Language ontologies and the worlding of language(s)/languaging: does language create the world or does worlding create language?

Abstract

This article argues for the importance of understanding language ontologies in applied linguistics. We draw on a range of related fields to further develop this framework, questioning the notion of a singular and homogeneous understanding of language. We not only move beyond a monolingual focus to embrace a more inclusive understanding of language(s) and their sociocultural underpinnings, but, drawing on the ‘ontological turn’ and its exploration of diverse worlds, we theorise language as a dynamic assemblage of elements that emerges uniquely in each performance or practice, grounded in specific contexts. Our contribution aims to expand the understanding of language as multifaceted and ever evolving phenomena, reflecting on a range of themes and questions, including how we might pluralise language within Western modernity. Is language the same across all contexts of contemporary western societies or within Western modernity? Does language apply only to human groups? How do nonhuman others perform language(s)/languaging? In challenging existing assumptions regarding what language is or what it might be, our research invites others to explore new possibilities in their examination of language(s), languaging, and semiotic practices.