The linguascape of urban youth culture in Mongolia

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.This thesis deals with the movement of language in the current globalized world, looking specifically at the spread and role of English and other additional languages in the context of urban youth culture in contemporary Mongolia. Since Mongolia transformed from communism to democracy in 1990, the role of foreign language has been viewed mainly through two popular ideologies. On the one hand, the society has embraced the notion of ‘linguistic diversity’, as an important means to interact with the modern globalized world. This trend, however, is practiced through the idea of ‘pluralization of pure monolingualism’. On the other hand, the spread of multiple languages are also viewed as ‘dystopic’ by some areas of society, and perceived as a potential threat to the fabric of Mongolian language and culture. Moving away from these two dominant ideologies, this thesis suggests an alternative way of thinking about language that allows for other linguistic possibilities in Mongolia. Drawing on Arjun Appadurai’s theory of ‘scapes’ and the ‘translingual’ movement in recent applied/sociolinguistics, this thesis offers the new conceptual notion of ‘linguascape’ - transnational linguistic resources circulating across the current transnational world of flows. Following translingualism, linguascape not only moves beyond the traditional terms such as ‘bi/multilingualism’ and ‘code-switching’, but also concerns the recombination of linguistic and semiotic resources as central to one’s language practices. Linguascape further enhances the analytic potentiality of translingualism, which has not yet adequately addressed the diversity in individuals’ language practices in relation with various other scapes. Linguascape thus explores five dimensions of ‘scapes’ – ethnoscape (transnational mobility of people), mediascape (flows of media, images, information, culture), technoscape (movement of technology), financescape (flows of capital and money), and ideoscape (flows of ideas and ideologies) in relation to one’s language practice. Revealing the complex relationship between young people’s locatedness in different types of ‘scapes’ and their engagements with transnational linguistic and cultural resources, linguascape seeks to provide us with a better understanding of differences in young people’s translingual practices based on the intersecting dynamics of rural/urban, privileged/unprivileged and other backgrounds, factors and characteristics. The research takes a ‘linguistic (n)ethnographic’ approach constituted by online and offline participant observations, group discussions, and interviews with the members of urban youth culture in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, mobilized by the ‘transtextual’ and ‘transmodal’ analytic frameworks to illustrate the multiple function of various linguistic resources in young people’s everyday lives. The thesis finally argues that the movement of linguistic resources in current globalization needs to be understood as linguistic practice – ‘linguascaping’ - in conjunction with other demographic, media-cultural, technological, financial and ideological realities in the society. This new concept correspondingly seeks to contribute to the foreign language higher education policy in Mongolia, in its careful re-assessment of the complexity of contemporary cultural and linguistic experience of its language learners

The link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes: English as a second language migrants in Australia

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This article aims to explore the link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes in the context of English as a second language (ESL) migrants in Australia. We address the following research questions: (a) To what extent and how do ESL migrants in Australia suffer from linguistic subordination? (b) To what extent and how is this linguistic subordination linked to linguistic inferiority complexes for ESL-migrants in Australia? (c) What are the main social implications of the link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes for ESL migrants? Design/methodology/approach: The study involved the participation of 150 participants who were observed using linguistic ethnography. The participants engaged in interviews and focus group discussions so that we could explore the psychological consequences of linguistic subordination that they encountered. Data and analysis: The interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed and analysed with consideration to the context, as well as the participants’ utterances and paralanguage. The study followed alternative quality criteria. Findings/conclusions: Many ESL migrants in Australia face linguistic subordination for the way they speak English. Consequently, these migrants suffer from linguistic inferiority complexes – psychological and emotional damages, which result in self-marginalisation, self-vindication, loss of sense of belonging, social withdrawal, fear, anxiety and the erosion of self-confidence. We find that there is a direct link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes. Originality: This article addresses a gap that exists regarding the link between linguistic subordination and the development of linguistic inferiority complexes, discusses how this has real-life consequences for ESL migrants, and explores how this may be overcome. Significance/implications: ESL migrants need support so that they can cope with their experiences of linguistic subordination, thus helping them better deal with issues related to linguistic inferiority complexes. In addition, the broader society needs greater education on how their comments and actions can affect the wellbeing of others

Accentism: English LX users of migrant background in Australia

Using Linguistic Ethnography (LE), we analyse the ways in which English as an additional language (LX) users from migrant backgrounds in Australia encounter overt and covert ‘accentism’ from the dominant English-speaking Australian society. These forms of accentism may be used to discriminate against LX users’ pronunciation and accent in a bid to conform, normalise, contest, and encourage unequal power. Overt accentism is used to reinforce stereotypes and ideologies about the culture, race, ethnicity or gender of the LX users on the receiving end, using mockery, laughter, and sexualisation to denigrate and stigmatise their accents. Covert accentism occurs in a subtle and indirect way when LX users may feel social exclusion by strong local accents, or through locals misunderstanding migrants’ non-standard English accents. Consequently, these participants often experience feelings of embarrassment, frustration, and loss of confidence. Accentism can also lead to problems with employment, maintaining relationships with local Australians, and exclusion from social situations. We show that these accentism experiences are intersectionally linked with race, ethnicity, nationality and gender, all of which are affected by the broader cause of structural racism, that discriminates against English LX migrants with these identity attributes

The everyday politics of translingualism as a resistant practice

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper seeks to expand the translingual tradition through a stronger focus on ‘the political implications’–a way to understand the ordinariness of everyday resistance. When people engage in linguistic resistance in everyday life, it might have mixed motivations; it might not be theoretically informed; it might draw from their cultures of resistance in their community history; it might need ideological analysis by scholars so that we can create more awareness among ordinary people. Drawing on the social media translingual practices of young people in different geographical contexts such as Mongolia and Japan, we consider the transgressive implications and the politics implicit in these young people’s everyday language choices. We seek to interpret these politics in a situated manner, in relation to the local and geopolitical contexts that impinge on these practices and language choices

Translingual Discrimination: Skilled Transnational Migrants in the Labour Market of Australia

Drawing on linguistic ethnographic data, this study examines the language-based discriminatory experiences of skilled transnational migrants in the labour market of Australia. Moving beyond two main concepts of 'interlingual' and 'intra-lingual' discrimination in applied linguistics, this article points out the concept of 'translingual discrimination', which refers to inequality based on transnational identities' specific linguistic repertoires and backgrounds that are substantiated by the national order of things. Translingual discrimination adds intensity to transnational processes, with the skilled migrants showing particular potential for exclusion regarding two factors: translingual 'name discrimination' and 'English discrimination'. 'Translingual name discrimination' is a homogenous form of 'name' policing, evident in multiple examples where the skilled transnational migrants' job applications are often largely rejected on the grounds of their 'birth name' written on their curriculum vitae. 'Translingual English discrimination' is another common form of discrimination, where the skilled transnational migrants become subject to discrimination based on their English proficiency and their overall language skills, leading to 'the paradoxes of migration' - discrepancies between the imagination and the reality - where they fall from 'hero to zero' in the host society

Translingual English discrimination: Loss of academic sense of belonging, the hiring order of things, and students from the Global South

Global North settings such as Australia are an attractive option for prospective students from the Global South to undertake tertiary studies. Using Linguistic Ethnography, we investigate the experiences that postgraduate students from the Global South have when studying in Australian university settings, to understand how translingual English discrimination affects them. We find that many students from the Global South encounter situations of translingual English discrimination, which affect their academic sense of belonging and the hiring order of things. Being penalised for their linguistic practises in their assignment work, or being provided with unclear and insufficient information during the early stages of their studies can both result in a loss of sense of academic belonging. These students may also be affected by the hiring order of things through additional barriers in gaining university employment due to perceptions that they have linguistic, work experience and qualification shortcomings, despite strong evidence to the contrary. We outline the implications of these forms of translingual English discrimination and recommend institutional changes to address these discriminatory actions

Popular Culture, Voice and Linguistic Diversity: Young Adults On- and Offline

This book analyses the language practices of young adults in Mongolia and Bangladesh in online and offline environments. Focusing on the diverse linguistic and cultural resources these young people draw on in their interactions, the authors draw attention to the creative and innovative nature of their transglossic practices. Situated on the Asian periphery, these young adults roam widely in their use of popular culture, media voices and linguistic resources. This innovative and topical book will appeal to students and scholars of sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, cultural studies and linguistic anthropology

Styling the periphery: Linguistic and cultural takeup in Bangladesh and Mongolia

Focusing on online interactions among young adults in Bangladesh and Mongolia - two countries located politically, culturally and economically on the Asian periphery - this paper looks at how young adults use linguistic and cultural resources in their online interactions as part of a complex and emergent stylization of place. On the one hand, they appropriate the cultural and linguistic flows according to their locations and engage in a playful stylization and reconfiguration of what the local means. On the other hand, they engage in stylization and reflexive language use, often involving exaggerated linguistic variation, mixing, and other semiotic resources in order to produce and perform a range of social and cultural identities. The paper hence shows how the circulation and takeup of popular cultural flows around Asia can involve diverse processes of linguistic and cultural stylization.© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Foreign language anxiety and translanguaging as an emotional safe space: Migrant English as a foreign language learners in Australia

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a negative emotional reaction that many migrant English as a foreign language (EFL) learners encounter when learning or using English in a host society. Using Linguistic Ethnography (LE), we investigate how four migrant adult EFL learners in Australia (1) experience the negative emotional reactions of FLA such as “forgetfulness”, “feelings of isolation”, and “self-avoidance”, as well as strong emotional outbursts such as crying and weeping; and (2) how the use of translanguaging may correspondingly work as emotional safe spaces to mitigate these negative reactions of FLA. The implications of this study show the importance of safe educational and emotional spaces for migrant background EFL learners, where such spaces can allow EFL learners to authentically share their lived experiences, problems, and emotional expressions through translanguaging, which can assist in the alleviation of the negative emotional reactions of FLA