Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts

The volume highlights the role of language ideologies in the process of negotiation of identities and shows that in different historical and social contexts different identities may be negotiable or non-negotiable. The chapters address various ways in which individuals may be positioned or position themselves in a variety of contexts. In asking questions about social justice, about who has access to symbolic and material resources, about who is ‘in' and who is ‘out', the authors take account not only of localised linguistic behaviours, attitudes and beliefs; they also locate them in wider social contexts which include class, race, ethnicity, generation, gender and sexuality. The volume makes a significant contribution to the development of theory in understanding identity negotiation and social justice in multilingual contexts.

Aneta Pavlenko is Associate Professor of TESOL in the College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, US. Her research examines the relationship between language and cognition, emotions, and identity in bi- and multilingual individuals. She is a co-editor of two other volumes.Adrian Blackledge is Senior Lecturer in the School of Education, University of Birmingham, UK. His research focuses on language ideologies, relations of power, and the role of public discourse in diverse societies.