WP148 Linguistic repertoire and Spracherleben, the lived experience of language

This paper foregrounds the concept of Spracherleben, the lived experience of language, in a contribution to ongoing debate about the conceptualization of linguistic repertoire in the context of mobility and migration. It discusses three perspectives on repertoire. The first is concerned with how we interact linguistically and socially, drawing on interactional and anthropological approaches. The second looks at how we are constituted as speaking subjects by historical/political discourses, drawing on poststructuralism. The third is inspired by phenomenology, addresses Spracherleben, and investigates the bodily/emotional prerequisites for speaking and experiencing of language. All three contribute to our understanding of repertoire, but in linguistics, the third remains under-researched. The paper elaborates on how a phenomenological view of the lived experience of language helps us to understand the discomfort or confusion that ensues if one suddenly finds oneself in an unknown sociolinguistic space, using the example of a girl who moves school from the country to the city.