Multilingualism and Multimodality

Abstract

Post-structuralist concepts used to study multilingual practices have proliferated over the past decade. While some scholarship has applied these concepts to the linguistic mode only, other work has integrated the concerns of multilingualism and multimodality ( Kusters, Spotti, Swanwick & Tapio, 2017 ). Drawing together fields of scholarship that have distinct academic histories in analysis has been given impetus by the imperatives of decoloniality to research within and beyond epistemological borders and to emphasize the body in meaning-making processes ( Menezes de Sousa, 2021 ). The chapter will review the state of the joint study of multilingualism and multimodality which aims to further a decolonial agenda in the social sciences and to promote social justice. The chapter provides an overview of the field of multimodality and the expansion of the theory of translanguaging to emphasize its multimodal propositions through terms such as trans-semiotizing and whole-body sense-making introduced by Angel Lin. The authors also review the methodological innovations and challenges associated with drawing together these two lenses on social practices. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the co-analysis of multimodality and multilingualism in Southern classroom settings. The chapter ends with a discussion of future directions in the field of multimodality and multilingualism and suggestions for further reading.

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