to move from ‘language’ in limits to negotiability, and this impacts on the
the strict sense towards semiosis as our focus idea of ‘negotiation’, a notion with axiomatic
of inquiry, and from ‘linguistics’ towards a new status in some branches of interactional linguis
sociolinguistically informed semiotics as our dis tics. In Barth’s hard-nosed empirical approach to
ciplinary space (Scollon & Scollon 2003, 2004; the concept, “[n]egotiation’ suggests a degree
Kress 2009). of conflict of interests… within a framework
of shared understandings[, but…t]he disorder
2.3.3 Together, indexicality and multimodality entailed in… religious, social, ethnic, class and
help to destabilize other traditional ingredients cultural pluralism [sometimes…] goes far beyond
in language study – assumptions of common what can be retrieved as ambiguities of interest,
ground and the prospects for achieving inter-sub relevance, and identity resolved through nego
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
tiation.” (1992: 27). In situations where linguistic ethnic outgroups, new media and popular cul
repertoires can be largely discrepant and non- ture. The local naming of these practices is itself
verbal signs may do little to evoke solidarity, or often indeterminate and contested, both among
alternatively in settings where there is a surfeit users and analysts, and scholarly terms referring
of technologically mediated texts and imagery, to (different aspects of) this include ‘heteroglos
the identification of any initial common ground sia’, ‘crossing’, ‘polylingualism’, ‘translanguag
can itself be a substantial task (Barrett 1997: ing’, ‘metrolingualism’ and ‘new ethnicities and
188–191; Gee 1999: 15ff). The salience of non- language’ (Bakhtin 1981,1984; Rampton 1995,
shared knowledge increases the significance 2011; Jørgensen 2008a,b; Madsen 2008; Leppä
of “knowing one’s own ignorance, knowing that nen in press; Harris 2006; Creese & Blackledge
others know something else, knowing whom to 2010; Otsuji & Pennycook 2010; for reviews, see
believe, developing a notion of the potentially Auer 2006, Quist & Jørgensen 2009, and Ramp
knowable” (Hannerz 1992: 45; Fabian 2001). ton & Charalambous 2010).
The management of ignorance itself becomes a Understanding the relationship between con
substantive issue, and inequalities in communi ventionality and innovation in these practices
cative resources have to be addressed, not just is difficult, and there are a variety of traps that
‘intercultural differences’. It would be absurd to researchers have to navigate (Rampton 2010).
insist that there is absolutely no ‘negotiation of It is easy for a practice’s novelty to the outside
meaning’ in encounters where the communica analyst to mislead him/her into thinking that it
tive resources are only minimally shared. But it is is a creative innovation for the local participants
important not to let a philosophical commitment as well (Sapir 1949:504; Becker 1995:229). And
to negotiation (or co-construction) as an axiom then once it has been established that the prac
atic property of communication prevent us from tice is new or artful in some sense or other, it is
investigating the limits to negotiability, or appre often hard to know how much weight to attach to
ciating the vulnerability of whatever understand any particular case (and not to make mountains
ing emerges in the here-and-now to more fluent out of molehills. See also 3.2 below.). It can take
interpretations formed elsewhere, either before a good deal of close analysis to identify exactly
or after (Gumperz 1982; Roberts, Davies & Jupp how and where in an utterance an artful inno
1992; Maryns 2006). vation emerges – in which aspects of its formal
A second empirical challenge that diversity structure, its timing, its interpersonal direction,
presents to presumptions of shared knowledge its indexical resonance etc, and in which combi
can be seen as the opposite of the first. Instead nations. The ideal may be for researchers to align
of focusing on communicative inequalities in their sense of what’s special and what’s routine
institutional and instrumental settings, there is with their informants’, but there is no insulation
an emphasis on creativity and linguistic profusion from the intricacies of human ingenuity, decep
when sociolinguistic research focuses on non- tion and misunderstanding, where people speak
standard mixed language practices that appear in disguise, address themselves to interlocutors
to draw on styles and languages that aren’t with very different degrees of background under
normally regarded as belonging to the speaker, standing etc. Still, it is worth looking very closely
especially in recreational, artistic and/or opposi at these practices for at least two reasons. First,
tional contexts (and often among youth). These they allow us to observe linguistic norms being
appropriative practices are strikingly different manufactured, interrogated or altered, or to
from dominant institutional notions of multilin see norms that have changed and are new/dif
gualism as the ordered deployment of different ferent in the social networks being studied. We
language, and they involve much more than just can see, in short, the emergence of structure
the alternation between the home vernacular out of agency. And second, there are likely to be
and the national standard language. Instead, social, cultural and/or political stakes in this, as
they use linguistic features influenced by e.g. we know from the principle of indexicality (2.3.1).
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
So when white youngsters use bits of other-eth code) just for specific portions of their product,
nic speech styles in ways that their other-ethnic based on anticipations of their aesthetic value,
friends accept, there are grounds for suggesting their indexical or symbolic force, and, ultimately,
that they are learning to ‘live with difference’ their effects on the audience” (2007:215). Alter
(Hewitt 1986; Rampton 1995; Harris 2006), and natively, diaspora media often have to reckon
when people put on exaggerated posh or verna with the fact that much of their audience has lim
cular accents in mockery or retaliation to autho ited proficiency in the language of the homeland,
rity, it looks as though social class hasn’t lost its so producers position “tiny amounts of [the]
significance in late modernity (Rampton 2006; language… at the margins of text and talk units,…
Jaspers 2011). thereby” “exploit[ing] the symbolic, rather than
Practices of this kind certainly are not new the referential, function”, “evok[ing] social iden
historically (Hill 1999:544). Linguistic diversity tities and relationships associated with the mini
invariably introduces styles, registers and/or lan mally used language” (2007:214). And in addi
guages that people know only from the outside tion, “[i]n the era of digital technologies, the
– attaching indexical value to them perhaps, but sampling and recontextualization of media con
unable to grasp their ‘intentionality’, semantics tent is a basic practice in popular media culture:
and grammar4 – and there is a powerful account rap artists sample foreign voices in their song;
of the potential for ideological creativity and sub entertainment shows feature snatches of other-
version that this offers in, for example, Bakhtin’s language broadcasts for humour; internet users
work on the Rabelaisian carnivalesque (1968). engage in linguistic bricolage on their homep
But there has been exponential growth in schol ages” (2007:208).
arly attention to these practices over the last 15
years, and perhaps this reflects their increase in 2.3.4 When shared knowledge is problematized
superdiversity (cf. 3.2.1). So when Androutsopo and creativity and incomprehension are both
lous proposes that “linguistic diversity is gaining at issue, people reflect on their own and others’
an unprecedented visibility in the mediascapes communication, assessing the manner and extent
of the late twentieth and early twenty first cen to which this matches established standards and
tury” (2007:207), he associates this with different scripts for ‘normal’ and expected expression. This
kinds of heteroglossia/polylingualism. For exam connects with another major contemporary con
ple, non-national language forms are now widely cern in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropo
stylized, starting in advertising but extending logy – metapragmatic reflexivity about language
beyond nation-wide media to niche, commercial and semiotic practice. Even though it is now rec
and non-profit media for various contemporary ognized that reflexivity is actually pervasive in
youth-cultural communities – “[w]hen media all linguistic practice, this is a substantial depar
makers devise an advertisement, plan a lifestyle ture from sociolinguists’ traditional prioritization
magazine or set up a website, they may select of tacit, unself-conscious language use, and it
linguistic codes (a second language, a mixed now features as a prominent focus in a range of
4
empirical topics. As we saw with ideologically dif
Bakhtin puts it as follows: “for the speakers of [par
ticular] language[s] themselves, these… languages… ferentiated languages in 2.1, research on public
are directly intentional – they denote and express di debates about language shows how these are
rectly and fully, and are capable of expressing them almost invariably connected to (and sometimes
selves without mediation; but outside, that is, for stand as a proxies for) non-linguistic interests –
those not participating in the given purview, these
languages may be treated as objects, as typifications, legislation on linguistic proficiency as a criterion
as local colour. For such outsiders, the intentions for citizenship, for example, often serves as a
permeating these languages become things, limited way of restricting access to social benefits and/or
in their meaning and expression; they attract to, or rallying indigenous populations (see e.g. Black
excise from, such languages a particular word – mak
ing it difficult for the word to be utilised in a directly ledge 2009; Warriner 2007). In enterprise culture
intentional way, without any qualification” (1981:289) and contemporary service industries, meta-prag
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
matic theories and technologies of discourse which texts and utterances travel (Briggs 2005).5
and talk are closely linked to regimes of power As well as encouraging a multi-sited description
in ‘communication skills training’, ‘customer care’ of communications beyond, before and after
and ‘quality management’ (Cameron 2000). In specific events, the analysis of transposition can
visual design and the production of multimodal also be factored into interaction face-to-face.
textualities in advertising, website development In situations where participants inevitably find
and other technologically mediated communi themselves immersed in a plethora of contingent
cation, linguistic reflexivity plays a crucial role particularities, where there are no guarantees of
(whether or not this is polylingual) (Kress & Van intersubjectivity and indexical signs can commu
Leeuwen 1996). And ordinary speakers are also nicate independent of the speakers’ intentions,
perceived as evaluating and reflecting on the cul analysis of what actually gets entextualized and
tural images of people and activities indexically what subsequently succeeds in carrying forward
conjured by particular forms of speech – this can – or even translating into a higher scale processes
be seen in a very substantial growth of sociolin – can be central to political conceptions of ‘hear
guistic interest in artful oral performance, where ability’ and ‘voice’ (Hymes 1996; Mehan 1996;
there is heightened evaluative awareness of both Briggs 1997; Blommaert 2005).
the act of expression and the performer, not just This perspective is clearly relevant to the
on stage or in heteroglossic speech mixing (2.3.3) circulation of ideological messages, to techno
but also in e.g. spontaneous story-telling (Bau logically mediated communication and to global
man 1986; Coupland 2007). and transnational ‘flows’ more generally. It also
invites comparative analysis of the scale – the
2.3.5 In research on stylization, performance spatial scope, temporal durability, social reach
and visual design, linguistics extends its horizons – of the networks and processes in which texts
beyond habit, regularity and system to distinc and representations travel (Scollon & Scollon
tion and spectacle, and if a spectacular practice 2004; Pennycook 2007, 2010; Blommaert 2008,
or event is actually significant, then there has 2010a; Androutsopoulos 2009). In other words,
to be some record of it that gets circulated over it encourages a layered and multi-scalar concep
time and space. In this way, the focus broadens tualization of context (Cicourel 1992; Blommaert
beyond the workings of language and text within 2010a). The contexts in which people communi
specific events to the projection of language and cate are partly local and emergent, continuously
text across them, in textual trajectories. With readjusted to the contingencies of action unfold
this extension beyond use-value to the exchange- ing from one moment to the next, but they are
value of language practices, entextualization, also infused with information, resources, expec
transposition and recontextualization become tations and experiences that originate in, circu
key terms, addressing (a) the (potentially mul late through, and/or are destined for networks
tiple) people and processes involved in the and processes that can be very different in their
design or selection of textual ‘projectiles’ which reach and duration (as well as in their capacity to
have some hope of travelling into subsequent bestow privilege, power or stigma).
settings, (b) to the alteration and revaluation of In cultural forms like Hip Hop, for example,
texts in ‘transportation’, i.e. the ways in which resources from immediate, local and global
mobility affects texts and interpretive work, and scale-levels are all called into play. As well as
(c) to their embedding in new contexts (Hall shaping each line to build on the last and lead to
1980; Bauman and Briggs 1990; Silverstein and the next, rappers anchor their messages in local
Urban 1996; Agha & Wortham 2005). experiences/realities and articulate them in the
So meaning-making and interpretation are
5 This is obviously complicates notions of ‘authorship’
seen as stages in the mobility of texts and utter
and it is directly relevant to discussions of ‘authentic
ances, and as themselves actively oriented – ity’ and the ‘originality’ of texts (as in ‘the original ver
backwards and forwards – to the paths through sion of X’).
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
global stylistic template of Hip Hop, accessing a 2.3.6 Methodologically, virtually all of the work
global scale-level of potential circulation, recog reported here holds to two axioms:
nition and uptake in spite of (and complemen a. the contexts for communication should be
tary to) the restricted accessibility typically asso investigated rather than assumed. Meaning
ciated with the strictly local (Pennycook 2007; takes shape within specific places, activities,
Wang 2010). Similarly, the multi-scalar dimen social relations, interactional histories, tex
sions of diasporic life in superdiversity account tual trajectories, institutional regimes and cul
for the complex forms of new urban multilin tural ideologies, produced and construed by
gualism encountered in recent work in linguis embodied agents with expectations and rep
tic landscaping (Scollon & Scollon 2003; Pan Lin ertoires that have to be grasped ethnographi
2009). The local emplacement of, say, a Turkish cally; and
shop in Amsterdam prompts messages in Dutch; b. analysis of the internal organisation of semio
the local emplacement of the regional diasporic tic data is essential to understanding its signifi
ethnic community and its transnational network cance and position in the world. Meaning is far
prompts Turkish; and other local, regional and more than just the ‘expression of ideas’, and
transnational factors can prompt the presence biography, identifications, stance and nuance
of English, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Tamil and are extensively signalled in the linguistic and
others. textual fine-grain.
In a multi-scalar view of context, features that If traditional classificatory frameworks no longer
used to be treated separately as macro – social work and ethnic categorisation is especially pro
class, ethnicity, gender, generation etc – can blematic in superdiversity, then this combination
now be seen operating at the most micro-level seems very apt. One of ethnography’s key char
of interactional process, as resources that par acteristics is its commitment to taking a long hard
ticipants can draw upon when making sense of look at empirical processes that make no sense
what’s going on in a communicative event (see within established frameworks. And if critiques
the example of style shifting in 2.3.1). Most of of essentialism underline the relevance of Moer
the extrinsic resources flowing into the nexus of man’s reformulation of the issue in research on
communication may be taken for granted, tacitly the ‘Lue’ – “The question is not, ‘Who are the
structuring the actions that participants opt for, Lue?’ but rather when and how and why the
but metapragmatic reflexivity (2.3.4) means that identification of ‘Lue’ is preferred” (1974:62;
participants also often orient to the ‘multi-scalar’, also e.g. Barth 1969) – then it is worth turning
‘transpositional’ implications of what’s happen to language and discourse to understand how
ing. After all, messages, texts, genres, styles and categories and identities get circulated, taken up
languages vary conspicuously in their potential and reproduced in textual representations and
for circulation – itself a major source of stratifica communicative encounters.
tion – and sometimes this can itself become the Admittedly, the methodological profile of lin
focus of attention and dispute, as people differ guistics has not always made it seem particu
in their normative sense of what should carry larly well-suited to this terrain. During the hey
where,. In this way, here-and-now interaction day of structuralism, linguistics was often held
is also often actively ‘scale-sensitive’, mindful of up as a model for the scientific study of culture
the transnational, national or local provenance as an integrated system, making the rest of the
or potential of a text or practice, overtly com humanities and social sciences worry that they
mitted to e.g. blocking or reformatting it so that were ‘pre-scientific’ (Hymes 1983:196). Indeed,
it does or doesn’t translate up or down this or in Levinson’s words, “linguists are the snobs of
that social or organizational hierarchy (Arnaut social science: you don’t get into the club unless
2005). you are willing to don the most outlandish pre
suppositions” (1988:161). But in this section we
have tried to show that these ‘outlandish pre
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
suppositions’ no longer hold with the force they 3. An agenda for research
used to. Instead we would insist on bringing an There are at least two broad tracks for the study
ethnographer’s sensibility to the apparatus of of language in superdiversity, one which adds lin
linguistics and discourse analysis, treating it as a guistic ethnography as a supplementary perspec
set of ‘sensitising’ concepts “suggest[ing] direc tive to other kinds of study, and another which
tions along which to look” rather than ‘defini takes language and communication as central
tive’ constructs “provid[ing] prescriptions of topics. As the perspective outlined in Section 2
what to see” (Blumer 1969:148), and this should is itself inevitably interdisciplinary, the difference
be applied with reflexive understanding of the between these tracks is mainly a matter of de
researcher’s own participation in the circulation gree, and the dividing line becomes even thinner
of power/knowledge (Cameron et al. 1992). But when, for example, Vertovec asks in a discus
once the apparatus is epistemologically reposi sion of superdiversity and ‘civil integration’ what
tioned like this – repositioned as just the exten “meaningful [communicative] interchanges look
sion of ethnography into intricate zones of cul like, how they are formed, maintained or broken,
ture and society that might otherwise be missed and how the state or other agencies might pro
– then linguistics offers a very rich and empirically mote them” (2007:27; see also e.g. Gilroy 2006
robust collection of frameworks and procedures on low-key ‘conviviality’ and Boyd 2006 on ‘civil
for exploring the details of social life, also pro ity’). Still, there are differences in the extent to
viding a very full range of highly suggestive – but which research questions and foci can be pre-
not binding! – proposals about how they pattern specified in each of these tracks.
together.
Among other effects produced by this com 3.1 Adding linguistic ethnography as a
bination of linguistics and ethnography, a dis supplementary lens
tinctive view of ideology emerges. Rather than Wherever empirical research is broadly aligned
being treated only as sets of explicitly articulated with social constructionism (e.g. Berger & Luck
statements (as in much policy and interview dis mann 1966; Giddens 1976, 1984), there is scope
course analysis), ideologies are viewed as com for introducing the kinds of lens outlined in Sec
plexes that operate in different shapes and with tion 2. If the social world is produced in ordinary
different modes of articulation at a variety of activity, and if social realities get produced, rati
levels on a range of objects. Explicit statements fied, resisted and reworked in everyday inter
are of course included, but so too are implicit action, then the tools of linguistic, semiotic and
behavioural reflexes operating in discourse prac discourse analysis can help us understand about
tices (turning these into ideologically saturated a great deal more than communication alone. So
praxis). Intense scrutiny of textual and discur if one rejects an essentialist group description
sive detail discloses the ways in which widely such as ‘the Roma in Hungary’, and instead seeks
distributed societal ideologies penetrate the to understand how ‘Roma’ circulates as a repre
microscopic world of talk and text, how ideolo sentation in Hungarian discourse, how it settles
gies have palpable mundane reality.6 Indeed, this on particular humans, how it comes to channel
layered, multi-scalar and empirically grounded and constrain their position and activity, then it
understanding of ideology is perhaps one of the is vital to take a close look at language and dis
most sophisticated ones in current social science. course (cf. Tremlett 2007; also Moerman 1974
Such, then, is the refurbished toolkit that cur cited above).
rently constitutes linguistic ethnography (linguis There is no retreat from larger generalizations
tic anthropology/ethnographic sociolinguistics). about ethnicity, history or superdiversity in this
It is now worth reflecting on some of the ques linguistic focus, but it is driven by a view that in
tions and issues that it could be used to address. the process of abstracting and simplifying, it is
vital to continuously refer back to what’s ‘lived’
6 See also the discussion of ‘normativity’ in 3.2.1 and expressed in the everyday (itself understood
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
as layered and multi-scalar) ( cf. Harris & Ramp- worth emphasizing three general principles that
ton 2010). Without that anchoring, discussion is should be borne in mind throughout.
often left vulnerable to the high octane dramati-
zations of public discourse, panicked and unable 3.2.1 Guiding principles
to imagine how anyone copes. Talk of ‘multiple, First, even though there is sure to be variation in
fluid, intersecting and ambiguous identities’ the prioritization of its elements, it is essential
provides little recovery from this, assuming as to remain cognisant of what Silverstein calls ‘the
it often does that the identities mentioned all total linguistic fact’: “[t]he total linguistic fact,
count, and that it is really hard working out how the datum for a science of language is irreducibly
they link together. Indeed ‘fluidism’ of this kind dialectic in nature. It is an unstable mutual inter-
can be rather hard to reconcile with everyday action of meaningful sign forms, contextualized
communicative practices. A close look at these to situations of interested human use and media
can show that people often do manage to bring ted by the fact of cultural ideology” (1985:220).
quite a high degree of intelligible order to their And of course this in turn is grounded in a basic
circumstances, that they aren’t as fractured or commitment to ethnographic description of the
troubled by particular identifications as initially who, what, where, when, how and why of semio
supposed, and that they can be actually rather tic practice.
adept at navigating ‘superdiversity’ or ‘ethnicities Second, it is vital to remember just how far
without guarantees’, inflecting them in ways that normativity (or ‘ought-ness’) reaches into semio
are extremely hard to anticipate in the absence sis and communication. For much of the time,
of close observation and analysis. most of the resources materialized in any com-
This kind of analytical movement – holding municative action are unnoticed and taken for
influential discourses to account with descrip- granted, but it only takes a slight deviation from
tions of the everyday – is of course a defining habitual and expected practice to send recipients
feature of ethnography per se, and the perspec- into interpretive over-drive, wondering what’s
tive outlined here could be described as ethno going on when a sound, a word, a grammatical
graphy tout court (2.3.6). But it is an ethnogra- pattern, a discourse move or bodily movement
phy enriched with some highly developed heu- doesn’t quite fit. There is considerable scope for
ristic frameworks and procedures for discovering variation in the norms that individuals orient to,
otherwise un(der)-analyzed intricacies in social which affects the kinds of thing they notice as
relations ( cf. Sapir 1949:166; Hymes 1996:8). In discrepant, and there can also be huge variety in
a field like sociolinguistics, scholars certainly can the situated indexical interpretations that they
spend careers elaborating this apparatus, but bring to bear (‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’,
as the cross-disciplinary training programme in ‘art’ or ‘error’, ‘call it out’ or ‘let it pass’, ‘indica-
Ethnography, Language & Communication7 has tive or typical of this or that’). These normative
amply demonstrated, it doesn’t take long for the expectations and explanatory accounts circulate
sensitive ethnographer with a non-linguistics through social networks that range very consid-
background to be able to start using these tools erably in scale, from intimate relationships and
to generate unanticipated insights. friendship groups to national education systems
and global media, and of course there are major
3.2 Language and communication as focal differences in how far they are committed to
topics policing or receptive to change. All this neces-
A full consideration of issues for research focused sarily complicates any claims we might want to
on language and communication in superdiver- make about the play of structure and agency. It
sity would take far more space than is available alerts us to the ways in which innovation on one
here, but before pointing to two broad areas, it is dimension may be framed by stability at others,
and it means that when we do speak of a change,
7 See www.rdi-elc.org.uk it is essential to assess its penetration and con-
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
sequentiality elsewhere. But at least we have an dinner, dipping in and out of some reading – but
idea of what we have to look for, and this may are there situations where the acceleration of
help us past the risk of hasty over- or under-inter digital innovation has now produced a quantum
pretation (either pessimistic or romanticizing). shift in the arrangements for talk and the dynam
Third, in view of the volume of past and pres ics of co-presence? Exactly which, how, why, with
ent research on diversity, we have reached the what and among whom? And where, what, how
stage where individual and clusters of projects etc not or not much? (See Leppänen & Piirainen-
can and should now seek cumulative compara- Marsh 2009; Eisenlohr 2006, 2009)
tive generalization. ‘Superdiversity’ speaks of The investigation of particular sites and prac
rapid change and mobility, and to interrogate tices will often need to reckon with wider pat
this, it is important wherever possible to incorpo terns of sociolinguistic stratification in societies
rate the comparison of new and old datasets and at large, as well as with the linguistic socializa
studies, as well as to address the perspectives of tion of individuals. Super-diversity has poten
different generations of informants. Multi-sited tial implications for these as well, so it is worth
comparison across scales, mediating channels/ dwelling on each a little longer.
agencies and institutional settings is likely to Writing about the USA during the 20th century,
be indispensible in any account concerned with Hymes (1980, 1996) used the phrase ‘speech
ideology, language and everyday life. But there is economy’ to refer to the organization of com
also now an opportunity for comparison across municative resources and practices in different
nation-states and different parts of the world. (but connected) groups, networks and institu
Among other things, this should help to clarify tions. In doing so, he was making at least three
the extent to which the orderly and partially points: (i) some forms of communication are
autonomous aspects of language and interaction highly valued & rewarded while others get stig
reduce superdiversity’s potentially pluralizing matized or ignored; (ii) expertise and access to
impact on communication, resulting in cross- influential and prestigious styles, genres and
setting similarities in spite of major difference in media is unevenly distributed across any popula
the macro-structural conditions (Goffman 1983; tion; and in this way (iii) language and discourse
Erickson 2001). play a central role in the production and legitima
tion of inequality and stratification. This account
3.2.2 Two broad areas for language and of a sociolinguistic economy is broadly congru
communication research ent with Irvine’s Bourdieurian description of
The general commitments in 3.2.1 themselves registers and styles forming “part of a system of
imply a number of specific questions for inves distinction, in which a style contrasts with other
tigation. So for example, the call for compari possible styles, and the social meaning signified
son invites examination of just how varied the by the style contrasts with other possible styles”
interactional relations enacted in heteroglossic (2001:22).8 And Parkin extends this view of the
practices actually are (2.3.4), while longitudi
8 “[S]tyles in speaking involve the ways speakers, as
nal research should illuminate their historicity
agents in social (and sociolinguistic) space, negotiate
and biographical durability across the life-span their positions and goals within a system of distinc
(cf. Rampton 2011a). Similarly, longitudinal work tions and possibilities. Their acts of speaking are ideo
allows us to consider whether, how and how far logically mediated, since those acts necessarily involve
the development of digital communications are the speaker’s understandings of salient social groups,
activities, and practices, including forms of talk. Such
changing face-to-face encounters, pluralizing or understandings incorporate evaluations and are
refocusing participation structures, re- or de-cen weighted by the speaker’s social position and inter
tring the communicative resources in play. Inter est. They are also affected by differences in speakers’
action has always hosted split foci of attention access to relevant practices. Social acts, including acts
of speaking, are informed by an ideologised system
– making asides to bystanders, chatting with the of representations, and no matter how instrumental
TV on, taking a landline call in the kitchen during they may be to some particular social goal, they also
13
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
ethnic adult and adolescent newcomers merits Even so, in a socio-political context often
particular attention (Talmy 2008, 2009; Reyes & characterized by deep and vigorous disagree
Lo 2009; Sarroub 2005; Pyke & Tang 2003), and ments about policy and practice for language
there is a great deal of new work to be done on and literacy in education, politics, commerce
the Internet, mobile phones and practices like etc, the models of language and communication
gaming, chatting and texting as sites of language critiqued in Section 2 are still very influential. In
learning (Leppänen 2009; Blommaert 2010a). In addition, non-experimental, non-quantitative
all of this, it is important to avoid the a priori sep methods of the kind that we have emphasized
aration of ‘first’ and ‘second language’ speakers are often criticized as ‘unscientific’ and then
– among other things, linguistic norms and tar excluded from the reckoning in evidence-based
gets change (Blommaert, Collins & Slembrouck policy-making. So strategies and issues around
2005:201; Rampton 2011c) – and it will also impact and application require extensive consid
need careful clarification of potential links and eration in their own right.
necessary incompatibilities in the idioms com But perhaps Hymes provides the fundamen
monly used to analyse heteroglossia on the one tal orientation for this environment (1980; also
hand (‘double-voicing’, ‘stylization’, ‘ideological Blommaert 2010b). In a discussion of ‘ethno
becoming’ etc) and standard second language graphic monitoring’, in which ethnographic
learning on the other (e.g. ‘transfer’, ‘noticing’, researchers study events and outcomes during
‘interlanguage development’). the implementation of intervention programmes
in education, health, workplaces etc, Hymes
3.3 Impacts describes ethnography’s practical relevance in a
Linguistics has its very origins in the practical way that now resonates quite widely with experi
encounter with diversity and difference (e.g. Bo ence in linguistic ethnography:10
linger 1975:506ff), and as well as contributing to
“...of all forms of scientific knowledge, ethnography
the formation of nation-states (cf. 2.1), there is is the most open,... the least likely to produce a
a very large and long tradition of intervention world in which experts control knowledge at the
ist work in the field of applied linguistics, focus expense of those who are studied. The skills of
ing on a very full range of issues in institutional ethnography consist of the enhancement of skills
language policy and practice. Here too there all normal persons employ in everyday life; its dis
coveries can usually be conveyed in forms of lan
has been ongoing argument and change in the
guage that non-specialists can read....” (Hymes
guiding models of communication (Widdow 1980b:105)
son 1984:7-36; Trappes-Lomax 2000; Seidlhofer
2003), and in general, there has been a lot less He then goes further:
susceptibility to ‘outlandish presuppositions’
“Ethnography, as we know, is… an interface between
here than in formal, non-applied linguistics. Post- specific inquiry and comparative generalization. It
structuralist ideas have also been working their will serve us well, I think, to make prominent the
way through applied linguistics, and there is now term ‘ethnology’, that explicitly invokes compara
growing discussion of whether and how contem tive generalization… An emphasis on the ethno
porary developments in language, ethnicity and logical dimension takes one away from immediate
problems and from attempt to offer immediate
culture require new forms of intervention (Pen
remedies, but it serves constructive change bet
nycook 2001, 2010; Leung, Harris & Rampton ter in the long run. Emphasis on the ethnological
1997; Rampton 2000). So when the programme dimension links… ethnography with social history,
of perspectives, methods and topics sketched through the ways in which larger forces for sociali
in this paper is called to justify itself in terms of zation, institutionalization, reproduction of an ex
relevance and impact beyond the academy – as isting order, are expressed and interpreted in spe
is increasingly common for university research 10 Inthe UK at least, linguistic ethnography has
– there is a substantial body of work to connect close family links with applied linguistics (Rampton
with. 2007:586-90)
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jan Blommaert, Ben Rampton
cific settings. The longer view seems a surer foot Barth, F. 1969 Introduction. In F. Barth (ed) Ethnic
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Language and Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
Ben Rampton is Professor of Applied & Sociolinguistics and Director of the Centre for
Language Discourse and Communication at King’s College London. He specializes in interactional
sociolinguistics, and his interests cover urban multilingualism, ethnicity, class, youth and
education. His publications include Crossing: Language & Ethnicity among Adolescents (Longman
1995/St Jerome 2005), Language in Late Modernity: Interaction in an Urban School (CUP 2006),
The Language, Ethnicity & Race Reader (Routledge 2003), and Researching Language: Issues of
Power and Method (Routledge 1992). He edits Working Papers in Urban Language and Literacy
(www.kcl.ac.uk/ldc), and he was founding convener of the UK Linguistic Ethnography Forum
(www.uklef.net).
21
Polylanguaging in Superdiversity
By J. N. Jørgensen , M. S. Karrebæk , L. M. Madsen , and J. S. Møller
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
Humankind is a languaging species. This means that as human beings we use language to
achieve our goals. Every time we use language, we change the world a little bit. We do so by
using language with other human beings, language is in other words social. In this paper we
challenge one of the most widely held views of language as a social, human phenomenon,
namely that “language” can be separated into different “languages”, such as “Russian”,
“Latin”, and “Greenlandic”. Our paper is based on a recently developed sociolinguistic
understanding that this view of language can not be upheld on the basis of linguistic
criteria. “Languages” are abstractions, they are sociocultural or ideological constructions
which match real-life use of language poorly. This means that sociolinguistics – the study
of language as a social phenomenon - must work at another level of analysis with real-life
language use. The first part of our paper presents such analyses of observed language use
among adolescents in superdiverse societies. We show that the level of a linguistic feature
is better suited as the basis for analysis of language use than the level of “a language”. In
the second part of the paper we present our concept of polylanguaging which denotes the
way in which speakers use features associated with different “languages” – even when they
know very little of these “languages”. We use the level of (linguistic) features as the basis for
understanding language use, and we claim that features are socioculturally associated with
“languages”. Both features individually and languages are socioculturally associated with
values, meanings, speakers, etc. This means that we can deal with the connection between
features and languages, and in the analyses in the first part we do exactly that.
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
line, İlknur’s contribution, is partly associated In the exchange in example 2, Michael asks for
with Danish, partly with English, both in vocabu- glue or paste. Esen answers with the construction
lary and in grammar. “eine limesteife”. The word “eine” is associated
It makes little sense to classify this exchange as with German, and this is quite straightforward.
belonging to one or the other language. It makes However, the word “limesteife” is not associated
no more sense to try to count the number of with any language or variety (that we know of).
“languages” involved. There is a gradual shift in The element “lim” pronounced with a long high
association and meaning from Armenian “moruk” front vowel ([i:]) equals the Danish-associated
to young Copenhagen “morok”, and there are word for “glue”, and the middle -e- may also be
several overlaps, for instance between standard associated to Danish as many compounds associ-
Danish and young Copenhagen Danish, such as ated with Danish have an -e attached to the first
the words “skal være” (“must be”), and “gardash” element as a compound marker. This is not the
can not very easily be classified anywhere. case of the word “lim”, however. In addition, the
If we attempted to analyze this short exchange element “steife” is not associated with Danish,
at the level of “languages” we would run into a and neither with German in any sense that would
number of difficulties. Firstly, we could not with- give an immediately accessible meaning here. It
out quite substantial preparations determine may sound like a German word to the Danish ear,
what languages to account for. Would “youth but not to the German ear. This feature does not
Danish” be one language, separate from “Dan- lend itself to being categorized in any “language”.
ish with an accent” and “standard Danish”? The word “limesteife” indexes “German” to a
We would have to distinguish somehow. Other- Danish person. It would be a possible member of
wise we would miss some of the crucial mean- the set of features which a Dane could construct
ings of the exchange. Secondly, we would have as “German”. However, it is highly unlikely to be
a hard time determining how many languages designated as a member of a set of features con-
are represented. Thirdly, some features would structed by a German as “the German language”.
be difficult to categorize in any given language. It is nonetheless possible to analyze it, to find
This exchange can not be analyzed at the level a meaning in the context precisely because we
of “languages” or “varieties” without important analyze at the level of features.
loss of its content. On the other hand, we can These examples could mislead to the idea
not and should not either discard the level of that speakers do whatever comes to their minds
“languages” as irrelevant. The analysis of features without any inhibitions. This is not the case (as
must involve if and how the features are associ- Rampton 1995 shows). Even the young, creative
ated with one or more “languages”. speakers with access to a wide range of resources
That features are not always categorizable in will carefully observe and monitor norms, and
one or more given “languages” can be seen in uphold them with each other. In the Amager
example 2. Project (Madsen et al. 2010) we have collected
Example 2, Grade 8 group conversation from written descriptions by the young informants,
the Køge Project (Jørgensen 2010), (Danish in about their relations to language. This material
recte, other language in bold): has revealed a vast range of attitudes, insights,
descriptions of practices – and norms. A strong
Michael: hvor er der noget lim hernede et norm is expressed by a 15-year old boy in exam-
eller andet sted. ple 3.
translation: where is there some glue some- Example 3, Grade 8 written assignment from
where here? the Amager Project by a minority boy [the word
Esen: eine limesteife [pronounced as perker is a controversial term for a minority
li:mestajfe] member, particularly Moslem]:
translation: a gluestick
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jørgensen, Karrebæk, Madsen, Møller
Efter perkersprog skal kun ”perker” snakke som house a relatively high share of minority mem-
de snakker bers. Others are not accepted as users of perker
language. We know from the Amager Project
På grund af det vil være mærkeligt hvis nogle (Madsen et al. 2010: 92-97) that this is an enreg-
dansker med dansk baggrund hvis du forstår istered concept which is seen as an opposite to
hvad jeg mener, talte perkersprog, men (dan- integrated speech. Integrated speech represents
skere) som er født i en bolig blok med (perkere) an academically oriented, upscale culture, and
må sådan set godt tale det sprog also politeness and adult speech. The opposite,
alternatingly labelled as perker language, ghetto
Translation: language, and other terms represents street
After perker language only “perker” should speak wiseness, minority membership, and youth. The
as they do. students give many examples of features which
Because it would be awkward if some Danes with they associate with each of these two ways of
a Danish background if you understand what I speaking. Some of the features associated with
mean, spoke perker language, but (Danes) who perker language are typically described as loans
are born in a housing block with (perkers) are in from minority languages such as Arabic, Urdu,
fact allowed to speak that language and Turkish. In example 4 we observe a majority
member using precisely such a feature.
This statement assigns the right of use of perker Example 4, Facebook exchange involving
language to two specific groups, one the perkers grade 9 students from the Amager Project. Origi-
themselves, the other one “Danes” who happen nal comments on the left hand side, translations
to live in areas which are stereotypically seen to on the right hand side of the page.
Example 4
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
In the first line a minority boy announces that he important, but rarely represent real-life language
has shaved himself (a contentious issue among use.
teenage boys). A majority boy reacts with a com- A critical understanding of the delineability
ment which signals loud laughter, and adds “then of separate languages is not new. It has long
you have no more shaarkkk left” followed by an been realized that it is not possible, on the
emoticon. The use of the word shark (English basis of linguistic criteria, to draw clear borders
’hair’) is found elsewhere in the Amager material, between languages such as German and Dutch
and it is cited as an example of perker language, (see, e.g., Romaine 1994: 136), or for that mat-
being a loan from Arabic. The fact that this fea- ter, between what is thought of as separate
ture is used by a majority boy does not go unno- dialects of the same language (e.g., Andersen
ticed by the participants. Another minority mem- 1969: 22). Hudson (1996: 24) concludes that
ber adds a few lines later that “[the name of the “it may be extremely hard to identify variet-
majority boy] tries to be a perker” followed by ies corresponding even roughly to traditional
laughter and the comment “cracking [up]”. The notions”.
relatively gentle reaction leads the majority boy The recent critical discussion of the concept
to a self-ironic remark: “yeah, I’m a really cool of languages as separate and separable sets of
gangster” followed by “cough, cough”, a refer- features takes this insight further and sees the
ence to a cliché way of expressing doubt or scep- idea of individual languages as based on linguis-
ticism. tic normativity, or ideology, rather than real-life
In example 4 we see references to the norm language use. According to Makoni & Pennycook
that was overtly formulated in example 3. The (2006: 2) “languages do not exist as real entities
sanction following the majority boy’s use of lan- in the world and neither do they emerge from
guage to which he is not entitled, is mild com- or represent real environments; they are, by con-
pared to other kinds of sanctions. But both inter- trast, the inventions of social, cultural and politi-
locutors show that they are aware of the norm cal movements”. These sociocultural movements
and react accordingly. Polylanguaging (the use of are generally taken to coincide with the national-
resources associated with different “languages” ist ideologies which developed in Europe in the
even when the speaker knows very little of these, 1700’s (Heller 2007: 1). Makoni & Pennycook
see below) is frequent among these informants, find that the concept of “a language” is a Euro-
but it is not a free-for-all. pean invention, and one that Europeans have
imposed on colonized peoples in other parts of
Language and Languages the world. They observe that many names for
In this section we suggest that the concepts of dif- languages have been invented by Euro peans,
ferent “languages” are sociocultural constructs, not by those to whom the languages were
and we suggest a different understanding of the ascribed.
human activity of using language, based on fea-
While it is interesting at one level to observe sim-
tures. ply that the names for these new entities were
Over the past decades sociolinguists have invented, the point of greater significance is that
increasingly questioned the traditional, struc- these were not just new names for extant objects
tural concept of languages. The idea of separate (languages pre-existed the naming), but rather the
languages as bounded systems of specific lin- invention and naming of new objects (Makoni &
Pennycook 2006: 10).
guistic features belonging together and exclud-
ing other linguistic features is found to be insuf- Heller (2007: 1) explicitly argues “against the
ficient to capture the reality of language use, notion that languages are objectively speaking
at least in late modern superdiverse societies, whole, bounded, systems”, and she prefers to
and perhaps altogether. Instead the concepts understand language use as the phenomenon
of languages as separable entities are seen as that speakers “draw on linguistic resources
sociocultural constructions which certainly are which are organized in ways that make sense
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
use features and not languages. Features may Instead, sociolinguistic descriptions of language
be associated with specific languages (or specific use could fruitfully include a focus on the use
categories which are called languages). Such an of linguistic resources and how they come to
association may be an important quality of any be associated with particular social values and
given feature, and one which speakers may know meanings. Blommaert (2008, 2010) points out
and use as they speak. Gumperz’ (1982: 66) con- that such values are not easy to transport, for
cepts of “we-code” and “they-code” point to that instance in connection with migration. Value
relationship. Minority speakers’ use of features associations do not travel well. For instance,
associated with their minority language as a “we- values associated with “English”, “Turkish”, and
code”, i.e. the code which is in opposition to ma- “Danish” by the local majorities in London, Lefco-
jority language, signifies values such as solidarity sia, Ankara, and Copenhagen, are probably very
and closeness. The features associated with the different. In addition the value associations may
minority language index these values. Indexing not last very well. Values (and meanings) are
values is one important type of indexicality. susceptible to challenges, re-valuation or even
The notions of “varieties”, “sociolects”, “dia- opposition. In other words they are highly nego-
lects”, “registers”, etc. may appear to be useful tiable.
categories for linguists. They may indeed be stra- The linguistic aspect of the ideological under-
tegic, ideological constructs for power holders, standing of “separate languages” is a multitude
educators, and other gatekeepers (Jørgensen of separate sets of linguistic features. “German”
2010, Heller 2007). However, what speakers is thought of as all the features, i.e. words, regu-
actually use are linguistic features as semiotic larities, etc. which are assumed to comprise “the
resources, not languages, varieties, or lects German language”, and so forth, with up to 5,000
(Jørgensen 2004, 2008, Møller 2009). It is prob- or more “languages”. The features belonging to
lematic if sociolinguistics habitually treats these each set are seen as particularly closely related,
constructs as unquestioned facts. Blommaert & for instance as a set of words in the vocabulary
Backus (2011) have proposed the term “reper- of “a language”. This vocabulary excludes words
toires” for the set of resources which the indi- belonging to other sets of features (with the
vidual commands or “knows”. Although they still possible exception of loan words from “other
refer to “languages” in the traditional sense (for languages”). The idea of “learning a language”
“didactic” reasons, Blommaert & Backus 2011: means that speakers acquire a range of these
2), they also work analytically at the level of fea- features (both words and grammar). However,
tures, in their terminology: resources. human beings do not learn “languages” in this
sense. People primarily learn and use linguistic
Whether or not a particular word, combination
or pattern actually exists as a unit in the linguistic features. While they learn these features they
knowledge of an individual speaker is dependent mostly also learn how they are associated with
on its degree of entrenchment. ‘Having’ a unit in specific sociocultural constructions called “lan-
your inventory means it is entrenched in your mind guages”. Schools all over the world offer classes
(Blommaert & Backus 2011: 6) with the label “English”. What students learn in
A consequence of the attention paid to the ideo these classes is by political or sociocultural defi-
logical character of the construction of “lan- nition “English”. This term turns out to be at best
guages” would be giving up the focus on identify- fuzzy if we try to define it as a set of linguistic
ing varieties in observed language use and the features or resources (Pennycook 2007), but
insistence on naming observed behaviors among it makes sense to both students and teachers.
real-life languagers, for instance as it has hap- These associations between “languages” and fea-
pened in the discussions about names for the tures which are gradually becoming “entrenched”
developing youth styles in European cities (see in the minds of the students mean that the fea-
Madsen 2008, a similar criticism is offered by tures are also becoming entrenched as features
Jaspers 2007, see also Androutsopoulos 2010). of “English”.
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jørgensen, Karrebæk, Madsen, Møller
Features and Associations (see more below about the positioning of indi-
In this section and the next we take up some of viduals in relation to “languages”).
the ways in which features are associated with The value associated with “learning Spanish”
languages on the one hand, and meanings and is usually not the same as the value associated
values on the other hand. Features are associ- with “learning Greenlandic”. As pointed out, val-
ated directly, as features, with values, but they ues do not travel well, and they are negotiable. It
are also indirectly associated with values by be- is safe to assume, however, that in most parts of
ing associated with “languages”. This is because the world more value would be associated with
the “languages” are themselves associated with “having learnt Spanish” than with “having learnt
values. It is a crucial point that these associations Greenlandic”. The Arctic is of course a notable
are fluid and negotiable. There are many other exception, and so are specific other contexts and
associations with language, for instance with special places such as the North Atlantic culture
places and times, but we do not go into detail house and its human environment in Copenha-
with them. gen, or perhaps certain academic circles. Our
Learning “a language” is then, with the state- point here is that under any given circumstances
ments we have made this far, of course impos- “languages” are associated with values, and
sible in a purely linguistic understanding. One the use of features associated with a language
can learn a number of features associated with may index the associated value - as Gumperz
a specific sociocultural construction, for instance describes it. But not only “languages” are associ-
“Spanish”. Since there is no linguistic way to deter- ated with values. Individual features are also (see
mine precisely what is “Spanish”, schools can not also Hudson 1996: 22).
devise a criterion by which their students can be Linguistic features appear in the shape of
classified as “having learnt Spanish” or having units and regularities (Blommaert & Backus’
failed to “learn Spanish”. To overcome this obsta- “word, combination or pattern”). Units are words,
cle, decision makers in education usually select expressions, sounds, even phonetic characteris-
a number of features which they associate with tics such as rounding. Regularities are traditio
“Spanish”. The students are tested whether they nally called “rules”, but they are not rules in the
have entrenched these features the same way legal sense, or even the normative sense. They
as certain official documents require. If so, they are regularities of how units are combined into
are constructed by the authorities as “having larger units in processes through which the larger
learnt Spanish”. If not, they are classified as hav- units become associated with meanings.
ing failed to. Blommaert & Backus (2011: 4) pres- A consequence of this view of linguistic regu-
ent a scathing criticism of these practices: “Such larities is that there is no such thing as inherently
practices and methods have met debilitating and correct language. Correctness is social conven-
crippling criticism from within the profession tion about the characteristics of specific linguis-
[...]; yet they remain unaffected and attract more tic features. Correctness has nothing to do with
and more support among national and supra the linguistic characteristics of features - correct-
national authorities”. There is an important socio ness is ascribed to the features by (some) speak-
linguistic task in studying how and what features ers. The notion of “correct language” may index
become elevated this way, and what features specific features in (at least) two different ways.
are relegated, from for example “Spanish” in A feature may be “correct” in the sense that it is
schools. used in the way that it is used by speakers who
The passing of tests in “Spanish” provides the are considered “native” speakers of the given
students with a claim to be in a position with language (more about native speakers below). If
respect to Spanish which allows them to say a feature is used which “native” speakers would
“I speak Spanish”. Such a position is greatly val- not use, or in a way that “native” speakers would
ued in some places, and it is therefore potentially not use it, the feature is by this social conven-
socially translatable into power and positions tion “incorrect”, and it indexes non-belonging.
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
The other widely assumed meaning of “incorrect” as rough and rude. Such ascriptions are also con-
is that it denotes a use of a feature which vio- text-dependent. In the tradition among Danes
lates “the rules of the language” (which people Norwegian stereotypically indexes happy-go-
who think of themselves and each others as lucky naivety, and this is indeed possible under
“native” speakers of a given language do again many circumstances. However, Norwegian may
and again with the very language they think also index Scandinavian brotherhood. The asso-
of as their “mother tongue”, but that is beside ciation in a given context is determined by that
the point here). The assumption is based on context (in a wider sense).
the notion of languages as packages of features Speakers also position each other in relation to
which comprise certain features and exclude all “languages”. Terms such as “Greenlandic mother
others. When it comes to concrete features, the tongue speaker” and “English learner” are such
features which are specifically associated with associations of people with “languages”. Social
speakers of low education or low socioeconomic categorizations of speakers involve stereotypes
status (or with speakers who are categorized as about their relationship to specific “languages”.
non-native) are typically considered “incorrect”. In some cases this relationship is (comparatively
stable and) described with the term “native
Speakers and Associations speaker”. In this way (and in other ways) con-
In this section we describe how “languages” are cepts and terms of individual “languages” make
associated with specific speakers, or groups of sense as having relationships with individuals.
speakers, and conversely how individuals can The notion of “native speaker” denotes such a
position themselves vis-à-vis “languages”. It fol- relation. A “native speaker” can claim a num-
lows from this and the previous section that fea- ber of rights with respect to the “language” of
tures can similarly become associated with indi- which she or he is a “native speaker”. The “native
viduals. speaker” of “a language” can claim to have
Speakers ascribe different values to features, “access” to that language, to have “ownership” of
some features are “vulgar” or “ugly”, whereas the language. He or she can claim legitimacy in
others are “posh” or “poetic”. Some features the use of the language and can claim that the
are “primitive”, others “sophisticated”. Speakers language “belongs” to her or him.
also associate “languages”, “dialects”, etc. with In varying degrees, non-native speakers can
specific other people. A given feature associated claim “access”, “ownership”, “legitimacy”, etc.,
with a “variety” will then index these speakers, depending on the acceptance by others of their
and possibly a number of values. An addental “having learnt” the language. Such accept may be
s-pronunciation is stereotypically associated with authoritative as happens through language pro-
superficial teenage girls, or with male homosexu- ficiency exams, but the acceptance may also be
ality. This is not, of course, a given association. negotiable and depend on the context.
Maegaard (2007) has demonstrated how the This underlines the fact that such associa-
use of addental s-pronunciation may also index tions are socioculturally constructed. The “native
oppositional, streetwise, minority masculinity. speakers” of Danish is a group of people who by
The values associated with the features - and the convention see themselves as native speakers of
“varieties” - are negotiable and context-depen- Danish - and exclude others from the category. In
dent. principle there is nothing in nature or the world
The values ascribed to sets of features may that prevents, for instance, members of the Dan-
easily develop into stereotypical characters, such ish minority in Southern Schleswig to think of
as the (Hollywood-propelled) stereotypes of Ger- themselves as “native speakers” of Danish, and
man as rough and rude and Russian represent- the members of the German minority in North-
ing jovial peasantry. The use of (Hollywood) Ger- ern Schleswig to think of themselves as “native
man may therefore be used precisely to index speakers” of German. Some of them do in fact,
roughness, to stylize (Coupland 2007) someone and the minority schools on both sides of the
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jørgensen, Karrebæk, Madsen, Møller
border treat their children as such. However, in use which only includes features associated
the sociolinguistic literature the two groups are with one and the same language and an idea
prime examples of minorities whose “mother of language use which avoids certain features
tongues” are precisely not the “languages” asso- which are considered “impure” or “improper” or
ciated with their cultural allegiance. The legiti- “incorrect” in and by themselves. This means that
macy of the claim of such groups is negotiable. one can violate the purity ideal both by using
The legitimacy of categorizing other people as “foreign” stuff and by using “dirty” stuff. Speak-
“native speakers” of Danish may also be negotia- ers know the widespread mainstream ideals of
ble. The then vice president of the Danish Social “pure” language, but do not live up to them, as
Democrats in an address to a party congress on demonstrated in the examples above.
September 13, 2000, claimed that: “If one is born In particular, there is nothing in the nature of
and raised in Denmark and intends to stay here, language that prevents speakers from combin-
then one’s mother tongue is Danish.” Such a ing in the same stretch of speech features which
statement’s face value is highly negotiable. are associated with Greenlandic, Tagalog, and
Leung et al. (1997: 555-556) suggest that the Cree. It is entirely possible, and speakers con-
traditional concept of “native speaker” has been stantly produce speech of such kind (although
used with three relevant, but different perspec- not often with this combination). However, there
tives (see also Rampton 1990: 100 and Ramp- are other reasons why speakers refrain from
ton 1995: 339-344), and that these perspec- using forms they have access to and may even
tives substitute both the concept and the term. have “entrenched”. Just as speakers are thought
They suggest a perspective “language expertise”, to have “rights” to specific “languages” or “vari-
i.e. people’s “ability in each of the posited lan- eties”, there are also people who are thought not
guages”. Leung et al. are aware of the difficulties to have these rights - all depending on context.
with this. In addition they suggest the perspec- This means that speakers may meet and store
tive of “language affiliation”, i.e. people’s “sense (“entrench”) features which are in most, if not
of affiliation to any of the languages allegedly all, contexts believed to “belong” to others. The
within their repertoire”. Finally Leung et al. sug- “access” may not be restricted, but the usability
gest “language inheritance”, and they ask “Does is. Teachers generally have access to youth lan-
membership in an ethnic group mean an auto- guage in this sense, but they can only use it as
matic language inheritance?”, and they charac- stylization - and preferably flagged. Rampton
terize such an assumption as “unsafe”. However, (1995) describes in detail such a set of rights and
as Harris (2006) shows, speakers may indeed options in a group of adolescents.
“inherit” a language in the sense that they think
“The term ‘language crossing’ (or ‘code-crossing’)
of the language as “their” language - and at the refers to the use of a language which isn’t gener-
same time they may regret they “do not know ally thought to ‘belong’ to the speaker. Language
their language”. So, regardless of what perspec- crossing involves a sense of movement across
tive we choose, we find that the relationship quite sharply felt social or ethnic boundaries, and
between an individual and a language is a socio- it raises issues of legitimacy that participants need
to reckon with in the course of their encounter”
cultural construction. It is negotiable, and it may
(Rampton 1998: 291)
become the object of political power struggles
(for a discussion of “native speaker”, see Jør- O’Rourke & Aisling (2007) describe how Irish
gensen 2010). university students of Irish Gaelic who consider
themselves “native speakers” develop a proble
Features and Use matic relationship with fellow students of Irish
Below we emphasize that speakers may use Gaelic who are not accepted as “native speak-
whatever features are at their disposal without ers”. Conflicts sometimes lead the “native spea
regard to norms of linguistic purity. “Purity” is a kers” to refuse the use of Irish Gaelic to the other
notion that may involve both an idea of language group.
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
“There’s an image that native speakers project, that tive idea about bilingual individuals, i.e. double
they have better Irish than you and they speak Eng-
monolinguals. It is impossible to disentangle this
lish back to you. They know that you learned Irish”
view from the ideologically constructed view
(O’Rourke & Aisling 2007: 7).
of “a language” as a unique and separate set of
To take stock: Individual linguistic features are features. Only with this concept is it possible to
taken to be representatives of sets of features. maintain the double (or multiple) monolingua
Speakers refer to these socio-culturally con- lism norm.
structed sets of features as “languages” (or “dia- The (double or multiple) monolingualism norm:
lects”, etc.). Educational systems similarly refer “Persons who command two (or more) languages
to the teaching of language as “teaching of lan- should at any given time use one and only one
guages”. It is by now a trivial observation that language, and they should use each of their lan-
this does not represent the reality of language guages in a way that does not in principle differ
use. Nevertheless, language behavioral norms from the way in which monolinguals use that
which are firmly enforced by school systems, same language.”
media gatekeepers, and other powerful forces According to the double monolingualism
emphasize linguistic purity, or so-called “mono- norm, any language should be spoken “purely”,
lingual” behavior at all times: Individuals may be i.e. without being mixed with another language.
so-called “multilinguals”, but their behavior at This is obviously a notion which can be met not
any given time should be “monolingual”. only among the general public, but also among
some linguists. To give just one example: David-
Norms of Language Behavior sen-Nielsen & Herslund 1999, two language pro-
In this section we describe the different norms fessors whose first sentence runs (in my trans-
of behavior with respect to “different languages” lation): “The Danish language suffers from the
which are oriented to by speakers. We character- English Disease”, a pun on the popular term for
ize most norms as ideologically based and unable rachitis, i.e., “engelsk syge”, and the paper goes
to account for language use as observed in the on to lament the use of English loans in Danish,
examples above. We suggest the term polylan- especially among the youth.
guaging, i.e. the use of features associated with In many real life situations we can observe
different “languages” even when speakers know how speakers follow a completely different norm
only few features associated with (some of) of bilingual behavior. They may code-switch
these “languages” as a term for the practices in between utterances, in the middle of utterances,
the examples. sometimes in the middle of a single word, and
Until the rise of sociolinguistics in the 1960’s they may switch back again. It is of course pos-
code-switching was generally considered devi- sible to talk about “code-switching” even with
ant linguistic behavior, and bilingual individuals our critical view of the traditional concept of
were thought of, and described as imperfect lan- “code” - a code-switch is the juxtaposition of fea-
guage users. The corresponding characterization tures associated with different codes when both
of a bilingual person often applied in educational producer and recipient of the resulting complex
discussions is that of a “double semi-lingual”, i.e. sign are in a position to understand this juxta-
a person who is described as not knowing any position as such (cf. Auer 1995: 116). Speakers
language “fully”, but having only two “half” lan- use features belonging to the different languages
guages (Hansegaard 1968). they “know” (i.e. which are ideologically con-
This leads us to the norms of bilingual behav- structed and normatively considered to be dif-
ior, as we can observe them in society, including ferent languages or possibly dialects) without
schools. In public debates, and definitely in the paying attention to any of the monolingualism
schools’ teaching, one meets a strong norm of norms (even though they may at other times
bilingual behavior, the so-called double mono- carefully follow a monolingualism norm). Such
lingualism norm. This norm is the basic norma- behavior has led to a differently based norm of
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jørgensen, Karrebæk, Madsen, Møller
language choice behaviors, the multilingualism a minimum of command of the involved lan-
norm. guages. With the multilingualism norm follows
The bilingualism (or multilingualism) norm: the concept of “a language” which assumes that
“Persons who command two (or more) languages languages can be separated also in use, and in
will employ their full linguistic competence at this view it is also possible to determine whether
any given time adjusted to the needs and the an individual “knows” a language or “has” a lan-
possibilities of the conversation, including the guage. The term multilingual covers the (more
linguistic skills of the interlocutors.” or less “full”) command of several languages,
In this understanding bilingualism (or multi- whereas the term polylanguaging also allows for
lingualism) becomes a resource which involves the combination with features ascribed to other
more than the skills of using one language in languages, such as described by Rampton.
some situations, and other languages in other The polylingualism norm: “Language users
situations. Bilingualism is more than the sum of employ whatever linguistic features are at their
competence in one language plus competence in disposal to achieve their communicative aims as
one more language. It also involves competence best they can, regardless of how well they know
in switching between the languages. Multilin- the involved languages; this entails that the lan-
gualism is similarly considered integrated when guage users may know - and use - the fact that
speakers in their linguistic behavior uses the some of the features are perceived by some
codes which they somehow “know”. speakers as not belonging together.”
The systematic introduction of features from In other words, the behaviors we documented
languages which the speakers do not “know” in the analyses of examples 1 through 4 above
was first described in detail by Rampton (1995). can be characterized as polylanguaging. The dif-
With this we move one step further away from ferent types of associations contribute to the
a Reinheitsgebot and on to even closer combina- formation of language norms, i.e. the social
tion of linguistic features. expectations with respect to language use that
The Australian speaker who uses a Scots Eng- speakers administer to each other, and the rights
lish accent for his refusal to lend a friend money of language use which people assign to each
stylizes herself or himself and thus contributes other. The balance of rights and norms contrib-
to shape the interlocutor’s understanding of utes to the uneven access to resources which is
the situation and the message. The use of fea- also characteristic of late modern superdiverse
tures from languages one does not “know” is not society. This balance regulates the behaviors of
restricted to urban late modern youth, although speakers much more than traditional norms of
the examples we have analyzed here involve only “pure” language, which are routinely violated
such individuals, and most current sociolinguis- by speakers who use features they have access
tic studies of such behaviors do in fact focus on to without regard to monolingualism norms,
urban youth. In this case we assume that the but with a very acute sense of rights and val-
Australian speaker is not very competent in Scots ues associations. All of this means that polylan-
English. At least the exchange is possible with- guaging is not a free-for-all. Firstly, certain ways
out very much Scottish competence on either of speaking are not available to some speakers.
side. We can all refer to stereotypes by adding The uneven distribution of linguistic features
just a bit of dialect, sociolect, style, etc. to any among different population groups is frequently
utterance. We can also invoke values ascribed to accompanied by an uneven distribution of other
languages, such as the widely associated value of resources, and the resources accessible to the
Latin as the language of the learned. few tend to become highly valued by educational
Such behavior follows the polylanguaging systems, gate keepers, and otherwise in power
norm which is different from the multilingualism centers. Secondly, resources which are available
norm we described above. The multilingualism to speakers in the sense that the features are
norm takes it for granted that the speakers have used around them every day may not be at the
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Polylanguaging in Superdiversity Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
service of all of them. If features are associated ried out by amateurs whose only skill is that
with a specific group of speakers, this group is they “know” the language (for instance, police
also typically seen to have the right to deny oth- employees without the slightest trace of train-
ers the active use of the given features. In other ing in language assessment, see Fogtmann 2007).
words, normativity influences linguistic practices It seems to be considered self-evident that if
in more than one dimension. you “know” a language, then you can also judge
whether other people “know” it. This amounts
Conclusions to a sweeping categorization of large groups of
Now let us return to our analyses of the exam- people with respect to specific “languages”.
ples 1-4 above. These analyses of language prac- The concept of “languages” as separate and
tices make sense, in other words, because they bounded packages also pervades everyday life.
are based at the level of features. Such analysis The way we, including sociolinguists in everyday
includes how features are associated with lan- conversations, speak about language, language
guages, and how these languages are associ- learning, and language behavior is heavily influ-
ated with values in the given context. The analy- enced by the concept. If we want to describe
sis accounts for any ascription of values to the language and go beyond this concept, we are
individual features when such ascription is inde- sometimes forced into cumbersome expressions,
pendent of the ascription of value to the given of which we have used a few here (such as “a
language. Furthermore, the analysis accounts word, which is generally taken to be English” and
for the ways in which features and the languages not “an English word”). In other cases we have
they are associated with, are positioned with just taken it for granted that the reader would
respect to (groups of) speakers, and the analysis understand our point. For instance, we have said
accounts for the ways in which speakers involved about Maimuna that “she does not speak Turk-
in the given interaction are positioned by them- ish”. It should now be clear that by this we mean
selves and each other with respect to the lan- that she “does not (know or) use (very many)
guages which are being relevant in the interac- features which are generally associated with
tion (by being used or avoided). All of these lines Turkish (and particularly not grammatical ones)”.
of analysis take into account that the described The traditional way of understanding what “lan-
associations are dynamic and negotiable. We guages” are, is not on its way out. But it gives us
would be hard pressed to obtain similar insights problems, precisely because it is unclear how it
if we insist on analyzing at the level of “languages” relates to the behavior of real people in the real
(or “dialects”, “varieties”, “registers”, etc.) world. One thing is socially constructed norms,
This being said, there is no doubt that the con- another is individual behavior.
cept of “national languages” is very strong. It is a It follows from our observations that lan-
political fact. The European educational systems guage is both individual and social. Language is
would break down overnight, if they were forced individual in the sense that - as far as we know
to teach language the way people really use lan- - no two people share precisely the same fea-
guage. (This is not only true for language choice tures, because they have met and now remem-
patterns: another important linguistic phenom- ber exactly the same words and meanings, the
enon is swearing which has rarely, if ever, been same pronunciations, associate the same mean-
taught in schools, but which is nevertheless ing with everything, etc. For all we know about
frequent among real life language users, and language, it is individual. On the other hand, lan-
which develops and changes just like other pat- guage is also social - in the sense that every fea-
terns of language use). The concept of national ture we do “know” or “possess”, we share with
languages also has political implications. Some somebody else. We can not imagine a linguistic
nations (Denmark is an example) prescribe lan- feature which is unique to one person (with the
guage testing of applicants for citizenship, and possible exception of an innovation which has
interestingly enough such testing can be car- still not been used by the innovator in interaction
35
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Jørgensen, Karrebæk, Madsen, Møller
with others), the very basis of language is that it i danske naturalisationssamtaler. Københavns
enables us to share experience, images, etc. Our Universitet
relations to the socioculturally constructed phe- Gumperz, John J. 1982. Discourse strategies. Cam-
bridge University Press
nomena called “languages”, etc, are thus social
Hansegård, Niels Erik 1968. Tvåspråkighet eller
categorizations, not naturally given relations,
halvspråkighet? Stockholm: Aldus
and certainly not a consequence of the nature
Harris, Roxy 2006. New ethnicities and language
of language. use. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Heller, Monica 2007. Bilingualism as ideology and
practice. In: Monica Heller ed., Bilingualism:
A Social Approach. London: Palgrave Macmillan,
1-22
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Blommaert, Jan 2008. Grassroot Literacy. Writing, relationships among urban youth in a martial
Identity and Voice in Central Africa. London: arts club. University of Copenhagen.
Routledge Madsen, L. M., J. S. Møller & J. N. Jørgensen 2010.
Blommaert, Jan 2010. The Socioliguistics of Global- “Street Language” and “Integrated” Language
ization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Use and Enregisterment Among Late Modern
Blommaert, Jan & Ad Backus 2011. Reportoires Urban Girls. In: L. M. Madsen, J. S. Møller &
revisited: ‘Knowing language’ in superdiversity. J. N. Jørgensen eds., Ideological Constructions
Working papers in Urban Language & Literacies and Enregisterment of Linguistic Youth Styles.
67. London: King’s College. Copenhagen Studies in Bilingualism vol. 55. Uni-
Coupland, Nikolas 2007. Style. Language Variation versity of Copenhagen, 81-113.
and Identity. Cambridge University Press. Maegaard, Marie 2007. Udtalevariation og -foran-
Davidsen-Nielsen, Niels & Michael Herslund 1999. dring i københavnsk - en etnografisk undersø-
Dansk han med sin tjener talte. In: N. Davidsen- gelse af sprogbrug, social kategorier og social
Nielsen, E. Hansen & P. Jarvad red., Engelsk eller praksis blandt unge på en københavnsk folke-
ikke engelsk? That is the question. København: skole. Danske talesprog, Bind 8. København:
Gyldendal, 11-18. C. A. Reitzel.
Fogtmann, Christina 2007. Samtaler med politiet. Makoni, Sinfree & Alastair Pennycook 2006. Disin-
Interaktionsanalytiske studier af sprogtestning venting and Reconstituting Languages. In: Sin-
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free Makoni & Alastair Pennycook eds., Disin- Rampton, Ben 1995. Crossing: Language and Eth-
venting and Reconstituting Languages. Clevedon, nicity Among Adolescents. London: Longman.
Avon: Multilingual Matters, 1-41 Rampton, Ben 1998. Language crossing and the
Møller, Janus 2009. Poly-lingual interaction across redefinition of reality. In: Peter Auer ed., Code-
childhood, youth and adulthood. University of Switching in Conversation. Language, interaction
Copenhagen. and identity. London: Routledge, 290-317
O’Rourke, Bernadette & Aisling Ni Bheacháin 2007. Romaine, Suzanne 1994. Language in Society. An
Whose language is it?: Struggles for Language Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Oxford Univer-
Ownership in an Irish Classroom. Paper presen sity Press
ted to the International Conference on Minority Schieffelin, Bambi B., Kathryn A. Woolard & Paul
languages, July 2007 V. Kroskrity 1998. Language Ideologies. Practice
Pennycook, Alastair 2007. Global Englishes and and Theory. Oxford University Press
Transcultural Flows. London: Routledge. Türk Dil Kurumu 1988. Türkçe Sözlük 1-2. Yeni Baskı.
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Lian Malai Madsen earned her M.A. (2002) in Danish and education and her Ph.D. (2008) in
interactional sociolinguistics both degrees from the University of Copenhagen. Since 2009 she
has worked as a post doctoral fellow at the Department of Scandinavian Studies and Linguistics
at the University of Copenhagen. Her work concerns language and social relations, language and
social categorisation, youth language, multilingualism, peer group interaction, language, sports
and integration, as well as styles and stylizations. lianm@hum.ku.dk
37
Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens: the Dutch Testing
Regime for Integration and the Online Private Sector1
By Massimiliano Spotti
University of Tilburg / University of Jyväskylä
Abstract
This article deals with the testing regime of integration in the Netherlands. More specifically,
it shows how a monoglottal and monocultural ideology inhabits the political discourses
issued and authored by agencies within the Dutch government when dealing with testing
for both admission (toelating) and civic integration (inburgering) of (newly arrived) migrants.
Further, it shows how a vigorous private online sector in Dutch language courses has grown
up, and has utilized semiotic resources that present Dutch language as the vehicle through
which migrants can deliver a positive contribution to social cohesion in mainstream society.
The article concludes by advancing some reflections on two issues. First, on what it means
to know a language. Second, on the construction of the migrant as an economic actor whose
chances for social upscaling are based on the amount and level of certifications one can
afford to purchase.
1. A new form of diversity: superdiversity1 Yağmur 2004; Phalet and Swyngedouw 2002;
Prior to the fall of the Berlin wall and the break- Hermans 1995; Verlot and Sierens 1997).
ing off of the iron curtain, migrant groups were From then on, the face of migration in Europe
conventionally characterized by large, fairly well- has changed quite dramatically. The aftermath of
organized ethnic communities initially made of the political events that have taken place from
guest workers whose temporary residence had 1989 onwards, e.g., the Schengen agreement as
found support in the welcoming labour policies of well as Europe’s several enlargements, have tes-
many northern European countries. As such, the tified the emergence of a new pattern of migra-
belief of the existence of transparent and defin- tion that gives rise to new, highly fragmented,
able ethnic communities was also supported by less organized, legally differentiated immigrant
a research tradition that goes under the label of groups. This more recent migratory pattern dif-
‘migration research’. This tradition primarily dealt fers from the previous one in two ways. First, the
with immigrants own acculturation strategies, motives and forms of migration have changed.
the (often underachieving) educational trajecto- Immigrants today do not enter Europe mainly as
ries of their members, the language diversity that unskilled labour forces alone. Rather, they enter
typified their presence across various sectors of as refugees, short-term or transitory migrants,
social life, their (often disadvantaged) position highly-educated “knowledge workers”, foreign
on the labour market and, last but not least, their students (to name only a few possibilities). Sec-
civic and political participation (or lack thereof) ond, migration to western European countries is
in receiving mainstream societies (cf. Extra and no longer supported by (ostensibly) ‘welcoming’
policies facilitating the entry of large groups of
1 I am indebted to Dr. Jeanne Kurvers at the Dept. of
manual labourers (gästarbeiter) like those that
Culture Studies, Tilburg University for her time in dis-
cussing the previous version of this piece and for her characterized migration into northern Europe
extensive knowledge of the field. during the 1960s and the early 1970s and south-
ern Europe during the early 1990s. It follows the integration of (newly arrived) migrants in
that the blending of ‘old’ and ‘new’ forms of the Netherlands. It shows how a monoglot lan-
migration has produced a diversification of the guage ideology is embedded in the political and
previously existing diversity, for which the term public discourses surrounding the testing for
‘superdiversity’ has been coined (Vertovec 2006). both admission (toelating) and civic integration
This diversity is of a more complex kind in that (inburgering). Further, it shows how a vigorous
the ethnic origin of people, their motives for private online sector in language courses has
migration, their careers as migrants (e.g., seden- grown up, and utilizes semiotic resources that
tary versus short-term and transitory) and their present Dutch language as the vehicle through
socio-cultural and sociolinguistic biographies which migrants can deliver a positive contri-
cannot be presupposed (see Blommaert and bution to social cohesion in mainstream soci-
Rampton this volume). ety. The article concludes by advancing some
This new migratory pattern is superposed upon reflections on how the governmental side of
an earlier pattern diversity wrought by migration the Dutch testing regime and the private online
before 1991, and it confronts the popular con- sector work together to construct the immigrant
ceptions of ‘the immigrant’ with the challenge as an economic actor whose chances of social
of grasping who an immigrant actually is as well upscaling are based on the amount and level of
as grasping his/her administrative position. Con- language-proficiency certifications the individual
sequently, new forms of immigration also raise can afford to purchase.
critical questions about the rationale and future
of nation-states in westernized Europe, about 2. The integration machinery of the
the dynamics of their dense and fast-moving nation-state
urban spaces, and about the embedded but yet It is hard to miss the degree to which the new
omnipresent supremacy of majority perspec- public and political discourse of European na-
tives within those institutions that regulate the tion-states channels indigenous inhabitants’ at-
entrance of migrants. In the process, questions tention to concepts of nation, national language
have been raised about the capacity of nation- and national loyalty. In these discourses, it is
state bureaucracies to manage migration in a also difficult to miss the extent to which the
way that preserves something now seen as being concept of ‘the nation’ is being presented to
under threat: the national order. As a response, its indigenous inhabitants through ideologies
politicians—regardless of their political affilia- of homogeneity and uniformity on the basis of
tions (see Milani 2007 for the case of Sweden)— monoglot language ideologies that overlay the
have come under increased pressure to propose societal diversity present on the ground (Black-
and enforce measures that restrict access to the ledge 2009; McNamara & Shohamy 2008). The
nation-state territory. In this process, the official/ nation is therefore imagined as a homogeneous
national language of the host country plays a crit- entity, with one language that covers the role of
ical role, as will be shown below. Across Western official/national language and with one of its va-
Europe receiving societies are all, to a greater or rieties – a standardized register – presented as a
lesser extent, engaging with a political and public neutral medium of communication between and
discourse that requires each individual would-be among fellow-citizens (Anderson 1991). The (of-
migrant to demonstrate, via testing, (a) a set level ficial) national language triggers images of group
of proficiency in the official standard language, belonging, and each citizen’s mastery of the na-
and (b) knowledge of ‘mainstream’ cultural tional Standard in use is seen as pivotal to the
norms of the host society (cf. Bauman and Briggs well-being of the society—even when the num-
2003; Extra, Spotti and Van Avermaet 2009; Mar- ber of people of actually speak it is quite small,
Molinero, Stevenson and Hogan-Brun 2009). as in the case of RP in England (see Agha 2003).
It is against this background that the pres- Ideologies embedded in language testing are
ent article deals with the testing regime for thus a very powerful force, insofar as they pres-
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Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
ent the acquisition of the national language by in fact, stands as a tangible demonstration that
immigrants—would-be migrants, newly-arrived the citizen is either unable or (worse) unwill-
ones, and legally recognized long-term residents ing to contribute to mainstream society. Severe
alike—as commonsensical and as the main tan- sanctions—e.g., the denial or curtailment of
gible proof of the immigrant’s progress on a state benefits and the negation of a long-term
continuum that goes from ‘being a foreigner’ to residence permit—are presented as justifiable
‘being an integrated citizen’. In the Netherlands, measures on this basis.
language test results not only determine who is
included and who is excluded from being given 3. The enregisterment of minorities
the chance to become a new citizen, but also Contemporary Dutch immigration policy dis-
help to shape the terms in which their contri- course is anchored in a set of descriptive terms
bution—or lack thereof—to ‘mainstream Dutch that are applied to immigrant minority group
society’ is understood. members qua individuals. First, the term alloch-
Another important element to be taken up toon, ‘immigrant minority group member’ (liter-
here is what the testing industry understands ally, ‘foreign-born’) was officially introduced by
by the term ‘language’. Often, if not always, the Scientific Council for government policies
language is regarded as a gamut of skills that (WRR 1989); this term (opposed to autochtoon,
someone possesses precisely because they were ‘native-born’) refers to a person born abroad and/
born, raised and schooled in a specific nation. or who has at least one parent born abroad. The
It follows that immigrants who enter a nation, explicit rationale given by the WRR in introducing
and for the case of the Netherlands also a spe- the term allochtoon was the need to abandon an
cific slice of those immigrants who are already ethnicity-based approach to immigrant minority
legally-recognized long-term residents, have groups, and to focus instead on migrants as indi-
to be put in state of learning these skills. The viduals. More recently the term allochtoon (plu-
‘good’ mastering of these skills triggers positive ral allochtonen) has been subdivided into west-
consequences. For instance, the immigrant who erse allochtonen (western immigrant minorities)
masters cultural norms and values well – say, an and niet-westerse allochtonen (non-western
Imam who shakes hands with a female Minis- immigrant minorities)—thus effecting a re-eth-
ter of Integration – is credited as being a ‘good’ nicization of this allegedly de-ethnicized term.
citizen insofar as he can be seen to be follow- The former refers to EU citizens as well as immi-
ing the ‘mainstream’ cultural practices of the grants coming from most English-speaking coun-
receiving society. In the same way, the immi- tries—though it also includes Indonesians and
grant who masters the majority language well Japanese. In the political discourse, members of
is often praised by native inhabitants for being a this category are hardly mentioned as jeopardy
good language user through (informal) accredi- for social cohesion, although within the whole
tations like: ‘well, you speak good Dutch for a group Polish, Bulgarian and Romanians are often
foreigner’. singled out as detrimental for the native manual
The testing industry takes this understanding labour workforce. The latter, instead, includes
of language a step further by adding a subtle mostly members of the Turkish, Moroccan and
yet remarkable twist. By seeing language as a Somali communities as well as new arrivals from
stable denotational entity, language becomes other countries (Van den Tillart et al. 2000) who
something that can be not only measured but are presented as people in need of societal and
also marketed, sold and bought according to linguistic integration. All of the above are ascrip-
the necessities and the means that the language tion terms currently used in political and public
learner/citizen to be as at his/her disposal. As discourse by Dutch-native people to contrast
a consequence of lack of (financial) means a with the self-reference terms such as autoch-
failure may follow. The consequences of failure tonen (indigenous group members) and Neder-
are drastic. A failure on a component of a test, landers (Dutch people).
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Massimiliano Spotti
Any dwelling upon this ascription jargon of defines levels of language knowledge and profi-
minorities pales when compared with the armor ciency that allow measuring the advancements
of terms brought by the Dutch testing regime in of immigrants during their integration trajec-
its most recent developments. First, we find the tory. The CEFR major aim is to offer a frame of
term toelatingstest (admission test) a test that reference, a meta-language. It wants to promote
takes place in the immigrant’s own country of and facilitate co-operation among educational
origin and it serves the purpose of making him institutions in different countries. It aims to pro-
eligible to be considered for admission to the vide a transnational basis for the mutual recog-
Netherlands. Second, there is the term inburger- nition of language qualifications. A further aim
ing (civic integration) (De Heer, 2004). This term, is to assist learners, teachers, course designers,
that has appeared for the first time in the Wet examining bodies and educational administra-
Inburgering Nieuwkomers (Law on the Integra- tors to situate and co-ordinate their efforts. And
tion of Newcomers) (WIN, 1998), deals with the a final aim is to create transparency in helping
need for societal and linguistic integration of partners in language teaching and learning to
nieuwkomers (newcomers), i.e., newly arrived describe the levels of proficiency required by
immigrants on Dutch soil who are not qualified existing standards and examinations in order to
as refugees or asylum seekers. It also regards facilitate comparisons between different quali-
oudkomers (oldcomers), generally low-educated fications’ systems. It is important to emphasize
immigrants who are either long-term residents that the CEFR is not a prescriptive model or a
in the Netherlands and who, as it happens in the fixed set or book of language aims. Rather, it has
vast majority of cases, already hold a permanent a quantitative and a qualitative dimension. The
residence permit. first cater for learning development in domains
In the following session the reader is intro- (school, home, work), functions (ask, command,
duced to a snapshot of the discourse contained inquire), notions (south, table, father), situations
in the laws and regulations for integration in the (meeting, telephone), locations (school, market),
Netherlands from 1998 till nowadays. As much topics (study, holidays, work), and roles (listener
reference will be made to the measuring of lan- in audience, participant in a discussion). The
guage proficiency in Dutch following the terms qualitative dimension, instead, expresses the
spelled out by the Common European Frame- degree of effectiveness (precision) and efficiency
work of Reference (CEFR), the chapter deals now (leading to communication) of language learn-
with the structure of the CEFR, its original pur- ing. A set of 6 levels and sublevels (A1, A2, B1, B2,
pose as well as with the use that the Dutch gov- C1, C2) have been distinguished for use as com-
ernment has made of this instrument within the mon standards that should help course provid-
framework of testing for integration. ers to relate their products such as course books,
teaching courses, and assessment instruments
The Common European Framework of Reference to a common reference system.
In many nation-states across Europe, one of the As mentioned before, the cornerstone of inte-
key features of integration policy is the official gration policies in most European countries is
national language. As for the Netherlands, knowl- the official national language. As for the Nether
edge of Dutch language is key to admission, inte- lands, knowledge of both Dutch language and
gration and leads to the applicant being awarded Dutch society are the most important pre-condi-
a permanent residence permit or naturaliza- tions for those who aspire to be admitted to the
tion. In order to give body and implement this Netherlands in the first place and for those who
policy of linguistic homogenization the CEFR has wish to achieve a residence permit and later on
been used in order to mark the level of language citizenship. In order to give body to this mono-
knowledge and proficiency that immigrants have lingual approach to language policy, the agencies
to achieve. The CEFR, that has therefore become involved in the making of the admission, integra-
a structural pillar of the integration regime, tion and citizenship test – although as we will
42
Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
see, the latter has been embodied in the integra- 3 that is comparable with level B1 of the CEFR
tion test after June 2006 – have used the CEFR – to which one should have strived to. The situa-
as reference point. The use of the CEFR reveals tion, instead, changed dramatically in 2003 in the
though quite problematic for two reasons. First, General Governmental Accord (Hoofdlijnenac-
the CEFR is used for the admission and integra- coord 2003) and later even more in 2004 with
tion examination even when a vast majority of the introduction of the governmental resolution
the people being asked to undertake these tests on the Revision of Civic Integration Regulations
has low literacy levels or is illiterate (Kurvers and (Contourennota Herziening Inburgeringstelse
Stockmann, 2009). Second, the level descriptors 2004). In comparison with the law approved in
of the CEFR are mainly aimed at the measuring 1998, there are a series of changes that show the
of the language knowledge of highly educated new line of thought embraced by the Dutch gov-
people. Lower- and semi-skilled people that ernment in terms of integration of newly arrived
have no higher education background or do migrants. These changes are:
not study at a higher level do not belong to the
target group, and from there the idiosyncratic • the use of admission test that has to be taken
making authored by national authorities of new before being allowed to enter the Netherlands;
CEFR levels like (A1-) employed for the admission • both newcomers and oldcomers are obliged
test. The role played by the CEFR in the Dutch by the law to undergo civic integration in
testing machinery becomes even more problem- Dutch society;
atic when one looks at the consequences of not • this obligation is on the shoulder of the migrant
matching the minimum level required. On the both in financial and content terms. This also
basis of being unsuccessful, people are refused implies the freedom of choice in selecting
citizenship, residence or even admission. Inter- which package will help the applicant in
esting though is that the criteria employed for fulfilling his/her civic integration obligations;
the descriptors of the proficiency levels were not • the obligation to civic integration is fulfilled
initially thought out as measurements for the only when all the examination components
language testing of immigrants. have been passed.
4. The Dutch integration regime: an overview From the revision brought forward in 2004, new-
of its development comers to the Netherlands come across as the
The legislative pillars of the Dutch testing regime main cause of concern. New though is the fact
for newly arrived migrants are built from 1998 that another group considered to be worthy of
onwards (WIN 1998). Before that, there is but integration were oldcomers that were consid-
one governmental document (RRIN, 1996) that ered not to master sufficiently the Dutch lan-
pointed to the obligation of newcomers to learn guage and who were receiving unemployment
Dutch. The law approved in 1998 provided that benefits (refer to Pluymen 2004 for a critique
newcomers - from the moment of their arrival in of the link made in these regulations between
the Netherlands - were obliged to attend courses permanent residence status and social benefits).
of Dutch as a second language and understand- Next to that, oldcomers who had already been
ing of Dutch society with a particular focus on given a permanent residence permit or a Dutch
work situations. Further, they were also advised passport were also invited – though not com-
to take final examinations that had mostly the pelled – to participate in the integration trajec-
purpose to control whether the attendance to tory. The following rules count for this group of
these Dutch as a second language courses actu- approximately 85.000 allochtonous citizens (to
ally happened. Although these courses were in be): compulsory intake at the immigration office
place, there was no prescription for the level of of the municipality of residence, own financing
language proficiency to be achieved. The law of the civic integration trajectory, choice given
proposed only a level – more specifically level from existing civic integration programmes and
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Massimiliano Spotti
providers where these programmes have to party members in parliament, and led to a halv-
be approved by the government and allow the ing of the original target group numbers. More-
applicant to become integrated within three and over, many amendments made the proposed law
a half years for newcomers and five years for even more detailed and complex, and therefore
oldcomers. These changes therefore have led to even more difficult to handle in practice. In order
the introduction of the admission test abroad to cope with the difficulties encountered, Ver-
and the revision of the civic integration exam donk in accordance with the wishes of a majority
once arrived in the Netherlands. Concerning the in parliament decided to introduce the new law
norms that make up for these two exams the gov- in 2007 only partially, i.e. for newcomers without
ernment has appointed in 2004 a committee that Dutch citizenship. In June 2006, the Dutch cabi-
was asked to give advice on how to implement net fell after its refusal, in spite of a favorable yet
these changes. The committee, most widely narrow majority, to approve a general pardon for
known as Commissie Franssen has given its first those asylum seekers without a legal residence
advisory opinion in 2004. On the basis of crite- status who had entered the Netherlands before
ria such as functionality, possibility of achieve- April 2001. The centre-left government that fol-
ment, selection of previous educational trajec- lowed in November 2006 approved this pardon
tories and motivation, the committee came to as one of its first measures. On November 13
the conclusion that proficiency in written Dutch 2007, Ella Vogelaar – then Minister of Integration,
language skills should not be examined while the Housing and Communities – released a press
proficiency for oral skills should be fixed below statement that can be taken as tangible proof
the lowest level of the CEFR. This level has then of a discourse shift to a more egalitarian climate
taken the classification A1- (see Franssen 2004). within the Dutch political discourse. Her declara-
The committee also advised not to test Knowl- tion reads as follows:
edge of Dutch Society because of the low level
“The cabinet wants to stop the increasing polariza-
of knowledge of the Dutch language and to tion in the Netherlands. […] Integration can only
substitute this testing with introduction classes succeed when both non-native and native accept-
to life in the Netherlands. This final recommen- ing Dutch society as their society. They have to sup-
dation was not taken into consideration and it port the liberties, rights and duties connected with
is for this reason that the admission test has a the Dutch civic state. […] The cabinet appeals to
all citizens to participate actively in society on the
component on knowledge of Dutch society (IND
basis of mutual acceptance and equivalence.” (Vo-
2005). gelaar, 2007 [Translation MS])
The Law for Integration Abroad (Wet Inbur-
gering Buitenland) is introduced in March 2006. Although it announces a change in the tone of
Immigrants who want to enter the Netherlands the integration debate, the consequence of the
out of their own will ought to undergo an exam two most recent laws on civic integration are
for spoken Dutch and an exam for knowledge remarkable. The applicant who does not man-
of Dutch society before that they can enter the age to pass the admission exam is not allowed
Netherlands. It is in June 2006, with the pur- to be admitted to enter the Netherlands. The
pose to be enforced from January 1st 2007, that applicant who does not pass the civic integra-
the then Minister of Integration Rita Verdonk tion exam in the Netherlands, instead, does not
proposes the last changes to the Law for Civic get any permanent resident permit (in the case
Integration (Wet Inburgering Nederland) These of newcomers) or cannot apply for citizenship
changes though have encountered strong resent- (in the case of an oldcomer). After 2007 though,
ment from a majority of the members of the par- other complementary measures have followed
liament who remained against the unequal treat- in particular those measures that deal with the
ment of ‘native’ and ‘naturalized’ Dutch nationals. actual implementation and the costs/financing
Verdonk’s appeal to the parliament for ‘political of the civic integration trajectory and its shift
courage’ did not succeed, not even with her own from being partly subsidized through a loan from
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Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
the municipality to being solely a responsibility Reading Comprehension scoring at least level A1-.
of the immigrant. In the most recent governmen- On June 17, 2011 the cabinet approves another
tal resolution, we read: series of amendments, such as: civic integration
applicants pay for their own costs with the pos-
“It can be expected, from anyone that comes to re-
side in the Netherlands, that he or she abides by sibility to loan for those who have insufficient
the rules that are applied here and that he or she means for payment; the examination must be
actively participates in society through the master- passed within three years. The language profi-
ing of the Dutch language, attending education and ciency level that the applicant has to reach stays
work. Qualifications are the key to successful par- at least at CEFR level A2 for newcomers. Also the
ticipation and integration.” [Translation MS]
level for knowledge of Dutch society remains
Further within the government pact signed by untouched though the exam consists of a central
the parties making up for the majority of the part and of an ancillary part. In the meantime, the
parliament, the following measures have been level that has been proposed for naturalization
spelled out: is CEFR level B1 (the level implied by the State
Exam Dutch, Programme 1). The Netherlands has
“Immigrant and asylum seekers are solely respon-
sible for their own integration in our country. For been the first country to introduce an examina-
those that for these purposes, do not dispose of tion for Dutch language in the country of origin
enough means, the cabinet gives the possibility to of the applicant and on approving entry on the
loan money, which implies that the money loaned basis of a computerized test via the phone. The
will have to be paid back. Ultimately, the resolu- admission test puts the applicant under a strong
tion adopted by the cabinet is that the failing of the
financial strain in that not all places have a Dutch
integration exam, with the exclusion of exceptional
circumstances, brings to the confiscation of the
embassy ready available where the test can be
temporary residence permit. The cabinet further taken, it further require some technology skills
proposes to accept the bilateral agreement bet in being able to operate a DVD and a computer.
ween EU and Turkey making the due changes on But above all this, the exam Knowledge of Dutch
the regulation that inhabitants of Turkey fall within society – a language test sold as a civic knowl-
integration regulations.” (Gedoog Akkord, 30 sep- edge test – asks the potential migrant to make his
tember 2010 [Translation MS]).
or her own the norms and values of mainstream
The coalition agreement entitled Freedom and Dutch society. It is clear that these tests there-
Democracy (Vrijheid en Democratie) stresses fore do not tend to enhance the integration of
once more that immigrants who want to reside in the applicant in a shorter period of time, rather
the Netherlands have to follow the rules spelled these two tests underscore the gap that there
out for civic integration and participate actively can be among applicants in terms of literacy, lan-
in the fields of education and work. In relation to guage skills, computer skills and socio-economic
the civic integration exams, the agreement states background. So doors appear open for those
that: applicants that fall within the category of literate,
financially self-supportive, technologically skilled,
“The examination requirements are made sharp-
er [...] there is the planned use of a test through who can prepare for the exam and who have a
which it can be determined whether the loyalty to high employability rate once they have entered
the Netherlands is deeper than the loyalty to any the Netherlands. The exam for civic integration in
other country” (Vrijheid en Democratie 2010: 23 foreign countries constructs therefore an implicit
[Translation MS]). hierarchization in the immigrant population that
In April 2011, the changes brought to the Law for is considered suitable to enter the Netherlands.
Integration Abroad were put into practice. From Table 1 reports a schematic overview of the his-
this date on, the norms for oral exam abroad torical developments that have taken place in
have been moved from level A1- to level A1 and the civic integration regulations from 1998 till
immigrants have to take a test for Literacy and 2011:
45
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Massimiliano Spotti
1998 WIN (Law for Intergrati- Newcomers To attend a course for none
on of Newcomers) Dutch as a second lan-
guage
To take an exam
Obligation of participati-
on, but no obligation to
pass
2003/ Hoofdlijnenakkoord/
2004 Contourennota
Approval Outline/Coun-
tours Note
2006 WIB (Law for Integration Newcomers To test for TGN (Spoken MVV (provisio-
Abroad) Dutch) nal permission
to stay)
To test for KNS (Know-
ledge of Dutch Society)
Obligation to pass
2007 WI (Law for Civic Inte- Newcomers and Main part of the test: Residence
gration) a specific group Permit with
Test Spoken Dutch
of oldcomers possibility to
Digital Practice Exam naturalization
Exam Knowledge of
Dutch Society
Part of the test centred
on real life situations:
Portfolio and/or assess-
ments
Newcomers to fulfill this
part within 3 and a half
years, oldcomers within
5 years
2011 Changes brought to the Newcomers To set higher pass norms
WIB for Test Spoken Dutch
To add GBL test (Literacy
and Reading Comprehen-
sion)
Adopted Changes to the Integra- Newcomers and Pass within 3 years sanc-
Resolu- tion Benchmarking oldcomers tions have been made
tion heavier
Proposals for changes
tothe Integration Bench-
marking and its exami-
nation
Proposal Changes to the Naturali- Pass level brought from
zation Benchmarking A2 to B1
Also worth pointing out though is that from to apply for a visa to enter the Netherlands and
1 April 2011 the civic integration exam has with that, a temporary residence permit.
also seen a new assessment component being
included, that is the Literacy and Reading Com- 5. The online private sector market in
prehension Exam. In order to pass this part of the test-preparation materials
integration exam, the examinee has to be able On the side of the integration regime industry,
to read in Dutch (through the use of the Latin the online private sector holds a strong prepa-
alphabet) at CEFR level A1. This exam has five dif- ratory role for the migrant. This sector, in fact,
ferent tasks that are: 1) reading words out loud; does not offer preparatory courses for learning
2) reading sentences out loud, 3) reading parts the Dutch language alone, it also advertises spe-
of texts out loud, 4) fill in sentences that have cific support courses that promise to help aspir-
been given incomplete 5) answering questions ing newcomers to pass the admission test and
related to a short text. As for the other two parts admitted newcomers to fulfill the requirements
of the examination the answers are spoken into a spelled out in the integration test.
phone receiver. These answers are then analyzed Consider now Figure 1 and Figure 2 below.
by a speech recognition programme that assigns These are taken from the website of a regional
a score to the answer. The whole civic integration educational centre (normally addressed in Dutch
exam costs 350 Euros. An applicant can take the under the acronym of ROC) – a semi-governmen-
test as many times as he wishes within the time tal institution that has shifted from being directly
given for reaching a pass level in all of the com- linked to municipalities immigrants quota to hav-
ponents. Each time though s/he will have to pay ing to compete with other integration trajectory
350 Euros in order to take the test. Only when providers – offering Dutch language courses for
the applicant has passed all three parts of the integration to (newly arrived) migrants:
integration exam will s/he be given permission
47
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Massimiliano Spotti
The title that was set on the website on top of ner? NUOVIA biedt u voor elke leerwens een pas-
this image in bolded caps is: Coming to Holland, sende cursus Nederlands.
echoing the title of the book that students have
to use to prepare to the admission test. The two [A good knowledge of the Dutch language is
characters portrayed are migrants who might unmissable at work and in your private life. If
have passed the admission test to and who are you want to communicate with others effec-
now entering the integration trajectory that leads tively and in an understandable manner, both
to a permanent residence permit. Both images orally as well as in writing, it is important that
provide norms of what an immigrant should do you master Dutch well. Do you want to stand out
when wanting to achieve societal success (see but you think that it does not work out because
also Blommaert et al. 2009 for the analysis of of an insufficient knowledge of Dutch? Do you
the only market sector around English accents). want to improve your writing skills or would you
In both images, the clothing they wear points really like to be taken seriously when engaged in
towards a ‘westernized’ appearance. The lady conversation? Nuovia offers you a suitable Dutch
in Figure 1 wears a tunic and a headscarf, two course for each learning wish.]
ethnic markers that suggest a Muslim identity.
These are combined with modern black trousers The opening line stating that ‘[a] good knowledge
and high-heeled shoes indicating a white-collar of the Dutch language is unmissable at work and
work environment. The gentleman in Figure 2 in your private life’ uses, in the original Dutch
instead wears a blue, long-sleeved collared shirt. text, the possessive adjective [uw] that has an
Both are images of people who are literate: the honorofic function that could easily be used in a
male figure holds a pile of books, holding one highly professional store when a client is about to
out toward the viewer; the female figure holds purchase something. This insight is further sup-
a laptop. Both of them are migrants who either ported by the hypothetical phrase “als u effectief
already had or are currently developing (com- en begrijpelijk met anderen wilt communiceren
puter) literacy skills before arriving in the Nether- [...]” where the personal pronoun [u] also has an
lands and who embrace education and learning honorific function. Dutch language is therefore
the Dutch language. sold to the hypothetical distinguished client not
Consider now Example 1 below, which reports solely as a primary need for its settlement in the
the text used by the website of a private sec- host country. Further, the course that is being
tor provider offering a Dutch language course advertised stresses the development of both
in preparation to the integration exam. The text spoken and written skills as a way to allow the
reads as follows: possible client to achieve a position in his social
network, that is both at work as well as at home.
Example 1 What is being sold here is language, though not
Effectief en begrijpelijk communiceren just the Dutch language as a definite code with a
[Communicate in an effective and understand- system of rules that must be followed for correct-
able manner] ness of one’s expression. What is also being sold
to the purchaser here is a specific representation
Goede kennis van de Nederlandse taal is onmis- of what is valued in Dutch society and the expec-
baar op de werkvloer en in uw privéleven. Als u tations that people at work in this society may
effectief en begrijpelijk met anderen wilt commu- hold, i.e. that one is able to speak and write a spe-
niceren, zowel mondeling als schriftelijk, is het cific register of the national language – the Stan-
belangrijk dat u het Nederlands goed beheerst. dard one – that grants someone the possibility
Wilt u hogerop komen maar denkt u dat dit niet of being understood and taken seriously at home
lukt door onvoldoende kennis van het Neder- and at work. Following Silverstein (2006:485)
lands? Wilt u uw schrijfvaardigheid verbeteren of what the private sector advertises here therefore
graag serieus genomen worden als gesprekspart- is not Dutch language alone. Rather, it is Dutch
48
Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
language together with the ‘semiotic consub- Example 2 employs first Dutch in its general
stantiality’ that the migrant, now purchaser of a description, possibly to market the product to
good, is and becomes what he speaks and writes. someone who has already achieved a certain
In example 2 below, instead, we read: level of proficiency in Dutch. The example then
switches to English when it comes to publicize
Example 2 the course packages and their prices. There are
Schrijf je brieven en rapportages maar voel je three courses being sold: Dutch for CITO; Dutch
je af en toe onzeker over de spelling of over de with no mistakes and Dutch for foreigners. Two
formulering van een zin? Als je daar iets aan wilt things come to the eye. First – and without giving
doen, kun je aan de slag met één van onze online any explanation on the website – the provider
cursussen met personal coach. Je kunt er ook draws a distinction between Dutch with no mis-
voor kiezen om zelfstandig te oefenen zonder takes and Dutch for foreigners, possibly on the
online coach. basis of the assumption that foreign learners of
Dutch as a second language make other mistakes
[Do you write letters and reports but you feel than indigenous, low educated learners of Dutch.
that now and then you are uncertain about the Second, it is the selling of the course Dutch for
spelling or the way you should formulate some- CITO, where CITO is the examination taken by
thing? If you want to do something about it, you primary school pupils at the end of their primary
can start working with one of our online courses schooling career that is intriguing. The economic
with a personal coach. You can also choose to urgency of achieving success through Dutch
work on your own without an online coach.] language starts as early as primary schooling. It
was unspecified though whether this course was
designed for autochtonous, allochtnous or newly
arrived pupils. The packages and price was fol-
lowed by a testimonial from a student that has
rounded a Dutch language course through this
provider. The testimonial states as follows:
49
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Massimiliano Spotti
The better and the sooner someone masters for having access and preparing for these tests
Dutch well, the sooner s/he can become an as well as the sanctions that may follow from an
active member of the workforce, as in the case of eventual failure are deep.
the testimonial stating that thanks to her Dutch The above urges to draw two considerations.
course she is now covering the post of receptio The first touches upon what it is to know a lan-
nist. The online private sector for Dutch language guage in order to be ascribed to the category
learning for integration abounds with offers like of ‘integrated citizen’. The second deals with
these. Example 1, Example 2 and the testimonial the construction of the immigrant as an eco-
have all a metonymic function. The migrant is a nomic actor whose chances of social upscaling
language user and language use is a purchasable are based on the amount and level of language-
good that allows the well articulated/ easy to proficiency certifications that he can afford to
understand/ literate migrant to achieve a better purchase. Sociolinguistics has started to redis-
social positioning through finding a job, at work cover the notion that no language user is equally
as well as at home. competent in the whole of a language (see
Blommaert & Backus (2011) for a more recent
6 Testing regimes and the (new) citizen as re-appreciation of the concept of sociolinguistic
economic actor repertoires. If we turn this insight to the test-
Migration itineraries have become increasingly ing regime for integration, we can advance the
diverse and complex. These changing dynamics claim that no indigenous inhabitant of the Neth-
have caused an unparalleled diversification of erlands neither knows nor uses all of the Dutch
diversity in all societies hosting migrants, and language equally well. Rather s/he uses registers,
have exposed the difficulties that nation-states very specific bits of language that allow him/her
face in dealing with migrants, their societal inser- to function in different situations that imply a
tion and the determination of their legal status linguistic exchange. This is the reason why, when
(see for instance Blommaert & Marijns 2008 for confronted with a bit of Dutch language that has
the asylum-seeking procedures). The nation- to do with the law, whether a fine for speeding or
state reacts to this incipient diversification of a redundancy letter from the local employment
diversity through language, and it sets up, at office, the ‘indigenous’ (autochthoon) inhabi
least in the Dutch case, a language testing regime tant too may be dependent on the language
that starts from the application of the migrant knowledge of others, e.g., anyone competent
to enter the country and that is supported by a in the register at hand. This somewhat trivial
public and a private sector. Within this industry, insight invites us to ponder the language a newly
language becomes a means, if not the means, arrived migrant is asked to learn, to know and to
through which nations respond to supranational use so as to be declared an integrated citizen. In
socio-economic processes of globalization. As order to tackle this point we should go back to
retrieved from the glimpse we have had at the the classical conceptualization of citizenship. The
online private sector for preparation to the inte- possibility that the State had to provide a citizen
gration exam, it is through one language alone with means that would allow him to participate
that the (newly arrived) migrant can be ‘taken actively in society was what defined the citizen
seriously’, ‘improve his social position’ both at as citizen. Now instead we see that within the
work as well in his daily life. Although (newly testing regimes industry but also more generally
arrived) migrants bring along linguistic resources within a neo-liberal conceptualization of citizen-
that are perfectly valuable ipso facto, these ship, this model of citizenship does not apply
resources are disqualified because they do not anymore. Although the ascertaining of citizen-
fit in the herderian equation of nation, language ship is anchored on high modernist elements
and territory. Not only is the disqualification put such as learning the language of the host coun-
on the immigrant’s own linguistic resources fairly try and learning it as fast as possible, the citi-
heavy. Also, as showed, the economic demands zen (to be) becomes an economic actor. That is,
50
Ideologies of Success for Superdiverse Citizens Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
someone who is asked to show his potential becomes individual drive to participate in main-
social value through his investment in the lan- stream society. If this is so, then we are left with
guage learning trajectory. Following this neo- the question of whether language knowledge is
liberal understanding of citizenship, the citizen the essential factor that gains the immigrant the
has become an economic being largely based way to integration or whether it is the possibi
on a mechanism of market consumption. Fur- lity to purchase a service, i.e., an online course
ther, his loyalty to the host nation is measured in support to the integration exam, that renders
on the basis of his capacity to purchase which the him able to become integrated.
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52
Magic Marketing: Performing Grassroots Literacy1
By Cécile B. Vigouroux
Simon Fraser University (British Columbia, Canada)
Abstract
This article shows how socially stigmatized ways of writing may be commodified by the
scribers themselves in order to reap symbolic and/or economic benefits. I illustrate this
point by examining African marabouts’ advertisements in France and the way they are read
by the French. These cards promote marabouts’ spiritual powers with promises to bring
back unfaithful spouses and, among other things, success in business. I argue that what
French readers interpret as grassroots literacy should instead be analyzed as astroturf
literacy, i.e. literacy that imitates or fakes popular grassroots ways of writing. I submit that
display of seemingly poor literacy is an essential part of marabouts’ doing being African:
By performing ‘non-standard’ literacy they become ‘authentic’ Africans, and therefore
legitimate clairvoyants, according to the set of fantasized sociocultural stereotypes. Yet, by
recycling socio-cultural stereotypes, the marabouts participate in the re-production of the
social and moral orders that enable the possibilities of French readers’ meaning-making.
Barton 2007, Baynham 1995, Gee 1996, Street individual voice draws its existence from a col-
1995). Sociolinguistic work has shown how these lective one.
multilayered ideologies control people’s access Marabouts’ advertisements are one of the vis-
to services, jobs, education or asylum (Blom- ible and visual aspects of African migrations to
maert 2001). Less attention has been given to France and epitomize a peculiar South-to-North
the ways scribers may frame the readers’ indexi- direction of interaction taking place in the North.
cal work by conforming to the latter’s socio-cul- Yet, as I argue below, we should not hastily sub-
tural expectations. My contribution here aims at scribe to an approach where these advertise-
analyzing how socially stigmatized ways of wri ments are unilaterally analyzed as an illustra-
ting may be commodified by the scribers them- tion of vernacular literacy, with the marabouts
selves in order to reap symbolic and/or financial stigmatized because of their ’peripheral’ variety
benefits. of French. A diachronic analysis of data doesn’t
I illustrate this point by examining African mar- lead to such conclusions. Nor should we, well-
abouts’ advertisements in France and how they intentioned analysts, stop at legitimizing socially
are read by the French.3 Marabouts circulate stigmatized ways of writing with fine-grained
cards that promote their spiritual powers, prom- discursive analyses demonstrating how linguis-
ising to bring back unfaithful spouses, restore tically and semiotically powerful and elaborate
virility, help pass driver’s license tests, and suc- they are nonetheless. I don’t intend to question
ceed in business, among many other things. the usefulness of such studies: They have drawn
Metadiscursive comments on marabouts’ flyers the attention of analysts and readers alike (often
can be found on the Internet, where websurfers highly literate Westerners) to the different lite
comment on and display their personal collec- racy regimes in which inscriptions emerge and
tions, which they typically mock and parody with circulate and how the latter are stratified in the
spelling mistakes and exaggerated poor literacy global system of communication. I argue that,
skills. I argue that what French readers interpret although at first glance it appears to be emanci-
as grassroots literacy (as defined by Blommaert patory, such a framework of analysis may uncriti-
2008) with instances of hetero-graphy, and ver- cally subscribe to, and moreover participate in,
nacular language varieties, should rather be what de Negroni (1992) calls Afrique fantasme
analyzed as astroturf literacy, which I define as (phantasm Africa), viz., a set of reified and long-
literacy that imitates or fakes popular grassroots lasting images and discourse on Africa and Afri-
ways of writing. cans which social sciences and the humanities
Astroturf literacy implies that second indexical have partly helped construct. I submit that, on
order — i.e. ways of indexing a particular social the contrary, these advertisements illustrate the
group, social class, geographic location, or eth- commodification by some Africans of cultural
nicity — operates both in the production of text and linguistic stereotypes Westerners associate
and in its reception by readers. The act of writ- with them, in order to assert their supernatural
ing is therefore intrinsically shaped by the act of power and promote their status as authentic
reading, more precisely by the expected act of African marabouts to their French readers and
interpreting. In astroturf literacy the production hopefully to succeed socio-economically.
of text is not framed as an individual act but as I start the discussion below with a presenta-
part of a collective activity of producers; there- tion of the set of data on which my analysis is
fore each individual voice is subsumed by an based. I then turn to a brief history of marabouts
identifiable collective voice. In other words, each in France where I analyze the emergence of an
African ‘economy of the occult’ (Comarroff &
3 Marabout is the emic term commonly used to des- Comarroff 1993) in relation to the following:
ignate African soothsayers in France. Yet, as illustrated
1) the long tradition of clairvoyance and occult
below, the self-categorization marabout used in early
advertisements is shifting towards other identifica- sciences in France since the 16th century, with the
tions such as astrologist or medium. advent of spiritism and theosophy; 2) Europeans’
54
Magic Marketing: Performing Grassroots Literacy Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
55
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Cécile B. Vigouroux
tors that triggered the emergence of marabouts’ who saw clairvoyance as a possible way to over-
flyers in French society. It will become appar- come economic hardship in the host society and
ent that, among other things, African occultism help provide financial assistance to family mem-
advertisements must be analyzed within the long bers who had stayed “at home” (Diallo 1984; and
tradition of ’exotic publicity’ which marabouts’ Kuczynski 1992: Chap.2).
advertisements are a continuation of, though The emergence of marabouts and therefore
under new forms. their publicity should also be understood within
the broader context of occult economy in France
3. A short historiography of marabouts’ since the 16th century. Its best-known represen-
advertisement cards tative is undoubtedly Nostradamus, a former
The first African clairvoyants’ advertisement apothecary who became famous for his publish-
in France dates back from the late 1960’s and ing collections of prophecies. The attraction for
appeared in the astrology magazine Horoscope. occultism pervades both urban and rural envi-
The number of advertisements increased steadily ronments (see Favret-Saada 1977 on witchcraft
until the mid-1970’s, after which it multiplied. beliefs and experiences in the Bocage of western
Although the first advertisements coincide with France), including all socioeconomic strata of
the arrival of the first marabouts in France — esti- French society, even intellectuals and artists. For
mated around the 1960’s (Kuscynsky 1992:47) — example, surrealists such as André Breton were
the choice of self-advertisement did not apply known for their engagement in occultism. In
uniformly to the heterogeneous population of his Lettre aux voyantes (’Letter to clairvoyants’)
marabouts. This heterogeneity is encapsulated published in 1925, he acknowledges clairvoyants’
by Kuscynsky’s expression multiform invisibility “great powers” and asks for their help to “chase
(idem: 58), with invisibility capturing the hazi- away infamous priests” (idem: 22).5
ness of the French administration toward the The close connection between African occult-
marabouts regarding their immigration status ism and French-based clairvoyance has been
and taxation. Those who were occasional or full- evident in the marabouts’ self-categorization
time marabouts before their migration to France since the very beginning: categories such as
would rather resort to their local network among voyant ‘clairvoyant‘ and medium are commonly
the migrant population, benefiting largely from used together, as in Cheikh Kalipha Grand voy
the reputation they had built in their home ant Médium (’Cheikh Kalipha Great clairvoyant
country rather than on self-advertisement. Many Medium’). More recent flyers display the cate
of them were providing their services in immi- gory guérisseur ‘healer’ or astrologue ’astrolo-
grants’ residence halls called ’foyers’, performing gist’ alone or with a string of those already men-
religious ceremonies, solving matrimonial, social tioned, for instance: grand medium – voyant –
and political conflicts, or helping fellow country- astrologue. Clearly, the marabouts have inserted
men obtain residence cards or find jobs, thanks themselves in an already existing economy of
to their prayers, amulets and social networks beliefs and have adopted categories of self-pre-
(Samuel 1978). Yet, with the increasing pauper- sentation already in currency and familiar to the
ization of the African working class in France, it French. Entering a new economy of written signs,
became difficult for marabouts to rely only on marabouts’ advertisements get to compete with
their traditional clientele, who could no longer other divinatory practices such as that of astrolo-
afford to pay for the services they received (Glo- gists and clairvoyant, more familiar to the French,
bet & Guillon 1983). Thus, the circle of potential even though they publicly don’t hold high cur-
customers needed to be expanded, but word rency in many segments of the population.
of mouth was no longer sufficient to reach a Incidentally, it is worth noting that on the
population not acquainted with West African advertisement pages of magazines or free Pari-
maraboutic practices. Self-advertisement also 5 For a study on the relation between surrealism and
became an option for “self-made-marabouts”, occultism see Lepetit 2008 and Edelman 2006.
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sian newspapers marabouts are categorized The semiotics displayed on the image is rather
under the heading esotericism whereas clair- complex, conveying several intertwined layers
voyant and astrologists are classified under the of explicit and implicit meanings. Indianness is
label clairvoyance (voyance). Whereas the cate exhibited by the character’s turban and iconized
gory clairvoyance is rather unmarked in French, in the Indian-like script and oriental-sounding
that of esotericism conjures up images of occult, name Fakir on the left side of the page. Orien-
magical, and slightly threatening power foreign tal spirituality, more specifically Hinduism, is
to Cartesian logic. Using categories known to framed through the category Fakir, the bodily
French readers, the marabouts not only show inscription of the swastika on the character’s
their knowledge of the French local belief system forehead and to a certain extent his beard. Yet,
but also display a clear understanding of adver- Indianness is tempered with his western-style
tising strategies, trying to attract a wide range suit. With his body posture (his crossed hands on
of customers. One can assume that clairvoyants’ his right lap) and staring look, he is represented
customers are potentially more disposed to mar- as self-confident and serious-minded (he wears
abouts’ practices than those skeptical toward glasses, which may be interpreted as a sign of
non-rational practices. sophistication). Attraction for the mysterious
In a country already very receptive to occult and exotic Orient had been common in French
practices, publicity helped clairvoyance gain advertisement since the 19th century and echoed,
increasing visibility and possibly legitimacy. In on a broader scale, France’s expansionist fervor
1925, Le Petit Journal Illustré launched the first to “match British imperial achievements” (Said
advertisement, thus inaugurating clairvoyance 1978: 218).
with ’sensational’ predictions by Fakir Fhakya In the 1960’s, when the first marabouts’
Khan, a real or imagined Indian astrologist liv- advertisements appeared in France, the exotic
ing in Paris. For a few weeks the Fakhir briefly Other was no longer Oriental. Since the 19th cen-
responded to readers’ questions until he was tury colonization of the African continent, French
urgently recalled by his religious community and imagination had been filled with images, stereo-
departed from France: he was believed to have types of and fantasies about Africa and Africans
committed a serious mistake in making revela- constructed and circulated in political discourse,
tions to the French (Eldelman 2006: 161). Below scientific literature, colonial literary work, and
is how Fakir Fhakya-Khan appeared for the first advertising. (For the representation of African
time to his French readers: colonized in French advertisement see Blanchard
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& Boncel 1998.) Conversely, European coloniza- authenticity is sometimes framed in temporal
tion had constructed Africans’ representations of terms such as in Monsieur Ali’s flyer: Heureuse
France and the French. As I am about to illustrate, ment que je viens d’arriver d’Afrique (‘fortunately
marabouts’ advertisements can be read as iconiz- I just arrived from Africa’).
ing the encounter of these cross-representations. Although African marabouts’ advertisements
While entering a French market already open can be read in light of the long tradition of exotic
and predisposed to occultism, marabouts also publicity explained above, it is different in some
had to display distinctiveness in order to find ways. The mise en scene of the exotic Other is
their niches and become competitive. Yet, for sin- here performed by the exoticized himself, i.e.
gularity to become an asset, it must conform to the marabouts, unlike in the ’Orientalism’ dis-
existing frames of reference as illustrated by the played in French publicity where iconography
use of the generalizing category ’African’ exhibi and discourses are imagined and circulated by
ted since the beginning of marabouts’ advertis- the French. I suggest that marabouts’ advertise-
ing (e.g. le très célèbre voyant africain ’the very ments should be interpreted as an expression
famous African clairvoyant’).6 ’African’ does not of post-orientalism, where stereotypes, phan-
locate marabouts in a well-defined socio-cultural tasms, and projections onto the exotic Other
space but rather refers to a fantasized semiotic —in this case, Africans— have been appropri-
space filled with images and discourse on Afri- ated, reworked and re-circulated by African mar-
canness, entertained by Europeans and Africans abouts themselves, for their own benefit. Dis-
alike, be they writers (e.g. Léopold Sédar Seng- tinctive ways of writing, as I will suggest, are an
hor, André Gide, Graham Greene among many essential part of marabouts’ doing being African.
others), anthropologists (e.g. Marcel Griaule), But, before turning to this point, let’s first make a
or lay people. With the category African, what detour to the way French readers make sense, if
seems to be exhibited are images of authenti not fun, of them.
city and naturalness, with the African “living
traditionally out of his land and with his land, in 4. Entextualization of marabouts’
and through the cosmos” (“il vit traditionnelle- advertisements
ment de la terre et avec la terre, dans et par le Research conducted on marabouts’ clientele in
cosmos”, Senghor 1945, quoted by De Negroni France shows a vast socioeconomic and socio-cul-
1992:67) in a culture where “spirituality prevails tural diversity of customers ranging from affluent
over materiality” (Griaule 1958, quoted by De to working class Hexagonal French, Portuguese,
Negroni 1992:67). The discourse of authenticity, French West Indians, and Africans (Borghino
naturalness, and power of divination associated 1995, Kuczynski 1992). The socio-cultural diver-
with Africans has prevailed in Europe since the sity of the potential addressees of advertisement
15th century (Lowe 2005), from explorers’ travel- cards is revealed in the marabouts’ presenta-
ogues to acclaimed literary works such as those tions of self. Alignment with French social codes
of Senghor’s just mentioned. As noted above, is illustrated by the use of first or last names pre-
6 ceded by Monsieur as a self-reference term: e.g.
To be sure, there are a few advertisements that
refer to specific geographic location such as in the Monsieur Sakho, Mr Sidikhi, Monsieur M’Bemba.
following example: l’un des plus grands marabouts Sometimes, honorification applies as with the
de la Casamance Senegal (’one of the most famous title professeur, most commonly used after that
marabouts from Casamance, Senegal’). Interestingly,
of Monsieur.7 Professeur, alternating with Pr.,
the line following this self-presentation states: Vient
d’arrivé [sic] à Paris (’just arrived in Paris’). Clearly, the 7 On a collector’s website specialized in marabouts
mention of a well-identified African location, Casa- flyers, statistics can be found on the use of terms for
mance, helps construct a sense of authenticity, for self-presentation. 51% of the 1443 flyers collected
both those who are and those who are not familiar mainly in France (with a few from other parts of Eu-
with maraboutic practices. Casamance is indeed an rope) use the term or its variants Monsieur and 40%
important place regarding marabouts and maraboutic Professeur and its variants (http://www.megabam-
practices. bou.com/galerie/stats/).
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Prof, and Le Professeur, can be interpreted as lity while preserving one’s anonymity. For some
both an attempt to assert symbolic and cultural marabouts, this tension is resolved by adopting
capital according to the French value system and several names while at the same time forging
as a reference to marabouts’ traditional major one single identity with the same picture, or with
activities, i.e. teaching the Qur’an, in the West the same street address and telephone num-
African system. bers. In my own collection, for example, Charles
Relocation to a new geographic ecology trig- alternates with three other identities: Professeur
gers new socio-cultural practices that enable Moro, Professeur Bengali, and Pr. Mohammed
the “relocators” to insert themselves into new Aly. His four advertisements are almost identi-
socialization networks and to conform with the cal, with two of them displaying the same pic-
host country’s frames of cultural and linguistic ture. Yet, because readers have other frames of
expectations.8 Yet, by conforming with new local reference where a name is understood to apply
frames of production and reception, the produc- to one single identity, such variation and latitude
ers of those messages also run the risk of being in the presentation of self tend to be associated
misunderstood by their targeted audiences: on with fraudulent practice by the French. Although
the one hand, the French population that is not such practices may not be completely ruled out,
familiar with African maraboutic practices and, the display of multiple identities need not be
on the other, West-Africans who are more fami simplistically reduced to fraud.
liar with marabouts’ practices and are most likely As amply shown in sociolinguistics, social
to believe them but are otherwise not accus- legitimacy is often tied to speakers’ linguistic
tomed to this particular advertising style. For the performance. Failure to speak or write accord-
marabouts, change of geographic space triggers ing to the norms or expectations associated
a major shift from an oral mode of “promotion with a given space is thought to index a short-
of Other” based on lineages and word-of-mouth coming if not social backwardness. Marabouts’
in their countries of origin to a written practice flyers are no exception. Their linguistic features
of self-advertisement in the host country. Self- become emblematic of illiterate African migrants
advertising ones’ own powers is usually consid- seeking opportunities in the West, conforming
ered as a transgression of marabout’s code of to a scheme of representations in the broader
conduct because it transforms their powers into time-space frame of North to South relation-
commodities while they have traditionally been ships, where Africans are often associated with
considered as God’s gifts. That is, power should poor education. On the Internet, French readers
speak for itself without any need for self-promo- abundantly comment on the flyers’ supposedly
tion. Many stories in Senegal recount how mar- nonstandard literacy by pointing out spelling and
abouts’ self-advertisements provoked other mar- syntactic mistakes. For example, commenting on
abouts’ anger and brought a mauvaise langue ‘a a “generator” of marabouts’ cards available on
curse’ (literally, ‘bad tongue’) to those who dared the Internet, a web user regrets the lack of mis-
indulge in them. Kuczynski (1992) suggests that takes in the automatically generated cards: e.g.
marabouts in France need to find strategies to c genial mais il manque les fautes dans le texte
accommodate both the pressure from the French ;-) (’it’s great but mistakes are lacking in the text
market system and that from other marabouts’ ;-’)).9
competition, while trying to comply with their Discourse on spelling or syntactic mistakes
home tradition, in order to secure their business often conjures up images of marabouts as dubi-
without drawing malefic attacks from other mar- ous characters taking advantage of fragile and
abouts. This boils down to asserting one’s visibi naïve souls, as in the following example:
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(1) Envoute – ensorcelle la malchance vous pour that nobody close to the marabouts, be they a
suit. loyal customer, a cousin or brother who has been
Here the absence of acute accents transformed schooled in France, has ever called their atten-
the expected participles Envouté – ensorcellé tion to these ‘mistakes’ or suggested corrections
into third person presents with the sense of [the to them. In addition, Kuczynski (1982:357), who
marabout] ‘captivates and bewitches misfortune conducted work with the Parisian printers of fly-
follows you’ instead of ([you] ‘captivated and ers, points out that the marabouts allow very
bewitched’). little divergence from the circulating norm of
(2) votre rival repousse à jamais, writing, valorizing the reproduction of a consis-
In this example the lack of accent on the past tent style of advertisement. Lastly, a fine-grained
participle repoussé radically transforms the analysis of the ‘mistakes’ that supposedly index
intended meaning ‘pushed away for ever’ into the scribers’ poor literacy skills shows indeed
‘your rival pushes back again forever’. a patterned use of linguistic features such as
7. Misuse of written conventions usage of capital letters (discussed above) and
This mistake results typically from inconsistent confusion of T/V pronouns, to which we now
punctuation and seemingly erratic usage of capi- turn.
tal letters. Whereas no clear patterned use of According to Coveney (2010:127) ‘The choice
punctuation emerges from the analysis of mar- between vouvoiement and tutoiement (hence-
abouts’ flyers, usage of capital letters appears to forth, ‘T/V’) is possibly the most salient of all
be dictated by meaning rather than writing con- sociolinguistic phenomena in French’. The T/V
ventions. In the example n’hésitez pas à me Con distinction has been analyzed as highly indexical,
tacter (‘don’t hesitate to Contact me’), capitaliza- signaling the level of formality of the relevant
tion of the verb is used specifically to emphasize setting, the types of discourse and channels (on-
the importance of the requested action as in line vs. on-site settings), the degree of deference
(…) pour des Résultats bénéfiques garantis (‘for and intimacy between interactants, and the re-
guaranteed beneficial Results’) where the posi- production of the broader social order (Brown
tive outcome of the advertised work is stressed. and Gilman 1972, Brown and Levinson 1987, and
As illustrated by the following enumeration Morford 1997, Warren 2006, Williams and van
Amour, Chance, Sentiments, Problèmes familiaux, Compernolle 2007, 2009, among many others).
Situations commerciales… (’Love, Luck, Feelings, At first glance, the marabouts’ misuse of pro-
family Problems, commercial Situations’), use of nouns of address tends to corroborate studies
capital letters appears to be far from random; it arguing that T/V misapplication generally indexes
only applies to head nouns and not to adjectives. speakers’ non-nativeness in French (Dewaele
The typology presented above should not 2004 and Dewaele & Planchenault 2006). Two
make us forget variation between marabouts’ ‘misuse’ features can be noted: 1) the concurrent
advertisements, with some displaying a high display of T and V to address readership; and
degree of non-standard literacy while others 2) the use of T in public writing. Although, the lat-
conform to written standards. Readers generally ter emerged in the 1980’s in French advertising,
overlook this diversity, blowing out of proportion it still remains uncommon to date (Pires 2009).
the number of mistakes, and emphasizing the Every use of T is therefore marked, all the more
most stereotypical and often the least common so when concurrently used with V. Yet, the analy-
ones. sis of data shows a patterned use of T/V by the
Evoking marabouts’ lack of or poor literacy marabouts:
in French to account for their advertisements’
non-standard variety, as Kuczynski suggests (see 3) Pour que personne ne te prend ton bien-aimé
above), does not explain why the same spelling tout ce qui te tourmente dans la vie et vous sau-
or syntactic mistakes have been replicated for rez le soir que vous aurez votre résultat ce qui ne
the past 40 years. Firstly, it is hard to imagine sera pas tard. L’homme ou la femme parti(E) tu
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viens ici – tu vas le(la) voir! Vous qui voulez des (…) even if you (T) have been disappointed by
RÉSULTATS IMMÉDIATS, passez sans tarder ! another medium. COME (V) AND CONSULT ME,
LUCK WILL SMILE AT YOU (V)
In order for nobody to take away your (T) beloved
one everything that torments you (T) in life and Here, the shift from singular to plural addressee(s)
you (V) will know in the evening when you (V) will is iconicized by a font change from lower to upper
have your (V) result which will not be late. The case.
man or woman gone you (T) come here – you (T) The marabouts’ seemingly deliberate choice
will see him(her)! You (V) who want IMMEDIATE of non-standard literacy appears at first glance
RESULTS, come (V) with no delay! counter-intuitive both linguistically and econo
mically. First, France epitomizes what Silverstein
4) Si ton mari ou ta femme t’a quitté(e), tu viens (1996) calls the culture of monoglot standardiza
ici et il (ou elle) courra derrière toi (…) Gros- tion, where the standard variety is de facto the
sir ou maigrir, si vous vous sentez mal aimé(e), yardstick against which deviations in language
ou si vous vivez seul(e), réussite dans tous les practices are measured. Thus, the marabouts’
domaines way of writing can be expected to trigger acer-
bic and derogatory comments and therefore
If your (T) husband or your (T) wife left you (T), may handicap their business. Second, the lack
you (T) come here and he (or she) will run after of striking distinctions between flyers appears
you (T) (…) Getting fat or becoming skinny, if you to be counter-productive in a highly competitive
(V) feel unloved, or if you (V) live alone, success market where the implicit business rule is to dis-
in all areas play distinctiveness, if not originality, in order to
appeal to potential customers. As noted above,
My findings corroborate those of Pires (2009), it is precisely because they present linguistic
who argues that, in flyers where both T/V are dis- peculiarities and they all seem to look alike, that
played, T is generally used when referring to love the marabouts’ flyers have become collectors’
matters (e.g. a breakup or a spouse’s unfaith- items for many French people. Unsurprisingly,
fulness), whereas V is left for other problems their seeming linguistic singularity has favored
such as weight issues, as in example 4. In the their world-wide circulation outside the specific
first example, T aims at establishing closeness ecology, the urban settings, they were designed
with the potential distressed reader by framing for. Although the flyers’ world-wide circulation
the marabout-customer interaction as a helper- makes the marabouts and their practices known,
helped relationship, whereas V is used when it does not necessarily entail economic success.
describing services provided by the marabout I submit that marabouts’ apparent decision to
establishing a business-type relationship with conform to the same vernacular style of adver-
his customer (vous saurez le soir que vous aurez tisement is part of their attempt to seek legiti-
votre résultat ‘you (V) will know (in) the evening macy on the French market of occultism. In a
when you (V) will have your (V) result’). society generally suspicious of foreign occult
practices, it is safer to project a collective dis-
Of course, because V in French can be both a course rather than to display conflicting indi-
singular formal term of address or a non-marked vidual voices. Although the marabouts compete
plural one, scribers may play with its semantic with each other on the same business market,
fuzziness such as below: their survival as practitioners also depends on
their ‘recognizability’ as a group, notwithstand-
5) (..) même si tu as été déçu par un autre ing their expertise and authenticity. Therefore,
medium. VENEZ ME CONSULTER, LA CHANCE the interdiscursivity found in their flyers can
VOUS SOURIRA. be interpreted as indexing in-group member-
ship. Second, by performing vernacular literacy
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they conform to deeply entrenched French ste- Africans migrants are poor speakers of French);
reotypes of Africans as incompetent speakers and 4) scribers’ fitting of readers’ linguistic and
of French. By performing deviant literacy, they social expectations. The analysis of language
become ‘authentic’ Africans, and therefore legiti commodification in local economies draws
mate clairvoyants, through meeting the socio- our attention, once again, to the crucial impor-
cultural fantasies and stereotypes of their host tance of studying language resources in light of
country. the communicative economy in which they are
This re-appropriation of the linguistic stereo- used and from and within which they are made
types and the ensuing social categorizations are sense of.
very similar to Hall’s (1995) description of female The best illustration is found in marabouts’
fantasy lines. According to her, sex-workers have web-advertisements.18 The striking difference
learned to manipulate female conversation ste- between ‘non-standard literacy’ performed in
reotypes, for example, when they use power- paper-advertisements and the unmarked one
lessness forms of women’s language, in order to in on-line publicity tends to corroborate my
be empowered economically. However, I don’t hypothesis about language commodification in
share Hall’s conclusion that such practices are the marabouts’ paper-advertising. Although I
both socially and economically empowering for haven’t yet found marabouts who advertise on
women and bring them money without forcing both flyers and the web, there is no obvious rea-
them ‘to participate in a patriarchal business son to believe that paper- and cyber-advertising
structure’ (1995: 208). By recycling socio-cultural marabouts represent two distinct groups of
stereotypes through their use of linguistic fea- people with the ‘traditional’ ones on one side
tures, both Hall’s sex-workers and the marabouts and the technology-savvy ones on the other. In
participate in the re-production of the social addition, hypothesizing that, because the cre-
and moral orders. It is this process that enables ation of a blog requires technical expertise, the
French readers to construct the meanings that marabouts may have received help and there-
are found on the Internet. If any actual economic fore have had their French ‘polished’ in the pro-
benefits are drawn from their endeavor, they cess would rest on the idea that one cannot be a
are to the detriment of timeless symbolic ben- marabout and computer-savvy at the same time.
efits, i.e. the end of underlying power dynamics Finally, it would equate being computer-literate
that help shape women’s and Africans’ socio with being French-literate. Some of us know
economic subordination. from experience that this assumption is far from
Nonetheless, the example of the marabouts’ being true.
flyers extends linguists’ current reflection I suggest that the differential display of lite
on commodification, showing a disjuncture racy competence in the two advertising modes
between ‘legitimate’ and commodifiable lan- has partly to do with the ecology of signs in
guage. The marabouts’ performed ‘non-literacy which both texts are inserted. Unlike the streets
skills’ are turned into a marketable commod- where flyers are distributed, the web is a discur-
ity, becoming an “added value for niche mar- sive space where the marabouts are challenged,
kets” (Heller 2010:103). Astroturf literacy, as I
call it, is the commodification of grassroots lit- 18 Marabout’s web-advertising emerged in France in
eracy through: 1) a process of erasure of mar- the mid-1990’s. With the development of the Internet
abouts’ diversity and that of their literacy skills; in major African cities, it has also spread to countries
such as Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. However, because
2) an acknowledgment of the local economy advertisements are written in French, one may won-
of linguistic resources in which values are allo- der to what extent the audience targeted by Africa-
cated to ways of speaking and writing, and thus based marabouts’ is just local. Some cyber-marabouts
where linguistic stratification is performed; 3) advertise their services on ready-made astrology
websites while others create more or less elaborate
an awareness of the non-referential indexical personal websites. See for example: http://www.
ordering in currency in the local ecology (e.g. marabouts-voyants-africains.com/
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criticized and highly stigmatized. Although mara paper-advertisements. Web-advertising does not
boutic practices attract a wide spectrum of French compete with that on paper: it is complementary
customers, the French are generally reluctant in that both fit expectations regarding public, for
to admit consulting or considering approaching mal writing (with un-marked literacy for the first
marabouts. The mediated communicative plat one: for instance none of the 36 websites I con
form provided by the Internet is then used by sulted displays the T form.) and vernacular, grass
web-users to inquire about maraboutic practices, roots writing. The latter meets the stereotypes
share good or bad experiences, ask for advice, the average French has of African migrants con
warn against some untrustworthy marabouts, sidered unprepared to integrate the host social
etc. Reports also abound on marabouts’ alleged conventions.
fraudulent practices, and disparaging remarks Distinctive claims of legitimacy are also
are regularly posted on them and their custom another important feature of the two modes
ers, with the latter being ridiculed as naïve and of advertising. They vary from the marabouts
stupid for being lured by such ‘crooks’ (escrocs). asserting their expertise on the flyers to their
Whereas sameness is sought for in paper- asserting the power and validity of maraboutic
advertisements, distinctiveness seems to be the practices on the web. The variation is apparent
rule on websites. The less constraining format of in the use of interdiscursivity in web-advertising,
the web-page, combined with the use of multi where, unlike that in the flyers, intertextuality
modal semiotic resources (e.g. images, colors, here is realized through links to texts ratified as
sounds), explains in part the performed singular legitimate source of knowledge. For example, on
ity of cyber-marabouts. Their individual voice on the opening page of ‘the network of marabouts
the Internet is in sharp contrast with the collec medium clairvoyant’ (http://www.marabouts-
tive one projected in flyers, which is subject to voyants-africains.com/) two links direct web-
intense criticisms. The display of standard literacy users to a history of Senegalese maraboutic
helps disconnect web-advertisements from paper brotherhoods and that of Muridism, the most
ones, as if to rehabilitate the stigmatized image influential of them. The links as a reliable source
of marabouts and reframe the French’ interpre of information are indexed by the author’s well-
tation of maraboutic practices. Standard literacy identified French academic institution shown in
appears to be used as a counter-discourse to the the document’s excerpt below, not mentioning
readers’ widespread derogatory comments on her French-sounding name:
Le mouridisme
Sophie Bava
Laboratoire Méditerranéen de Sociologie,
MMSH Aix-en-Provence.
copyright : Sophie Bava, REMI
http://remi.revues.org
lames.mmsh.univ-aix.fr/bava%202002%20VEI.doc
Source: http://www.marabouts-voyants-africains.com/le-mouridisme.html
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Links have two interrelated functions: 1) dis- “culture of monoglot standardization” (Silverstein
cursive: redirecting readers’ attention from the 1996) since the 17th century, and as ‘mono-
image of the marabout to maraboutic practices, chromic’, with a predominantly white/European
a feature found on many of the marabouts’ per- public space. Through a process of erasure of
sonal websites; 2) social: ‘rehabilitating’ the France’s cultural diversity, France and Frenchness
marabouts as knowledgeable, pious and mor- are typically, if not exclusively, imagined and pro-
ally honest. No data are available yet to evaluate jected as white and European. These are among
the ways web-users read cyber-advertisements. the sociolinguistic assumptions that underlie
The rare comments I found only take notice of French readers’ entextualizations of marabouts’
marabouts becoming computer-savvy without flyers. Both the marabouts’ productions of fly-
any mention of their literacy skills, regardless of ers and the readers’ comments give us access to
whether or not they are rated positively, as in the ‘linguistic ideology in action’, with the marabouts
following example: displaying a strong metalinguistic awareness by
their very act of writing.
Les Marabouts de l’an 2000 Indeed, a fine-grained analysis and compari-
Ce n’est pas parce qu’on est Marabout qu’on ne son of both paper- and cyber-advertisements
sait pas se servir d’Internet !! show that grassroots literacy is performed rather
than endured. Interestingly, it is by NOT con-
The marabouts of 2000 forming to the French written norms of literacy,
It is not because one is a Marabout that one for instance through displaying ‘poor’ literacy
doesn’t know how to use the Internet!! skills, that they conform to the latter’s wide-
This lack of derogatory comments may illus- spread social stereotypes about Africans and
trate that marabouts, once again, manage to Africa. Through the display of non-standard lite
meet their French readers’ frame of interpreta- racy emerges a standardized way of doing being
tion, this time by conforming to expected stan- marabout, at least in the flyers. In other words,
dard literacy in public writing rather than the highly devalued ways of writing become an asset
expectation of grassroots literacy associated in projecting oneself as trustworthy clairvoyants.
with them from their paper-advertising. In astroturf literacy as I call it, non-literacy skills
become a commodity that helps reap symbolic
6. Conclusions and/or economic benefits. On the other hand,
Stereotypes of African marabouts pervade the in recycling socio-cultural stereotypes through
French semiotic landscape as is evident from the their use of specific linguistic features, the mar-
numerous comments on and entextualizations of abouts participate in the re-production of the
their advertisements one finds on the Internet. social and moral orders that sustain the French
I have advocated reading these advertisements readers’ meaning-making. Thus what may be
in light of the economy of writing and reading in economically empowering at an individual level
which they are inserted. This economy is char- is symbolically detrimental at a collective level.
acterized as highly normative due to France’s Socially, it is a no-win situation.
67
Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Cécile B. Vigouroux
68
Magic Marketing: Performing Grassroots Literacy Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
Silverstein, Michael. 1996. Monoglot “Standard” Urry, John. 2007. Mobilities. Cambridge (UK): Polity
in America: Standardization and metaphors of Press.
Linguistic Hegemony. In The matrix of language, Warren, Jane. 2006. Address pronouns in French.
D. Brenneis & R. Macaulay (eds.), 284-306. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 29(2):
Westview Press. 16.1-16.17.
Street, Brian. 1995. Social literacies: Critical ap- Williams, L. and Rémi A. van Compernolle. 2007.
proaches to Literacy in development, ethnogra- Second-person pronoun use in on-line French-
phy and education. London: Longman. Language chat environments. French Review 80:
Vigouroux, Cécile B. 2008. From Africa to Africa: 804-820.
migration, globalization and language vitality. In Williams L. and Rémi A. van Compernolle. 2009.
Globalization and language vitality: Perspectives Second-person pronoun use in French language
from Black Africa, C. Vigouroux & S. Mufwene discussion fora. Journal of French language Stud
(eds), 229-254. London: Continuum Press. ies 19: 361-378.
69
Superdiversity on the Internet: A Case from China
By Piia Varis and Xuan Wang
University of Tilburg, the Netherlands
Abstract
The Internet is the superdiverse space par excellence – a space of seemingly endless
possibilities for self-expression and community formation. Yet, online environments are not
characterized only by happy heterogeneity: rather, we are able to see multiple layers of
normativity in the form of self-, peer- and state-imposed norms. That is, though allowing
for the continuous diversification of diversity, the Internet is also a space where diversity
is controlled, ordered and curtailed. This paper illustrates these dynamics through an
examination of a Beijing-based rapper and his online activities. What emerges from this
investigation is a superdiverse as well as normative space where diversity is constrained
by a complex of normative struggles, as new forms of meaning-making are accompanied
with new systems of normativity. The driving force in such increasingly online normative
processes is, instead of locality or localization, the quest for authenticity.
1. Introduction: The superdiverse Internet diversity should take into account the signifi-
The Internet can be seen as a major mechanism cance of the Internet in complexifying the nature
in globalization processes and in the creation of human communication and engagement with
of superdiversity (Vertovec 2006, 2010).1 The others, of transnational movements and migra-
World Wide Web opens up entirely new chan- tion, and of social and cultural life in general.
nels of communication, generating new linguis- However, we should also be wary of too much
tic and cultural forms, new ways of forming and optimism in this respect. The so-called ‘Internet
maintaining contacts, networks and groups, and revolution’ witnessed in the past three decades
new opportunities for identity-making (e.g. Sun- or so entices many with the promise of a super-
dén 2003; Baron 2008; boyd2 2009). Technology diverse space par excellence – a space of seem-
has made it increasingly easy to transgress one’s ingly endless possibilities for self-expression,
immediate life-world, extend it to and beyond individual life projects and community formation.
the screen, and engage in local as well as trans Prevailing Internet ideologies often present us
local activities through previously unavailable with an image of an online world saturated with
means. All of this cannot be ignored in explain- opportunities and aspirations where one is able
ing the world today, and discussions on super to indulge in infinite creativity in imagining and
constructing both self and other.
1 This paper has been written in the context of the While it may be a truism that life on the Inter-
research project Transformations of the Public Sphere net is overwhelmingly innovative and diverse, it
(TRAPS) at the Department of Culture Studies, Univer- is necessary to recognize that this happy hete
sity of Tilburg.
2 danah boyd does not use capitals in writing her rogeneity is only part of the scene. Much like
name and we adopt this preference when referring to in the ‘real’ world offline, rules and norms are
her. also to be complied with in virtual spaces. As we
have demonstrated elsewhere (Varis, Wang & Du tivity and creativity on the Internet by examining
2011), constraints do not only exist online, but a case from China3 – a Beijing-based rapper and
are as important as the opportunities offered by his online engagement with the global flows of
the Internet: they have determining effects on hip-hop cultures. There are compelling reasons
the way Internet users are able to deploy and for this focus, the most elementary one being
develop identity repertoires, engage with others that it offers a rich instance of semiotization
and form communities. While enabling continu- (i.e. meaning-creation using various semiotic
ous ‘diversification of diversity’ (Vertovec 2006: resources) in online communication and iden-
1), the Internet is also a space where diversity is tity-making in the context of globalization. Its
controlled, ordered and curtailed. This control use of multi-modal (texts, pictures and acoustics)
involves both explicit forms of normativity – e.g. and multilingual (Chinese, English and Korean)
policies for Internet use as observable in different resources and its metapragmatic narrative on
geopolitical contexts such as China – and more cultural practices (how to do hip-hop online), as
implicit ones that emerge and are negotiated we shall see soon, are all sites for the production
and monitored in online micro practices. Norma- of creativity as well as normativity. Secondly, as
tivity online is no less important or complex than ‘Internet hip-hop’ – both created in online spaces
normativity offline; on the contrary, life online and published online – it brings together two
is also overlaid by the overwhelming speed and typical forms of superdiversity in the context of
scope of communication as well as unprecedent- cultural globalization. Hip-hop is “the most pro-
ed heteroglossia, all of which further complicates found and the most perplexing cultural, musical
the picture. As both a result and consequence of and linguistic movement of the late 20th/early
this heterogeneity and polycentricity, engaging in 21st century” (Alim 2009: 3) with highly hetero-
new superdiverse online environments often re- glossic, innovative language and other cultural
quires orientating in specific ways towards much practices (e.g. Alim et al. 2009; Pennycook 2003,
more nuanced and more mixed, scaled forms 2007a, 2007b), and its emergence online as an
of normativity than before, as a broad range of Internet subculture hugely expands its poten-
scales of orientation influences actions online. tial for superdiversity while at the same time
That is, in order to successfully communicate and appears shaped by normative forces.
engage in (sub)cultural action, it may be neces- As will surface later, the involvement of the
sary to observe several different layers of nor- two vehicles of superdiversity in our case (i.e. the
mativity through which superdiversity (online) is semiotization of Chinese hip-hop) does not nec-
controlled and shaped by multiscalar forces. essarily lead to doubled freedom and creativity in
Attending to these dynamics between freedom, discursive behaviours. Rather, each opportunity
creativity and normativity is crucial for obtaining for creativity goes hand in hand with normativity
a detailed and nuanced understanding of super- that is multiply layered and operates on different
diversity on the Internet; yet the way in which scale levels. Further, our case study assumes an
such dynamics work, and, more fundamentally, empirical, ‘bottom-up’ ethnographic approach
what forms of normativity are at play and to what (e.g. Blommaert 2005; Cora Garcia et al. 2009;
extent they organize online practices, still needs 3 The case discussed here is based on (Internet)
to be further interrogated. Attention to the work fieldwork by Xuan Wang between autumn 2010 and
of order, coercion and power in cyberspace is spring 2011 as part of her Ph.D. research. The field-
needed to meet the current agenda for enriched work involved an initial four-month period of online
theorization of concepts such as ‘superdiversity’ observation of hip-hop related activities surrounding
MC Liangliang and his crew (musical performances,
and ‘globalization’ in social sciences (see Blom- blogging, online discussions with fans and ‘enemies’).
maert & Rampton in this issue; Blommaert 2010; After some online interaction and interviews with MC
Blommaert & Varis 2011). Liangliang by the researcher from outside China, a
This paper is committed to the tasks outlined focused interview with him was conducted in Beijing
in early 2011. This was followed by further ongoing
above, and we illustrate the exercises of norma- contacts and observations via the Internet.
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Superdiversity on the Internet Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
Hymes 1996; Kozinets 2010; Juffermans 2010; rapid, large-scale adoption of new technologies,
Rampton 2007). This allows us to develop more such as the Internet, to facilitate and advance its
detailed and sophisticated understandings of economic modernization. Today China is home
this new communicative environment and how it to the largest number of Internet users, or ‘neti-
works through the fine-grains of language use by zens’, in the world, reaching 457 million by 20104,
the Internet users, as argued for in the position more than the entire population of the United
paper of this issue. Finally, we engage critically States. Its Internet penetration rate has reached
with China which, though at times projected as over 34%, topping the world average. All these
being in the periphery from the globalization developments have taken place within the short
centres such as the nation-states in Western span of just over a decade. The speed, volume
Europe, provides an interesting case of engage- and intensity of these developments are aston-
ment with both superdiversity and normativity in ishing, even if rather uneven in terms of geo-
the virtual space. China’s Internet development graphical and social distribution and accessibility
is impressive, but is also known for stringent con- (see Lu et al. 2002 for an overview of the Internet
trol and censorship, this being a clear example of development in China).
‘language policing’ (Blommaert et al. 2010) from The impact of ‘the spirit of Chinese informa-
the state level. As our case suggests, however, tionalism’ (Qiu 2004: 99) is not, however, exclu-
there is more to it than this: normativity can also sively economic. Like in other parts of the world,
be imposed from below – by oneself or one’s in China the Internet is playing an ever more
peers – and this introduces further, intricate prominent role in the transformation of the pub-
local and translocal systems of normativity – the lic sphere and civil society, fostering the forma-
micropolitics of language and/or cultural policing tion of an emerging network society and virtual
that can be found in all interactions in different communities, offering new space and resources
social spaces and contexts. for transnational and translocal engagements,
In what follows, we first situate our case and giving rise to enhanced social mobility and
through a discussion on the emerging super various empowering political, cultural and per-
diversity on the Internet in China, and hip-hop in sonal maneouvres and contestations (see e.g.
China. We will then move on to discuss our Chi- Leibold 2010; Li 2010; Lo 2009; Yang 2003a,
nese case to illustrate how what could be termed 2003b, 2003c). The scope of opportunities, crea
a global super-vernacular (i.e. the global hip-hop tivity and freedom introduced and sustained by
culture) is creatively employed by a Chinese rap- the Internet is tremendous, even though China
per online, and how this super-vernacular is spo- also implements explicit regulations on Internet
ken with an original ‘local Chinese accent’ – all use through heavy censorship (MacKinnon 2008;
the while strictly adhering to a certain complex Qiu 1999/2000). The new opportunities are per-
of norms. The complex of creativity and norms haps most notable in relation to political move-
will ultimately lead us to the notion of authentic- ments addressing questions such as freedom of
ity which, essentially, is about discursive orienta- speech, citizen activism and democracy in Chi-
tions towards a specific configuration of norms nese society (e.g. MacKinnon 2009; Qiu 2004;
in order to ‘pass as’ someone or something (see Schroeder 2005; Yang 2009), not to mention the
Blommaert & Varis 2011). Instead of locality or fast expansion of e-business and consequently
localization, it is authenticity that is the driving booming economic and social infrastructures
force in the superdiverse effort examined here. based on telecommunications (e.g. Liang 2010).
The emergence of Internet subcultures is an-
2. Internet cultures in China other remarkable signification of globalization
China became a more active participant in glo- and its superdiverse face in Chinese society, es-
balization processes two decades ago, and soon 4 See, for example, a news report (Li 2011) in Peo-
became considered a rising member of the global ple’s Daily, China’s largest broadsheet, on March 30,
‘network society’ (Castells 1996/2000, 2004) via 2011.
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Piia Varis, Xuan Wang
pecially in mediating the global flows of different cases are as much about having access to and
forms of popular culture, such as movies, fashion being able to participate in the global as they are
and music. about the appropriation and (re)invention of the
Hip-hop today is a linguistically and culturally local. What is at stake in the mixture of global
superdiverse phenomenon, with local interpre- and local is authenticity – the defining feature of
tations of the global flourishing, also – and per- global hip-hop ideology (e.g. Pennycook 2007a).
haps particularly so – on the Internet. ‘Internet To ‘keep it real’, i.e. to be authentic in hip-hop
hip-hop’ is also a good example of an Internet terms, involves the creative blending of local and
subculture – or, using different terminology, a translocal resources while also orienting towards
‘super-group’ in Arnaut’s terms (see Blommaert different normative scales that are brought
& Rampton in this issue) – that brings together together at the moment of creation. To ‘keep it
great numbers of individuals who via the Inter- real’ is indeed to speak a ‘resistance vernacular’
net engage with, circulate, appropriate and (Potter 1995) that demonstrates rebelliousness
modify global hip-hop flows otherwise less visi and deviation, or creativity by rendering what
ble and accessible for them. This is particularly is global with local features. But creativity is
prominent and relevant in China, as ‘Internet always tied to normativity (how to be authentic
hip-hop’, known as wangluo xiha, occupies much and ‘keep it real’), and such dynamics are also
of the hip-hop scene there. While still negotiat- relevant on the Internet – if not particularly so,
ing its way into the highly normative cultural and because of the reduced prominence of locality in
social mainstream, the globally available format online spaces. Further, even though the Internet
of hip-hop is spreading rapidly and, primarily, has hugely expanded our potential for creati
via the Internet among the grassroots Chinese. vity, normative systems do impinge upon online
Even if the visibility of the translocal practices of meaning-making. This, in the case of our rapper
hip-hop is largely restricted to the online space, in China, also includes the state-imposed control
the degree of diversification in their uptake in of ‘unacceptable’ online behaviour by means
China is extraordinary. Complex translocal, trans of content and/or even website removal; that
national networks are developed, and large is, the products of one’s creativity can even be
numbers of locally appropriated versions of hip- completely removed should they fail to adhere
hop begin to emerge on the Internet, varying to the prevailing norms established for online
greatly in terms of language features, cultural behaviour. The dynamics between normativity,
styles and political motivations. MC Liangliang especially in relation to the production of hip-
(the focus of this study), whose online engage- hop authenticity, and creativity will be of cen-
ment with hip-hop has gained him considerable tral concern in our examination of a 26-year-old
credibility among hip-hop and youth communi- Beijing-based rapper and his online hip-hop – i.e.
ties in China, and connected him to the wider the products of his (sub)cultural activity that he
part of global hip-hop flows, is one example of posts online.
these processes. The translocal flows, thanks to
the Internet, also reach marginalized individuals 3. ‘Real hip-hop’: A case from China
in remote locations, as in the case of a dialect 3.1 Creativity and normativity online
rapper from Enshi – the periphery of globaliza- Before entering the world of online Chinese hip-
tion in China – that we have recorded elsewhere hop it should be observed that posting music and
(see Varis, Wang & Du 2011, Wang 2010). This lyrics online is of course not specific to Chinese
mobility offered by hip-hop globalization online hip-hop or even hip-hop in general – all kinds of
is also observable in other parts of the world, for artists all over the world publish their products
instance, in the case of Amoc, the Sami rapper on the Internet. This has fundamentally changed
in Lapland of northern Finland (e.g. Ridanpää & the economy and distribution of music as such:
Pasanen 2009 and Pietikäinen 2010; Leppänen the world of music has become notably smaller
& Pietikäinen 2010). The opportunities in such and more accessible in many respects (consider
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Superdiversity on the Internet Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
only the effect of MySpace in the global diversifi- emergent, and this goes for all kinds of norms
cation of the music scene), and it is perhaps real- – those of communication, (sub)culturalization
istic to say that music producers independent of and identity-making. The fact that in many cases
big industries can much more easily gain visibility the norms have not been pre-established does
for themselves and speak to audiences otherwise not, therefore, mean that there are no norms,
out of their reach. This also means that, despite but that they are often (re)worked in the pro-
the control (and homogenizing, de-diversifying cess of engagement on online fora. It should also
influence) of huge industries in the business, the be borne in mind that the global cultural flows
availability of different kinds of cultural products within our reach thanks to the Internet are not
is, thanks to the Internet, more widespread than only liberating and allowing for more diversity,
ever before. That is, the Internet allows for the but also provide templates and blueprints for
emergence and visibility of cultural forms other (sub)cultural action, and therefore also constrain
wise relatively, if not entirely, invisible to audi- online creativity.
ences and thus facilitates the diversification of Global cultures, codes and flows, however, do
culture and forms of cultural production in cir- not work according to a deterministic logic: they
culation. are not swallowed without chewing, so to speak.
The Chinese case investigated here – MC 良良, In this process of ‘chewing’ the global semiotic
or MC Liangliang5 – is a case in point: we are resources, potentially very interesting things
looking at a rapper now based in Beijing (where happen, as ‘global’ and ‘local’ resources become
he migrated a couple of years ago) who without creatively blended. As a result, global codes with
the Internet would probably have much less visi- a local accent appear. Global codes or templates
bility, and be able to reach far fewer people6. The are what we can call super-vernaculars – global
Internet allows him to post his music and lyrics ways of fashioning identities, forms of commu-
online and also to embrace a certain kind of iden- nication, genres, etc. recognizable for members
tity – to engage in the global hip-hop semiotics in of emergent super-groups. These super-vernacu-
an unprecedented manner. Online environments lars become recognized as certain things because
offer us these possibilities, simply provided that they share certain recognizable features, and
there is access to a computer and an Internet through the re-enactment and re-circulation of
connection. It would be an exaggeration to sug- these, super-communities are created and sub-
gest that without the Internet none of this would sequently sustained. To put it otherwise, certain
happen, or that this rapper in Beijing would not shared indexical orders7 are acknowledged and
have the global semiotics and cultural flows at recognized as belonging to a certain super-ver-
his disposal – it is rather that the Internet facili- nacular – for instance, in the case discussed here,
tates all this, and allows for forms of engagement that of ‘hip-hopness’. These global orders offer
and participation that would not exist without it. different affordances – resources and opportuni-
The Internet, of course, is not only a space ties for meaning-making – for those appropriat-
for unlimited and unrestrained flows. The rules ing these large-scale scripts and blending them
of engagement have (at least in many cases) with local orders, and one such affordance is de-
not been established a priori, i.e. norms are globalization. As a result of such appropriations,
dialects of the super-vernacular appear. This is
5 All translations from Chinese to English in this pa-
per are ours.
6 It is important to note that although we describe
Beijing as MC Liangliang’s ‘base’ in the sense of 7 ‘Indexical orders’ captures the idea that the mean-
physical location, we regard his hip-hop activities as ings attached to semiotic signs (be they forms of lan-
translocal rather than bound to locality (i.e. Beijing) guage use, pieces of clothing, etc.) are not random,
as these activities are essentially Internet-based. The but systematic, stratified and context-specific: we
specific relevance of the locality of Beijing is beyond attribute meaning to signs according to convention-
the scope and outside the focus of the present paper, alized, normative patterns. For an accessible account,
and is addressed elsewhere (Wang 2011). see Blommaert (2005).
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Piia Varis, Xuan Wang
what we shall now illustrate through the case of www.yyfc.com for publishing his songs, and the
MC Liangliang and his posse. Baidu message board and Sina microblog for
chats and blogs related to his artistic work, and
3.2 MC Liangliang other more general topics – that is, to engage
Let us start with the rapper himself, MC Liang with his audiences. He raps both independently
liang, or Liangliang as many of his fans refer to and as part of a crew called 乱感觉 (‘MessFeel’).
him. This name, as is common for both online Several of the members of this group live in his
and hip-hop names, is of course a pseudonym hometown region in North-Eastern China; so,
although, interestingly, ‘Liang’ is taken from his apart from himself, none of the group members
real name. His name also mixes the global hip- is currently based in Beijing. The collaborative
hop English ‘MC’ with the Chinese ‘Liangliang’, work of composing and performing is therefore
marking him as a member of the global hip-hop done virtually, i.e. entirely online, and the group
community, and, simultaneously, as a member uses QQ (a Chinese programme used for instant
of a narrower hip-hop niche, i.e. the Chinese messaging, blogging, gaming, etc.) to exchange
hip-hop community. However, what is equally ideas and inspiration, to relay bits of work or
intriguing is that according to Liangliang, he simply to socialize with one another. Their artis
is not an ‘MC’ in its globally recognized mean tic production is, then, essentially a virtual and
ing (Master of Ceremony). Instead, he claims translocal enterprise.
that his full hip-hop name is ‘Month Catamenia Such a virtual and translocal enterprise of
Liang Liang (yuejing Liang Liang)’8. One way of course implies a number of liberties and gains
interpreting this is that the global symbol of ‘MC’, that can be achieved only through such meth
as part of the hip-hop package, is localized and ods of artistic production. Thanks to the Inter
reinvented by Liangliang for his own purposes, net, MC Liangliang and his partners are able to
while this shift towards local also involves items produce and circulate their own music online,
that are atypically local (in English) and incom without the limitations of time and space and
plete (his use of ‘month’ instead of ‘monthly’). the ‘editorial’ restrictions (by e.g. record compa
This appropriation is about creativity as well as nies) present in ‘offline’ artistic work. The group
rebelliousness by taking the liberty to reject the is able to collaborate ‘off-the-scene’, and to cre
global norm and to create something new. The ate, organize and engage with their peer groups
outcome of the new invention, ‘Month Catame and communities of practice that are either non-
nia’ is also about rebelliousness as the phrase in existent or invisible in their immediate corporeal
Chinese (which is also explicitly used by Liang world – whether these are people from back
liang in the Chinese version of his hip-hop name) home, or elsewhere outside Beijing. The Internet
is a culturally sensitive word often replaced with also allows for going with the global flows of hip-
a euphemism. The transgression apparent in the hop; in online environments it is easier than ever
selection of the term iconicizes both the cultural before to participate in and take influences from
and the counter-cultural sides of hip-hop. Here the transnational hip-hop scene. MC Liangliang’s
we already begin to see alignments toward – and online pursuits, however, are not only about lib
resistance against – different sets of indexicalities erty and chances for participation in global activi
and markers of identity and identification, and ties, but also about the pursuit of authenticity as
observing MC Liangliang’s online presence will a rapper. In this sense, the scene is also one that
take us a step further in seeing how the global functions according to certain regularities and
becomes enmeshed with the local. normativities.
MC Liangliang appears actively on seve
ral Internet platforms, primarily the website 3.3 The semiotization of authenticity
8 See We shall now move on to examine the first
an online interview with MC Liangliang at
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5074792a01008o9f. stanza of a song published online by MC Liang
html (last viewed September 9, 2011). liang and his crew to illustrate the points made
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Superdiversity on the Internet Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
Image 1 Image 2
Source: www.yyfc.com Source: www.yyfc.com
© www.yyfc.com © www.yyfc.com
above, but first a few words about the hip-hop ‘hip-hopness’, the creation of which is afforded
semiotics by which the song is framed. Online, by the different semiotic resources offered by
MC Liangliang does not only produce music or the Internet (creating a profile; using different
lyrics, but also performs the essential identity multimodal means to do this; being creative in
act of ‘being hip-hop’. We can see that his choice doing this, etc.), and based on what MC Liang
of profile pictures on www.yyfc.com and Baidu liang believes hip-hop is about.
message board point to familiar ways of fashion- Let us now move on to the actual product of
ing hip-hop identities. Image 19 features a young MC Liangliang’s group, i.e. one of the songs he
Afro male, suggesting an alignment with ‘hip-hop posted online. The song by MC Liangliang that
authority’ embodied in ‘blackness’ – being and we use here to illustrate our point is called 中国
doing ‘black’. Image 210 is different: there we see, HIPHOP – Chinese HIPHOP. This already suggests
in a way, a more ‘authentic’ image of Liangliang to us something about the content of the song, as
in the sense that this is an actual picture of him. well as the kinds of orders of indexicality evoked
The features of his face are obscured, but the in this cultural artifact. Dissecting the title into
emblematic signifiers indexing ‘real hip-hop’ are its constituent parts is quite simple – it consists
there: he wears a baseball cap and a sport top, of two parts, ‘Chinese’ and ‘hip-hop’. However
both iconic of the globalized hip-hop fashion; simple this may seem at first glance, these two
the raised middle finger and the cigarette in his point to different sets of indexicals, and different
mouth point to a particular hip-hop attitude – a layers therein: that of the global phenomenon of
certain coolness, rebelliousness and subversive- – or, the super-vernacular of – hip-hop, as well as
ness – the kind of ‘badness’ familiar from urban its Chinese ‘accent’. We shall further delve into
hip-hop scenes. It is also worth noting that the these different layers next.
image features his hip-hop name in a particular The vocals for the song here are split into two
way, with the English letters ‘MC’ printed much parts, as in the lyrics posted online in written
larger than the Chinese characters ‘良良’: in this form the first part of them is not included. How-
way, the appropriation of the global semiotics ever, the song can also be listened to online, and
becomes highlighted. In a way these two images in the audio version we can see that the written
are very different, yet both point to a certain lyrics provided online do not include everything.
Here is the missing part, assisting us in orienting
9 http://yyfc.iq123.com/1024930 (Last viewed on towards the kinds of indexicalities at play here:
April 7, 2011).
10 h t t p : / / t i e b a . b a i d u . c o m / i / 9 8 8 0 5 0 1 8 ? s t _
mod=pb&fr=tb0_forum&st_type=uface (Last viewed
on April 7, 2011).
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Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595 Piia Varis, Xuan Wang
11 h t t p : / / y y f c . i q 1 2 3 . c o m / p l a y. a s p x ? r e g _
id=1024930&song_id=1985485 (Last viewed on Sep-
tember 3, 2011).
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Superdiversity on the Internet Diversities Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011 • ISSN 2079-6595
a (Western) hip-hop flavour. Linguistically, English the realization of norm-imposing (i.e. judgment
is not the only ‘non-Chinese’ resource present on what is unacceptable, undesirable) is con-
in the lyrics, though: listening to the song, later sistently marked with the little stars and, more
on we also hear Korean, rapped by Joonjoon, a importantly, is implemented by the state. This
Korean-speaking member of MC Liangliang’s clearly illustrates that even in a supposedly free,
group. In the written lyrics, however, Korean is global online environment, interventions from
not visible, due to the absence of Korean within strictly local powers (in this case the state) do
the repertoire of the person who produced the take place. However, we might even suggest that
lyrics in the written form and posted them online, in this online space, the stars even function as
i.e. MC Liangliang. Thus, what is linguistically adding a further layer of ‘hip-hop authenticity’ to
actually more complex and diverse than this ver- the lyrics – what the stars cover is the very stuff
sion suggests, and is of course there in the audio that makes it recognizable as certain kind of hip-
version, is reduced in this written online version hop, namely, the kind inspired by rebellion and
into a mix of only certain (linguistic) resources deviation for the purpose of creativity, and con-
due to factors constraining the presentation. It is sequently authentic as such.
clear, however, that there is an orientation here We have seen the imposition of two diffe-
towards what hip-hop globally ‘really’ is about. rent normativities already: those of the state,
We shall return to this issue – i.e. the mix of and those of the global hip-hop culture. The
Chinese, Korean and English – in more detail appropriation of ‘dirty’ words (such as ‘fuck’
below, but let us first consider another feature which is replaced by asterisks) in the lyrics is of
in the lyrics that we can spot simply by looking course a feature of the global super-vernacular
at them: the small asterisks used to mask the of hip-hop, and here, in what can be labelled as a
‘inappropriate’ word ‘fuck’. Here we encounter local dialect of that super-vernacular, this feature
perhaps the most explicit level of normativity is appropriated and produces an effect of authen
shaping the lyrics. Even a less perceptive reader ticity. Interestingly, although the words cannot
will notice the asterisks that disrupt the other- be seen here – they can only be heard when
wise ‘normal-looking’ hip-hop lyrics – ‘normal’ in listening to the song – and they are replaced by
the sense of meeting the expectation we have the little stars, it can be argued that not being
when we see them, and how they are organized. able to see them online further contributes to
The little stars, however, are there for the pre- the ’hiphop-ness’ of the lyrics, i.e. their authen-
cise function of making the lyrics ‘normal’, but on ticity: the stars mark something that is outside
another scale: ‘normal’ in the sense of sanitizing the established norms, transgressive and deviant,
them to be acceptable for the online environ- and therefore pointing to the core of what (cer-
ment in which they appear. tain kinds of) hip-hop are about. Two indexical
What the little stars suggest is intervention by scales (both ‘good’ and ‘bad’) and, consequently,
the state, mediated by Internet providers – often two different normativities, are evoked with the
seen in the case of blogging in China, for instance, same signs.
as bloggers may find individual (inappropriate) To return to the mix of Chinese, Korean and
characters censored from their posts within min- English, a number of observations can be made.
utes after their publication online, or even auto- Both English and Korean hip-hop are, although on
matically censored at the moment of writing due different scales and of different value, transna
to automatized censoring systems (as was the tional global flows. Both English and Korean also
case with MC Liangliang here). Similar phenom- have purchase in the local Chinese scene, and it
ena can of course be observed elsewhere as well can be suggested that their value here is purely
(e.g. on YouTube, and also when ‘Western’ lyr- indexical: they get their value within the local
ics including what are considered profanities are Chinese economy of signs. Korean might seem
posted online on certain sites). This is, however, to have less hip-hop prestige for Western audi-
a typically Chinese intervention in the sense that ences, but not so in China, where Korean hip-hop
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is upmarket hip-hop (see e.g. Shim 2006 for a dis- rejecting both the specifically local shulaibao and
cussion on the rise of Korean popular culture in the national tradition – that is, tradition on two
Asia). The role of English is something more fa- scale levels – and instead orienting towards the
miliar for larger, global audiences: it is the super- global super-vernacular of hip-hop.
vernacular template that is essential in creating A further normative level we can observe in
hip-hop authenticity. It is also worth noting here the lyrics is indeed the metadiscursive level on
that the use of English is by no means random: it what authentic hip-hop is all about. MC Liang
is not any English that we find in the lyrics, but liang makes a clear difference between ‘inau-
rather the recognizable hip-hop English – the thentic’ Chinese hip-hop and Chinese rappers
global elements that are iconic of hip-hop cul- who do perform the right moves, so to speak, but
ture. Hence the expressions hiphop, blingbling, are nevertheless not attentive enough to norma-
baby, rap, NY: they are part and parcel of what tivity: they dress and talk ‘hip-hop’, but they are
constitutes a core vocabulary of hip-hop. not ‘real hip-hop’. The white T-shirts, the bling-
Hip-hop authenticity is not, however, only bling, the NY caps and the references to AK-47
about what is there: as Potter (1995: 71, empha- are there, but it is ultimately fake. What distin-
sis original) observes, “hip-hop’s authenticity, guishes MC Liangliang and his crew from other
like that of jazz, is continually posed against that Chinese hip-hoppers is perhaps not entirely clear,
which it is not”. This is something we already as in the end the means with which MC Liang
pointed to, as the global resources employed liang creates hip-hop authenticity are ultimately
(‘wrong, bad language’) meet a different set of the same as the ones he rebukes – the appro-
norms (one that disapproves of such language). priation of the global hip-hop super-vernacular,
Another way in which this is visible is the juxta i.e. the global template with its recognizable fea-
position of Chinese hip-hop with more tradi- tures and indexicalities. What is clear, however,
tional Chinese cultural forms: Chinese opera, is that this is indeed authentic hip-hop: it turns
and shulaibao (a northern Chinese folk theatri- the strive for authenticity into a competition over
cal form consisting of recitation accompanied who is the most authentic one, and this is where
by clapperboard rhythm). Here, the authenti- the ‘correct’ use of the global template becomes
city of hip-hop is contrasted with specific spatial crucial: its appropriation is by no means random,
understandings of authenticity: the authenticity and creativity not limitless. Creative authenticity,
of the rapper’s region of origin (shulaibao) and online or offline, has to follow certain norms.
of his country of origin (Chinese opera). Thus,
in making this Chinese hip-hop song about Chi- 4. Discussion
nese hip-hop there are a number of normative It is time to draw some tentative conclusions
levels to attend to: it is acceptable to be ‘local’ about our case here, going back to the points we
by using Chinese, but authenticity cannot be tied raised above. As has become evident here and
down to local or regional emblematic cultural as pointed out earlier by Pennycook (2007a: 103,
forms. For authenticity effects, MC Liangliang emphasis original),
distances himself from traditional Chinese cul- “One of the most fascinating elements of the
ture on two levels: the specifically local (shulai- global/local relations in hip-hop, then, is what
bao) and the national (Chinese opera). These we might call the global spread of authenticity.
cultural forms index tradition, i.e. reproduction Here is a perfect example of a tension between
of what is already there, and this does not mix on the one hand the spread of a cultural dictate
well with the new, transgressive, innovative and to adhere to certain principles of what it means
hybridized hip-hop Chineseness. MC Liangliang’s to be authentic, and on the other, a process of
act of distancing himself from both shulaibao localization that makes such an expression of
and opera in general illustrates the complexity staying true to oneself dependent on local con-
and polycentricity of the scales of orientation texts, languages, cultures, and understandings of
here: being an authentic Chinese rapper requires the real.”
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What Pennycook is describing in his analysis guistic and (sub)cultural mixes, employing global
of hip-hop is a process of localization. Rather super-vernaculars with a local (here Chinese)
than being specifically about locality, we suggest edge to them. We might even say that the bits
that what we have observed here is a project of and pieces of the global template are purely
authenticity, involving several normative scales indexical (in our case, indexing ‘hip-hopness’),
that need to be attended to in order to make the and, as they become de-globalized, they enter a
project successful – in order to ‘pass as’ some- different system of signs and help project images
thing. The multi-modal project of authenticity of, for instance, globalness and urbanness.
observed here entails different levels of recog- To return to the issue of superdiversity, and
nizability: it can be recognized as ‘Chinese’, as conceptualizing it in order to explain the diver-
‘hip-hop’, and, finally, as ‘Chinese hip-hop’. Hence, sification of diversity we witness – and all of it
this is not simply about global hip-hop being increasingly in online environments – we suggest
localized, or local hip-hop being globalized. Ian that (super-)communities of today are not orga-
Condry (2006: 19) made a similar observation nized around the indexicals of locality, but rather
in his examination of ‘Japanese’ hip-hop: “the of authenticity, and that authenticity revolves
opposition between globalizing and localizing around blending multiscalar resources in particu-
turns out to be a false dichotomy”, as “hip-hip lar ways. The fact that global resources are locali
cannot be seen as straightforward Japanization sable expands the scope of ‘authenticity’, and as
of a global style, nor as simply Americanization.” global resources – the familiar, recognizable tem-
(ibid.: 11). What is at stake here is being ‘Chi- plates that we can either embrace or choose to
nese enough’, as well as being ‘hip-hop enough’ ignore (although more often than not having to
– attending to different sets of normativities that opt for the first choice) – become de-globalized,
are essentially about being authentic (see Blom- they can be used to creatively make new mean-
maert & Varis 2011). That is, what we see here ings, new identities and new communities. As we
is not about “the hip-hop ideology of keepin’ it have emphasized already, however, this creativ-
real as a discursively and culturally mediated ity is not unlimited. We have used the Internet
mode of representing and producing the local” and a specific Internet subculture, Internet hip-
(Pennycook 2007a: 112, our emphasis). Essen- hop, here to illustrate our point, but without a
tially, what is produced is authenticity, and this doubt our observations can be extended else-
is done by orienting towards different multisca- where. Rather than only localizing global flows,
lar – and hence polycentric – sets of normativi- there is much more to the superdiverse cultural
ties, embracing others and becoming censored processes that we see around us.
by others. This has implications for our research agenda,
Authenticity is of course very much part of and the questions we ask of our superdiverse
hip-hop discourse in general, and that is some- research objects. The making of superdiverse
thing that has already been established by oth- realities – the fashioning of identities, the con-
ers before (see e.g. Ghandnoosh 2010). As we struction of communities and subcultural mean-
have seen here, the global template of hip-hop ings, the semiotics we employ in order to belong,
enables new, creative semiotizations of authen- to be authentic as someone or something – is
ticity – it provides affordances for local actors for a normative process: a procedure that involves
doing so. In these creative semiotizations, it is orienting towards several centres and orders
the employment of bits and pieces of the global of indexicality. In observing superdiversity on
template – the global super-vernacular – that the ground, normativity will have to be on our
makes it recognizable as hip-hop, whereas the agenda.
local elements make it locally significant within
a particular economy of signs and meanings. As
MC Liangliang has helped us observe, cultural
processes and artifacts are often complex lin-
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