Unsettling lingua franca through translation: Solidarity in migrant cities

Abstract

Migrational cities are inherently cosmopolitan and translational. In such cities, language is no doubt one of the most difficult barriers for migrants, who are often identified because they speak Englishes rather than English—not only when they do not know the language of their new “homeland” but also, perhaps even worse, at that stage when they are supposed to have learned it. Many of them never manage to speak the dominant language “well”; they are deemed to speak “weirdly” in terms of both grammar and accent. In this context, translation has much to say. Translation operates within a politics of language. Being translational does not necessarily mean finding common linguistic grounds—or lingua franca, conventionally defined as stable and neutral languages that bridge incommensurable cultures. This paper examines whether lingua franca can instead be conceived of as being built on uncommon and unsettled grounds, more specifically as temporary, ever-shifting registers borne out of the conference of diverse tongues in particular time-spaces. Translation is understood as a way to creolize the lingua franca to forge a language that is native to no one and thus potentially available to everyone. This redefinition of lingua franca can lead to a new understanding of solidarity in multilingual cities by advocating for a translation that highlights rather than smooths over difference.