Translanguaging in performance or performance in translanguaging

Abstract

This article approaches translanguaging from the perspective of performance as theorised in anthropological and sociological studies. Drawing on the key argument that every facet of social reality is a performance, and social interaction is based on tacit agreement among all the participants, the article aims to make sense of a key participant’s making sense of her social world, based on an ethnographic investigation into the work and life of a multilingual, London-based artist of Polish origin. It discusses the creative and critical interpretative potentials that break down the boundaries of performance vs. everyday life, the observer vs. the observed, and the researcher vs. the researched. It also calls for further attention to the performative aspects of translanguaging.