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Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication
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Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2025) | Viewed by 27981

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Eriko Sato

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Asian & Asian American Studies, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5343, USA
Interests: translation studies; multilingualism (translanguaging); language learning; Japanese linguistics; online language teaching

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Translanguaging and intercultural communication have been gaining significant research attention in applied linguistics in the past few decades, especially in contexts such as multilingualism, language policy, language access, language learning, identity, and translation (e.g., Canagarajah, 2012; García & Li, 2014; May, 2014; Piller, 2017; Sato, 2022; Sato & García, 2023). The goal of this Special Issue of Languages is to promote the study of language use from the perspectives of translanguaging and intercultural communication and to add new insights to the nature of language as a part of applied linguistics. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Diversity, inclusion and intercultural communication;
  • Translanguaging and translation;
  • Language contact and hybridity;
  • Translanguaging and language development;
  • Translanguaging and language learning;
  • Translanguaging and identity;
  • Translanguaging and literacy;
  • Translated literature and intercultural communication.

Please send your manuscript to the guest editor (eriko.sato@stonybrook.edu) and to the Languages editorial office (languages@mdpi.com). Your manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

References:

Canagarajah, S. (2012). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge.

García, O. & Li, W. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

May, S. (Ed.). (2014). The Multilingual Turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and Bilingual Education. Routledge.

Piller, I. (2017). Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press.

Sato, E. (2022). Translanguaging in translation: Invisible contributions that shape our language and society. Multilingual Matters.

Sato, E., & García, O. (2023). Translanguaging, Translation and Interpreting Studies, and Bilingualism. In The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Bilingualism (pp. 328-345). Routledge.

Dr. Eriko Sato
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • translation
  • interpreting
  • subtitling
  • fansubbing
  • literary translation
  • intercultural communication
  • multilingualism
  • translanguaging
  • sociolinguistics
  • applied linguistics
  • language use
  • language contact
  • language teaching
  • language learning
  • multimodality
  • identity
  • power imbalance

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 381 KiB  
Article
Translanguaging as a Dynamic Strategy for Heritage Language Transmission
by Sviatlana Karpava, Natalia Ringblom and Anastassia Zabrodskaja
Languages 2025, 10(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10020019 - 23 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3572
Abstract
This study explores translanguaging as a flexible and adaptive strategy for heritage language transmission within multilingual families residing in Cyprus, Estonia, and Sweden. Using a qualitative approach, the research examines family language policies, parental beliefs, and the linguistic practices of bilingual and multilingual [...] Read more.
This study explores translanguaging as a flexible and adaptive strategy for heritage language transmission within multilingual families residing in Cyprus, Estonia, and Sweden. Using a qualitative approach, the research examines family language policies, parental beliefs, and the linguistic practices of bilingual and multilingual families, where one parent speaks Russian. The findings reveal how translanguaging supports bilingual development by fostering linguistic adaptability, bridging heritage and societal languages, and accommodating diverse sociolinguistic contexts. Parents in each country implement unique strategies, influenced by local linguistic landscapes, educational systems, and resource availability. In Cyprus, some families strictly adhered to structured methods like the One Parent–One Language strategy, while others adopted a more integrative multilingual approach, seamlessly translanguaging between Russian, Greek, and English in their daily interactions. Estonian and Swedish families display pragmatic adaptations, emphasizing translanguaging’s role in promoting the emotional well-being and linguistic identity of family members. However, certain challenges persist, including societal language dominance, literacy and educational resource scarcity, and the potential overuse of translanguaging in formal communication. By comparing these contexts, the study underscores the need for flexible yet deliberate family language policies, institutional support, and community resources to sustain bilingualism in bilingual and multilingual families. This research contributes to understanding translanguaging’s implications for intergenerational language transmission in minority and immigrant settings, offering insights for educators, linguists, and policymakers on fostering linguistic diversity and equity in globalized societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
18 pages, 374 KiB  
Article
Affordances and Borderscapes: Language Ideologies, Nationalisms, Generations and Geographies of Resistance in Cyprus
by Christiana Karayianni and Anastasia Christou
Languages 2024, 9(6), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9060224 - 19 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1284
Abstract
In this article, we explore the ways language has been used in Cyprus during different historical periods as a means of a dividing power, with the use of Cypriot dialects as a form of resistance and reunification of the island. We situate these [...] Read more.
In this article, we explore the ways language has been used in Cyprus during different historical periods as a means of a dividing power, with the use of Cypriot dialects as a form of resistance and reunification of the island. We situate these translanguaging themes within a context of affective biopolitics that impacts Cypriot generations in shaping their everyday life through borderscapes and nationalisms. More specifically, we first examine how the official languages of the island (Greek and Turkish) have been used in the dominant public sphere(s) of Cyprus to marginalise Cypriot dialects, which, in turn, have been used as an oral means of communication, but also to impose symbolic signifiers of the biopolitics of borders and nationalisms in dividing communities. Secondly, we explore ways in which Cypriot dialects have been used as forms of linguistic resistance to nationalism, offering an alternative collective identity for generations of both communities, even during periods when nationalism was dominant in both communities. The translanguaging exploration centres on a close discourse analysis of one particular radio programme—the ‘Cypriot radio sketch’—that has been very popular among Cypriots since the appearance of radio in Cyprus in 1953. Finally, we analytically and discursively contextualise attempts of revival of the Cypriot dialects by younger generations as communicative forms of resistance to powers of partition, as well as translanguaging pathways to actualise their desire for the reunification of the island. We eclectically draw on a multi-method approach to combine datasets from interviews, media and social media while combining critical discourse analysis to theorise the affordances, borderscapes and affective biopolitics of generational language use within geographies of nationalism and resistance in the borderscapes of a divided Cyprus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
17 pages, 1388 KiB  
Article
Unconventional Usage of Gender-Based Japanese Sentence-Final Particles: A Study of wa and no in Youth Conversations
by Yan Wang
Languages 2023, 8(3), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030222 - 20 Sep 2023
Viewed by 3129
Abstract
Japanese society’s traditional gender norms are reflected by sentence-final particles (SFPs) in daily conversation. However, recently, Japanese young people have started to use gendered SFPs in “unclassical” ways. This study mainly examines the usage of the so-called “female” SFPs wa and no by [...] Read more.
Japanese society’s traditional gender norms are reflected by sentence-final particles (SFPs) in daily conversation. However, recently, Japanese young people have started to use gendered SFPs in “unclassical” ways. This study mainly examines the usage of the so-called “female” SFPs wa and no by male speakers. In total, 68 cases of wa (43 by male speakers and 25 by female speakers) and 84 cases of no (47 by male speakers and 37 by female speakers) usage were collected from casual conversations of Japanese college students in TalkBank, a public linguistic database. This study demonstrates that the “female” SFPs wa and no are used more frequently by male speakers than by female speakers. Different from the female speakers’ usage to soften the utterances and enhance conversational rapport, wa and no used by male speakers perform other functions. In particular, wa directly indexes self-centeredness, serving the speaker to express emotion, share personal ideas, or perform speech acts such as teasing or amae in a self-focused way, while no directly indexes truthfulness, which allows the speaker to share a story in a vivid tone, reconfirm the speaker’s prior statement, or provide the speaker’s explanation/reasoning in an assertive tone. This study suggests that the new, unconventional gender-based usages of SFPs reveal the social changes in gender dynamics in modern Japanese society, which should not be overlooked in language education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
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13 pages, 355 KiB  
Article
Lexical Translanguaging in Textbook Preparation for Education in the Gamo Language of Ethiopia
by Almaz Wasse Gelagay
Languages 2023, 8(3), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8030154 - 26 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1766
Abstract
As a country where more than 85 languages are spoken, Ethiopia framed, in its Education and Training Policy of 1994, which was revised in 2021, the right to use mother tongue in primary education. Following this, around 33 languages are implemented in schools [...] Read more.
As a country where more than 85 languages are spoken, Ethiopia framed, in its Education and Training Policy of 1994, which was revised in 2021, the right to use mother tongue in primary education. Following this, around 33 languages are implemented in schools as a Medium of Instruction (MoI). Gamo is one of the languages used as a MoI in primary education and taught as a subject up to high school. This functional expansion of Gamo into Education required textbook preparation, and accordingly, textbooks for different subjects, including Gamo as a language subject, were published. One major feature of the Gamo textbooks is availability of Amharic and English words, and this research aims to apply translanguaging, which is the discursive language practices of bilingual speakers to describe the practice of using words from different languages in the textbooks. Lexical data were collected from five textbooks written in Gamo and interviews were held with students and teachers to find out information about the process of textbook writing and translanguaging. The strategies identified in the textbooks include alternative translanguaging, borrowing, lexical inventions and bilingual compounds. These strategies were used to address education in the Gamo language and to communicate meaning effectively. Writers used their Amharic and English repertoire to represent meaning when a word for a concept is not available in Gamo. In other instances, alternative words were provided as a means of enhancing meaning clarity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
21 pages, 4222 KiB  
Article
Taboo Language in Non-Professional Subtitling on Bilibili.com: A Corpus-Based Study
by Xijinyan Chen
Languages 2022, 7(2), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020138 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8680
Abstract
This qualitative and quantitative study examines how taboo language is rendered in non-professional subtitling (NPS), how viewers react to the renderings, and how the interactions between danmu and general comments’ contributors affect the translation activities and language changes. The study draws on a [...] Read more.
This qualitative and quantitative study examines how taboo language is rendered in non-professional subtitling (NPS), how viewers react to the renderings, and how the interactions between danmu and general comments’ contributors affect the translation activities and language changes. The study draws on a parallel corpus consisting of taboo language and its translations from 18 of the most-viewed and commented upon subtitled videos on the popular video-sharing platform, Bilibili.com. Danmu comments and general comments related to the renderings of taboo language are also collected and studied. When analyzing translation activities in an NPS setting, the study adopts and modifies some mainstream subtitling strategies and techniques proposed by. The study finds that various creative approaches are adopted, such as lexical recreation and substitution by euphemism. While the strength of the taboo language is reduced in more than half of the instances, in an unexpected 17.2% of cases the effects are enlarged. The study concludes that a virtuous, collaborative mechanism for potential translation problems and language learning is formed by providing positive, neutral, and critical feedback in the comments. In addition to linguistic knowledge and cultural background, viewers also share knowledge beyond the scope of translation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
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30 pages, 3701 KiB  
Article
Synergic Concepts, Lexical Idiosyncrasies, and Lexical Complexities in Bilingual Students’ Translated Texts as Efforts to Resolve Conceptual Inequivalences
by Hanh Dinh
Languages 2022, 7(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020094 - 11 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5194
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to draw on the conceptual blending hypothesis from the socio-cognitive approach to investigate the conceptually equivalent translation written in L2—English—of bilingual students via two tasks of translating and defining individual words and translating texts from L1 to [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to draw on the conceptual blending hypothesis from the socio-cognitive approach to investigate the conceptually equivalent translation written in L2—English—of bilingual students via two tasks of translating and defining individual words and translating texts from L1 to L2. Next, the study demonstrates how translation abilities that vary amongst groups can affect students’ lexical density, lexical diversity, lexical sophistication, and lexical idiosyncrasies in translated text. The translating process in bilinguals could be interpreted via the lens of the conceptual blending hypothesis and dueling contexts framework to demonstrate that bi/multilingual students do not differ from monolingual ones pertaining to cognitive or linguistic abilities. Rather, the distinctive difference between bilingual and monolingual language users is bilingual speakers’ abilities of the third competence of formulating a synergism across word concepts and utilizing a bidirectional translation between two languages. When a word in L2 is acquired, there is a conceptual blending between the new conceptual information, encoded after each time the L2 word is used in an L2 socio-cultural context and the existing socio-cultural conceptual information in L1. The new concept created after the blending is called a synergic concept. If the synergic is not well developed, the language user selects incorrect or inappropriate words in a context, resulting in lexical idiosyncrasies. Data gathered from 30 English–Chinese bilingual university students in a transnational program in sociology were collected and compared against 15 monolingual American students. The preliminary findings are as follows: (1) regardless of the location of where the English (L2) socio-cultural meaning conceptualization mainly takes place (in China or the U.S.A.), English–Chinese bilingual language users demonstrated a significant difference in connotative meaning knowledge of noun word concepts and idiomatic concepts, compared with English native speakers; (2) the synergic concepts were detected in all experimental concepts and demonstrated the conceptual blending to a varying degree that affects their translating process and its outcomes: the domineering L1 socio-cultural concept, the well-blended L1 and L2 socio-cultural concept that results in a “third culture”, and the assimilating L2 socio-cultural concept; (3) the synergistic blending of two socio-cultural loads embedded in lexical concepts detected in the bilingual students in the U.S.A. was more robust than those in China, resulting in significantly fewer sophisticated words and lexical idiosyncrasies in their English translated essays. The study sheds new light on understanding the dynamism in bilingualism via translation tasks to indicate bilingual learners’ lexical development. Implications for using translation tasks and analysis of word concepts across languages to support bi/multilingual students in language and academic learning are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging and Intercultural Communication)
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