Deontological issues, language ideologies and reflexivity in linguistics

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valelia Muni Toke

Given the fact that ‘native’ speakers and linguists both can be considered as experts in language, the specificity of their knowledge(s) of language needs to be described. The reflexive discourses they respectively produce seem to indicate a difference in the perception of temporality (speakers tend to stress the loss of an ideal language throughout the ages, whereas linguists tend to see scientific findings as positively oriented towards progress) and in the capacity of acknowledging ignorance. In this respect, the present paper analyzes two kinds of data: Guidelines produced by linguists acting as experts for language analysis in asylum cases, and elicited interviews collected in the field within an anthropological framework.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-325
Author(s):  
Nadja Thoma

Zusammenfassung Im Kontext der zunehmenden Versicherheitlichung von Migration, deren Bedeutung auch für sprachliche Bildung im Kontext nationaler und globaler Sicherheitsagenden diskutiert wird, werden bestimmte Gruppen von Migrant*innen als Sicherheitsbedrohung konstruiert. Die Instrumentalisierung von Sprache für Identitätspolitik, die im Konzept von Sprache als ,Schlüssel zur Integration‘ besonders deutlich wird und unter Rückgriff auf Sprachideologien erklärt werden kann, bleibt nicht ohne Folgen für Angehörige minorisierter Gruppen. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht der Frage nach, was ,innere Sicherheit‘ für Student*innen bedeutet, denen zugeschrieben wird, keine ,native speaker‘ zu sein. Den Bezugspunkt der ,inneren Sicherheit‘ bildet dabei nicht der Nationalstaat, sondern das Subjekt. Aus einer biographieanalytischen Perspektive wird rekonstruiert, mit welchen (Un-)Sicherheitsdimensionen die Subjekte an der Universität und in Hinblick auf ihre beruflichen Pläne konfrontiert sind, wie Sicherheit und Sprache biographisch eingebettet sind und welche Strategien und Wege die Student*innen (nicht) nutzen (können), um ihre Sicherheitsspielräume zu erweitern.Abstract: In light of the increasing securitization of migration, language education is discussed as part of national and global security agendas, and certain groups of migrants have been constructed as a security threat. The instrumentalization of language for identity politics is particularly evident in the concept of language as a ‘key to integration’ and can be explained with language ideologies. These ideologies are not without consequences for members of minoritized groups. The article at hand explores the meaning of ‘internal security’ for university students who are not considered ‘native speakers’. The reference point of ‘internal security’ is not the nation state, but the subject. From a biographical-analytical perspective, the article reconstructs dimensions of security and insecurity which the subjects confront at university with regard to their professional aims. It will explore how the connection between security and language is embedded in their biographies, as well as the strategies and pathways students can and cannot use to expand their security scope.


2021 ◽  
pp. 126-148
Author(s):  
Joseph Sung-Yul Park

This chapter discusses how the notion of linguistic insecurity can illuminate the processes by which essentialist conceptions of language and identity—in particular, the persistent colonial ideology of nativeness—contribute to the hegemonic status of English in neoliberalism. This chapter conceptualizes linguistic insecurity in terms of tensions that speakers experience between conflicting language ideologies. Focusing on the case of Korean mid-level managers working in non-Korean multinational corporations abroad, the chapter argues that the notion of linguistic insecurity allows us to explore how conflicting ideologies about English in neoliberalism—one in which English is valorized as a commodifiable resource available to anyone through projects of self-development, and one in which who counts as a legitimate speaker of English is defined in ethnonational terms—can jointly create a sense of insecurity in those who are traditionally considered non-native speakers of English, and rationalize the inequalities they are subjected to in neoliberalism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Walsh

Abstract ‘New speakers’ refer to people who use a language regularly but are not traditional ‘native’ speakers of that language. Although this discussion has been going on for some time in other sub-disciplines of linguistics, it is more recent in research about European minoritised languages. A feature of discourse around such languages relates to their perceived suitability for diverse urban settings removed from their historical rural heartlands. Irish is an example of a minoritised language which was long associated with conservative rural communities, a reified Catholic discourse of national identity and language ideologies based on nativism. Such an approach not only marginalised urban new speakers of Irish but also exhibited hostility to LGBTQ citizens who did not befit its particular version of Irishness. In this paper, a framework of Critical Sociolinguistics is used to analyse identity positions and ideologies expressed by urban new speakers of Irish who identify as gay and/or queer.


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Goto Butler

Recently, there have been a number of studies focusing on the qualifications of native and nonnative language teachers. The notion that native speakers constitute the ideal language teachers appears to be widespread among teachers and students. This concept has been particularly influential in English teaching, although its validity has been questioned. This study aims to identify perceptional factors that are most likely to be associated with the notion held among many nonnative English-speaking teachers in East Asia that native English speakers are the ideal language teachers. This study focuses on Japanese elementary school teachers who have been asked to introduce English activities in their classes. Based on a detailed questionnaire, completed by 112 Japanese elementary school teachers, a number of perceptional factors were identified. These include: (a) their self-assessed English proficiency levels, (b) their attitudes towards nonstandard forms of English, and (c) their sense of pride in their own language and cultural heritage. 近頃、ネイティブ、ノン・ネイティブの教師の資質に関する議論が多くなされている。ネイティブ・スピーカーが理想の語学教師であるという考えは、教師や学生の間で広く浸透しているようだ。この考えは、英語指導に影響を及ぼしてきたといわれるが、その妥当性は疑問視されている。本研究は、英語を教える東アジアのノン・ネイティブ教師の間で、どのような認知要因が、ネイティブ・スピーカーが理想の語学教師であるとする考えに結びついているのかを見極めることを目的としている。本研究では、最近英語活動を行うことになった日本の小学校教師をケースとしてとりあげた。112名の小学校教師に記入してもらったアンケート調査の結果より(1)自己評価による英語力のレベル、(2)スタンダードではない英語に対する態度、(3)自らの言語(日本語)や伝統文化に対するプライドの3つの要因が、ネイティブ・スピーカーが理想の語学教師であるという考えに結びついていることがわかった。


2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
TARIQ RAHMAN

ABSTRACTThis article relates the language ideologies of Pakistan in general, and its call centers in particular, with the language policies and practices of the latter. The specific policy focused upon is the commodification of English with a near-native (American or British) accent as linguistic capital. These accents are indexed to the desired foreign identities which the workers of call centers perform in telephonic interaction with clients as part of their sales strategy. This crossing over to native-speaker linguistic identities is not always successful. When successful, however, some workers in the call centers pass as native speakers in certain contexts and for certain purposes. Such practices and the policies upon which they are contingent are consequences of language ideologies that entail language discrimination against the workers of the call centers by the Pakistani English-using elite, and vice versa. (English, commodification of language, accent, linguistic capital, language policy, identity, passing, crossing, call centers, Pakistan)


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Noor Diana Mohd Kamaruddin ◽  
Zulaikha Farhana Izehari ◽  
Ira Syaqira Sukimin

Alternative taxi service has started becoming a trend and gained popularity all over the world. In Malaysia, people depend on conventional taxis for many decades which are registered under Public Transport Commission. With the advancement of technology, a few applications were introduced and passengers and conventional taxi drivers started installing them to accept or reject passengers. However, when the popular American alternative taxi service (Uber) arrived in Malaysia, it has become popular among passengers when new drivers emerged as many people started registering and using the application. The study attempts to explore the language needs of Malaysian taxi drivers (particularly alternative taxi service) and the challenges they face when communicating in the English Language with their passengers. A case study design was employed in the study which a total of three participants (part-time drivers living in Klang Valley area, registered under the same alternative taxi company in Malaysia) were interviewed through open-ended and semi structured interview questions. The findings show there are three main challenges faced by these drivers when communicating in English Language with their passengers which are (1) struggle to comprehend communication in English Language with native speakers, (2) difficulty in making conversations and keeping them going, and (3) difficulty in understanding and communicating with non-native speakers from non-English Language speaking countries. Another findings show that the English Language is used with passengers for four reasons: (1) using English Language to reply passengers' text message, (2) using English Language to spark general conversation with passengers, (3) using English Language to communicate with foreign passengers; and (4) using English Language to convey precise information to passengers. Therefore, alternative taxi companies should consider offering courses related to enhancing their drivers’ competency in English communication. English courses developed explicitly for the purpose of communication between drivers and passengers may take the results found from this study into account. The findings should be able to assist in developing a course that would aid drivers into strategizing their communication with passengers.


Adeptus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Maria Małek

Basic linguistic ontology and plants: A semantic sketchThis article is devoted to verbs collocating with the Polish lexeme roślina ‘plant’. The aim of the study is to determine the linguistic status of the plant and to investigate whether it is ‘someone’ or ‘something’ in view of the semantics of the verbs in question. The author analyses cases in which the plant appears in the semantic role of the agent. She makes conclusions about how the lexeme roślina functions in Polish and defines its unique features (semantic connectivity) and semantic roles. The study is based on language surveys conducted among native speakers of Polish. Language analysis reveals the place of the plant in the hierarchy of living organisms. Elementarna ontologia językowa rośliny – szkic semantycznyPrzedmiotem artykułu są polskie czasowniki, które zgodnie z łączliwością semantycznoskładniową występują z leksemem roślina. Celem tekstu jest ustalenie językowego statusu rośliny oraz, dzięki badaniu semantyki czasowników, znalezienie odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy roślina jest kimś, czy czymś. Autorka analizuje czasowniki, w których roślina występuje w semantycznej roli agensa; następnie na podstawie badań językowych formułuje wnioski dotyczące sposobu funkcjonowania leksemu roślina w języku polskim, określając jego cechy unikatowe (łączliwość semantyczną) oraz role semantyczne. Metody wykorzystane w pracy to testy językowe na materiale pozytywnym i negatywnym oparte na kompetencji językowej użytkowników polszczyzny. Analiza językowa odkrywa miejsce wyznaczone dla rośliny w hierarchii organizmów żywych.


Author(s):  
Abu Hassan Abdul Et.al

This study aims to examine aspects of the figurative language of a sub-group of the Orang Asli of Malaysia, namely the Semai people, living in Lembah Jelai, Pahang, Malaysia. This qualitative study was based on a semi-structured interview method involving five native speakers of the Semai language. The researchers used an adapted version of the cognitive-linguistic framework of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) to analyze the interview data. The findings showed that most of the figurative expressions used in their language were primarily based on natural and cultural elements that heavily influenced the way they led their lives. In particular, the findings showed that the Semai community used figurative expressions in their conversations not only to articulate their feelings and thoughts but also to serve as unwritten social guidelines. Overall, these findings indicate that indigenous communities living in far remote areas in jungles use figurative languages to guide their peoples in forging close kinships, in cementing strong societal bonds, and in dealing with the spiritual realm. The findings also provide greater insight into the understanding of the uniqueness of the figurative language of the Semai community, which is considered as a sub-language of the mainstream Malay language in the Malay Archipelago. Surely, such a language needs to be persevered to ensure it will continue to thrive among the younger generation of the Semai people, given its significant influence on the development of their emotions, thinking, and culture.


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