Monolingual cringe and ideologies of English: Anglophone migrants to Luxembourg draw their experiences in a multilingual society

ABSTRACT

This article uses reflective drawing to explore representations of multilingualism by Anglophone migrants in Luxembourg. Analysing twelve interviews in which participants drew and described their language experiences, we examine the language ideologies Anglophone migrants adopt in response to the ideologies of English they encounter. Participants adopt various ideologies, sometimes aligning with the ideology of global English, sometimes with counter-ideologies of resistance to it, and sometimes a mix of the two. Visual features indexing affective states include colour, gesture, facial expression, and composition. Monolingual cringe – expressed as shame, embarrassment and being ‘bad at languages’ – performs several functions for the participants. Sometimes it serves as an affective disclaimer, allowing them to lean on their privilege in a more socially acceptable way. Sometimes it appears to express genuine distress, in the form of searing linguistic insecurity. Sometimes it performs a distancing function, enabling them to oppose themselves to the stereotype of the monolingual English speaker. The affective intensity of the drawings suggests the ideology of global English does have costs for Anglophone migrants. Fundamentally, though, monolingual cringe reinforces privilege, allowing participants to apologise for their monolingualism even as they continue to benefit from it.

KEYWORDS:

• Language ideologies
• English
• multilingualism
• drawing

Acknowledgements

We thank Joris de Bres for his wonderful editing assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We define this term below.

2 As the original French term used by Molinié (le dessin réflexif) has not yet been translated into English, there is the option of choosing between the terms reflexive and reflective drawing (both English translations of réflexif). We use ‘reflective drawing’ to underline the element of reflection involved (pondering something) alongside that of reflexivity (taking oneself as an object of analysis), both of which are implied by the French term réflexif.

3 All names are pseudonyms. Transcription conventions: Extracts are transcribed broadly, with paralinguistic features indicated in brackets and emphasis in capital letters. Truncated text is indicated with ellipses in brackets.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julia de Bres

Julia de Bres is a critical sociolinguist specialising in how language is used to reproduce and challenge social inequalities. She researches language in relation to minority groups, including discourse about minority languages, social variation in accent, and gender diverse language.

Veronika Lovrits

Veronika Lovrits is a doctoral researcher in linguistics with previous professional experience in legal counselling and assistance and social inclusion mainstreaming. Her critical sociolinguistic research investigates language-related tensions in the multilingual workplace and pragmatic ways to address them.