Imagining the homeland: mother tongue tuition in Sweden as transnational space

Abstract

In this article images of and narratives about a specific homeland, heritage and culture in Mother Tongue Tuition (MTT) in Sweden are analyzed in order to discuss if and how the MTT classroom is constructed as a transnational space. In the Swedish context, MTT is a voluntary school subject with the aim to support students to develop knowledge in and about the mother tongue, namely languages other than Swedish used in the home setting. Through a modified nexus analysis of policy documents, field notes and photos from observations and semi-structured interviews with Mother Tongue teachers, a picture emerges of MTT as a transnational space. However, while the discourses of official curricula express a simplified view of the relations between language, culture and the geopolitical space perceived as the homeland, the analysis of the linguistic landscape of the classrooms and the MT teachers’ voices exposes the complexity of such relations in a globalized world. The analysis revealed that the construction of the homeland is not limited to relations between two geographical places, as expressed through the national curriculum, but rather the discourses in place may include varied diaspora communities as well as complex national situations in the perceived homeland.

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