CHAPTER 1

INTRUDUCTION:

Important details:

 Multilingualism is not just a collection of 'languages' but a complex of specific semiotic resources,
including accents, language varieties, registers, genres, and modalities.

 Language ideologies are beliefs about language and multilingualism, and they play a central role in the
study of multilingualism.

 The book takes an alternative view of multilingualism that focuses on linguistic resources and repertoires,
rather than 'languages.'

 The terms 'bilingualism,' 'trilingualism,' etc. are subsumed under the term 'multilingualism.'

 The terms 'plurilingualism,' 'polyligualism,' 'interlingualism,' 'multiplurilingualism,' and 'metrolingualism'

are other proposed terms for the same linguistic phenomena as multilingualism.

 The book uses the term 'multilingualism' as the most widely accepted term.

 Globalization refers to intensified flows of capital, goods, people, images, and discourses around the
globe, driven by technological innovations mainly in the field of media and information and
communication technology.

 Europeanization has shifted boundaries from nation-state boundaries to European Union boundaries.

 There are several layers of otherness which may be difficult for many people to live with.

 In the United States, both the mainstream group and the immigrant minority groups could be said to
potentially experience what Portes and Rumbaut (2001) refer to as "reactive ethnicity."

 The book is divided into six parts, which cover important theoretical and methodological approaches in
the study of multilingualism, the difficulties of defining what a language is, individual and societal
multilingualism, and language endangerment and revitalization.

keywords:

 Multilingualism refers to the ability of an individual to use more than one language competently.
 Semiotic resources are any means of communication that use signs and symbols to convey meaning,
including language, gestures, images, and other forms of expression.
 Language ideologies are the beliefs, attitudes, and values that people hold about language and its use,
which can influence language policy and practice.
 Linguistic repertoire refers to the range of languages and language varieties that an individual is able to
use or understand.
 Bilingualism refers to the ability to use two languages competently, while trilingualism refers to the ability
to use three languages competently.
 Plurilingualism and polyligualism are similar to multilingualism and refer to the ability to use multiple
languages competently.
 Interlingualism refers to the ability to communicate across languages or between different language
communities.
 Multiplurilingualism refers to the ability to use multiple languages and language varieties that reflect
multiple cultural identities.
 Metrolingualism refers to the complex linguistic practices that emerge in multilingual and multicultural
urban environments, where language use is constantly negotiated and transformed.
 Repertoire: It refers to the set of linguistic resources that an individual can use, whether they are
languages or dialects.
 Linguistic resources: They are the tools available for a person to communicate, such as languages, dialects,
accents, and sociolects.
 Multilingualism: It refers to the ability of a person to speak or use more than one language fluently.
 Language ideologies: They are the beliefs, attitudes, and values that people hold about language and its
use, including ideas about what languages are valuable, which are inferior, and how they should be used.
 Endangered languages: They are languages that are at risk of disappearing due to various reasons, such as
lack of use, language shift, or language policies that favor dominant languages.
 Mother tongue education: It is an educational approach that prioritizes teaching children in their native
language, helping to preserve linguistic diversity and maintain cultural identity.
 Heritage language education: It is an educational approach that aims to teach children and young people
the language and culture of their ancestors.
 Diglossia: It is a language situation in which two varieties of the same language coexist, one being the high
or formal variety used in formal contexts, and the other being the low or informal variety used in everyday
communication.
 Superdiversity: It refers to the state of being highly diverse in terms of language, culture, ethnicity, and
other factors.
 Linguistic competence: It is the ability of a person to use a language or languages effectively and
accurately.
 Coping with change refers to the process of adapting to new or unexpected circumstances in a way that
allows individuals or groups to maintain their well-being and achieve their goals.
 Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society, including the ways in which
language use reflects and shapes social structures, relationships, and identities.
 Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness and interdependence between people,
businesses, and nations around the world, facilitated by advances in communication, transportation, and
technology.
 Late modernity refers to the period of history since the mid-20th century characterized by rapid social,
cultural, and technological change, individualization, and the decline of traditional social structures and
values.
 Europeanization refers to the process by which European Union (EU) policies, institutions, and values are
adopted by member states and non-member states alike.
 Non-EU others refer to individuals or groups who are not citizens or residents of European Union member
states.
 Reactive ethnicity refers to the ways in which people may assert their ethnic identities in response to
perceived threats to their status or cultural heritage.
 Xenophobic attitudes and ideologies involve fear, hatred, or hostility towards foreigners or people
perceived as different from oneself.
 Language ideologies are beliefs and attitudes about language and its use that shape the way people think
about and interact with linguistic diversity.
 Language boundaries refer to the ways in which language is used to mark social, cultural, or political
distinctions between different groups.
 Individual multilingualism refers to the ability of an individual to speak more than one language.
 Societal multilingualism refers to the presence of multiple languages within a society or community, and
the ways in which they interact and influence each other.
 Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects in a single
conversation or interaction.
  Stylization refers to the conscious manipulation of linguistic features for expressive or social purposes,
such as to project a certain identity or social status.


Linguistic Repertoires:

 A repertoire is the set of linguistic resources (languages or dialects) an individual has.

 Describing one's linguistic repertoire includes identifying what varieties it consists of, when and where
each is used, and how it compares to the repertoires of others.

Social Approach to Multilingualism:

 This book introduces key social issues related to multilingualism.

 The authors question deeply held assumptions about language and multilingualism and encourage critical
thinking about important social and educational issues.

 The book aims to normalize multilingualism and reverse the traditional paradigm that considers
monolingualism the norm.

 The book moves beyond classic and limited concepts of structuralist sociolinguistics, such as diglossia, and
unpacks the full complexity of linguistic reality.

 The book deals with social issues related to multilingualism and not cognitive ones.

 The authors refer readers to other sources for information on cognitive aspects of multilingualism.

 The authors note that certain terminology used, such as "migrant children," can perpetuate an "us vs.
them" distinction, which needs to be overcome.

CHAPTER 2

Theoretical and Methodological Framework:

 The chapter explores how the meaning of a text is constructed by readers or hearers.

 The meaning is constructed differently by different readers/hearers, depending on their background

assumptions or discourse models.

 The second part of the chapter discusses key discourse models about language and their ideologies.

The construction of meaning:

 Meaning is constructed by the hearer/reader who links the text with relevant background knowledge to
make sense of it.

 Meaning is not fixed within individual words but is constructed through interpretation.

 Different readers/hearers may draw upon different background assumptions and come up with different
interpretations of a text.

Dominant vs. critical readings:

  Dominant reading refers to when the reader accepts the assumptions made in a text.

 Critical reading refers to when the reader questions or rejects the assumptions made in a text.

Discourse models and language ideologies:

 Discourse models are widely held beliefs or ideologies about how language works and how it is used.

 The main language ideologies include a hierarchy of languages, the standard language ideology, the one
nation-one language ideology, the mother tongue ideology, and the ideology of linguistic purism.

 Understanding these language ideologies potentially alters the traditional understanding of

multilingualism.

Keywords:
 Ethnography: A qualitative research methodology that involves participant observation and data
collection, which can be anything from transcripts of interviews to written documents, and focuses on
understanding the gaps between different worlds of experience.

 Discourse analysis: A method that can be applied to the data collected in ethnography, in particular to the
rich points in the data, to make explicit the belief systems or ideologies informing them, which can be
traced across larger discourses.

 Belief systems or ideologies: Also called "folk theories", "cultural models", or "discourse models", these
are the simplified representations of reality that inform the way people think about languages and can
play a role in group membership, boundary negotiation, and social inclusion and exclusion.

 Language ideologies: The cultural systems of ideas and feelings, norms and values, which inform the way
people think about languages and can involve simplifications that implant unfair, dismissive, or derogatory
assumptions about other people.

Important details:
 Ethnography can provide context for discourse analysis and help understand the assumptions and
implications of a text.

 Ethnographic investigation involves participant observation and continual and dynamic data collection and
analysis, and theory emerges from the data.

 Discourse analysis can be applied to the data to reveal belief systems or ideologies, and these can be
traced across larger discourses.

 Language ideologies are important to study because they involve simplifications that can implant unfair,
dismissive, or derogatory assumptions about other people.

 Language ideologies can play a role in group membership, boundary negotiation, and social inclusion and
exclusion.
  Language ideologies are people's beliefs or discourse models about language, which have been studied in
linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. They are cultural systems of ideas and values that inform the
way people think about languages and can have normative power.

 Language ideologies involve simplified representations of reality, which often lead to stereotypical thinking
and potentially harmful assumptions about other people.

 Language ideologies have four interconnected dimensions of meaning, which include representing
perceptions of language and discourse in the interests of specific social groups, being multiple rather than
fixed or unitary, displaying varying degrees of awareness of these ideologies, and mediating between
social structures and forms of talk.

 The hierarchy of languages is the belief that linguistic practices can be labelled and divided into 'languages'
or 'dialects', which are then subsumed into a hierarchy, with 'languages' being looked upon as superior to
'dialects' and certain languages being given a higher status as the 'national' or 'official' language of the
state or community.

 The standard language ideology is the belief that languages are internally homogeneous, bounded
entities, and that standardized languages are superior. The process of standardization needs to be
understood from a historical perspective and is connected with the politics of state-making.

 The development of standardized languages is directly connected with the politics of state-making, and it
is appropriate to speak more abstractly of standardization as an ideology and a standard language as an
idea in the mind rather than a reality.

 Standardization is most fully achieved in the writing system but is never fully achieved in the spoken
language. Therefore, it is a set of abstract norms to which actual usage may conform to a greater or lesser
extent.

The study of language ideologies

 The study of language ideologies is an area of research that examines how people's beliefs and attitudes
about language shape their interactions and social practices.

 The hierarchy of languages refers to the notion that some languages are considered more prestigious or
valuable than others, leading to unequal power dynamics and discrimination.

 The standard language ideology, as proposed by Milroy and Milroy (1999), is the belief that there is one
correct and legitimate way of speaking a language, and that deviation from this norm is inferior or
unacceptable.

 The one nation–one language ideology promotes the idea that a country should have a single official
language, which is often tied to national identity and used to exclude or marginalize linguistic minorities.

 The mother tongue ideology emphasizes the importance of preserving and promoting one's native language,
which is often associated with cultural heritage and personal identity.

 The ideology of purism refers to the belief that a language should be kept pure and free from foreign
influence.

 This ideology is often linked to notions of linguistic and cultural superiority and can lead to language policies
that limit the use of loanwords or dialects.
 Purism can be found in many different languages and can manifest in various ways, such as attempts to
regulate spelling or grammar, or efforts to maintain archaic forms of a language.

Conclusion
Four key points to keep in mind have arisen in this chapter:

• Meaning is constructed in context.

• Therefore any discourse-analytic approach is optimally complemented by

an ethnographic study of the context.

• The aim of ethnographically based discourse analysis is to make as explicit

as possible the discourse models (beliefs and assumptions) that inform a

particular text.

• Examples of such discourse models are the language ideologies which often

shape the way we think about language (what a language is, how it works,

how it is used)

CHAPTER 3
WHAT IS A LANGUAGE?
DISCOURSE MODELS OF LANGUAGE
Keywords:
 Discourse models of language: Refers to people's beliefs or ideologies about language.

 Popular model: A model that differentiates between languages and dialects, postulates a hierarchical
relation between them, and considers languages to be superior to dialects.

 Expert model: A model that rejects the hierarchical relation between languages and dialects, considers
them all as linguistic resources or varieties, and believes that no variety is better than any other variety.

 Standard variety: One variety amongst many others that is usually considered the most important one
from a social and cultural point of view.

 Linguistic continua: Varieties of a language that exist on linguistic continua, with no clear boundaries
between them.

 English: The collection of all the varieties of English that exist in the world, regrouped under a common
label.
Important details:
 The popular model of language considers languages to be superior to dialects and tends to identify a
language with its standard version.

 The expert model rejects the notion of linguistic superiority and considers all varieties to be linguistic
resources.

 Standard English is not a language but one variety amongst many others.

 Each variety of English has its own systematic grammar.

 Languages are socially constructed and do not exist as independent entities.

 Varieties of a language exist on linguistic continua, with no clear boundaries between them.

THE FUZZY BOUNDARIES OF NAMED LANGUAGES

Keywords:
 Fuzzy boundaries: Refers to the unclear limits between different languages or varieties of the same
language, which are determined by socio-political rather than purely linguistic factors.

 Named languages: Refers to languages that have a specific name, such as Dutch, German, English, Scots,
and Ulster-Scots.

 Germanic linguistic continuum: Refers to a group of languages that are part of the Germanic branch of the
Indo-European language family, including Dutch, German, English, Scots, and others.

 Dutch and German: Two languages that have fuzzy boundaries, and their limits are determined by socio-
political rather than linguistic factors.

 Old English: Refers to the language spoken in England by the Germanic tribes after their arrival in the 5th
century AD.

 Luxembourgish: A language that has shifted from being referred to as "our German" or "Luxembourgish
German" to a separate language from German due to political factors.

 Scottish English: A variety of English spoken in Scotland, which forms a continuum from Broad Scots to
standard Scottish English.

 Scots: A language or dialect spoken in Scotland, which is debated politically whether it is a "language" or a
"dialect" of English.

 Ulster-Scots: A variety of English spoken in Northern Ireland by Unionists, which has also been promoted
as a "language" to set up a distinctive Ulster identity.

 Language vs. dialect: The distinction between a language and a dialect is often political rather than
linguistic, with language usually referring to a standardized, prestigious variety of a group of dialects that
has been codified and given official status.

 Political autonomy refers to a region or state's ability to govern itself independently, without interference
from external authorities.

 Northern Ireland is a region of the United Kingdom that has varying degrees of political autonomy and has
been the site of conflict between nationalists (who seek independence from the UK) and unionists (who
want to remain part of the UK).
  Ulster and Irish Gaelic: Ulster is a province in Ireland that includes Northern Ireland and a portion of the
Republic of Ireland. Irish Gaelic is a Celtic language spoken in Ireland, including in Ulster, though it is less
commonly spoken there than in other parts of the country.

 Unionists and nationalists: Unionists are people in Northern Ireland who support remaining part of the
United Kingdom, while nationalists are those who want Northern Ireland to become part of a united
Ireland.

 Endangerment refers to the state of a language or dialect that is at risk of disappearing.

 English pidgins and creoles are simplified varieties of English that have developed as a result of contact
between English and other languages.

 World Englishes refers to the different varieties of English spoken around the world that have developed
through contact with other languages and cultures.

 Hybrid varieties are varieties of a language or dialect that have developed through the mixing of different
linguistic features.

Important details:
 The boundaries between named languages or varieties are fuzzy, and they are drawn in relation to socio-
political rather than purely linguistic factors.

 The development of separate languages and their standard varieties is closely linked to the politics of
state-making.

 Scotland is institutionally bilingual in Scots and Gaelic, and the question of whether Scots is a language or
a dialect of English is hotly debated in Scotland.

 Northern Ireland is politically divided between nationalists and unionists, and the variety of English spoken
by the Unionists is usually referred to as Ulster-Scots.

 Ulster-Scots was promoted by the Ulster Unionists in an attempt to set up a distinctive Ulster identity as
separate from an Irish identity.

 English pidgins and creoles are new varieties that have developed all over the world as a result of the
spread of English as a global language.

 Tok Pisin is a widely studied creole language used in Papua New Guinea that started off as a lingua franca
between indentured New Guineans and their colonial masters. It has begun to be perceived as a language
in its own right, distinct from English.

keywords:
 Language: A system of communication used by a particular community or country.

 Dialect: A particular form of a language that is specific to a region or social group, often characterized by
differences in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

 Linguistic varieties: Different forms of a language that exist due to historical, geographical, or social
factors.
  Socio-political reasons: Refers to the influence of social and political factors on language and dialect
choices.

 Upper classes: The highest social class in a society, typically characterized by wealth, education, and
power.

 Southeast of England: Refers to the region in England where the upper classes spoke a dialect that later
became the standard language.

 Standard language: A variety of a language that is widely accepted as the norm and used in formal
contexts such as education, government, and media.

 Florentine variety: A specific dialect of Italian spoken in Florence, Italy.

 National language: The official language of a country that is used in government, education, and media.

Important details about language and dialect demotion and promotion in England and
Italy are:
 Linguistic varieties can be promoted from 'dialect' to 'language' and demoted from 'language' to 'dialect'
for socio-political reasons.

 In England, the 'dialect' spoken by the upper classes in the southeast of the country developed into the
standard 'language'.

 In Italy, the varieties spoken are not varieties of Italian but separate and distinct Romance vernaculars that
developed from Latin at the same time as Florentine.

 These languages include northern and southern Romance vernaculars.

 With political unification in 1861, Florentine became the national language and the regional languages
were officially demoted to the status of 'dialects'.

 As a result, many Italians nowadays are at least bilingual in Italian and their 'dialect', with a complex
multilingual repertoire stretching on a continuum from the local 'dialect' to the national 'language'.

consequences for research: language death

Keywords:
 Endangered languages: Refers to languages that are at risk of becoming extinct in the near future, either
due to declining numbers of speakers or a lack of intergenerational transmission.

 Language death: Refers to the complete loss of a language when there are no more fluent speakers. This
can occur due to a variety of reasons, such as language shift, language suppression, or language loss
through natural disasters or other catastrophic events.

 Language shift: Refers to the process by which a community changes its language use from one language
to another. This can occur due to a variety of factors, such as political, social, economic, or cultural
pressures.

 Linguistic purism: Refers to the belief that a language should be preserved in its "pure" or "authentic"
form and that linguistic change and variation are undesirable.
  Language revitalization: Refers to efforts to revive or preserve endangered or extinct languages by
promoting their use and transmission, developing language education programs, and creating written
materials in the language.

 Oppression: Refers to the systematic mistreatment, discrimination, or marginalization of a group of people

by those in positions of power or authority. Oppression can take many forms, including economic,
political, social, and cultural.

Important details:
 Many languages in the world are endangered or dying, and English has been identified as a main culprit of
language death.

 The use of metaphors of language loss and death in discussing endangered languages presupposes the
existence of distinct languages, which is a contested assumption.

 Language shift is a normal process, and the whole notion of language death needs to be relativized.

 Linguistic purism can be problematic, as it may prioritize an imagined version of a language over the
dynamic realities of language use and change.

 Efforts to revitalize endangered or extinct languages are important, but they should be understood within
the larger context of addressing oppression and promoting social justice.

CHAPTER 4: Language variation and the spread of global languages

Language variation and the spread of global languages

The inherent variation within languages and how this has led to the development of new varieties of global
languages such as English and French, as well as African-American English and Caribbean Creole. The text argues
that language variation has always existed and that focusing on global languages allows us to explore different ways
of conceptualizing their spread. The text provides examples of grammatical features in African-American English
such as invariant be and double negation, which are as complex and systematic as those in standard English. The
text also explores the socio-political and cultural perspective of Caribbean creoles.

Most important details:

 Linguistic variation is inherent in all languages or varieties.

 This chapter focuses on variation and leakage within a language, mostly in English and French.

 Variation has always existed in all languages, however small they are.

 African-American English (AAE) is a systematic and rule-governed variety with high literary prestige.

 AAE is characterized by grammatical features such as invariant or habitual be and double or multiple
negation.

 Behind the label "AAE," there is not one single monolithic entity but a range of varieties.

 Jamaican and Caribbean Creoles also use multiple negation.

 The Caribbean has its own distinctive language variety known as "nation language."

 Over four million slaves were brought over from Africa to the Caribbean to work on plantations.
  Slavery was abolished in 1834, but injustice and discrimination continued.

 The development of new varieties such as Singlish and Nouchi has occurred due to the global spread of
English and French.

Keywords:

 Language variation: This refers to the differences or variations that occur within a language. It is inherent
in all languages or varieties.

 Shifting boundaries of languages: This refers to how languages leak into each other and change over time,
leading to a continuum between languages and variations.

 Continuum: This refers to the gradual transition between two things, in this context, between languages
and their variations.

 Multilingualism: This refers to the ability to speak multiple languages, which can be influenced by
language variation.

 Standard language ideology: This refers to the belief that there is one correct way of speaking a language,
which is usually the standard variety.

 Linguistic variation: This refers to the systematic differences that occur within a language, which can
include variations in grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

 Global languages: These are languages that are spoken worldwide and have a significant impact on world
cultures and societies.

 Singlish: This is a variety of English spoken in Singapore, which has developed as a result of the global
spread of English.

 Nouchi: This is a hybrid urban language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire, which has developed as a result of the
global spread of French.

 Verlan: This is a youth language spoken in the poor suburbs of French cities, which has developed as a
result of the global spread of French.

 African-American English: This is a variety of English spoken predominantly in the black community in the
US, which has its own set of systematic grammatical features.

 Caribbean Creole: This is a variety of English spoken in the Caribbean, which has developed as a result of
the region's history and culture.

 Invariant be: This is a grammatical feature of African-American English, which denotes habitual aspect and
occurs regardless of tense.

 Double or multiple negation: This is a grammatical feature of African-American English and other varieties,
which involves the use of more than one negative word.

 Mathematical point of view: This refers to the idea that double negation is incorrect in language because it
cancels out, which is not the case in mathematics.

 Core syntactic constructions: This refers to the fundamental grammatical structures of a language or
variety.
  Language mavens: These are people who are obsessed with language correctness and are often critical of
non-standard varieties.

 Social and regional factors: These are the social and geographical factors that influence the development
of language variation and diversity.

 Standardization: This refers to the process of making a language or variety conform to a set of rules and
standards.

 Jamaican Creole: This is a variety of English spoken in Jamaica, which has its own set of systematic
grammatical features.

 Slave trade: This refers to the forced migration of African people to work as slaves in the Americas and
other parts of the world.

 Middle Passage: This refers to the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that enslaved Africans were forced to
endure during the slave trade.

 Sugar cane plantations: These were large agricultural estates in the Caribbean and other parts of the world
that produced

SINGLISH

Singlish is a variety of colloquial English spoken in Singapore that exists on a linguistic continuum with Standard
English. It includes unique features such as the kena passive and the discourse particle lah. Although the
Singaporean government promotes the use of Standard English, Singlish has covert prestige and is valued as a key
marker of Singaporean identity by many Singaporeans. The global spread of English is often understood through
different ideological frameworks, ranging from conservative to progressive, such as colonial celebration and laissez-
faire liberalism.

Keywords:

 Singlish: colloquial Singapore English variety spoken by Singaporeans with varying degrees of fluency and
proficiency.

 Linguistic continuum: a range of varieties of a language, with no clear boundaries between them.

 Standard English: a variety of the English language used as the norm in formal settings.

 Colloquial Singapore English: a variety of English spoken by Singaporeans in informal settings, often
including Singlish.

 Kena passive: a passive voice construction unique to Singlish, typically using the infinitive form of the verb
with the auxiliary verb "kena."

 Discourse particle lah: a particle that expresses the speaker's mood/attitude and appeals to the addressee
to accommodate the mood/attitude, commonly used in Singlish.

 Singaporean identity: a sense of national identity that includes Singaporean culture, history, and language.

 Covert prestige: a form of prestige associated with a variety of language that is not widely recognized as
prestigious, but has value within a particular in-group for expressing that in-group's cultural identity.
  Code-switching: the practice of alternating between two or more languages or language varieties in the
course of a single conversation or exchange.

 Global spread of English: the worldwide spread of the English language, primarily as a result of the
historical legacy of British colonialism and the economic and cultural power of the United States.

 Ideological frameworks: different perspectives on the role and impact of the global spread of English on
language and culture, ranging from conservative to progressive.

 Colonial celebration: an uncritical celebration of the spread of English as a direct legacy of colonialism.

 Laissez-faire liberalism: a belief that the spread of English should be left to market forces without
government intervention.

the global spread of English and the ideological frameworks surrounding it, particularly with regards to
Singapore's official language policy. It explores the conservative 'colonial celebration' and 'laissez-faire liberalism'
ideologies, as well as the critical positions of 'linguistic imperialism' and 'linguistic human rights'. The text also
touches on the more progressive positions of 'linguistic hybridity' and 'post-colonial performativity', highlighting
how speakers appropriate and perform languages and identities in specific contexts. The article ultimately suggests
that bilingual education may be a more flexible approach to language policy in the context of Singapore.

two examples of youth languages in France: Nouchi in Côte d'Ivoire and Verlan in France.

Nouchi is a hybrid language of French and some indigenous languages and is spoken by young people in urban
areas of Côte d'Ivoire. It has become a marker of a new, modern, and urban identity, even though the Ivorian
government viewed it as a corrupting force upon the nation.

Verlan, on the other hand, is spoken mostly by young people in the suburbs of Paris and other big cities, and it is a
language that flips the syllables of French words. It is mostly spoken by marginalized youths of North African origin.

Conclusion
Linguistic variation is a characteristic of all languages, from the smallest to the largest ones. All varieties, whether
they are perceived as languages or not, are both systematic and rule-governed, and leak into each other, with no
clear boundaries between them. In this chapter, we focused on global languages such as English and French,
because we also wanted to look at how the spread of global languages can be conceptualized in very different
ways. We introduced Pennycook’s ideological frameworks for conceptualizing the global spread of English and
discussed them primarily in relation to the language situation in Singapore. To some extent we prioritized the
frameworks of ‘linguistic hybridity’ and (especially) ‘post-colonial performativity’, because they emphasize human
agency and creativity. It is also for this reason that we have mostly drawn our examples in this chapter from literary
texts and youth languages. Finally, we have shown how youth languages such as Nouchi and Verlan have spread via
hip hop music and media discourse.

CHAPTER 5