Multilingual Citizens, Multicultural Citizenship? Somali People’s Experiences of Language, Race and Belonging in Contemporary Scotland

Abstract

Scottish political elites’ commitment to a multiply-voiced, plural citizenship in Scotland has not always translated into the experiences of ‘new’, multilingual populations, such as Somali-Scots. Based on three years’ ethnographic fieldwork with Somali people in Glasgow, this chapter analyses Somali people’s experiences of multilingualism in public life. It will consider (1) how Scottish language policies impact the development and practice of Somali languages in Scotland, and their socio-political implications for Somali-Scots communities; (2) how these policies impact Somali people’s access to services and public spaces and (3) the extent to which racialised discourses intersect with issues of language and multilingualism. It concludes with a critique of the gap between elite narratives of plural, multilingual citizenship and the reality of Somali people’s everyday experiences in Scotland.