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Aug 26, 2026
Speech and the City
Summary
In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Ingrid Piller speaks with Yaron Matras about his new book Speech and the City.
In this timely book, Yaron shows that cities can provide an important counter-weight to political polarization by forging civic identities that embrace diversity. The book traces the emergence of a city language narrative that embraces and celebrates multilingualism and helps forge a civic identity. He critiques linguaphobic discourses at a national level that regard multilingualism as deficient citizenship. Drawing on his research in Manchester, he examines the 'multilingual utopia', looking at multilingual spaces across sectors in the city that support access, heritage, skills and celebration. The book explores the tensions between decolonial approaches that inspire activism for social justice and equality, and the neoliberal enterprise that appropriates diversity for reputational and profitability purposes, prompting critical reflection on calls for civic university engagement.
Beyond telling the story of the Multilingual Manchester project, the book also offers an intriguing glimpse into the author’s distinguished career as a linguist, scholar, and activist.
Reference
Matras, Y. (2024). Speech and the City: Multilingualism, Decoloniality and the Civic University. Cambridge University Press.
For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.
Your Host
Language on the Move
Language on the Move is a podcast about linguistic diversity in social life. Produced and edited by Ingrid Piller and Brynn Quick, our aim is to have in-depth and fun conversations with key thinkers about multilingualism, language learning, and intercultural communication in the contexts of globalization and migration.
To find out more about the Language on the Move research team at Macquarie University, follow our research blog, or find us on Twitter/X, Bluesky, Facebook, and YouTube.
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