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Publication Date

3-1-2026

Abstract

Translanguaging concepts and practices have gained great attention across the globe, at risk of overshadowing and obscuring the contributions of research and theories from non-Anglophone areas. For example, research from the Francophone world that has long investigated interlectal practices, a form of translingual practice in Creole-speaking areas, yet remains lesser known. This theoretical paper aims to initiate a dialogue between less-known peripheral studies about interlectal practices and the omnipresent North American translanguaging approach. Specifically, this paper presents the concepts and linguistic dimensions of translanguaging and interlectal practices as defined in the literature, highlighting similarities and differences in the ways of describing and understanding language uses in multilingual contact situations. The pedagogical dimensions of translanguaging are then compared to the pedagogy of variation—the pedagogical implementation of the concept of interlect—with attention to the subtle theoretical and political perspectives inherent to each. The discussion then turns to the ways in which each practice—interlectal and translanguaging—might draw insights from the other to enhance plurilingual education. T he authors conclude by proposing a blended, socio-interactional approach in which learners can learn to freely use their entire linguistic repertoire while considering social constraints.

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