Background to the Volume: Multilingualism in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia Throughout TimeWhen we were asked a few years ago whether we wished to edit a book on multilingualism in the Baltic states, it did not cross our minds that the book would be published in 2018-a year which is of particularly symbolic meaning for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This year, the three countries are celebrating the 100th anniversaries of their formation:
The article is based on research carried out in the border towns of Latvia and Estonia (Valka and Valga) in 2014-2015. The purpose of the research was to explore the use of languages in the public space (linguistic landscape) and language choice in oral communication, particularly between ethnic Estonians, Latvians and Russians, on both sides of the border, i.e. investigating which languages (Latvian, Estonian, Russian or English) are used as a lingua franca. Based on a common history, Valka and Valka currently call themselves "twin towns" and use the slogan 1 city, 2 states for shaping the external image of both cities. This background inspired the first question underlying the research: whether the two cities can also be called twin towns from a sociolinguistic perspective, i.e. whether there are similarities in both towns regarding the choice of languages in public space and in oral communication. The second research question was formulated with the aim to explore reasons for the presence of languages in Valka and Valga: which factors have contributed to the use of languages in specific situations, e.g. national or institutional regulations, different language management models at the local level, language beliefs. Data were gathered through documenting and analyzing language signs in the linguistic landscape, by taking field study notes, and by conducting observations, experiments and interviews. Data analysis and interpretation was based on linguistic landscape theory and linguistic ethnography. The article consists of four parts: an introductory part in which the theoretical and practical framework of the research is presented. The second part provides a brief insight into the history of both towns and their contemporary ethno-demographic situation. The third part is the main part of the article, analyzing the data collection process and discussing the main results of the research, while the final part presents conclusions and suggests further discussions.
Multilingualism in Latvia, as in many other countries, is observable best in a diverse range of linguistic practices: in formal and informal oral communication, in social media, etc. At the same time, this coexistence of codes and registers is increasingly reflected also in formalized educational contexts. Partially replacing the traditional instruction of languages and subjects which took place largely separately (monoglossic ideology), multilingual and multidisciplinary instruction have become more frequent in recent times. In such contexts, the participants of speech acts apply their plurilingual repertoires, depending on situations. The monoglossic ideology in bilingualism is, in this sense, also contrasted to views “based on Bakhtin’s (1981) use of heteroglossic as multiple voices. A heteroglossic ideology of bilingualism considers multiple language practices in interrelationship” (García 2009: 7). This heteroglossic ideology (see also Blackledge & Creese 2010; De Korne 2012) has also been described as part of processes of translanguaging (Adamson & Fujimoto-Adamson, 2012). This article discusses these issues in the context of contemporary multilingual pedagogy (e.g., as part of a pluriliteracies approach) and in the context of the ESF project “A Competence-Based Approach to Learning Processes”, conducted by the National Centre for Education of Latvia.
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