Centres of diversity, platforms for evolution: On margins and mobility in language practices in the global knowledge economy

Abstract

In traditional sociolinguistics and the old world order we find exonormative standards and prestige forms which hop from one urban centre to another. In the global knowledge economy, these centres no longer hold; periphery and diversity become valued. I discuss 3 trends that I see happening that need to be appreciated for their significance in the language practices of this era. First, I discuss computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a platform on which language practices beyond that considered the ‘standard’ or those used in the original, local context are allowed, even favoured. For instance, in the CMC of multilingual communities, significantly more code mixing with and calqueing into English are found compared to spoken discourse, and diasporic web-based communities of practice use their creole variety more than in traditional writing of spoken face-to-face interaction. Such a platform and its practices support the evolution and positioning of contact languages such as New Englishes and creoles. Second, I highlight the multicultural city, in the context of the growing phenomenon of urban linguistic diversity, as an important site for documenting and analysing minority and endangered languages, and discuss its significance for research, education and activism. Finally, I consider how, in late capitalism, multicultural, peripheral communities – even with a shift from their ancestral language – not only are able to maintain postvernacular vitality, but can also be positioned as a source of multilingualism and authenticity, with much to offer the centre. What were traditionally communities and language practices on the margins are increasingly valued for their diversity and authenticity, and can be significant agents in evolution and mobility in the global knowledge economy.