Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7414-1426

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-7-2022

Journal Title

Applied Linguistics

Volume

44

Issue

3

First Page

420

Last Page

441

Abstract

In this paper, we argue that critical applied linguists must work towards the materially transformative, dialogic inclusion of marginalized voices in order to create more just social relations. We show how a spatiotemporal theorization of voice as materially situated and discursively imaginative can enable a more holistic approach to including such voices. Illustrative data come from the experiences of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong and includes their discourses, those of their employers, and those of domestic worker-led grassroots organizations. We use these data to demonstrate how different stakeholders have unequal abilities to materialize the spatiotemporal imaginaries they voice out, how academic (re)theorizations of language may not always bring about changes to the material spatiotemporal conditions of marginalized stakeholders, and why the collective voices of marginalized groups should be taken into account alongside individual voices. Implications are discussed in terms of action-oriented work that critical applied linguists can engage in to support the inclusion of migrant domestic workers’ voices in particular, and the voices of marginalized stakeholders in our field more generally.

Comments

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Applied Linguistics following peer review. The version of record [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amac052

Available for download on Monday, October 07, 2024

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