Complexity, Emergence, and Causality in Applied Linguistics

“This is an important book. Jeremie Bouchard calls for a renewal of applied linguistics, as he fearlessly challenges applied linguists to make clear their ontology. Bouchard himself offers complex realism, combining CDST with critical realism, both of which make emergence central. Although he does not hesitate to point out the conceptual limitations of CDST (in part attributed to its relatively recent arrival in applied linguistics), he maintains that the combination offers an invaluable middle way between objectivism and subjectivism, and successionist and interpretivist tendencies and integrates them within a robust social ontology. I believe it is incumbent upon applied linguists to take up the challenge Bouchard has presented us with.”

--Diane Larsen-Freeman, Professor Emerita of Education and of Linguistics, University of Michigan, Research Scientist Emerita and Former Director, English Language Institute, University of Michigan, Professor Emerita, SIT Graduate Institute, Visiting Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

“Jeremie Bouchard has produced a persuasive manifesto for a realist approach to applied linguistics. A wide-ranging critique of the social theory traditions relied on by the currently dominant approaches paves the way for a sophisticated alternative drawing on critical realism and complex dynamic systems theory. The result is a framework that offers new levels of theoretical depth to research in language use and language policy.”

--Dave Elder-Vass, Honorary Fellow, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, UK.
This book suggests that applied linguistics research is inherently concerned with complexity, emergence and causality, and because of this it also requires a robust social ontology. The book identifies and unpacks a range of conceptual issues in applied linguistics from a social realist perspective, and provides a critique of successionism and interpretivism as two dominant and enduring empiricist tendencies in the field. From this critique, it considers the emergence of complex dynamic system theory as viable yet not entirely unproblematic conceptual sophistication of current applied linguistics research. Although the growing popularity of complex dynamic system theory is undeniable and understandable, this book argues that its integration within a social realist ontology is necessary for further developments in the field. The book will be of interest to applied linguists and social scientists interested in language-related issues including language learning and teaching, language change, language policy and planning, bilingualism/multilingualism, and language and identity. 
Jérémie Bouchard is a language teacher and sociolinguist with a penchant for social theory. His current interest centers on claims about language and its real-world uses made within applied linguistics research