Sociolinguistic Protests for Decolonial Future Making: Toward Centering Languaging in the “Streets”

In scholarly discussions on “language” and “diversity,” much critique has been offered as to how research on languaging is implicated in perpetuating coloniality and pursuing decolonial options, including the white-gaze understanding and approach to the term, “diversity” (Heller and McElhinny 2017; Mignolo 2009; Rosa and Flores 2017; Walcott 2018). Extending these discussions, this article calls for centering languaging in the “streets” as an important way for sociolinguistics to contribute to building decolonial futures. We see “streets” as an embodied, dynamic space, organized by the goal of decolonial future making, layered with conflicting struggles, discourses, and historicities. Examining languaging in the “streets” can highlight how those oppressed by various colonial conceptualizations and ongoing coloniality work toward social justice and transformation in and beyond classrooms. We suggest three important considerations in sociolinguistic research on languaging in the “streets,” and conclude by emphasizing the importance of reflexivity of individual researchers and the field as a whole.