Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 396

Part of Session 151: Language and Hyperdiversity in the Global City (Other abstracts in this session)

Perception and recognition in the context of visual multilingualism: The Ruhr Metropolis

Authors: Ziegler, Evelyn
Submitted by: Ziegler, Evelyn (Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany)

The investigation into visual multilingualism in Germany will focus on the Ruhr Metropolis, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. The Ruhr Metropolis is characterized by a high degree of ethnic diversity and a long history of migration, which started in the 19th century with migrants mostly from Eastern Europe. Building on the hypothesis that visual multilingualism can be looked upon as a window onto processes of social inclusion and exclusion, community building and segregation, a theoretical approach will be introduced to investigate these processes more closely. This approach allows a genuinely intersubjective perspective on language choices and language use in displayed multilingualism by making use of the concepts of “perception” (Preston 1999, Collins/Slembrouck 2007, Aiestaran et al. 2010) and “recognition” (Taylor 1994, Honneth 1996). Whereas the concept of “perception” refers to the identification and evaluation of languages and speakers, the concept of “recognition” refers to core values such as identity, authenticity, and solidarity. Perception, in the above-mentioned sense, can be conceived of as a basic prerequisite for any act of social recognition.
Applying the concepts of “perception” and “recognition” to the study of linguistic landscapes provides a framework for integrating macro-sociolinguistic approaches to the study of social groups and their standing in a community as well as micro-sociolinguistic approaches to the study of literacy practices (related to the standard or to non-standard varieties).
To evaluate the relationship between majority and minority groups in the Ruhr Metropolis three questions will be addressed:
1.    How do we present ourselves to others in displayed multilingualism?
2.    How do we perceive the others in displayed multilingualism?
3.    How do migrants participate in and contribute to visual multilingualism in the Ruhr Metropolis?
Exemplary analyses of authentic data will illustrate the usefulness of the approach and offer insights into different modalities of perception and the (hidden) grammar of social relations, e.g. dominance relationships, marginalizations, and cases of misrecognition. The results indicate that a further distinction should be made between “factual recognition” and “strategic recognition” (“faktische Anerkennung”, “strategische Anerkennung”). Whereas “factual recognition” has a normative basis and acknowledges the particular needs of social groups, “strategic recognition” doesn’t. “Strategic recognition” is primarily motivated by pragmatic intentions and goals. Finally, the claim will be made that sociolinguistic perception always wavers between “recognition” and “misrecognition” of languages and social groups.

References

Aiestaran, J./Cenoz, J./Gorter, D. (2010): Multilingual cityscapes: perceptions and preferences of the inhabitants of Donostia-San Sebastián. In: Shohamy, E./Ben-Rafael, E. and Barni, M. (eds.): Linguistic landscape in the city. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 219-234.
Collins, J./Slembrouck, S. (2007): Reading shop windows in globalized neighborhoods: Multilingual literacy practices and indexicality. In: Journal of Literacy Research, 335-356.
Honneth, A.: (1996): The struggle for recognition. The moral grammar of social conflicts. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Preston, D. (1999): Handbook of perceptual dialectology. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Taylor, C. (1994): Multiculturalism: Examining the politics of recognition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Sociolinguistics Symposium 19

Programme: accepted abstracts

Perception and recognition in the context of visual multilingualism: The Ruhr Metropolis