Incorporating translation into sociolinguistic research: translation policy in an international non-governmental organisation

This article explores aspects of translation, multilingualism and language policy in the field of transnational civil society. By focusing on translation policies at Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organisation that performs a key role in global governance, this article seeks to contribute to a globalisation-sensitive sociolinguistics. It argues that combining a sociolinguistic approach, more precisely linguistic ethnography, with translation studies leads to an increased understanding of the language practices under study. Furthermore, the article calls for more interdisciplinary research, stating that there is a space for sociolinguistics and translation studies to contribute to research in international relations and development studies by highlighting the role of multilingualism and challenging the traditionally powerful position of English in transnational civil society

Can majority support save an endangered language? A case study of language attitudes in Guernsey

Many studies of minority language revitalisation focus on the attitudes and perceptions of minorities, but not on those of majority group members. This paper discusses the implications of these issues, and presents research into majority andf minority attitudes towards the endangered indigenous vernacular of Guernsey, Channel Islands. The research used a multi-method approach (questionnaire and interview) to obtain attitudinal data from a representative sample of the population that included politicians and civil servants (209 participants). The findings suggested a shift in language ideology away from the post-second world war ‘culture of modernisation’ and monolingual ideal, towards recognition of the value of a bi/trilingual linguistic heritage. Public opinion in Guernsey now seems to support the maintenance of the indigenous language variety, which has led to a degree of official support. The paper then discusses to what extent this ‘attitude shift’ is reflected in linguistic behaviour and in concrete language planning measures

Identities at odds: embedded and implicit language policing in the internationalized workplace

This study offers an interaction analytic account of how linguistic identities in internationalized workplaces in Denmark are indexed against members' institutional positions in particular interactional contexts. Where language policy may not be explicitly articulated between members, it is still embedded in how participants micro-manage their interactions and implicit in how members display orientations to deviance, in the case of encountering others in the workplace whose language repertoires or preferences do not meet with expectation pertaining to the institutional position they hold. The study uses recordings of naturally occurring interaction in different international workplace settings and argues for greater attention to be paid to the actual language-policy practices in international workplace settings, as an entry point into developing a more nuanced understanding of the practices through which professional identities are brought about, affirmed or contested, and the linguistic considerations that are implicated in this

Conflicting language ideologies and contradictory language practices in Singaporean bilingual families

Informed by family language policy (FLP) as the theoretical framework, I illustrate in this paper how language ideologies can be incongruous and language policies can be conflicting through three multilingual families in Singapore representing three major ethnic groups – Chinese, Malay and Indian. By studying their family language audits, observing their language practices, and engaging in conversations about their language ideologies, I look at what these families do and do not do and what they claim to do and not to do. Data were collected over a period of 6 months with more than 700 minutes of recording of actual interactions. Analysis of the data reveals that language ideologies are ‘power-inflected’ and tend to become the source of educational and social tensions which in turn shape family language practices. In Singapore these tensions are illustrated by the bilingual policy recognising mother tongues (MTs) and English as official languages, and its educational policy establishing English as the medium of instruction. The view of English as having instrumental values and MTs as having cultural functions reveals that language choices and practices in family domains are value-laden in everyday interactions and explicitly negotiated and established through FLP

Communicative competence and institutional affiliation: interactional processes of identity construction by immigrant students in Catalonia

The growing presence of children of immigrant families in the public school system in the bilingual region of Catalonia provides us with an opportunity to study how young multilingual and multicultural speakers construct their social competencies and their identity within the specific context of a gate-keeping social institution such as the school. The study reported in this paper approaches language learning as a process of socialisation that involves not only learning how to make sense of linguistic signs but also learning how to enact different social roles in particular institutions. The analysis focuses on the interactional profiles of two immigrant students in two types of communicative activities that are representative of the school context: responding to questions from an adult and cooperating with a peer in the resolution of a learning task. By shifting the focus of analysis from a decontextualised notion of communicative competence to the notion of 'institutionally affiliated communicative competence' and concentrating on issues such as the (1) the relationship between knowledge and participation, (2) language choice inside and outside school and (3) definitions of correctness in language use, the study reveals how the two students construct a highly 'affiliated' identit

Epistemological access through lecture materials in multiple modes and language varieties: the role of ideologies and multilingual literacy practices in student evaluations of such materials at a South African University

This paper seeks to address the ways in which ideology and literacy practices shape the responses of students to an ongoing initiative at the University of the Western Cape aimed at diversifying options for epistemological access, specifically the language varieties and the modes in which parts of the curriculum for a third year linguistics module are delivered. Students’ responses to the materials in English and in two varieties of Afrikaans and isiXhosa (as mediated in writing vs orally) are determined, and used as basis to problematize decisions on language variety and mode in language diversification initiatives in Higher Education in South Africa. The findings of the paper are juxtaposed against particular group interests in the educational use of a language as well as differences in the affordances and impact of different modes of language use. The paper suggests that beyond the euphoria of using languages other than English in South African Higher Education, several issues (such as entrenched language practices, beliefs and language management orientations) require attention if the goals of transformation in this sector are to be attained

Macro-language planning for multilingual education : focus on programmes and provision

This overview identifies some common features of macro-level language planning and briefly summarises the changing approaches to the analysis of macro-planning in the field. It previews six cases of language-in-education planning in response to linguistic diversity presented by the contributors to this issue. The cases show how macro-planning can either fail to recognise diverse ethnolinguistic identities or work to acknowledge them. Three common themes in language planning for multilingual education can be identified from the contributions: (i) top-down definitions of what counts as mother tongue can have both intended and unintended outcomes; (ii) language-as-problem responses to linguistic diversity can work to reinforce social exclusion; and (iii) the acknowledgement of diversity and minority language rights needs to flow through from statements of intent to on-the-ground implementation if they are to become a reality

Multilingual advertising in the linguistic landscape of Seoul

This study examines commercial signs in arguably the two most visited tourism districts in Seoul, namely Myeongdong and Insadong. It focuses on beauty and food businesses and analyzes featured languages and their content and roles in signage. This article argues that business types, specialized marketing focus, and intended sales pitch influence business owners’ linguistic choices. The findings of the study suggest that the beauty industry relies heavily on English in general, but the power of K‐Beauty popularized by ‘Hallyu’ (The Korean Wave) beyond Korea inevitably invites linguistic accommodation in the form of using Chinese and Japanese. In general, the business category of beauty features a more prevalent use of English than the gastronomic business in this study. Moreover, as an area specializing in traditions and cultural heritage, Insadong shows more signs exclusively in Korean than in Myeongdong.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151302/1/weng12427_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151302/2/weng12427.pd