Tension-Filled English at the Multilingual University: A Bakhtinian Perspective

by Maria Kuteeva

Overview

This book begins with the idea that English in the multilingual university is filled with and surrounded by tensions, from the renegotiation and bending of language norms to the emotional strain of the increasing use of English. It explores how these tensions are experienced by those who find themselves in multilingual university settings outside the anglophone world and use English in their research or education. The author examines the use of English in multiple domains in Swedish universities, progressing from macro perspectives on language policies to in-depth qualitative studies of individuals. The book presents both a synthesis of recent scholarship on the use of language in multilingual universities and the author’s own empirical findings, which are situated in a theoretical framework based on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin. The book offers the reader a novel way of tracing the links between language perceptions and practices on the ground, and the forces and processes which govern these practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800416703
Publisher:	Channel View Publications
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Series:	Multilingual Matters , #175
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Maria Kuteeva is Professor of English Linguistics at Stockholm University, Sweden. She is lead editor of Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universityies (with K. Kaufhold and N. Hynninen, 2020, Palgrave McMillan). 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Transcription Conventions

Chapter 1.Tension-Filled English at the Multilingual University: Introduction

Part 1: Multi-Faceted English in Multilingual UniversitySettings  

Chapter 2. Exploring Conceptualisations of English: Standard, Lingua Franca and Translingual Practice 

Chapter 3.‘More parallel’? English in UniversityLanguage Policies and Wider Discourses 

Part 2: Research Dialogue through ‘Unitary’ Englishes 

Chapter 4. Language in Academic Disciplines: The Object of Study and its ‘Voice’ 

Chapter 5. Towards New ‘Unitary Language’: Language Requirements and Multilingual Researchers’ Perspectives 

Part 3: Language Perceptions and Repertoires: Between Unitary and Heteroglossic Englishes

Chapter 6. Shifting Norms: Students’ Perceptions of English as Standard, Lingua Franca and Translingual Practice

Chapter 7. Tensions Between Present and Desired Repertoires: Translingual Writers’ Lived Experience of English and Polyglossic Selves

Chapter 8. Conclusion: Ways Forward for the Study of Tension-Filled English

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

[This book] offers a solid and inspiring attempt to come to terms with the thought of one of the 20th century’s most ground-breaking scholars of language. By unpacking the complexities of English in multilingual university with the Bakhtinian toolkit, Kuteeva brings clarity, confidence, and excitement in regard to the task ahead of those engaged with this research object.

Luke Holmes

Maria Kuteeva offers a fascinating fresh perspective on English at a multilingual, non-anglophone university with its linguistic tensions. A welcome feature is imposing a consistent theoretical, Bakhtinian framework on a substantial body of empirical research. The concept of ‘voicedness’ specifically throws linguistic perceptions of different disciplines into sharp relief.

Anna Mauranen

Maria Kuteeva brings her nuanced understanding of Bakhtin’s provocative theories of speech and language as a powerful lens to analyze perceptions, practices and experiences of English in Sweden’s multilingual universities. A sophisticated and illuminating analysis of the dynamics of English language practices in a non-anglophone university setting, Kuteeva’s book is highly relevant to all academics who write, mentor, edit or publish in English.

Jane K. Cowan

In this meticulous seminal work, Maria Kuteeva provides an insightful examination of the complex tensions and struggles surrounding the role of English as the academic lingua franca in today’s progressively more diverse higher education institutions. Adeptly applying the ground-breaking theories of Mikhail Bakhtin, Kuteeva offers a fresh analytical lens for unravelling the contradictory centrifugal and centripetal forces at play when a ‘unitary’ standardized English encounters the dialogic heteroglossia of multilingual universities outside the Anglophone base.

Ali Karakaş

With her trademark combination of sharp intellect and sober pragmaticism, Kuteeva perspicaciously offers a counterposition to the orthodoxy of linguistic diversity, pointing out a few elephants in the room. Compellingly written, this must-read book shows what new insights a Bakhtinian perspective can contribute to understandings of why standard English continues to dominate in multilingual universities.

Anna Kristina Hultgren

[This book] offers an abundance of interesting viewpoints for those interested in the use of English in non-Anglophone contexts. It is relevant to all academics who instruct, write, or publish in English and would be particularly informative for anyone working or studying in an English as a foreign language (EFL) or English-medium instruction (EMI) program.  

Salem Kim Hicks