8 Transculturally Speaking: Linguistic Diversity, Otherness and the Transformation of Public Spheres

Abstract

Linguistic Diversity, Otherness and the Transformation of Public SpheresThe experience of linguistic difference is among the most common in human life.Every one of us from early childhood throughout all stages of life is confronted with ways of speaking (variously addressed as languages, dialects, jargon, etc.) which sound "different" to a greater or lesser extent.In the course of life, the way in which we speak changes: A word, an accent, a language, which was perceived before as strange, may become more familiar or even well-known to us.On the other hand, we may lose familiarity with languages, just as people lose familiarity with technical or sporting skills which they do not practice regularly.This may sound all very obvious.However, a series of circumstances contribute to a reduced awareness by speakers about the hybridity of both one's own and others' "languages", as well as about the ubiquity of linguistic diversity in everyday life.As a matter of fact, languages are quite commonly considered as monolithic communicative systems which are either completely acquired or not.Sociolinguistic research on linguistic diversity has demonstrated how widespread ideas about languages and multilingualism, such as the mythologization of an idealized "mother tongue" once and forever acquired, or the perception of monolingualism as normal and multilingualism as exceptional, can differ from actual linguistic usage.In a work provocatively entitled "Nobody is monolingual", the sociolinguist Brigitta Busch (2012) has emphasized this gap and focused on the power of language and language-difference in constructing belongings as well as boundaries:Mit dem Satz "Niemand ist einsprachig" meine ich genau das: eine Erfahrung, die jede_r kennt, jene des Dazu-Gehörens oder eben nicht Dazu-Gehörens aufgrund unterschiedlicher Arten des Sprechens.Einsprachig wäre demnach nur,

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