Abstract
This paper examines the concept of linguistic repertoires, tracing its development and its application to research in linguistically diverse contexts with a particular focus on Italian linguistics. We present more recent modifications to Gumperz’s notion of linguistic repertoire (Linguistic and Social Interaction in Two Communities, in “American Anthropoligst”, 66, 1964, 6, p. 137-153) developed by Brigitta Busch (Expanding the Notion of the Linguistic Repertoire, in “Applied Linguistics” 2015, pp. 1-20), where the point of departure is the individual speaker. Busch’s concept includes the lived experience of language, and thereby takes into consideration the emotional and embodied nature of language as well as its socio-political dimensions. We argue that this revised notion of linguistic repertoire is appropriate for capturing the complexities individual speakers currently encounter, and we elaborate on the practical implications of the concept for RepertoirePluS – a study of the linguistic repertoires of secondary school students in South Tyrol, Italy.