The contributions in this volume shed light on lived multilingualism around the globe. A small, but still representative selection of the multitude of migrant experiences, all studies share the intertwining of geographical mobility and non-mainstream linguistic practices which serves as a resource of agency and promotes alternative multiple identities of the immigrant speakers. This volume is based on the two core tenets of sociolinguistic identity research. First, it accepts the idea that identities or sub-identities are in a sense pre-given and can be formulated through membership categories. Second, identities are viewed as being enacted and performed, thus constituting social realities. In the social construction of identity, national and linguistic boundaries dissolve. The originating countries of the participants (and/or their ancestors) in the studies of this volume include Argentina, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Morocco, the Phillipines, Korea, Kazakhstan, Suriname and India. The countries of immigration include Germany, the USA, Israel, France and the Netherlands.
Editorial Reviews
 | “The volume makes an original and distinctive contribution to the subject, and more generally to Indian Ocean studies. One of the volume’s strengths is precisely its multidisciplinary approach that makes it also suitable for different area studies in Human and Social Sciences.”
—Jorge Santos Alves, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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| “The Indian Ocean is a vast mediterranean between Africa, Asia and Australasia; united geographically by the monsoons; woven into an intricate cultural web by Islam and other religions; by languages like Arabic and Kiswahili; and by a literate tradition that has survived in manuscripts of poetry and prose. These papers were presented at the conference at the Aga Khan University, and explored in this rich volume.”
—Professor Abdul Sheriff, University of Dar es Salaam
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