Translingual Practice

Reviews / Votes

Canagarajah has done it again. Just when you may have thought it was safe to retreat to the confines of disciplinary discipline and conceptual conformity, he produces a work that necessitates a serious re-examination and re-appraisal of what language study is, or should be, about. This masterful book will be essential reading for anyone seeking answers to the question: How do we do linguistics in a globalised world?

Alan Firth, Newcastle University, UK

This is a timely and illuminating study of language use in global contact zones. In a highly innovative approach, the author goes beyond simply arguing that educators need to enable students to produce translingual texts that represent their voice but actually shows how this can be done. His book is an important contribution to the ongoing shift in sociolinguistics from a monolingual to a translingual orientation to language and communication.

Jean-Jacques Weber, University of Luxembourg 'Canagarajah has done it again. Just when you may have thought it was safe to retreat to the confines of disciplinary discipline and conceptual conformity, he produces a work that necessitates a serious re-examination and re-appraisal of what language study is, or should be, about. This masterful book will be essential reading for anyone seeking answers to the question: How do we do linguistics in a globalised world?' - Alan Firth, Newcastle University, UK

'This is a timely and illuminating study of language use in global contact zones. In a highly innovative approach, the author goes beyond simply arguing that educators need to enable students to produce translingual texts that represent their voice but actually shows how this can be done. His book is an important contribution to the ongoing shift in sociolinguistics from a monolingual to a translingual orientation to language and communication.' - Jean-Jacques Weber, University of Luxembourg

'Overall, the author has succeeded in delivering what he promises. That is, both in conversation and academic writing, there is room for multilinguals to engage in translingual practice, mixing their diverse linguistic and cultural resources in their language use to negotiate new norms of acceptance. These are valuable insights, as they invite us to consider the possibility of multilinguals acting as agents of linguistic change, instead of being trapped in a deficiency label of being a non-native.' - Shizhou Yang, Yunnan Minzu University, China; Purdue University, US

'For practitioners and teacher educators, the notion of translingual practice can help them reflect on their students' practices, the contextual/power relationships that always affect educational settings, and the processes of language learning/teaching. This book is likely to generate further debates concerning the status and uses of English today, especially in relation to language ideologies, and encourage researchers and practitioners to view language use and language contact from a different perspective.' - Fan (Gabriel) Fang, English Language Centre, Shantou University, China