Beyond description: reconceptualizing the (trans)language(ing) among international students

Although there have been numerous recent translanguaging studies, less research ventured into a more critical uptake of translanguaging beyond descriptive framing. This exploratory multiple-case study investigated the (trans)language(ing) practices of Chinese international students at a predominantly White university in the US. Participants transcended the boundaries between dominant languages, dialects, and modal systems, gaining the benefits of translanguaging for pedagogy, multimodal expression, and communication within and outside the educational settings. The dynamic blending of Mandarin and Chinese dialects indicates that translanguaging holds relevance to not just marginalized bi/multilinguals but also 'monolinguals' whose translanguaging includes dialects and non-dominant language variety. The challenges that led participants not to do translanguaging as well as their perceptions of (not) doing translanguaging echo the call for celebrating translanguaging with caution. Translanguaging advocates for the linguistic rights of linguistically minoritized and racialized communities. It is also argued that an intersectional lens is necessary to examine the workings of power enmeshed in (trans)language(ing).