Metrolingualism language ideologies and social inclusion Casual conversations

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Metrolingualism, language ideologies and social inclusion: Casual conversations in the multilingual workplace Emi Otsuji

Metrolingualism, language ideologies and social inclusion: Casual conversations in the multilingual workplace Emi Otsuji (emi. otsuji@uts. edu. au) University of Technology, Sydney

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. J

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. J ふふ~ ワインを16本 (ha ha. . 16 bottles of wine) H yeah Ad なんで、どこからもらったの? (Why? Where did you get them from? ) J ah, I bought them off the internet. There is like a sale, special cellar masters at the moment H う~ん。(ri: : ght) J offering a 16 bottle dozen, H ううう (umm) J for a hundred twenty nine dollars. From all over the country H oh, wow J some Margaret river stuff、 Coonawarra H oh, 言ってよ! (you should have told me!) J まだあるよ。(they still have some) H 本当? (really? ) (English translation is provided in brackets and the italics indicate Japanese used in the original) J: James, H: Heather, Ad: Adam

What people say about their language choice Company 1: Japaria n “I don’t consciously

What people say about their language choice Company 1: Japaria n “I don’t consciously speak in English or in Japanese. I choose the one I feel comfortable with at the time” n “I don’t have any awareness that I am choosing language” n “When I recall a particular conversation, it is often the case that I can’t remember in which language it was spoken”.

‘languages turn out to be floating around in unexpected places’. Heller (2007) n Problematise

‘languages turn out to be floating around in unexpected places’. Heller (2007) n Problematise the connections assumed between language and forms of belonging (Auer & Wei, 2007; Blackledge & Creese, 2008; Heller, 2007; Jørgensen, 2008; Otsuji, 2008; Pennycook, 2003) n (? ) one-to-one association between language, ethnicity, nation and territory n (? ) the authenticity and ownership of language which is based on conventional language ideology n (? ) the notion of discrete languages

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. A 今の何?何語だった?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. A 今の何?何語だった? A: Atsuko, R: Richard, (What was it? Which language was it? ) Ad: Adam, As: Asami R フランス語 (French) Ad びえ: : (wa: : o) A フランス語?フランス語しゃべる人ってかわしいし 格好良いと思う (French? I think people who speak French are cute and cool) Ad [laugh] みんな?国全体がかわいくて格好良いと思う? (You mean everyone? You think everyone in the country is cute and cool? ) A おとこの人がフランス語話すとセクシーだし 女の子が話すと かわいいと思う フランス人はみんな。 (Men. If men speak French, they are sexy and if girls speak French, they are cute. All French people) As そうかな?あまり 歯みがかないんだよね そこの人は (Do you really think so? . They don’t brush their teeth well. These people) R は?(What? ) [laugh] A 本当それ?(Is it really? ) Ad フランス人はおれ くさいってきいた (I heard that French people stink) A みんなすごい (All of you are extreme)

n Atsuko: “I don’t consciously think that I am a Japanese. I stop being

n Atsuko: “I don’t consciously think that I am a Japanese. I stop being aware of noticing people as Japanese or Australian” n Asami: “especially people in the country, there are many people who think ‘Japanese people are like this’, or ‘Japanese people always eat fish’ and I do not like that”. n Adam: “I think I am a bit Japanese. I cannot say things directly. I am not as direct as gaijin”.

n First excerpt q q q n (? ) one-to-one association between language, ethnicity,

n First excerpt q q q n (? ) one-to-one association between language, ethnicity, nation and territory (? ) the authenticity and ownership of language which is based on conventional language ideology (? ) the notion of discrete languages Second excerpt q Active interaction between bordered and borderless ideas about culture and identities n Indicates the complexity of cultural and linguistic understanding, with people moving between fixed and fluid views and linguistic practices n What constitutes social inclusion in this ambivalent space between fluidity and fixity as well as between borderless and bordered practices?

This paper… n aims q to disinvent conventional language ideology in multilingual workplaces, q

This paper… n aims q to disinvent conventional language ideology in multilingual workplaces, q to explore the contribution of both fixed and fluid linguistic practices, and their interaction. n proposes that q the notion of ‘metrolingualism’, a creative and transgressive language ideology, as a way to explore ‘social inclusion’ and ‘social exclusion’.

Metroethnicity (Maher 2005) n n n A young Japanese ethnic minority (Ainu) rewriting his

Metroethnicity (Maher 2005) n n n A young Japanese ethnic minority (Ainu) rewriting his own ethnic identities without being able to speak Ainu language and by associating himself with Italian culture and language. ‘an exercise in emancipatory politics. It is an individual’s self-assertion on his own terms and that will inevitably challenge the orthodoxy of “language loyalty”’. Metroethnicity allows the reconstitution of language and an alternative way of being in and through ludic and other possibilities of the everyday. (Otsuji & Pennycook, under review)

Metrolingualism: a product of modern, urban interaction (Otsuji & Pennycook, under review) n “Metrolingualism

Metrolingualism: a product of modern, urban interaction (Otsuji & Pennycook, under review) n “Metrolingualism describes the ways in which people of different and mixed backgrounds use, play with and negotiate identities through language; it does not assume connections between language, culture, ethnicity, nationality and geography, but rather seeks to explore how these may be open categories; its focus is not on language systems but on languages as emergent from contexts of interaction”. n “There is an emancipatory politics in the challenge to ‘the orthodoxy of language loyalty’ that may enable people to disassociate legitimised links between language, ethnicity and nation state, and this in turn renovates the discursive content of what it means to be ‘Japanese’ or to ‘speak in Japanese’”. n “(…) revisit essentialism, especially the ways in which metrolinguals may both reject and mobilize fixed cultural identities. ”

Company 2: Bridge: Osman 1. I could not fit into either Turkish or Australian

Company 2: Bridge: Osman 1. I could not fit into either Turkish or Australian culture and I was always unconsciously searching for a place where I belonged. 2. I always thought that I was not a typical Aussie 3. When I was in my teens, I was the target of physical abuse in my neighbourhood and even attempted to commit suicide a number of times 4. I can not get along with typical Australians. I find more commonalities with Japanese. 5. I like the Japanese way of thinking and I have a feeling that I could live in Japan for the rest of my life. 6. I am always persistent to speak in Japanese even though I think Rie’s English is better than my Japanese.

(O: Osman, R: Rie) (R > O) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

(O: Osman, R: Rie) (R > O) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. O どう りえちゃんこの曲?(What do you think, Rie chan? ) R ん?あんたきのうも聞かなかった? (Huh? Didn’t you listen to that yesterday as well? ) O え?(What? ) R 昨日も聞いたでしょ?(You listen to that yesterday, too? ) O 昨日ちがう曲じゃん (Yesterday was a different music) R うそ (lier) O ん 記憶良くないね 君 (Huh, you do not have a good memory, you) [silence] O りえちゃんは 君って呼んだらすごくおこるからさ (I know that Rie chan doesn’t like to be called KIMI)

Bridge: Sandra n I am the first person to go to university in my

Bridge: Sandra n I am the first person to go to university in my family n If you can speak a (foreign) language, you will have more opportunities in life.

Sandra (S: Sandra, C: Customer) (The words in red fonts are in keigo: honorific

Sandra (S: Sandra, C: Customer) (The words in red fonts are in keigo: honorific language) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. S IT カレッジ?ふ: : ん 大学の勉強なさった(nasatta)んですか? (IT college? Ri: : ght, did you study at University? ) C 違う分野 (Different field) S 違う分野だから こちら(kochira)に来て なんか コンピューター 学とか ?情報とか?(different field and now then, you want to study computer technology or information technology or something? ) C  (? ? ? ) S そうですか (I see) C どのくらい日本語を習ったんですか? (For how long did you study Japanese? ) S 子供の頃から始めて… 小学生の頃から始めて …続けて今まで 今 大学生なんですけど… 今も専攻しています (I started when I was a child, I started when I was a primary school student and carried on until now. I am a university student and I am majoring in it now. ) C どこの大学?(Which university? ) S University ABC  ご(go)存知(zonji)ですか?(ABC University Do you know that? )

Rika’s comments on Osman and Sandra n Sandra speaks academic Japanese and she knows

Rika’s comments on Osman and Sandra n Sandra speaks academic Japanese and she knows a lot of sophisticated vocab. But is not so familiar with Japanese spoken amongst friends. n Sandra’s Japanese is very sophisticated and proper. Our customers do not get offended by her language. Many of our customers marvel at her Japanese language skills. n Osman knows things about Japan which I would never expect him to know. I think I have had more casual conversation with Osman. We discuss a wider range of topics. n Sandra declined our invitations a couple of times to go out together because of her study commitments. Osman normally takes a day off to go out with Japanese people.

n Japaria (James) I do not use keigo (honorific language) much. I personally believe

n Japaria (James) I do not use keigo (honorific language) much. I personally believe that one should speak equally. so…even if I talk to someone senior or older, I deliberately speak normally if we are doing the same job (Adam) I dare to emphasise that I am gaijin. If they think that I am Japanese or I am not so much different from Japanese, then they will expect me to behave like Japanese. So, when I answer the phone, I speak in English first and then switch to Japanese.

Employers in Japaria, Osman & Sandra social inclusion and exclusion n Different ways of

Employers in Japaria, Osman & Sandra social inclusion and exclusion n Different ways of claiming and performing social inclusion q q q Osman: breaking an ethnic – language tie by having an essentialised view of Japan and yet pushing the border of normative practices by using informal language. Sandra: establishing her new class (not ethnic) identity by commodifying Japanese (using formal language). People from Japaria: transgressing conventional language ideologies and creating an ambivalent spaces

n What constitutes social inclusion in a multilingual workplace? Whose perspective? n Social inclusion

n What constitutes social inclusion in a multilingual workplace? Whose perspective? n Social inclusion is complex and multilayered… n q q q Indicates the complexity and flux of cultural understanding with people moving between fixed and fluid views an ambivalent space amid interaction between bordered & borderless, fixed & fluid ideas about culture, language and identities Realised through conforming, contesting and transgressing a fixed and normative understanding about language, culture and identities

Metrolingualism & social inclusion “Metrolingualism does not assume connections between language, culture, ethnicity, nationality

Metrolingualism & social inclusion “Metrolingualism does not assume connections between language, culture, ethnicity, nationality and geography, but rather seeks to explore how these may be open categories; its focus is not on language systems but on languages as emergent from contexts of interaction”. (Otsuji & Pennycook, under review) n n It provides possibilities to construct one’s transcultural space by utilising linguistic and cultural resources It goes beyond common ways of framing language and has the capacity to deal with contemporary, urban language practices.

Arigatou very much

Arigatou very much