Chapter 15. The sociolinguistics of urban multilingualism

Abstract

Changing patterns of global migration and increasing ethnolinguistic (super)diversity hold sociolinguistic consequences for heritage/community languages (HCL) and majority languages in large urban centres. Studies in different cities have noted the existence of (multi-)ethnolects, which may arise from second language acquisition and/or long-term bilingualism and may take on indexical social value. This chapter compares two majority English-speaking cities in Canada (Toronto) and Australia (Melbourne) that are characterised by increasing ethnolinguistic diversity. Previous research has identified (multi-)ethnolectal behaviour in both cities that has only recently been the subject of systematic investigation. Toronto English shows different overall rates of usage of a range of phonetic/phonological and grammatical/discourse-pragmatic variables, although parallel conditioning of the variation by language-internal factors across younger speakers suggests that speakers share the same underlying system. Previous work on Melbourne English has similarly identified a number of linguistic features characteristic of particular ethnolinguistic background. Adopting the variationist sociolinguistic approach, these projects explore the function of language in constructing and expressing (ethnic) identity in situations of ethnolinguistic (super)diversity and the potential for multiple linguistic systems to co-exist.