Project title: Language-in-Education and Linguistic Ideologies: A Case Study of Media and Policy Discourse in Catalonia

Status: to appear in Language Conflict in Educational Settings: International Perspectives. (Routledge, 2024)

Abstract: Language conflict in Spain has a tumultuous history rooted in Francisco Franco’s dictatorship from 1939 to 1975, during which languages other than Spanish were prohibited. Since shifting to democracy, language revitalization has been an ongoing effort in Spain’s multilingual autonomous communities. In Catalonia, the regional government has produced policies that support the use and legitimization of Catalan as an official, vehicular language, while de-emphasizing Spanish. Although these efforts have seen a good deal of success, language planning has also been the site of conflict between Spanish and Catalan, particularly in terms of competition in different domains of use, availability to citizens in everyday services, and disparate attitudes towards each language (Ianos et. al, 2020; Newman & Trenchs-Parera, 2015; Soler & Gallego-Balsà, 2019, Woolard, 2016). The present case study examines media representations of linguistic practices and attitudes in Catalonia, as well as how media discourse reflects policy ideologies. Specifically, this study employs intertextual analysis of policy documents and Spanish and Catalan news articles to examine reported linguistic practices in educational institutions, and how media upholds or problematizes the ideologies present in language policies. One key finding is the production of conflicting reports on discrimination; namely, sources published in Spanish reported on discrimination regarding Spanish use in educational settings, while sources published in Catalan reported discrimination for using Catalan. Additionally, reports from Madrid-based sources presented criticisms relating to disparate use of Catalan and Spanish, frequently using strong and evocative language. Finally, given that language policies assign Catalan as the language of learning and instruction in educational settings, media discourse at times appears to be at odds with policy discourse. This study addresses a timely issue that remains relevant not only in the context of language in education, but also as language use relates more broadly to policy and planning.

Other publications from this project:

Ali, F. (2022). Putting Policy into Practice: The Problematisation of Catalan Language Planning and Ideologies in Media Discourse. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 78, 194-213.

Project title: The (In)Visibility of Arabic in Spain: Evidence from Online News Articles

Status: published in Digital Flux, Linguistic Justice and Minoritized Languages (De Gruyter, 2024)

Abstract: While Arabic-Spanish contact is a global phenomenon, its presence in the Spanish-speaking world is most widely associated with Spain and in historical contexts (Molina Martínez 2006, Ruhstaller and Gordón Peral 2018). Currently, the extensive vitality of Arabic all across Spain can be largely attributed to the predominantly Moroccan migrant diaspora. As such, current research in this area has centered on multilingual practices of Moroccan Arabic speakers in Spain, as well as how these practices relate to identity and language attitudes (García-Sánchez 2013, Mijares Molina 2006, Moustaoui Srhir 2020, Ready 2021). However, despite the perpetual presence of Arabic in Spain and the considerable Arabic-speaking Moroccan population throughout the country, Arabic and Arabic speakers are often regarded as foreign and separate from Spain’s heritage. Media discourse can be a key site for perpetuating such ideologies: as a widely disseminated medium that often pushes specific interests or agendas, news media can offer insights into the social and political contexts that shape linguistic ideologies about Arabic. Using critical discourse analysis, I examine 60 Spanish online news articles published between 2013-2022, and analyze the representation of Arabic as it is used in Spain. Focusing specifically on news articles that center around Arabic in Catalonia and in Ceuta, I illustrate and problematize the paradoxical visibility and invisibility of Arabic in Spain, as well as how news discourse disowns Arabic and Arabs from Spain’s European heritage.

Project title: A Critical Review of Multilingual and Multidialectal Approaches to Heritage and L2 Arabic Instruction

Status: published in Critical Multilingualism Studies, 2024

Abstract: While Arabic instruction has traditionally focused heavily - and often exclusively - on the acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) (Ryding, 2006), scholars and practitioners have become increasingly critical of instructional approaches that ignore colloquial dialects of Arabic, and have therefore proposed an integrated approach to Arabic instruction (Younes, 1990). Such an approach interrogates and prompts a reflection on different notions and practices related to multilingualism, and how these practices may be relevant for heritage language (HL) and second language (L2) learners. This article thus offers a comprehensive and critical review of research on multilingual/-dialectal approaches to Arabic instruction. Focusing primarily on HL/L2 instruction in the United States, this review is premised by a brief history of research and practices in HL and L2 Arabic instruction. I then discuss multilingualism and multidialectalism as it pertains to Arabic instruction, as well as how these notions provide a lens for reevaluating ideas about diglossia, monolingual ideologies, and exclusive MSA instruction. This also involves an examination of specific multilingual practices in the language classroom, including code-switching, translanguaging, and the use of Arabizi. I conclude with a discussion of the implications that current research has for classroom practices, as well as a note about areas of investigation that merit further attention.

Project title: Code-Switching Among Heritage Spanish Speakers: Attitudes, Practices, and Pedagogical Implications 

Status: published in Critical Multilingualism Studies, 2023

Abstract: Code-switching is perhaps one of the most salient linguistic practices among Spanish-English bilinguals in the U.S., and therefore widely investigated. (Bailey 2000; Kern 2019; Lipski 2014). While code-switching is typically associated with bilinguals who are highly proficient in two languages (Balukas & Koops 2014; Benevento & Dietrich 2015; Poplack 1980; Rangel et. al 2015), it is crucial to also highlight the code-switching practices of bilinguals who may have unequal levels of proficiency in each language, such as in the case of heritage language (HL) learners. The present study examines socio-pragmatic functions of code-switching among heritage Spanish learners. Using data from questionnaires and interviews, this study looks at instances of and attitudes towards code-switching. Findings indicate that code-switching was generally viewed favorably among participants, and commonly practiced by most of the participants in a variety of social contexts. Interview data also suggests that code-switching serves various socio-pragmatic functions for participants. Given the double stigma attached to both code-switching (Rangel et. al 2015) and to Spanish in the U.S. (Showstack 2012) - which often informs HL pedagogy - it is crucial to examine this linguistic practice in this context in order to give code-switching a more prominent place and offer further legitimization of this practice, both in and outside the classroom. 

Other publications from this project:

Ali, F. (2021).  Identity and Investment in Language Learning: A Case Study of Heritage Spanish Speakers. Spanish in Context, 18(3), 430-458.