Mapping the Langscape—Developing Multilingual Norms in a Transient Project Community

Abstract

This contribution explores the development of language choice practices within one transient project community, here an international theater ensemble. Transient project communities consist of groups, the members of which have been drawn together in order to complete some or other predetermined project. In projects constituted of members drawn from different linguistic backgrounds, this may involve the local development of interactional norms and practices, including at the level of language choice. The study uses a longitudinal set of video‐recorded data to track emergent practices related to congregational norms for language use within one workplace community. This wider scope of perspective allows one to account for emergence and transience in the cohort's social and linguistic practices.