Goran Vodicka

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the themes of autonomy, space and place within linguistically super-diverse urban contexts and highlight ways in which language communities are autonomously ensuring that their languages continue to be learnt and used within formal and informal urban spaces.

TL;DR: In this paper , the authors focus on the affordances and value of different local outdoor public spaces for supporting conviviality in an ethnically diverse neighbourhood in Sheffield UK and describe and reflect on methods which give due precedence to different spatial scales, materialities and timeframes.

Abstract: This chapter explores the themes of autonomy, space and place within linguistically super-diverse urban contexts. It argues that linguistic diversity is often perceived as a problem, particularly when the languages involved are those of minority ethnic communities, and that this can lead to exclusion of those languages not only from formal educational spaces but also from other public spaces. This invisibility means that negative dispositions towards multilingualism are perpetuated across the population and a ‘monolingual habitus’ is sustained. The authors reject this and argue that the multilingual city can nurture a plurilingual habitus. Drawing on theories of autonomy, space and place from various disciplines and as they relate to contexts of resistance, the chapter highlights ways in which language communities are autonomously ensuring that their languages continue to be learnt and used within formal and informal urban spaces. This focus on autonomy as a political, collectivist construct is exemplified in reference to both community-led complementary schools and a multilingual festival organised by an autonomous network of organisations. The limitations of these activities, however, lead us to propose further participatory research with communities to enable them to reach beyond the locality, both to influence policy and to challenge the monolingual habitus.