Have you been keeping up with the Language on the Move Reading Challenge 2023? If so, you will be looking forward to our 2024 Reading Challenge; and so here it is đ
The annual Language on the Move Reading Challenge is designed to encourage broad reading at the intersection of linguistic diversity and social life.
Challenge yourself to read one book in each category throughout the year!
January: A book that is critical of the AI hype
With the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI hype reached new heights in 2023, including in academia and linguistics. If you have not yet done so, it is high time to educate yourself about algorithms, large language models, and generative information technologies. A great way to start is the podcast Tech Wonât Save Us hosted weekly by tech journalist Paris Marx.
Each show comes complete with show notes, which often include excellent reading recommendations. Books I have picked up based on recommendations on Tech Wonât Save Us include Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy OâNeil, Blood in the Machine by Brian Merchant, and Wrong Way by Joanne McNeil. I recommend all of them to you warmly.
February: A book that delves deeper into language and digitization
In a world where more people have access to a mobile phone than to adequate sanitation, it should not come as a surprise that digital technologies are fundamentally changing how we use language. This is particularly true of people on the move who rely on mobile technologies to communicate in their new environments, to learn languages, or to stay connected with dispersed family and friends.
Some excellent recent books that will help you explore the intersections of new technologies and linguistic diversity include Parenting for a Digital Future by Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross, Language, Migration and Multilingualism in the Age of Digital Humanities, an open access collection edited by Ignacio AndrĂ©s Soria , Sandra Issel-Dombert and Laura Morgenthaler GarcĂa, and Mobile assisted language learning by Glen Stockwell. The latter was a runner-up for the 2023 BAAL Book Prize.
March: A book about language and magic
The prevalence of mediated content has meant that influencers have become the lodestars of peopleâs lives and deep fakes have collapsed the line between fact and fiction. This fundamentally changes what it means to know anything. Ontologically, belief in magic is making a comeback.
Therefore, going back to learn about language and magic becomes essential to understanding the future. Tazin Abdullah recommends Language and Magic by Toshihiko Izutsu:
This book was first published in 1956 and you might wonder why recommend this book in 2024? Written in English by a Japanese sociolinguist, it offers access to ideas about language use from outside of the European and American academic sphere. The very first highlight is the style of writing itself â strikingly personal and an insight into the writerâs philosophical orientation. Examining what language has symbolized historically in various cultures and traditions, this book offers intriguing observations on the magical functions of words and their impact on the way speakers think and behave.
April: A book about names and naming
Names and naming have always been a major part of language magic. Just think of Rumpelstiltskin, whose magic powers rest on his name not being known.
In a diverse society, names present their own challenges as different naming conventions come into contact and sometimes collide. How to use names appropriately and respectfully can become a major conundrum and thatâs why a book about names and naming should go onto your reading list for 2024.
Agnes Bodis recommends Say my name by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Khoa Le:
This beautifully written and illustrated childrenâs book provides a journey into cultures and names, highlighting how our names express our identity through their link to people, stories, and language. The book features six children from Chinese, Tongan, Persian, Dine, Mexican and Ghanaian cultural backgrounds sharing their names and stories, accompanied by beautiful illustrations, which provide a stunning multimodal expression of cultural identity. I especially appreciate the way the book values the spatial and historical aspect of names: each name is built up by building blocks of language that were âconstructed over oceans and across generationsâ. It also teaches readers to value the correct pronunciation of names. The publisherâs site provides a downloadable âteaching guideâ for educators and parents to engage with the book on a deeper level.
May: A book about multilingualism in history
Weâve heard a lot about how language in the 21st century is different from anything that has come before: itâs supposedly more multi, more metro, more trans. This narrative is starting to fray as more research about multilingual societies through the ages come out. One of the most important of these is the new collection Multilingualism and History edited by Aneta Pavlenko.
Readers of Language on the Move will have been waiting for this book for a while, as we first spoke to the editor, Aneta Pavlenko, about it in late 2021, when we asked âCan we ever unthink linguistic nationalism?â There probably is no answer to that question and Multilingualism and History does not pretend to have one, but it offers a panorama of multilingual contexts from antiquity to the 20th century. The book will forever put to rest the idea that linguistic diversity in the present is new.
For those who read German, Historische Mehrsprachigkeit [Multilingualism in History] edited by Rita Franceschini, Matthias HĂŒning und PĂ©ter Maitz, promises another rich collection of historical case-studies. This open access title is due to be released on December 31.
June: A book about translanguaging
One of the conceptual frameworks that has taken applied linguistics by storm in recent years is âtranslanguaging.â Earlier this year, we had a chance to speak to one of its key thinkers, Professor Ofelia GarcĂa, here on Language on the Move.
For those who want a more in-depth read, Jie Fan recommends Pedagogical Translanguaging by Jasone Cenoz and Durk Gorter:
This 2021 title in the Cambridge University Press series âElements in Language Teachingâ is designed for educational practitioners. It deals with the concept of translanguaging and pedagogical translanguaging, and explores multilingual approaches to language assessment and how it can be valuable for the preservation of endangered languages. This book contributes significantly to the fields of multilingualism and sociolinguistics by challenging monolingual ideological stances and acknowledging linguistic diversity and inclusion. It is a useful guide for novice teacher educators and researchers who may not be conversant with the the latest sociolinguistic multilingualism research.
July: A novel about linguistic diversity
Since its inception, we have regularly included works of fiction in the Language on the Move Reading Challenge. This year is no different. Fiction allows us to explore linguistic diversity holistically through art, and can produce deeper insights than academic texts alone. Also, itâs the middle of the year and you might need the excitement of novel-reading to keep going.
Emily Pacheco, a Master of Research student at Macquarie University, recommends The House With All The Lights On: Three generations, one roof, a language of light by Jessica Kirkness:
This novel is a memoir from a Goda (Grandchild of Deaf adults) explaining the cultural and linguistic experience they had growing up with their grandparents. The book explains the navigation of Deaf and hearing cultures in Australia with grandparents who migrated and have a native language of BSL (British Sign Language). It is a great novel that shares the experience Deaf-hearing families have and showcases a perspective (Goda) that is not widely written about.
August: A book about linguistic diversity and social justice
Research related to social justice has exploded since the 2016 publication of my Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice book. Yixi (Isabella) Qiu, a PhD student at Fudan University and UNSW, still recommends the book:
Rooted in real-world instances, this book offers invaluable insights into how language shapes economic inequality, cultural dominance, and political participation. Itâs an inspirational read, particularly for early career researchers, broadening their understanding of the intricate role of language in social dynamics. The book is more than an academic discourse; itâs a call to recognize the power of language, the resilience of individuals, and the richness of humanity. A truly enlightening read that sparks ongoing conversations about languageâs pivotal role in social (in)justice.
2023 also saw the publication of the Arabic translation:
ۧÙŰȘÙÙŰč ۧÙÙŰșÙÙ ÙۧÙŰčۯۧÙŰ© ۧÙۧۏŰȘÙ Ű§ŰčÙŰ©, translated by Abdulrahman Alfahad and published by King Saud University Press.
A brilliant related 2023 title is Global Language Justice edited by Lydia Liu and Anupama Rao. In my blurb for the book I wrote:
By interspersing academic essays with multilingual poems, Liu, Rao, and Silverman have assembled a rich, stimulating kaleidoscope of global explorations of the complex entanglements of language, environment, and technology in the 21st century.
September: A book about discursive construction
âThe limits of my language are the limits of my world,â as Wittgenstein told us. To understand how these limits are made in different contexts, we have added a title about discursive construction to this yearâs reading challenge.
National history provides ample examples of discursive constructions that are relevant to how we see linguistic diversity, and Hanna Torsh recommends Making Australian History by Anna Clark:
Who decides what is a nation’s history? Who are the history-makers? I loved this immensely readable book by esteemed historian Anna Clark, who deftly shows us that history is made by everyone, and not only in the form of written histories but in clay, in stone, and in the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. In todayâs conflict-ridden world it is more important than ever to think about how our collective identities are created and whose voices contribute to that collective imagining. A beautiful journey through major themes in history-making.
October: A book about language and emotions
Books about emotions in intercultural communication have been a mainstay of our annual reading challenge, and Brynn Quick recommends Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions by Batja Mesquita.
Do all humans experience emotions in the same way? Does happiness in France look the same as happiness in Ethiopia or Japan? And what do emotions have to do with language? Is it possible to feel emotionally adept in one culture or language but not another? These are some of the questions that Batja Mesquita investigates in this fascinating book. This book is a pleasant and easy read (or listen! I recommend the Audible version), but it is packed with information about the intersection between psychology, culture, and language. Give this a read and ask yourself – Are Americans inherently fake and the Dutch inherently rude?
November: A sociolinguistic ethnography
Engaging with sociolinguistic ethnographies of linguistic diversity is the bread and butter of our research. Challenge yourself to read one of a context that may not be all that familiar to you!
Hard to recommend one because there are so many excellent titles but my favorite in 2023 was probably Multilingual Baseball by Brendan O’Connor. The book engagingly connects bilingual interactions â the focus is on English and Spanish â with wider questions of globalized corporate sports, migration, and race.
December: A migrant memoir
Like novels, memoirs provide unique insights into linguistic diversity and this year we recommend Solito by Javier Zamora. The book tells the harrowing but also inspiring story of a 9-year-old boy, who makes the journey from El Salvador to the United States as an unaccompanied minor. Also a beautiful example of bilingual storytelling.
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