Does Mobility Drive Language Use? A Dual-Spatialization Perspective

Abstract

Multilingualism refers to a phenomenon where individuals routinely use three or more languages. Spatial processes, such as mobility, may shape the outcome of multilingual linguistic behaviors but are considerably under-explored. We evaluate the effect of mobility on language use in the framework of dual spatialization in a small-scale multilingual society. We use a footpath network to characterize mobility in absolute space, and a language network to characterize language use in relational space; we then assess the correspondence between the two networks. Redundancy analysis and the k-means method are used to support the research goal. We found a high correspondence between mobility and language use. The results identify the absence of regional “centers of gravity” as a distinctive feature in language use, as mobility has fostered local clusters of language use. Conceptually, this study showcases the power of dual spatialization in understanding the mechanisms underlying the space–language connection.