Putting Arendt, Bakhtin and atmosphere to work: Exploring different paths concerning the language development of multilingual children

Abstract

The aim of this article is to illustrate the potential of ‘atmosphere’ in order to consider more inventive ways of developing the language of young Norwegian ethnic minority children. The article draws on ethnographic data that emerged from doctoral studies. The analysis of the data draws on aspects of Arendt’s philosophical work and Bakhtin’s theorizations concerning language. It is these theoretical frames, together with theorizations concerning atmosphere, that allow one to ask different questions in relation to language development. It is by attempting to address these questions that different pedagogical paths begin to emerge. However, the article argues that in order to take such paths, there is a need to suspend certain universal principles, including privileging the mind over the body and the logical over the non-logical.