The Role of Language in Professional Identity Formation: Linguodidactic Aspect

The article analyses and demonstrates the practical application of the authors’ method of specialist’s professional identity formation through foreign language classes (English, advanced level). The methodology is based on the principle of shaping professional linguistic personality as a central element of professional identity. The authors identify the correlation dependence of the indicated phenomena, on the basis of which the linguistic foundation of the study is built - the selection and analysis of language material through the method of conceptual linguistic engineering of professional identity. Due to the presented complex linguistic analysis, the authors collect a corpus of textual and language units - a working thesaurus which forms the linguistic basis of the entire educational process of forming a professional linguistic personality.Content-wise, the methodology is based on thematic planning, which is as close as possible to the professional activities of the future specialist. For example, the topics proposed for discussion by the students inthe described pilot manual substantially duplicate the main stages of the business plan. This structure allows us to purposefully form the professional language personality of the student, as well as the necessary professional competencies.The obligatory project component as the final element of each thematic stage contributes to a deeper consolidation of the mastered language material and practical skills in a certain, profession-given, activity format. The entire process of forming the professional language personality is based on a comprehensive systematic study of productive language skills (speaking, writing).The offered technique promotes not only the deep study of linguistic skills and development of the future profession discourse space but also develops a wide range of soft skills especially demanded by employers nowadays.

REKAYASA BAHASA DAN KONSTRUKSI POLITIK “PERSATUAN-KESATUAN” DALAM WACANA “NEGARA KESATUAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA”

The formation of the Indonesian nation-state is inseparable from linguistic engineering. This includes phrases that transformed their lexical meaning to become a binding political concession produced by Indonesian political leaders in the 1940s and 1950s. The official name of the Indonesian state “The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia” is the result of this political concession in the statecraft of Indonesia. This article aims to examine the meanings of the “unity and unitary” phrases in the imagined form of Indonesian nation-state. Why was “unity and unitary” an effective political tool for the shaping of the imagination of “Indonesia”? Linguists and historians would these choices of words as a reflection of the power of language in the creation of facts. Language can transform a lexical fact into a material one. It is therefore essential to understand how did the phrase “unity and unitary” transform from a lexical to a political meaning in the context of Indonesian history? This article is based on literary analyses of official relevant documents, including the assembly proceeding of the Council for the Investigation of the Preparation for Indonesian Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, BPUPKI) of August 1945, and the so-called Principal Guidelines for State Development (Garis-Garis Besar Haluan Negara, GBHN) of the New Order. It argues that the “unity and unitary” phrase represents a negotiation of diverse political elements which then shaped the crafting of Indonesian nation-state. The changes in the contexts in which the phrase was used show a changing association between the lexical and ideological meanings of the phrase. While these changes worked towards institutionalizing the Indonesian state, this article concludes that they also submerged the people’s discontents. The phrase “unity and unitary” reflected the making of people’s uniformity to a large extent.

“Europe Will Soon Be Lost to Political Correctness”

Political correctness (PC), a contemporary phenomenon imported from the United States, has continuously been targeted as one of the key reasons for current troubles the European Union (EU) is facing. Even more, some predict that PC will be the cause of the eventual demise of Europe. This article investigates the presence of the discourse of PC in the fundamental treaties of the EU to explore whether the EU is in danger of being lost to PC. In the first part, the key traits of the discourse on PC and multiculturalism as a dominant philosophy behind it, are presented. One of the key traits of PC is linguistic engineering that may be labelled as mild or radical. In the second part, the content of the EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU are analysed comparing three different versions of the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter, namely English, German, and Croatian. The third part is focused on the analysis of the guidelines: Gender-neutral language in the European Parliament, as the most politically correct official document of the EU. The analysis showed that a change with regards to the employment of the discourse of PC came with the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter and is based on mild linguistic engineering. The change in the EU’s legal discourse arose from a cultural change that occurred in some member states. Mild linguistic engineering should not be seen as a real threat to Europe but may be interpreted as a way of reshaping the EU’s core value of non-discrimination. On the other hand, an (in)attentive slip from mild into radical linguistic engineering may ignite the flourishing of the far-right and anti-EU movements that could lead to a serious destabilization of Europe.

Creating Multilingual Legal Texts

This chapter assesses the challenges in producing multilingual legal texts, especially where these texts are supposed to be equally authentic. The first of these challenges is translation. The risk is that a failure to achieve translation equivalence compromises legal certainty. Equivalence aside, there are also deeper political tensions in the process of legal translation: power struggles among speakers of the source and target language may be reflected in translation strategies adopted. Apart from translating the law, the legislature also needs to revise drafting procedures to ensure that different language versions of the law are consistent with one another, and that they respect linguistic equality where it is emphasized by the law. Where the new official language has not developed a legal vocabulary and a formal register, further linguistic engineering may be necessary. Sometimes ideological engineering is also called for.

Use of Computer Search Algorithms in the Research of Statistical, Semantic and Contextual Rules of Language in Digital Information Space

This paper will discuss and practically explore the interdependence between information technology and linguistics in the modern information society.The relationship between information technology and linguistics, which has opened new opportunities in linguistic research, will be practically seen in the application of linguistic engineering in researching rules of language.The aim of this paper is to extend knowledge about the possibilities of application of information technologies in researching rules of language, as well as emphasizing the importance that language technologies have in the field of linguistic research, preservation of language and culture and national identity.