Romani appears nowhere in Europe as language of instruction at school. In our translanguaging-project, teachers reorganise learning processes based on the idea of the unitary language repertoire and provide a place for Romani in the lessons. I present how successes of this project result from the rhizomatic features of translanguaging.
Languages of instruction in European tradition are standardised languages with extended literacy. As Romani standardisation is restrained by the absence of a power centre, which would make speakers interested in the acquisition of a standard variety (Busch 2012), Romani, despite the high number of its speakers, appears nowhere in Europe as the language of instruction. The emerging term of translanguaging, based on the unitary view of the linguistic repertoire (Otheguy et al. 2018) describes bi- and multilingual language practices and pedagogical practices supporting the presence of more than one language in a classroom. Instead of having two languages of instruction simultaneously, it rather means the support of learning by more than one language in varied ways. In our translanguaging-project carried out since 2016 in a primary school visited by bilingual Roma students, the school teachers, mostly without Romani competences, reorganise learning processes based on the idea of the unitary language repertoire. In this presentation I argue that the concept of translanguaging, concentrating on the speakers instead of the codes and involving socio-political and pedagogical approaches, strongly highlights the rhizomatic features of language. Rhizome is a basic metaphor for the operation of human cognition and communication (Deleuze-Guattari 1987), emphasizing the non-centralised, multi-connected, but also stratified and deterritorialised nature of language. I present how successes of this project result from the rhizomatic features of translanguaging. References: Deleuze, Gilles – Felix Guattari 1987. A Thousand Plateaus. (Introduction: Rhizome). Busch, Brigitta. 2012. Romani zwischen Stigmatisierung und Anerkennung… In Cichon & Ehlich (eds.), Eine Welt? Sprachen, Schule und Politik in Europa und anderen Kontinenten. 71–92. Wien: Praesens. Otheguy, Ricardo – Ofelia García – Wallis Reid 2018. A translanguaging view of the linguistic system of bilinguals. Applied Linguistics Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2018-0020. 1–27.
