Clare Mar-Molinero

Nationalism and the nation in the Iberian Peninsula: competing and conflicting identities

Nationalism has recently been the focus of considerable interest, but relatively little is known about nation-building and competing identities in Spain and Portugal. In examining the roots of Iberian nationalism, and the conflicts and tensions which have come to the fore in the twentieth century, this timely collection offers a broad interdisciplinary base and socio-historical context through which to understand the regions nationalist challenges. Topics include: · how nationalism is constructed and used as a tool by political groups; · how language is used as a nationalist emblem; and · how cultural representations of nationalism manifest themselves at both a popular level and at the level of elites.

Subverting Cervantes: Language Authority in Global Spanish

This article seeks to situate Spanish as a global language by exploring both the top-down institutional processes that promote it and the bottom-up grassroots actions that are also increasingly important in the spread and maintenance of global Spanish. This article argues that one of the most important influences now in the explosion of Spanish worldwide is that of the U.S. Latinos, and this article examines how they engage with or are engaged by processes of linguistic globalization. An important aspect of this is the commodification of latinidad through diverse popular cultural outlets. While manifesting examples of imposition by external agents, there are significant and growing instances of popular resistance to such hijacking and a desire for local ownership. In exploring the nature of this resistance within the Spanish-speaking community and worldwide, this article particularly focuses on so-called Spanglish and contemporary Latino music, such as hip-hop and reggaetón, as examples of grassroots-initiated linguistic globalization.

The teaching of Catalan in Catalonia

One of the greatest challenges the language planners in Catalonia face in their drive to promote Catalan to an equal status with Castilian is that of teaching the language to the large non‐Catalan population now found in Catalonia. This paper examines the provision of Catalan and the use of Catalan as a medium in Catalonias education system at all levels. A new legal framework has allowed the local Catalan government considerable scope to upgrade the teaching of Catalan. Whether resources and the support from the community are sufficient, and whether the policy favours Catalan aggressively enough to prevent Castilian remaining always the dominant partner are discussed.

The European Linguistic Legacy in a Global Era: Linguistic Imperialism, Spanish and the Instituto Cervantes

In this chapter I will be arguing that when examining language and the future of Europe it is important to remind ourselves that in the present postcolonial era a European/Western legacy continues to dominate language spread beyond solely continental Europe although its nature may have changed since the familiar military, political imperialism of earlier eras. I will refer to concepts of linguistic imperialism and the recent criticism of these theories which has resulted in a trend away from their theoretical focus. Today language spread is more commonly discussed in the framework of globalization (for example, Crystal 1997; Gardt and Huppauf 2004; Maurais and Morris 2003; Wright 2004). However, it can be argued that globalization is in itself a form of imperialism. As Hamel (2003) has pointed out an over-emphasis on ‘globalization’ in analysing language spread and language survival can lead to an obscuring of whom the agents or actors in power relationships really are. By revisiting theories of imperialism we may be able to pinpoint more accurately who these actors might be.

Language policies and linguistic super-diversity in contemporary urban societies: the case of the City of Southampton, UK

Our aim here is to investigate the multilingual ‘super-diverse’ environment of Southampton Citys work places, in public and private sector sites, and to observe how speakers interact and use their linguistic competences; whether this facilitates communication and social/professional integration, or whether this produces obstacles and discrimination. We assess how far explicit or implicit language policies operate in the workplace, be they local to the establishment, or influences from governmental (local or state) directives, and what factors drive such policies. We discuss how far these policies co-exist in what Spolsky [2012. Family language policy – the critical domain. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 33(1), 3–13] describes as ‘chaotic and non-hierarchical’ domains, operating from grassroots communities, or being principally ‘top-down’ directives from those in authority.

Linguistic nationalism and minority language groups in the ‘New’ Europe

Abstract In the discussions about language policies for a more integrated European Community, the issue of linguistic nationalism is at the centre. The notion of ‘national’ languages tied to the nation‐state has never been accepted by Europes linguistic minorities, but it now comes into potential conflict with any idea of a supranational European identity. The relationship between language and territory in defining EC language policies is crucial. Old and recent language legislation has tended to evoke the principle of territoriality in outlining linguistic rights. Taking Spain as an example, it will be argued that this is only partially appropriate for the language situations of the ‘new’ Europe. It will be suggested that the emergence of a Europe of the Regions offers an opportunity to question and reject the traditional models of the language‐nation relationship.

Language policies in multi-ethnic Latin America and the role of education and literacy programmes in the construction of national identity

This paper will examine the legacy of Spanish colonialism in the language configuration of Latin America. It will show how this area is inevitably dominated by Spanish-speaking, eurocentric elites, and how this situation can be found in many national constitutions, in education systems and in some literacy programmes. The tensions between Spanish as national ‘unifier’ and attempts at multiethnic expression by those whose mother tongue is one of the many indigenous languages will be highlighted, as well as the pressures to move towards a ‘homogenised’ supra-national Hispanic identity. The predominantly assimilationist policies and the resulting alienation for the marginalised groups will be discussed.

Cultural representations in foreign language teaching: A critique of four BBC courses

Abstract Since the introduction of communicative language teaching methods, many foreign language courses are designed explicitly to equip the tourist to ‘get by’ in the target language in typical touristic situations. On account of this instrumentalist approach, communicative courses have been able to incorporate a lot of authentic language materials, much more so than the earlier audio‐visual courses. However, the focus on tourism has made them vulnerable to stereotyping, both of the learners and the target culture. The paper examines four well‐known BBC foreign language courses, Deutsch Direkt!, A Vous la France!, Viva Espana, and Buongiorno Italia! from this point of view, and finds the presentation of cultural materials in them to be unrealistic. Moreover, the lack of realism differs in degree and type from course to course, in accordance with accepted British stereotypes of the countries in question. The paper concludes with suggestions and guidelines for the presentation of cultural content in lang...

Negotiating Networks of Communication in a Superdiverse Environment: Urban Multilingualism in the City of Southampton.

Abstract This article explores the impact of superdiversity on linguistic practices in Southampton, UK. Our focus seeks to identify what these practices are in an environment that we describe as superdiverse, and what is influencing, determining, shaping and contributing to these practices. Southampton is characterised by twenty-first century social mobilities typical of a port city, with a workforce that consists both of those who have settled here for decades, as well as others who are part of the European “new” migration, or who belong to the large international university student population. Our findings arise from a series of linked studies exploring social and linguistic cohesion in Southampton. These provide us with data on the negotiations implicit in the networks that structure urban multilingualism, and allow us to focus above all on examining the impact of our research on the language sensitisation of these communities. We explore the workplaces in a range of sites (public and private, large and small), comprising many nationalities, ethnicities and languages, and representing microcosms of complex, social hierarchies. Our approach is a grassroots, participatory one, seeking to involve our informants with our findings and sharing our analyses and recommendations.

Languages and open learning in higher education

This paper will describe the organisation, resources, and users of the Language Centre at the University of Southampton, and it will discuss the major issues behind the open learning approach to language learning which is currently being developed there. The materials being devised will be analysed and a specific example of how open learning methods have recently been integrated into the teaching of the modern languages undergraduate degree will be given. Future directions and conclusions will also be discussed.