Sociolinguistic awareness as a key factor in reducing linguistic unease

Experiences of migrants in complex multilingual environments of South Tyrol, Andorra and Vasa

Authors

  • Maria Mazzoli University of Groningen
  • Marta Lupica Spagnolo University of Potsdam
  • Vittorio Dell'Aquila Research Centre for European Multilingualism

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.23669

Keywords:

Andorra, inclusive policies, linguistic unease, sociolinguistic justice, South Tyrol, Vasa

Abstract

This article addresses key issues related to diverse cases of migration to complex multilingual environments within Europe. Data came from three case studies carried out within the scope of the MIME project: (ex-)Yugoslavian refugees to South Tyrol (Italy); Portuguese work migrants to Andorra; and international managers in Vasa (Finland). Data were elicited using qualitative methods (biographical narrative interviews and focus groups) and thematically analysed to identify emic causes of ‘linguistic unease’, the speakers’ perception that their linguistic repertoire is inadequate for communicating with others and the consequent fear that their linguistic performance will be met with judgemental and negative attitudes. Our results show that in all situations, irrespective of the diverse conditions that exist prior to migration or in the destination country, the complex linguistic environment of the recipient society is puzzling for mobile people. In all cases, numerous migrants target the language that they perceive to be easier and most accessible to them, but this also exposes them to some level of linguistic unease. Crucially, migrants’ learning choices rub salt in the wounds of old conflicts that have roots in the historical dynamics of multilingualism of the recipient societies. We argue that raising sociolinguistic awareness about this is crucial to mitigate unease and discrimination in the most vulnerable sections of the migrant population.

Author Biographies

  • Maria Mazzoli, University of Groningen

    Maria Mazzoli is assistant professor of Sociolinguistics, Diversity and Minorities at the University of Groningen, Department of Minorities and Multilingualism, the Netherlands. She is also a member of the Center for Language and Cognition of the University of Groningen. Her areas of expertise are sociolinguistics, language contact and Algonquian morphology.

  • Marta Lupica Spagnolo, University of Potsdam

    Marta Lupica Spagnolo works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Romance Linguistics at the University of Potsdam. She holds a PhD from the Universities of Bolzano-Bozen and Pavia. Between 2017 and 2018 she participated in the MIME research project as a member of the research team of the University of Milano-Bicocca. Her research interests are in the fields of multilingualism, second language acquisition and narrative analysis.

  • Vittorio Dell'Aquila, Research Centre for European Multilingualism

    Vittorio Dell’Aquila has a degree in historical linguistics. He specializes in cartography applied to sociolinguistics and geolinguistics. His areas of interest are language policy and planning, dialectology and language contact. He has taught in Vasa, Cagliari and Genoa. He was the coordinator of the Planificazion y Elaborazion dl Lingaz Ladin service and currently coordinates the Forskningscentrum för Europeisk Flerspråkighet. He is a member of the European language atlases ALE and ALiR for which he represents the Romansh language. Since 2017, he has been an adjunct professor of Scandinavian Linguistics at the State University of Milan.

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Published

2024-03-27

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Mazzoli, M., Lupica Spagnolo, M., & Dell'Aquila, V. (2024). Sociolinguistic awareness as a key factor in reducing linguistic unease: Experiences of migrants in complex multilingual environments of South Tyrol, Andorra and Vasa. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 5(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.23669