Mapping the Multilingual City: A Research Agenda for Urban Geolinguistics

Abstract

Geolinguistic analysis promises a more holistic interpretation of languages in contact in the increasingly complex milieu of major cities. In this paper our aim is to assess the potential of selected aspects of geolinguistic analysis for the understanding of multilingual cities, and to outline a research agenda which highlights the need for a more sustained programme of comparative research on urban multilingualism. We illustrate our agenda with reference to a GIS analysis of language in contemporary Cape Town. We also illustrate the wider application of GIS by reference to the Logosphere Programme and evaluate several key research areas where interdisciplinary work may advance our methodological and interpretative inquiries.

Language mapping for education policy realisation from below

“…In the South African context, in the changing political environment of the 1990s, Van der Merwe (1993) and Williams and Van der Merwe (1996) anticipated the value of language mapping and pointed to its potential use for language planning 5 in the emerging democracy. Based on pre-1994 census data, their work had a broader, more general societal focus, although reference was also made to the educational domain.…”

Kielimaiseman vaikutus maahanmuuttajien liikkuvuuteen pääkaupunkiseudulla

“…Maantieteellinen tutkimus tilasta, ja varsinkin julkisesta kaupunkitilasta, on keskittynyt enimmäkseen sosiaaliseen inkluusioon, sosiokulttuurisiin rakenteisiin, tilan kokemuksiin, tilaan liittyviin pelkoihin sekä osallistamiseen (esim. Lefebvre 1991;Koskela 1995;Williams & Van Der Merwe 1996;Harvey 2003). Maantieteellisen keskustelun keskiössä on ollut pohdinta kaupunkitilan haltuun ottamisen oikeudesta ja viime vuosien aikana saavutettavuuteen ja liikkuvuuteen liittyvät teemat ovat myös tulleet suosituiksi.…”

“…Useissa tutkimuksissa on myös tullut esille, että elinympäristön kielen osaamattomuus vaikuttaa paikkaan kiintymisen estymiseen (esim. Williams & Van Der Merwe 1996;Hay 1998;Salmela 2012;Toivonen 2013). Tämän seurauksena maahanmuuttajat eivät tunne itseään kansalaisiksi, vaan he tuntevat itsensä ennemminkin muukalaisiksi uudessa kotimaassaan.…”

Linguistic Diversity and the City: Some Reflections, and a Research Agenda

“…In this historical context the city has tended to severely reduce the extent of linguistic diversity (Withers, 1984). In some societies, the language policies have been very oppressive, giving the cities a distinctive, marked geography of language (Christopher, 2004;Williams & Van der Merwe, 1996). This paper suggests developing the scope and subtlety of language planning by using -and extendingthe findings of urban planning and associated disciplines into the governance and cultural politics of cities, for example, the potential for 'the other' to transform 'the centre', whether partially or completely (e.g.…”