ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a new interdisciplinary geolinguistics approach to the use of census and public data to map the new urban diversities of multilingualism. Earlier multilingualism studies tended to focus on European language speech communities in specific locales based on historical migration patterns. These studies created a public impression linking specific languages to certain neighbourhoods. This chapter uses Geolinguistics and Applied Linguistics to examine the degree and distribution of diversity in Sydney; 550 suburbs in the Sydney Urban Area served as a base to map the linguistic mix. Then we used a critical discourse analytical approach to examine how such linguistic diversity is reflected on websites maintained by city councils, property agencies and schools in two diverse suburbs: Auburn and Fairfield. The interdisciplinary method used in this chapter acts first to demystify homogeneity of speech communities, and shows multiple scales of multilingual heterogeneity. Second, while census data reveal multilingual heterogeneity, there is a noted absence of online visibility of multilingualism on local institution and business websites. We conclude with new directions for using a geolinguistic approach to research language policies, distribution of linguistics diversity, acquisition of English by migrants, language maintenance and intergenerational linguistic shift.
