Multilingualism and interculturality in urban contexts: the case of neighboring migrants in southern Buenos Aires City, Argentina

GOLLUSCIO, LUCÍA

Regensburg

Seminario; Seminario del Multilingualism Group; 2017

Multilingualism Group- Universität Regensburg

Multilingualism and interculturality in urban contexts: the case of neighboring migrants in southern Buenos Aires City, ArgentinaLucía A. GolluscioUniversity of Buenos Aires and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research, ArgentinaSince its foundation in the late 1800s, Argentina has been imagined as a monolingual (Spanish), mono-cultural, and mono-ethnic country, with a public education system acting as one of the main national institutions to foster this cultural and linguistic homogenization. In reality, though, Argentina is a pluricultural and multilingual country. On the one hand, the indigenous peoples speak more than ten languages belonging to different families with varying degrees of vitality. On the other, Argentina has been the recipient of immigration since its foundation. The large cities, Buenos Aires in particular, have received different waves of immigration from Europe since the early 1900s, registering a significant increase from neighboring countries since the early 2000s (IOM 2012).The talk focuses on this last multilingual and multicultural population. It presents a university extension initiative of the Chair of Ethnolinguistics of the University of Buenos Aires in urban contexts of linguistic and cultural diversity. The project is carried out in public elementary schools in southern Buenos Aires City whose population is mainly composed of children and youths from Paraguayan, Bolivian and Peruvian migrant families with a high degree of social and educational vulnerability. In this context, in addition to Spanish, the Guaraní, Quechua and Aymara languages circulate with vitality. Such a linguistically diverse situation demands a particular intervention on the part of the school.The project aims to challenge the hegemonic ideology that has permeated Argentina?s history, emphasizing the recognition and value of linguistic and cultural diversity. It promotes participatory practices that involve both the university team (faculty members as well as BA and doctoral students) and the educational community (teachers, children, and families).The activities seek to stimulate the self-esteem of the students and their parents, as well as to develop bilingual skills in situations of equity. Finally, it is oriented towards the construction of a dynamic and dialogical interculturality based on horizontal, symmetrical and reciprocal exchanges (Briones 2008, Földes 2009, Dervin & Liddicoat 2013).ReferencesBriones, C. 2008. Diversidad cultural e interculturalidad: ¿de qué estamos hablando? In García Vázquez, C. (comp.) Hegemonía e interculturalidad: Poblaciones originarias y migrantes. La interculturalidad como uno de los desafíos del siglo XXI, 35-58. Buenos Aires: Prometeo Libros.Dervin, F. & A. J. Liddicoat. 2013. Linguistics for Intercultural Education. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Földes, C. 2009. Black Box ,Interkulturalität?. Die unbekannte Bekannte (nicht nur) für Deutsch als Fremd-/Zweitsprache. Rückblick, Kontexte und Ausblick. Wirkendes Wort 59 (2009) 3, 503?525.García Canclini, N. 2004. Diferentes, desiguales y desconectados. Mapas de la interculturalidad. Barcelona: Gedisa.International Organization for Migration (IOM, UN). 2012. Argentina Migration Profile 2012. IOM: Geneva.