Linguistic sound walks: setting out ways to explore the relationship between linguistic soundscapes and experiences of social diversity

Abstract

A substantial amount of research in cultural geography has been dedicated to the mundane or everyday living with diversity, yet little has been done in relation to linguistic diversity and the ways in which individuals experience the city through this particular form of diversity. This paper addresses how geographers can build on and assist in contemporary sociolinguistic scholarship to understand how individuals experience urban social diversity while taking account of the sound of spoken language in public space. Specifically, the paper highlights the significance of what I have named linguistic sound walks as a method to capture both the immediate sensory experience of the city's linguistic soundscape while opening up ways to discuss and reflect on how linguistic diversity affects the experience of spatial and social diversity. Drawing on fieldwork in the inner-city of Amsterdam, the study illustrates how these linguistic sound walks represent a potential resource to reflect on the relationship between the sound of spoken languages and the experience of spatial and social diversity in the city, bridging the gap between the fields of geography and sociolinguistics.Promenades de sons linguistiques: Établir des moyens d'explorer les liens entre l'environnement sonore linguistique et les expériences de diversité sociale 123 RÉSUMÉUne large quantité de recherche dans la géographie culturelle a été dédiée à la diversité dans la vie courante ou quotidienne, mais peu de travail a été fait sur la diversité linguistique et les façons dont les personnes vivent la ville à travers cette forme particulière de diversité. La présente communication examine les façons dont les géographes peuvent enrichir et aider le courant de recherche sociolinguistique contemporain afin de comprendre comment les personnes vivent la diversité sociale urbaine tout en prenant en compte les sons de la langue parlée dans l'espace public. Plus précisément, cette communication met en valeur l'importance de ce que j'appelle les ARTICLE HISTORY

Capturing urban diversity through languages: Long‐term changes in multilingual residential neighbourhoods in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

“…Unlike variables that are beyond an individual's control, like country of origin or ethnicity, language requires active participation (Sydes, 2022), new languages can be learnt, and languages can be changed depending on the socio‐spatial context (El Ayadi, 2021; Chriost & Thomas, 2008). This dynamism enables researchers to understand how diverse populations perform their identities across various spatio‐temporal and socio‐spatial contexts (El Ayadi, 2021). Furthermore, changing one's registered language can be used as an indicator for integration or assimilation into a society.…”

“…One avenue for obtaining a more nuanced understanding of urban diversity that results from immigration is to focus on languages instead of commonly used characteristics such as ethnicity and origin country in studying urban diversity (Connor, 2014; Vertovec, 2007). Language enables communication and social interaction between people (Ishizawa & Stevens, 2007; Lymperopoulou et al, 2022; Valentine et al, 2008) and plays a key role in social interactions, as it may be used to include or exclude individuals and groups from social networks (El Ayadi, 2021; Putnam, 2007). Language is also one of the main components of individual and group identity (Tabouret‐Keller, 2017; Zenker, 2018), and thus signifies the cultural backgrounds of individuals.…”

“…People are constantly exposed to languages via written texts: signs, advertisements, posters and graffiti in both public and nonpublic spaces. The connection of language to individual and group identity has been described extensively in sociolinguistics, as languages are used to signify, constitute and express identities in various social and spatial contexts (El Ayadi, 2021; Tabouret‐Keller, 2017). As stated by Zenker (2018, p. 1), languages indicate individuals' ‘memberships in social groups and categories, their senses of (spatial as well as social) belongings, their understandings of who they are, and their positions generally in the world, as seen by themselves and ascribed to them by others’.…”

Making sense of linguistic diversity in Helsinki, Finland: The timespace of affects in the linguistic landscape

“…In recent years, there have been numerous proposals for extending linguistic landscape studies (LLS) beyond language (Malinowski, 2020; Shohamy, 2018). In addition to visual signage in the physical space, it has been argued that smells (Pennycook & Otsuji, 2015), sounds (El Ayadi, 2022), and other sensory phenomena should be addressed as well. LLS has also taken interest in the temporal aspects of landscapes (see, e.g., Hiippala et al., 2019; Lazar, 2022; Pennycook & Otsuji, 2015; Pietikäinen et al., 2011) as well as in the chronotopic qualities of signs (e.g., Dong, 2021; Pietikäinen, 2014).…”

“…In linguistic landscape studies, the mobilities turn has also sparked discussions about the definition of linguistic landscape and the methods needed for its study (Malinowski, 2020; Shohamy, 2018). The linguistic landscape has been proposed to include not just the visual displays of language but also what the landscape sounds or feels like (El Ayadi, 2022; Niedt, 2020). Others have called for treating linguistic landscapes as historical and dynamic (see, e.g., Dong, 2021; Pennycook & Otsuji, 2015; Pietikäinen, 2014).…”