scholarly journals Parents as stakeholders: Language management in urban Galician homes

Multilingua ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anik Nandi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Language Revitalisation

AbstractMacro-level policy makers, perceived as stakeholders of language management, employ a range of language policy strategies to legitimise hegemonic control over meso- (i.e. family) and micro- (i.e. individual) level language ideologies (Cassels-Johnson 2013). However, language policies of an individual are often difficult to detect because they are implicit, subtle, informal, and often hidden from the public eye, and therefore frequently overlooked by language policy researchers and policy makers. The primary focus of this study is to investigate how individual, as well as collective linguistic practices of Galician parents act as language governmentality (Foucault 1991) measures influencing their children’s language learning. Drawing from multiple ethnographic research tools, including observations, in-depth fieldwork interviews and focus group discussions with parents, this paper demonstrates that in Galicia’s language shift-induced shrinking Galician-speaker pool, pro-Galician parents can play an important role in the language revitalisation process. The goal is also to ascertain whether these parents’ grassroots level interrogation of the dominant Castilian discourse takes the form of bottom-up language policies.

scholarly journals “Employers could use us, but they don’t”: voices from blue-collar workplaces in a northern periphery

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-416
Author(s):  
Anna-Elisabeth Holm ◽  
Bernadette O’Rourke ◽  
Mike Danson
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Faroe Islands ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Policies And Practices

Abstract This article analyses labour market experiences of migrants of non-Nordic origin who have settled in the Faroe Islands, a small North Atlantic archipelago with a population of about 51,000 people. By examining the experiences of educated migrant workers who are employed in three different blue-collar workplaces: a cleaning company and two fish-processing plants, evidence is drawn from a cross-disciplinary study on language and migration in the Faroe Islands. This study explores the experiences of migrants in acquiring, using and becoming “new speakers” of Faroese and the challenges they face regarding labour market access and participation. In this article, framed within an ethnography of language policy, we highlight the institutional language policies which may be shaping migrants’ experiences, and how migrants enact their own language policy decisions and practices on the ground. We focus in particular on internal communication and language management in the three blue-collar worksites, comprising views and voices of both employers and employees, on the language policies and practices observed in these workplaces, and on workers’ views on language learning opportunities in blue-collar workplaces. Added to this, attention is drawn to implications of limited language learning opportunities in blue-collar jobs (which become the main barrier to accessing skilled jobs), to underutilisation of professional skills, and to long term implications of present macro- and micro-level language policies and practices affecting lived realities of workers of migrant origin.

Compulsory African language learning at a South African university

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rudwick
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
African Language ◽  
The South ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Vernacular Language

Abstract While many universities in the world are making provisions to include the English language in their institutional structure, the South African University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is opposing the hegemony of English in its institution. The University has launched a language policy and planning (LPP) strategy that makes provisions first to incorporate the vernacular language Zulu as language of learning and teaching, and second, to promote it as a subject. In this vein, the institution recently made an unprecedented decision for the South African higher education system. Since the first semester of 2014, a specific Zulu language module is a mandatory subject for undergraduate students who have no proficiency in the language. Although considered a watershed moment among many African language promoters, the mandatory ruling is fiercely discussed and debated in the institution and beyond. Theoretically grounded in Language Management Theory (LMT) and empirically based on semi-ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the interplay between macro and micro language dynamics at UKZN in the context of the mandatory Zulu module. In juxtaposing interview discourses of language policy stakeholders with those of Zulu lecturers, the study reveals a stark discrepancy between macro and micro language management at this university. The article argues that this mismatch between the language policy intents and actual practices on the ground is symptomatic for South Africa’s language policy in education being shaped more by ideological interests than by pedagogical regards.

scholarly journals Plain Language - a Panacea of Linguistic Quality Assurance?

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (43) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Anne Lise Laursen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Business Communication ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Plain Language ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
The Public

This article questions the use of a set of principles or guidelines, often referred to as language policies or language guides, which proliferate in companies and organisations as a means of harmonizing and modernizing corporate discourse. The language guide recommendations promote certain syntactic and lexical features which seem to have been inspired by the plain language campaigns conducted in various countries with the purpose of setting up a framework for a simplification of the public-sector discourse from administration to citizens. The problem of applying theses principles as an overall instrument of assuring the linguistic quality of private companies has been pointed out on various occasions. However, the argumentation has until now been made on an impressionistic or introspective basis. The article demonstrates that the inventory of linguistics in fact offers a range of possibilities to give a theoretical and empirical support to the arguments. Based on a set of language guide recommendations from Danish companies, it is illustrated how variations in discourse elements, i.e. purpose, domain and audience, conventionally call for variations in the linguistic devices used. In other words, from a discoursal point of view, the set of plain language-like recommendations for paradigmatic stylistic choices cannot be expected to cover every instance of business communication. Furthermore, it is argued that certain intralingual and interlingual features require empirical research in order to establish a stylistically adequate framework of this instrument of language management in companies.

scholarly journals Perceptions of invisible Zhuang minority language in Linguistic Landscapes of the People’s Republic of China and implications for language policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Grey
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Zhuang Language ◽  
Socially Situated

Abstract The article presents data from a 2013–2019 ethnography of Zhuang language policy to support an analysis of implications for language policy research and scholarship of findings about the (in)visibility of publicly displayed Zhuang. The analysis challenges core assumptions of language policy-making, advocacy and scholarship and explicates the general implications of this challenge beyond China, particularly for minority languages. The most important assumption that this article interrogates is that a written language on display will be recognised as that language by its speakers. Further, it argues that literacy, script, and other language policies impact on display policies and must work together; they do not in the Zhuang case. In making a case for language policy informed by ethnographic research, this article reviews the foundations of socially-situated analyses of Linguistic Landscapes. To galvanise further such research and articulate it to policy-makers, the article employs the term ‘lived landscape approach’.

scholarly journals Developing a foreign language policy in Greek higher education (HE): striving between Scylla and Charybdis.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
THEODORA TSELIGKA
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
Foreign Language Policy

<p class="Abstract"><span lang="EN-GB">The present study analyses foreign language (FL) policy in Greek higher education (HE) taking into consideration the multiple interrelated factors that development and implementation of a successful FL policy hinges on. A brief overview is presented of European initiatives that have contributed significantly to the promotion of language learning, multilingualism and the harmonization of university language policies.  This was considered necessary so as to lay the context for the presentation of the practices documented in the Greek HE arena, with specific examples provided from Greek institutions.  To address the aims of this research project, the state legislation relevant to FL issues in HE is examined and discussed, as it unavoidably influences and mirrors observed trends and priorities in language education.  Finally, extensive data is analysed from five Greek HE institutions and their FL instructors, with regard to language practices implemented, programmes of study, instructors’ professional status, etc.  The results of this analysis show that great effort and extensive co-operation among all stakeholders is still required in devising a holistic FL policy in Greek HE, to which end this paper also offers some useful recommendations.   </span></p><p class="Abstract"> </p>

Contesting the monolingual mindset

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
July De Wilde ◽  
Ellen Van Praet ◽  
Pascal Rillof
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
National Language ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Immigrant Mothers ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork

This paper focuses on the day-to-day practices of service providers working with multilingual immigrants. It reports on 74 video recorded conversations between service providers and immigrant mothers, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at Kind en Gezin, the organization that monitors childcare for the Flemish authorities in Belgium. In discussing the findings, we focus on two principal themes: First, we demonstrate what the language requirements enshrined in Belgium’s language policies entail for the day-to-day practices of service providers working with multilingual clients. Secondly, we argue that, in superdiverse contexts, the growing need is towards delegitimizing language policy makers’ protectionist claim that the national language should be the only language used in public service encounters.

Internationalisation and Language Policy in European Higher Education

2022 ◽  
pp. 198-215
Author(s):  
Tugba Elif Toprak-Yildiz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Language Management ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Internationalisation Of Higher Education ◽  
Internationalisation Strategy ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
European Higher Education

The internationalisation of higher education has received considerable attention over the last three decades, and the phenomenon has transformed into a strategic goal in its own right. Consequently, internationalisation has caused higher education institutions to tailor their language policies to better compete in the global market and promote progressive values such as collaboration and harmony. While macro-level European initiatives have encouraged institutions to foster societal and individual multilingualism, an increasing number of institutions seem to favour English-medium instruction (EMI) over other alternatives. Taking the links between internationalisation and language into account, the present chapter examines the meso-level language policy of two European countries, Austria, and the Czech Republic, which have developed formal and comprehensive frameworks of internationalisation strategy in higher education. The chapter particularly examines the language management component of language policy in these countries by considering internationalisation, EMI, and multilingualism.

Post-war Kosovo landscapes in Pristina: discrepancies between language policy and urban reality

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 804-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uranela Demaj ◽  
Mieke Vandenbroucke
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Constitution ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Post War

This paper focuses on the complex nature of post-war multilingual landscapes in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, as shaped by the country's political shift after independence in 2008. We aim to contribute to this sociolinguistically underexplored territory through an examination of the relative predominance and visibility of the capital's most dominant languages: Albanian, Serbian, and English. Our central aim is to empirically problematize the shared co-officialdom of the Albanian and Serb languages, as put forward in the “Ahtisaari Plan” in 2007 and subsequently adopted in the State Constitution in 2008 and Language Laws in 2006 and 2008. We posit that the multilingual language policies which paint an inclusive, multi-ethnic picture of Pristina do not coincide with its monolingual Albanian reality. In addition to these empirical findings, our second aim is to contribute to the theorization of authorship in the public sphere. With reference to the Pristina context, we problematize the analytical categorization conventionally made between top-down and bottom-up agency and distinguish a third category of semi-official authorship. This third category enables us to examine the dynamic nature of the discrepancy between Kosovo's language policy and Pristina's urban linguistic reality in more detail.

Biobanks and the Moral Concerns of Donors: A Democratic Deliberation

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (13) ◽  
pp. 1942-1953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond G. De Vries ◽  
Kerry A. Ryan ◽  
Linda Gordon ◽  
Chris D. Krenz ◽  
Tom Tomlinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Democratic Deliberation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
The Public ◽  
Biobank Research ◽  
Deliberative Methods ◽  
Small Group Discussions ◽  
The Future

Do members of the public believe that biobanks should accommodate the moral concerns of donors about the types of research done with their biospecimens? The answer to this question is critical to the future of genomic and precision medicine, endeavors that rely on a public willing to share their biospecimens and medical data. To explore public attitudes regarding the requirements of consent for biobank donations, we organized three democratic deliberations involving 180 participants. The deliberative sessions involved small group discussions informed by presentations given by experts in both biobank research and ethics. We found that participants had a sophisticated understanding of the ethical problems of biobank consent and the complexity of balancing donor concerns while promoting research important to the future of health care. Our research shows how deliberative methods can offer policy makers creative ideas for accommodating the moral concerns of donors in the biobank consent process.

Explicit and implicit dimensions of language policy in multilingual banks in Luxembourg

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leilarna Kingsley
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
International Banking ◽  
Language Management ◽  
International Banks ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Primary Focus

For decades the primary focus of language policy research has been activities by states and their agencies, while policy activities in workplaces have attracted little attention. Addressing this gap, this paper investigates language management policies in financial institutions in the multilingual context of Luxembourg. Shohamy’s (2006) theoretical framework, largely based on the context of the state, is adopted and extended to financial institutions. Financial institutions operate in the globalised context of international banking and represent an interesting focal point for examining language policy in the globalising world. Explicit and implicit dimensions of policy are investigated by exploring the discrepancy between explicit language management policies on the working language of financial institutions and reported language use practices. Two international banks are discussed in this paper to provide insight into the complex nature of language policy and the importance of both top-down and bottom-up pressures on language practices.

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