Multilingualism, Variation, Spaces of Literacy.

The 6th International Conference ‘Crossroads of Languages and Cultures’ (CLC 6) was going to take place at the University of Cyprus between October 23 and October 25 2020. The pandemic interfered with this plan, and CLC6 had to take place online in September 2021. The main theme of the conference, and hence of this volume of selected papers, is the charting of the relationship between multi-/plurilingualism, linguistic variation, hybrid linguistic performances and alternative literacies. The hybridity and superdiversity of the contemporary linguistic landscape has been long acknowledged, but many questions relating to the place of such diversity in language pedagogy persist and are as crucial as ever in the context of (forced) migration and the emergence of novel learner communities: Do language pedagogies treat language as a complex semiotic resource? Do such pedagogies forge links between pluri- or multilingualism, linguistic variation, translanguaging and alternative literacy practices within and outside of the school context? Do such extant models ultimately debunk dominant literacy policies and practices?
Sociolinguistics and educational linguistics, informed by new epistemologies in the post- or de-colonial period coupled with social and linguistic changes brought about by the new realities of globalization and migration, have changed the way we think not only about language teaching but also about language as a theoretical construct. Earlier research on bilingual or multilingual education and linguistic diversity was instrumental in effectively deconstructing the myth of monolingualism both as the norm in speech communities and as an appropriate educational goal, revealing its ideological dimensions. Crucially, such research has also shown that while valuing and promoting bilingualism in specific educational contexts, numerous bilingual education programs often still perpetuate the ‘segregation’ of languages in various ways, effectively treating bi-/multilingualism as two (or several) 'monolingualisms'.
More recent research has focused on researching and applying to educational practice the theoretical concept of translanguaging, which has been of crucial importance in effecting a more nuanced theoretical approach to bilingualism as a dynamic relationship between languages, varieties (or even codes and modes of representation), but also to 'language' as an aggregate of performances. Our plenary speaker Ofelia García has been a driving force in the fleshing out of this new epistemological approach. Crucially, the theoretical tools afforded by translanguaging involve a dynamic approach to language not as a static system but as languaging, i.e. as a series of performances embedded in particular social and cultural contexts, in which data from multiple, complex linguistic repertoires are deployed to produce various kinds of socioculturally localized meanings, to perform symbolically various acts of identity, to engage in symbolic negotiations of values, to articulate alternative 'voices', discourses and ideologies, etc. This is where educational linguistics meets third wave sociolinguistics; a fundamental assumption of this approach is that speakers have at their disposal a wide range of linguistic/semiotic resources that are dynamic, diverse and fluid. Languages, dialects, sociolects, registers etc. are not treated as narrowly delimited and unambiguous entities; rather, they are treated as indexicals, which are contextually differentially deployed to refer to different meanings, symbolic values, identities and discourses. ‘Language’ becomes languaging, ‘identity’ becomes performance.
A key aspect of the pedagogy of translanguaging that our keynote speakers’ work has brought to the fore is its relationship to critical pedagogy and critical literacy. Capitalizing on the alternative linguistic and semiotic capital, 'voices' and knowledges brought into pedagogical practice by students has the potential for foregrounding and highlighting the different indexicalities of linguistic signs, their capacity to encode and to point to different ways of structuring meanings; this, in turn, is key dimension of a critical approach to language and language learning.
With the above in mind, CLC6 welcomed papers on any aspect of multilingualism, linguistic variation and their place in the school, at home and in alternative literacy sites. The resulting volume reflects the richness and diversity of the research presented as well as the meaningful traffic among theoretical assumptions and premises emerging from the lived realities of diversity, educational inclusion or exclusion, and the quest for equal and transformative literacy opportunities and educational and social justice.
We extend our profound gratitude to our plenary speakers, Professor Ofelia García, (City University of New York), Professor Clare Mar-Molinero (University of Southampton), and Professor Eleni Skourtou (University of the Aegean), for their epistemological vigilance, social engagement and educational commitment; for all of the above reasons, warmest thanks are due to our numerous participants, whose presence, albeit virtual, made CLC6 an exciting forum of intellectual exchange. It goes without saying that this would have been possible without the original team of Polydromo, Roula Tsokalidou, Aspa Chatzidaki, Vasilia Kourti-Kazoulli and Eleni Skourtou. Finally, we are grateful to the University of Cyprus and the Open University of Cyprus for the financial support provided, and to Eleni Kaklamanou, who was indispensable in the editorial process.