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Aims: This special issue delves into language ideologies shaping multilingual education, aiming to unravel their impact on pedagogical practices and emergent multilinguals. By presenting empirical studies and critical analyses, the collection seeks to foster a nuanced understanding of language ideologies in diverse educational contexts. Approach: This guest editorial introduces language ideology as a lens, guiding an exploration of its manifestations in educational settings. Ten papers, spanning diverse linguistic landscapes, offer a comprehensive examination of language ideologies through varied methodologies. From scrutinizing teacher objections to linguistic pluralism to dissecting bilingual kindergarteners' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection employs qualitative research, case studies, and critical reviews to critically engage with language ideologies in global language education. Conclusion: The special issue concludes by emphasizing the critical role of language ideologies in shaping educational landscapes and influencing emergent multilinguals' experiences. Authors underscore the need for macro-level research, recommending a decolonial lens to address inequalities perpetuated by monoglossic practices. The collection advocates for inclusive spaces and challenges educators to reflect on their pedagogies, promoting a multilingual-as-a-resource orientation. By extending the scope beyond individual classrooms and examining sociopolitical and economic dimensions, the special issue contributes to ongoing efforts to reframe language ideologies and advance inclusivity in multilingual education. Originality: This special issue stands out for its originality in dissecting language ideologies through diverse lenses, spanning linguistic, sociocultural, and pedagogical dimensions. Notably, studies like Chang-Bacon and colleagues' examination of objections to linguistic pluralism and Mendoza's exploration of stylization in English-medium instruction enrich the discourse. The collection encourages scholars to engage with plurilingualism as a theoretically robust alternative to late translanguaging theory, promoting empirical grounding and fostering a deeper understanding of language ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to critically examine the concept of linguistic discreteness in multilingual practices, responding to contemporary debates that question the existence of languages as separate entities. We present a range of empirical data to demonstrate the theoretical necessity of maintaining the concept of language as discrete system in understanding multilingual practices. The research questions focus on how linguistic discreteness manifests in multilingual repertoires and the role it plays in the production and comprehension of the complexes of nuances of social-indexical meanings.This paper is a small-scale meta-analysis. The database comprises a diverse collection of empirical examples of code-switching drawn from documented studies, inter-personal interactions, media content, and linguistic landscapes. The research adopts a qualitative methodological approach to show creative, social-indexical uses of languages in multilingual contexts.Drawing from a range of empirical sources, this paper provides evidence to claim that multilingual repertoires do indeed exhibit discrete linguistic-epistemic inventories that are recruited routinely in complex ways in the production and comprehension of referential and social- indexical meanings.The key finding is that mobility of linguistic resources do not erase discreteness; in fact, it is precisely in the movement of various mobile resources where the discreteness of codes, or language “archives,” become significantly relevant in meaning-making.The paper reinforces the significance of linguistic discreteness through the synthesis of diverse examples to argue for the necessity of discrete linguistic systems in multilingualism studies.This paper underscores the persistent relevance of discrete linguistic systems in multilingual practices that facilitates complex meaning-making processes, enabling speakers to navigate and articulate social and referential meanings effectively. Methodologically, the research advocates for a nuanced analysis that recognizes the complexity and specificity of linguistic resources.One limitation is the analytic focus, which does not capture the emic perspective of the speakers in multilingual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What exactly happens to a mixed language’s system in a multilingual contact setting? This study aims to investigate the interactions between speakers’ exposure to, frequency of, and proficiency in four languages (English, Tagalog, Hokkien, and Mandarin) and their influences on the why-fronting only wh-question system of Lánnang-uè, a mixed language used by the metropolitan Manila Lannangs. It also aims to test the validity of the assertion that symbiotic mixed languages are more likely to be in flux.The Lánnang-uè speakers participated in production and acceptability experiments.Likelihood to front (production) and responses to a 7-point Likert-type scale (acceptability) were the dependent variables for several Bayesian linear mixed-effects models with age, frequency of language use, and language proficiency as primary fixed effects, sociolinguistic factors (e.g., attitudes, identity) as covariates, and participant (and when appropriate, item) as a random effect.Both production and acceptability results showed that the effects of contact are numerous and far from homogeneous. They vary depending on the source language, wh-phrase type, and degree of consciousness. They corroborate the widely held belief that mixed languages are less stable in symbiotic contexts. However, this paper goes an extra step to show that this “instability” or variability is not always a consequence of contact-induced transfer. It demonstrates that when the source languages influence the stability or development of the mixed language, the effects can be diverse, encompassing aspects such as identity processes, language attitudes, structural transfer, and/or other sociolinguistic innovations.This article is one of the first studies to examine the effects of contact between multiple languages on a mixed language variable using both production and acceptability experimental data in a five-language context. It is one of the very few variationist works in the Philippines that considers the effects of multilingualism on variation and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]