Key research themes
1. How do multilingual urban contact dialects emerge and function as social identity markers in multiethnic cities?
This research theme focuses on the sociolinguistic dynamics and structural features of urban contact dialects that develop among youth in linguistically diverse, multiethnic urban contexts. It investigates how these dialects arise through language contact, reflect processes of social identity construction, and interact with societal attitudes, particularly in European and African urban settings. Understanding these dialects informs broader questions about language change, societal multilingualism, and the role of urban space in shaping linguistic innovation.
2. What are the theoretical and epistemological frameworks needed to analyze complex, multilayered urban phenomena beyond traditional bounded city models?
This theme explores the necessity to rethink urban theory and methodology in light of increasingly variegated, multiscalar, and globally interconnected urbanization processes that defy classic conceptions of the city as a fixed, bounded entity. It engages with diverse epistemological approaches—critical social theory, postcolonial theory, Southern urbanism scholarship—and calls for pluralistic, context-specific models that capture uneven spatial development, planetary urbanization, and lived experiences of urban marginality. These frameworks underpin more effective interpretation and intervention in contemporary urban realities.
3. How do cultural, literary, and lexical representations shape and reflect urban change and spatial identities in cities?
This theme investigates the role of literary and cultural texts, linguistic landscapes, and media in producing urban imaginaries that influence perceptions of cities and urban transformations. It highlights how representations encapsulate complex interactions of socio-political, economic, and affective urban dimensions, shaping public discourse and policy. Additionally, it explores multilingual signage as an embodied practice revealing identity work, global mobility, and migrant presence in urban spaces.