The thesis investigates the phenomenon of multilingualism from a Bourdieusian-derived perspective with a focus on the conditions enabling second-generation immigrant agents to produce, reproduce, and negotiate linguistic practices with non-autochthonous minority languages in the officially bilingual context of Cardiff, Wales. The thesis follows in the footsteps of Pierre Bourdieu, using his model of linguistic production and circulation as a conceptual lens for the analysis of the linguistic biographies of thirteen second-generation multilingual participants. In doing so, the project also tests the suitability of this model to account for the production of alternative linguistic practices other than the dominant ones, for transformation, and ultimately, for the phenomenon of multilingualism associated with the process of immigration. The analysis of the linguistic biographies focuses on the development of the linguistic habitus of the second-generation agents taking into consideration the socio-historically constructed power relations which have influenced their trajectory. This involves understanding the relationship between such a linguistic habitus and the linguistic market(s) with which the interviewees have interacted. First, the thesis suggests that in Cardiff English is recognized as the legitimate language, Welsh is partially legitimate, while non-autochthonous minority languages are illegitimate. Second, in light of the linguistic biographies the project examines how the interplay between the home, the school, religious practices, and digital practices influenced the construction of alternative linguistic markets according to which the linguistic habitus of the participants developed, enabling them to reproduce linguistic practices with Arabic, Bengali, Somali, Urdu, or Punjabi. The study thus suggests that the phenomenon of multilingualism can be redefined from the perspective of an individual’s linguistic habitus understood as an integral and generative set of dispositions which develops and functions according to the socio-historically constructed conditions and power relations within and, crucially, among multiple linguistic markets.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:704933 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Moraru, Mirona |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/98458/ |
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