Translation and translingual remixing: A young person developing as a writer

Abstract

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This article aims to understand how a young person develops as a translingual writer and which discursive strategies she identifies as important in this process. Neda (pseudonym) has never learnt to write in Turkmen, which is her home language, but is developing as a confident writer in Norwegian, which is the language of the school. Design/Methodology/Approach: Situated within a linguistic ethnographic framework, in-depth interviews with the young person were conducted as part of a year-long fieldwork. One interview focused on Neda’s writing experiences in general, and the other two examined how she experienced writing selected poems. Data and Analysis: The data for this article are three in-depth interviews with Neda produced over a month’s time, field notes taken in school across that same period, seven poems written at home, and two written in school. The analysis had a joint focus on linguistics and ethnography, identifying core themes. Findings/Conclusions: Neda drew on translation and translingual remixing strategies when writing poetry on her own initiative to develop her voice, which indicates a strong sense of agency. In line with a translingual orientation to communication and literacy, these discursive strategies transcend individual languages and involve diverse semiotic resources in situated meaning construction. Both strategies contribute to creating a deeper understanding of the Norwegian language resources in her repertoire and to finding her voice as a transnational young person. Originality: Few studies have offered detailed insight into how young people reflect upon their development as translingual writers in their spare time and which strategies they identify as important to do so. Significance/Implications: The study contributes to the debate of how teachers can create a space for translingual writing by acknowledging and further developing young people’s own discursive strategies, involving their entire linguistic repertoire.

Translation as Translingual Writing Practice in English as an Additional Language

“…Furthermore, it is possible to see continuity between practices that are traditionally conceived of as translation and other forms of reformulation in writing (Horner & Tetreault, 2016). In our study, students drew on a continuum of monolingual to multilingual reference tools, also combining these with their mental linguistic repertoires (see also Dewilde, 2019) and other semiotic resources and ecological affordances. Students’ alignment of their translingual resources with the expectation of producing English text led some students to more apparently monolingual practices and others to more visibly multilingual processes.…”

“…In addition, the nature of students’ translation practices has received less attention, compared to effects on external measures of writing quality. Two recent studies (Dewilde, 2019; Vogel et al., 2018) have each provided such detailed insight into a single student's translation practices during writing, seeking also to situate these practices within newer understandings of the translingual semiotic repertoire. Vogel et al.…”

“…For example, the student reported that he would reference a second translation tool or attempt to translate only individual words if he was dissatisfied with a Google translation. Similarly, Dewilde (2019) highlighted mental translation as an example of translingual writing practice (see Canagarajah, 2013). In her study, a student who had recently moved to Norway from Afghanistan mentally translated poems that she wrote in Norwegian into a first language she could not write, Turkmen, in order to feel the impact of her words.…”

Navigating Cultures: Narratives of Becoming Among Young Refugees in Norway

“…Studies of multilingualism have taken a turn from considering it a challenge to applying an additive approach; from viewing minority languages as problems or noise, to language as a right and a resourcenot unlike the approach to cross-cultural development applied in this project. In recent years, increasing attention has been given to the phenomenon of translanguagingcomplex discursive strategies that transcend individual languages, as people combine diverse semiotic resources, creatively seeking connections and developing new language practices (Dewilde, 2019). Translanguaging is a strategy that emphasizes the relational over linguistic correctness, and meaning over code (Paulsrud, Rosén, Straszer, & Wedin, 2017, p. 9).…”

“…Translanguaging is a strategy that emphasizes the relational over linguistic correctness, and meaning over code (Paulsrud, Rosén, Straszer, & Wedin, 2017, p. 9). Active use of translingual remixing strategies can indicate a strong sense of agency and be central to finding one's voice in a complex world (Dewilde, 2019).…”