A multiethnolect is a
language variety, typically formed in youth communities in
working class,
immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
neighborhoods of urban areas, that contains influences from a variety of different languages. Unlike an
ethnolect
An ethnolect is generally defined as a language variety that mark speakers as members of ethnic groups who originally used another language or distinctive variety. According to another definition, an ethnolect is any speech variety (language, di ...
, which associates one language variety with one particular
ethnic group, speakers of a multiethnolect often come from varied ethnic backgrounds, and their language usage can be more closely attributed to the
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in which they live than their
nationality or that of their parents. The term "multiethnolect" was first coined by Clyne (2000) and Quist (2000). Research of multiethnolects has thus far focused primarily on urban areas in northwestern
Europe, such as
Scandinavia, the
Netherlands,
Belgium,
Germany, and
Great Britain, but the phenomenon is far more universal than that.
Researchers Nortier and Dorleijn call multiethnolects “a phenomenon of all times, that was only waiting for linguists to give it a name." In recent research, multiethnolects are often explored as a form of contact language, meaning a language that is used for communication between two speakers who don’t share a
native tongue.
Multiethnolects appear to be less homogeneous than either
dialects or
sociolects and are assumed to be context-bound and transient, to the extent that they are ‘youth languages'.
Aasheim (1995) first coined the term kebabnorsk, referring to the Norwegian multiethnolect spoken primarily by immigrant youth in neighborhoods of eastern Oslo. Wiese (2006) uses the term
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Kiezdeutsch, meaning ‘neighbourhood German’, to refer to
multiethnic youth language in Germany. Cheshire et al. (2011) claim that the term ''
Jafaican'', which refers to youth language in multiethnic parts of
London, a name that has close associations with
hip-hop, is a type of multiethnolect; many older people claim that young people in London today sound as if they are "talking black".
Kotsinas (1988) uses the term ''
rinkebysvenska'' (named after one such district,
Rinkeby
Rinkeby () is a district in the Rinkeby-Kista borough, Stockholm, Sweden. Rinkeby had 19,349 inhabitants in 2016. The neighbourhood was part of the Million Programme.
The Stockholm metro station Rinkeby was also opened in 1975.
Rinkeby is note ...
) to refer to the Swedish characteristics of multiethnolects that are spoken in districts of
Stockholm. Multiethnolects are considered to be a type of
Labovian "
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
".
''The reasons for the emergence of European multiethnolects at this point in history is presumably linked to specific types of community formation in urban areas which have seen very large-scale immigration from developing countries. People of different language backgrounds have settled in already quite underprivileged neighbourhoods, and economic deprivation has led to the maintenance of close kin and neighbourhood ties. Castells (2000) writes of prosperous metropolises containing communities such as these: ‘It is this distinctive feature of being globally connected and locally disconnected, physically and socially, that makes mega-cities a new urban form’.''
Cheshire, Nortier, and Adger state that 'a defining characteristic is that
ultiethnolectsare used by (usually monolingual) young people from non-immigrant backgrounds as well as by their bilingual peers'.
Examples of multiethnolects
Citétaal
In
Belgium, the multiethnolect that has emerged among young immigrant populations is called Citétaal, or “City language.” It flourishes and is most documented in mining areas of Belgium that were formerly
ghettoized
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...
, and incorporates influences from the older immigrant populations, such as
Italians, and more recent populations, such as
Moroccans
Moroccans (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, sh ...
. The native language in the eastern Belgian regions where Citétaal is most spoken is
Flemish, and as a
Germanic language, this multiethnolect shares common patterns with other multiethnolects in other Germanic languages. For example, similar to
Scandinavian and
Dutch multiethnolects, Citétaal speakers are likely to overuse the
common gender
In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...
, rather than the
neuter gender
In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...
. This is one of many instances of morphological overgeneralization that characterizes this multiethnolect, along with others like it. Speakers of Citétaal are primarily young Flemish speakers with an immigrant background, and they share that: “Citétaal is not used in order to be tough and cool but just for fun and to create a sense of togetherness." Once again, this demonstrates the role of communities and social groups rather than individual families in creating a multiethnolect.
German multiethnolect
In
Germany, several different recently emerging multiethnolects have been documented, each with slight variation in their main demographic of speakers, and with the primary linguistic influences involved in each ethnolect varying slightly. However, in each of these multiethnolects, the
Turkish language has played the most significant role in the language variant’s formation. One name for the multiethnolect which is based primarily upon Turkish influences is
Türkendeutsch, although this term proves far less popular than the somewhat controversial
Kanaksprak. The very name of Kanaksprak reclaims a derogatory slur, kanak, which Germans used towards immigrants, especially those of Turkish descent. Another term used by researchers is
Kiezdeutsch, meaning neighborhood German. A unique phenomenon which researchers have noted in regard to the German multiethnolect is that young male speakers use it far more than their female counterparts. This led to the movement called the “power girls,” which was spoken by “young female immigrants with a Turkish background who revolted against both traditional Turkish and German norms”.
[Cheshire, Jenny (February 2015). "Emerging multiethnolects in Europe" (PDF). ''Queen Mary's Occasional Papers Advancing Linguistics''. 33.] In the attempts of young women to celebrate their ethnic and linguistic backgrounds in the face of
sexist cultural norms, the sociological elements of multiethnolect formation once again reveal their importance.
Kebabnorsk
Kebabnorsk (from
Kebab
Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
, a popular Middle Eastern dish) is one of the most famous examples of a multiethnolect, spoken in urban regions of
Oslo with a large immigrant population. The languages most influential on Kebabnorsk are
Kurdish,
Turkish,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Pashto,
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
,
Urdu,
Tamil,
Polish, and
Chilean Spanish
Chilean Spanish ( es, español chileno) is any of several varieties of the Spanish language spoken in most of Chile. Chilean Spanish dialects have distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usages that differ from those of Sta ...
, as well as numerous other languages. The dialect began to develop in the 1970s when immigrants from
Turkey,
Morocco, and
Pakistan started moving to Oslo, followed in the 1980s by refugees from countries including
Iran,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Sri Lanka, and
Yugoslavia. Kebabnorsk may also be considered a sociolect, and is spoken more than ever now in Oslo.
See also
*
Kanaksprak
*
Rinkebysvenska
*
Perkerdansk
*
Multicultural London English
Multicultural London English (abbreviated MLE) is a sociolect of English that emerged in the late 20th century. It is spoken mainly by young, working-class people in multicultural parts of London.
As the label suggests, speakers of MLE come ...
*
Multicultural Toronto English
*
Madras Bashai
Madras Bashai (Tamil: , ) is the variety of the Tamil language spoken by native people in the city of Madras (currently known as Chennai) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is sometimes considered a pidgin, as its vocabulary is heavily infl ...
*
Creole language
*
Ethnolect
An ethnolect is generally defined as a language variety that mark speakers as members of ethnic groups who originally used another language or distinctive variety. According to another definition, an ethnolect is any speech variety (language, di ...
*
Sociolinguistics
Sources
*Cheshire, Jenny, Nortier, Jacomine, and
Adger, David. 2015
Emerging Multiethnolects in Europe Queen Mary's Occasional Papers in Advancing Linguistics. 33: 1-27.
*Cheshire, Jenny, Kerswill, Paul, Fox, Sue, and Torgersen, Eivind. 2011
Contact, the feature pool and the speech community: The emergence of Multicultural London English Journal of Sociolinguistics 15: 151-196.
*Clyne, Michael. 2000
Lingua franca and ethnolects in Europe and beyond ''Sociolinguistica'' 14: 83–89.
*Freywald, Ulrike, Mayr, Katharina, Özçelik, Tiner, Wiese, Heike
Kiezdeutsch as a multiethnolect In Kern, Friederike & Selting, Margret (eds.). ''Panethnic Styles of Speaking in European Metropolitan Cities''.
*Quist, Pia (2000). Ny københavnsk 'multietnolekt'. Om sprogbrug blandt unge i sprogligt og kulturelt heterogene miljøer.
ew Copenhagen Multiethnolect. Language Use among Young Young Speakers in linguistically and culturally heterogeneous neighborhoods Danske Talesprog, (1), 143-211.
*Quist, Pia (2008). Sociolinguistic approaches to multiethnolect: language variety and stylistic practice. International Journal of Bilingualism, 12(1-2), 43-61.
*Wiese, Heike. 2006. “Ich mach dich Messer”: Grammatische Produktivität in Kiez-Sprache. Linguistische Berichte 207. 245-273.
*Wiese, Heike. 2009
Grammatical innovation in multiethnic urban Europe: New linguistic practices among adolescents ''Lingua'' 119: 782–806.
References
{{Reflist
Language
German dialects
Dialects of English
Swedish dialects