Social inclusion through multilingual ideologies, policies and practices: a case study of a minority church

Abstract

Adopting a materialist and processual approach to language and specifically multilingualism, this paper explores what language ideologies a minority, non-educational institution embraced and how this facilitated social inclusion through constructing institutional multilingualism within societal monolingualism. Specifically, I document how a Chinese church in English-dominant Canada developed institutional multilingualism over time by adopting multiple languages institutionally, allowing code-switching in various events, and assigning speaking roles based on identities beyond linguistic performance. Examining the socioeconomic conditions that made multilingual ideologies, policies and practices commonsense at that church, I discuss the implementational and ideological spaces that may be opened up, as well as the challenges they presented for individuals and institutions. In order to further the social inclusion agenda, I argue for making the materialist and processual view of multilingualism more accessible and operational to the general public, and particularly to educational practitioners.

Keywords:

• multilingualism
• social inclusion
• language policy
• immigrant settlement
• Canada
• Chinese immigrants

Acknowledgements

I thank Drs Kelleen Toohey, Roumi Ilievia, and Ingrid Piller for constructive comments to, and Anna du Bois for editing, earlier drafts of this paper. Remaining errors and omissions are mine.

Notes

1. I have chosen pseudonyms that reflect the essences of the original names for institutions and individuals in this paper, except for the well-known missionary Rev. Balcombe and his affiliated institutions.

2. The actual URLs of MCC and CEMA websites and references to texts they produced are not included as a means to protect the identities of these institutions and the individuals involved.