Conversely, those who are supposed to 'live' the language policies never really appear to submissively 'implement' them, but, appropriating them, steer them in novel, unforeseen directions through their everyday language practices and their discursive perceptions and interpretations of linguistic realities. It is these dialectic processes of interaction between what is designed from above and how it is responded to from below which give shape to societies' overall patterns of multilingualism.

Multilingualism from below resulted from the Second International MIDP Symposium, "Multilingualism from below", held in Antwerp (Belgium) from 14 to 16 September 2009, and hosted jointly by the University of Antwerp, the University of the Free State (South Africa) and the University of Ghent (Belgium). The symposium comprised part of the MIDP colloquia series sponsored by the Province of Antwerp, and brought together several scholars from Africa, America and Europe, as well as from South Africa.