Towards understanding heritage literacy

Abstract

In this article, we explore the concept of heritage literacy as it emerged within a study of Hong Kong's Muslim communities. The research draws from the fields of literacy studies and linguistic anthropology, and utilises data from three respondents gathered using qualitative procedures, including repeat interviews, observations of heritage-related activities, and the collection of heritage artefacts. Our study finds that a range of heritage literacy practices occur in various community spaces and homes, are characteristically translingual and transmodal, and interconnect with everyday heritage practices in ways that may diverge from classical forms. Further, the ways that people adopt or adapt religious heritage marks this out as something that evolves over time and a way to resource heritage futures. We thus argue that the construct of heritage in our work is not a generic outcome of heritage language or heritage education, but stems from the specific literacy practices embedded within particular material and multi-voiced discursive arrangements. Building on these key dimensions, this paper presents a typology for heritage literacy inquiry, distinguishing it markedly from heritage language studies. It further advocates for the value of heritage literacy as a heuristic tool within multilingual and multicultural contexts, grounded in seven key principles.

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