Transglossia: From Translanguaging to Transglossia

Abstract

This chapter introduces the key idea of transglossia, which underpins the overall analytic framework used throughout this book. Through some initial examples of online and offline interaction, this chapter highlights the transgressive nature of semiotic diversity and offers an integrated ‘trans’ analysis of language and popular culture using a set of analytic tools involving pretextual history, contextual relations, subtextual meaning, intertextual echoes and posttextual interpretation. This transglossic framework brings together recent work from both a translinguistic orientation (questioning assumptions about the distinctions made between different languages) and a heteroglossic orientation (focusing on alterity, plurality, voice and otherness in language). This transglossic framework is central to the book since it allows us to engage in close textual analysis of a variety of young adults’ semiotic practices while also exploring the implications of this mixed language use for the articulation of different voices drawn from popular culture.