About this talk
In multilingual societies that exhibit a high degree of language contact, the ability to mix languages effectively often becomes an important aspect of a speaker’s linguistic competence. However, despite the existence of terms such as code-switching, code-meshing, translanguaging, etc., researchers still face difficulties in terms of convincing language educators, policy makers, and the general public of the need to appreciate the place of language mixing within society. Using an analysis of data featuring Hawaiian, Hawaiʻi Creole, and English, this presentation first demonstrates how a concept such as translanguaging can illuminate the diverse communicative abilities possessed by language users in Hawaiʻi. Discussion of the analysis then focuses on the challenges in terms of making findings of translanguaging research accessible to a wider audience.
Originally from the east coast of the United States, Scott Saft received his Ph.D. from the East Asian Languages Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. After several years teaching English and Linguistics in Japan, he returned to Hawaiʻi and is currently serving as a professor of linguistics and chair of graduates studies in the Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo on the Big Island.
Multiʻōlelo Webinar Series 2021 in Language Research Communication is financially supported by the UH SEED IDEAS. This webinar is hosted by the Thursday Brownbag Lecture Series, Department of Second Language Studies, UHM. We would like to express our thanks to Dr. Nicole Ziegler and Ms. Sunhee Kim Fujii for their support.
Multiʻōlelo 