Access and reach of linguistic repertoires in periods of change: a theoretical approach to sociolinguistic inequalities

Abstract

Abstract The two notions of scope and access connect an understanding of societal multilingualism in a socio-economic context (linguistic relations) with the analysis of individual multilingualism (linguistic repertoires and linguistic practice). These notions produce a theoretical framework for discussing sociolinguistic inequalities that links the macro-level of social relations with the micro perspective of specific individuals and practices. Linguistic relations are dynamic and can undergo abrupt changes that urge multilingual speakers to restructure their linguistic repertoires to adapt to altered linguistic relations. With the help of the concepts of access and scope, we can describe which social functions specific linguistic resources have (scope) and how speakers are positioned to acquire these resources (access). This describes the relation of speakers to their linguistic resources as currently (un)available (scope) and potentially (un)learnable (access), depending on the social context in which they are practiced. Using these notions as a theoretical framework, this text discusses two scenarios of change connected to mobility and immobility illustrated with examples from research in the Republic of Moldova. The first case is one of ruptured sociolinguistic relations because of drastic changes in a state’s language policies with which immobile speakers are confronted. A highly qualified Moldovan labor migrant in Italy serves as an example of mobility.