Despite being the smallest state in the country, Rhode Island has considerable cultural and linguistic diversity.
Since launching in the fall, the new Translanguaging Lab at the University of Rhode Island has identified more than 100 languages spoken in the Ocean State. URI professor Steve Przymus, a core researcher at the lab, claims that Census data suggest Providence ranks 21st in linguistic diversity among roughly 20,000 U.S. cities.
Przymus spoke with Ocean State Media morning host Luis Hernandez about a project called “Putting Rhode Island on the Map,” in which researchers walk through local neighborhoods to document examples of physical signs written in languages other than English.
Interview highlights
On what ‘translanguaging’ is and how we see it every day
Steve Przymus: Translanguaging is a theory and a practice. It’s the understanding that humans “language” using all of their linguistic resources. I’m an English speaker, but I’m also a Spanish speaker; I know some Somali; I know some Turkish. So speaking with friends who speak those languages, it’s common for me to hablar en Español and end in English, and throw in a little, Suba wanaxan, Sideete hay manta – Somali. It’s a better recognition of what the human brain does with languages. We don’t separate them out. They all make up our linguistic repertoire. So translanguaging is just the dynamic use of language.
It’s the most intimate use of language that we have. It reflects our identities, it reflects our relationships with the people around us, and most importantly, it adds value and recognition to what multilingual students do in school. So as faculty of the Feinstein College of Education (at URI), we advocate for the best way to teach multilingual students, allowing them to use all of their languages. Tapping into that not only facilitates their learning but it supports their identities.
On examples of translanguaging in Rhode Island
Przymus: So we’re seeing it in written language around the state. It can be a way of identifying neighborhood-to-neighborhood and who lives there. Some of the languages we’ve been documenting, we see as Spanish, but if we look at them closer, we might say, “Well, that’s an example of Dominican Spanish,” or, “That’s an example of Guatemalan Spanish.” And that’s super important because the people who live in those communities are establishing the identity of that community.
On URI’s ‘Putting Rhode Island on the Map’ project
Przymus: We’re hoping to tell a visual story of the linguistic diversity of Rhode Island. We can look at census data and we can say, “Out of 20,000 cities in the United States, Providence ranks 21st in linguistic diversity.” That’s amazing. But just reading that is different from looking at a map with geotagged pins that represent a multilingual sign. When we can show signs and visual stories, we feel them differently. So I think it’s kind of a twofold (purpose). It’s telling the linguistic diversity of the state, but it’s also used to advocate for multilingual students.
There was a policy that was passed by the Rhode Island State House this spring called the SABE Act (Support and Access to Bilingual Education) in supporting and advocating for bilingual education. When I went to the State House to lobby for that, I printed off a map of our geotagged project, and I can show legislators “this is where languages are spoken in the state.” It’s a different feel to be able to see where it’s at.
On the growth of multilingual learners in Rhode Island
Przymus: To me, I think it makes schools stronger when there are multiple languages and multiple perspectives. Why is there an increase? Probably geography. You know, being between Boston and New York, there’s a long history of diasporas in Providence, such as the Dominican diaspora starting in the 1950s. So there are cultural resources for people to land here, as well, and be supported. I just think it’s a benefit for the state to embrace the cultural and linguistic diversity…
We’re here to not only put out research about translanguaging and what it looks like on the ground, but also to be a source of professional development for school districts. It brings different things that you have to think about when you’re meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse youth. But we have a lot of expertise, both in the schools and in our college, to work together to meet those needs.
