Critical Polyglot Studies

1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-69774-1
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 481 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Sociolinguistics

This book offers a self-reflective, critical approach to the study of what is popularly known as polyglossia, charting the gradual but marked process of its commoditization over the last 20 years and offering a counterpoint to mainstream positivist treatment of serial language learning.

First, from a diagnostic standpoint, the book examines the rise and consolidation of the Polyglot Community in the sociopolitical and economic context of its gradual transformation into and partial overlap with the Polyglot Industry and its ideological tenets (the Polyglot Matrix). Second, from a prognostic standpoint, the book posits Critical Polyglot Studies (CPS) as a much-needed counter to the many theoretical and practical shortcomings of the Polyglot Industry-cum-Matrix, presenting the main programmatic points and illustrative best practices and institutional case studies of this alternative paradigm. CPS is conceived as both a research orientation and as a strategic attempt to elicit debate and draw in a wider range of polyglossia scholars, offering readers with actionable tools to contribute to this emerging academic and activist endeavor.

Constituting the first critical and systematic analysis of polyglossia as a globalized phenomenon, this book will be of interest to scholars of linguistics, cultural studies, critical theory, and sociology.

Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Yebra López, Carlos

Chohan, Usman W

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Soziolinguistik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents


List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Acronyms
Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction

Exposing the Colonial Origins
and Mediation of Mainstream
Polyglossia

Rethinking Polyglossia as a
North Atlantic Universal

Enter the Polyglot Community

The (D)evolution of the Polyglot
Community into the Polyglot
Industry-cum-Matrix

The Case for Critical Polyglot
Studies

CPS’ Theoretical, Methodological and
Normative Commitments *

Theory

Ontology

Epistemology

Methodology

Normativity

Outline of this Book

Chapter Division

Part 1: The Polyglot Industry: A Cartography

Chapter 2: The Polyglot Community: Genealogy and Nature

Introduction



Enter Polyglossia: Commoditizing an
Ethnonational Identity Marker

(Neo)colonial/Ethnonational
Rationality

The (Neo)colonial/Ethnonational
Partial Shift towards and Overlap
with Neoliberalism

Enter The Polyglot Community: General
Normative Idea and Material Conditions

The Mid-to-Late 1990s: From
Internet Relay Chat to the World

The 2000s: The Early YouTube
‘Polyglots’ and the Tension
between Showmanship and
Community Building

The 2010s: The Road to ‘Global’
Hybridity

Conclusion

Chapter 3: The Polyglot Industry: Experts and Institutions

Understanding the Polyglot Industry: When,
Why, and How it Works

Commercializing the Polyglot Community’s
Attention

The rise of the attention economy

The Fourth Screen: Web 2.0 and the
Smartphones (2010s to Present)

Social networks

YouTube

Facebook

Italki

X (Twitter)

Language Learning Platforms

Duolingo

Glossika

uTalk

How Language Learning
Platforms and Social
Networks Converge

'Polyglot' Gatherings

Polyglot Events (annual)

Polyglot Meetings (weekly)

How Polyglot Gatherings Converge
with Social Networks, Language
Learning Apps and Print Media

Print Media

1950 to 1995: Polyglossia avant
la lettre

Mid 1990s-2005: Early Recognition
and Exploration

2005-2015: The Rise and
Consolidation of Print Media as a
Polyglot Industry Sector

2015 to present: Diversity, Inclusion,
Hyperpolyglossia and AI

Conclusion: Saving the Polyglot Community from the
Language-Industrial Complex

Chapter 4: The Polyglot Matrix: The Ideology of the Polyglot Industry

Introduction

Polyglot Matrix Myths

Myth #1: (Non)nativespeakerism

(Neo)colonialism/Ethnonationalism

Performativity

Beyond (Non)native-speakerism

L1 Speakers as Role Models,
L1+n Speakers as Deficient

Myth #2: Accentism

Myth #3: Foreignness

Myth # 4: Thinking in Languages

Myth # 5: Languages as Countable

Myth # 6: Code-switching

Myth # 7: Neo-Whorfianism

Myth # 8: Flaggism

Myth # 9: Multilingual exceptionalism

Myth # 10: Causation Between Polyglossia
and Tolerance

Conclusion

Part 2: Critical Polyglot Studies: A Roadmap

Chapter 5: Programmatic Points and Best Practices

Programmatic Points

Theory

Ontology

Epistemology

Methodology

Political Economy

Normativity

Best Practices

Social Networks

Language Learning Applications

Polyglot Meetings

Print Media

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Institutional Case Studies

The Hyperpolyglot Activist

Introduction

Positioning vis-à-vis
the Hegemonic
Rationalities

Polyglot Industry
Intervention

Polyglot Matrix
Intervention

HYPIA: The International Association
of Hyperpolyglots

Introduction

Positioning vis-à-vis
the Hegemonic
Rationalities

Polyglot Industry
Intervention

Polyglot Matrix
Intervention

Final Words

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Carlos Yebra López is Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics at California State University, Fullerton. He is also founder of The Hyperpolyglot Activist and Ladino 21 Community Interest Company, and the Director of Research at The International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA).

Usman W. Chohan is an international academic who serves as Advisor on Economic Affairs and National Development at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), one of Pakistan’s premier research-based think tanks, where he was a founding director. He is also the founder and serves as President of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA), the largest association of hyperpolyglot language speakers in the world.