Micro Language Policy and Planning in Multilingual Communities: A Qualitative Case Study of a Multilingual Band

Abstract

The study of language policy and planning includes three dimensions: macro, meso and micro. To explore the language policy planning and negotiation process of multilingual community can elicit “language issues” from a micro perspective and provide reference for the governance of language diversely. This study conducts a one-year qualitative follow-up survey and in-depth interview on the Language Life of a multilingual background band in China. Through describing and presenting the language practice and dynamic ideological changing process of the multilingual community, the study reflects the language planning and policy negotiation process in its Language Life in a micro scope. The findings of this study are: Language policy arbiter has a greater impact in the process of the micro language policy planning and negotiation in multilingual communities; in the process of their negotiation, members of the community make different linguistic choices in an evolutionary way of social learning to construct a situational corpus, complete the process of language socialization and adapt to the multilingual life of the community. The corpus they constructed is not a simple monolingualism or multilingualism, but a translanguaging practice. The translanguaging practice shows a multimodal and multilingual nature in a way of “musical terms + body language + fragmented multilingualism + monolingualism”. With different of discourse environments, the strategies of multimodal combination are varied. The study proposes that language policy and planning for multilingual communities should be based on the consideration of the actual discourse environments, and that encouraging and assisting members in multilingual communities to construct multimodal and multilingual discourse and situational corpus flexibly can effectively help members in multilingual communities adapt to their multilingual life. This study provides a new and empirical case study for the micro language policy and planning of multilingual societies, which can have some enlightenment.