Variability in the interlanguage of Shona learners of English : a study into the effects of planning time and linguistic context on interlanguage performance

The study has two main aims. The first is theoretical and the second methodological. Theoretically, the study seeks to investigate the nature and extent of variation in interlanguage with the aim of identifying and assessing the extent to which factors such as discourse mode (e.g. narrative vs descriptive) and linguistic context are likely to result in variable interlanguage performance. Methodologically, the study seeks to highlight the problems of eliciting valid interlanguage data using the concept of planning as is currently formulated by Ochs (1979) and Ellis (1987). Although interlanguage performance may be shown to be variable it still remains important to assess how widespread variation is in interlanguage, because variation is likely to shed much more light on interlanguage development and use, if it is demonstrated that it is neither restricted to specific structural areas nor typical of learners at particular stages of interlanguage development. With this in mind this study investigates the performance of second language learners at three different levels of proficiency in two linguistic areas - spatial and directional prepositions and the 3rd person singular. Variation in interlanguage has been attributed to a large number of factors some of which are enumerated below - discourse mode, varying planning conditions, topic, setting, interlocutor, linguistic context etc

The pragmatic import of pronominal usage in chiShona discourse

This article discusses the pragmatic significance of chiShona pronouns by examining the use of different pronouns: personal, enumerative, and demonstrative, and by demonstrating their address and referential value and social meanings. Two important issues are addressed. First, we demonstrate that a purely grammatical analysis of pronouns, which emphasise the internal analysis and the anaphoric function of pronouns, fails to capture the complexity of pronominal usage in ordinary conversations. Second, the discourses that we analyse in this article demonstrate how in particular communicational contexts, specific speakers use pronouns to index referents other than the ones conventionally associated with a particular pronominal form in an analysis based on grammatical analysis. For example, besides its generic self-reference, the first person pronoun may be used to refer to a second or third person. The second person pronoun, apart from having a second person reference, can, be used as a second first or third person reference. The third person may, apart from its conventional reference, be used to mean either the first or second person. The pronoun switches also involve indirectness, reflecting a wide range of social meanings which have politeness implications

Conversation with Diana Jeater

This chapter focuses on Makoni’s work and notions of Southern Epistemologies and the Global South but then also finding ways to connect them specifically to language. The Global South is the place where colonial epistemic violence is carried out. The Global South is a place where people are silenced or not heard; the place where epistemologies are mediated as a result of their colonial histories, European expansion, the Enlightenment, and the Renaissance. Chinese hegemonic power is at work as well in the Global South. The terms ‘Global North/Global South’ blind those in the Global North to the actual complexity of the rest of the world and make them unaware of what else might be going on because of this narcissistic obsession with their own importance. The full history of the world has been hidden from them; there is another part of the world that sees this history differently

Integrationism and language ideologies.

The present special issue goes back to the online conference entitled Integrationism and Language Ideologies (March 15-20, 2021), which was organized by the Language Policy Group of the Federal University of Santa Catarina in conjunction with the International Association for the Integrational Study of Language and Communication(IAISLC). The contributions in this issue are for the most part revised versions of the conference papers presented at the event. The special issue also features an interview with integrationist David Bade as well as a Portuguese translation by Cristine Severo and Ana Cláudia Eltermann of one of Harris' texts ('The integrationist critique of orthodox linguistics'). The present volume introduces key ideas on Roy Harris' integrational linguistics to a Lusophone readership by highlighting relevant issues in language ideology, linguistic methodology, decolonial linguistics and (socio)linguistic theory

Australia and New Zealand applied linguistics (ANZAL): Taking stock

This paper reviews some emerging trends in applied linguistics in both Australia and New Zealand. It sketches the current scene of (selected) postgraduate applied linguistics programs in higher education and considers how various university programs define applied linguistics through the classes (titles) they have postgraduate students complete to be awarded a degree. Evidence of program requirements and topics reveal not only what applied linguistics generally entails, but offers insights into how applied linguistics is defined and practiced. Additionally, some of the salient research topics (titles) being published in the journals from the two countries' applied linguistics associations are sketched

The futility of being held captive by language policy issues in applied linguistics: an argument for implementation

Some South African Applied Linguists and political language activists are currently operating in a policy mode. This paper argues that the continued interest in and preoccupation with language policy issues arises from an interplay of two factors: (I) Overconfidence in the role that a new language policy could play in effecting change particularly in education (2) Overcorifidence in the beneficial impact of innovations. The paper also argues that trust in the effectiveness of language policy is misplaced because many language problems cannot readily be solved by planning unless detailed attention is paid to what is necessary for policy to be implemented and evaluated. The paper concludes by proposing how such detailed implementation could be carried out. Party Suid-Afrikaanse toegepaste taalwetenskaplikes en politieke taalaktiviste werk tans in 'n beleidsmodus. In hierdie referaat word aangevoer dat die volgehoue belangstelling en preokkupasie met taalbeleidsake voortspruit uit die wisselwerking van twee faktore: (I) Oormatige vertroue in die rol wat 'n nuwe taalbeleid kan speel om verandering te bewerkstellig, vera! in die opvoedkunde (2) Oormatige vertroue in die voordelige impak van nuwighede. In hierdie referaat word oak aangevoer dat die vertroue in die effektiwiteit van taalbeleid misplaas is omdat baie taalprobleme nie geredelik deur beplanning opgelos kan word nie, behalwe as gedetailleerde aandag gegee word aan dit wat nodig is om 'n beleid te implementeer en te evalueer. Die referaat word afgesluit met voorstelle oar hoe hierdie gedetailleerde implementasie uitgevoer kan word

Conversations with an Alzheimer’s patient: an interactional sociolinguistic perspective by Heide Hamilton

Hamilton seeks to examine the role of language in dementia of the Alzheimer type.Hamilton makes two main contributions in her book, which are separate but interconnected. On the one hand, by rigorously studying the conversations of a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), she demonstrates the contributions which language studies can make towards increasing our understanding of dementia in general and AD in particular. At the same time, through a detailed analysis of the conversations, she demonstrates how by coupling rigour with compassion, linguistics can be humanistic without necessarily forfeiting its status as a science. These two interconnected achievements are eloquently captured.

Some of the Metaphors about Language Planning Discourses in South Africa : Boundaries, Frontiers and Commodification

International audienc

« They talk to us like children » : Language and Intergenerational Discourse in First-time Encounters in an African Township

International audienc

Some of the metaphors about language, in language planning discourses in Sohth Africa: Boundaries, frontiers and commodification

Since April 1994, when eleven languages (instead of two) were given official recognition, language planning debates have focilsed on implementabilty rather than policy options. This paper explores three of the metaphors which influence language planning discourses in South Africa: the boundaries metaphor, the frontiers metaphor and the commodity metaphor, and the effect they have on the way language is constructed The discussion centres on the tensions between a "bounded" view of language and a frontier view of language. Aspects such as frequency of usage and the distribution of languages would be significant in language planning discourses based on a frontier view of language, whereas the number of mother tongue speakers would be significant in a "bounded" view of language. Finally, the paper stresses that commerce influences discourses about language. Sedert April 1994, met die verlening van amptelike status aan 11 tale (in plaas van 2), het die debatte oor taalbeplanning 'n klemverskuiwing van beleidsmoontlikhede na implementeringsopsies ondergaan. In hierdie artikel word drie van die metafore wat taalbeplanningsdiskoerse in Suid-Afrika beinvloed, ondersoek: die metafoor van afbakening, die metafoor van vooruitstrewing en die metafoor van verhandelbaarheid, asook die invloed wat hulle het op die metode van taalonderrig. Die bespreking sentreer om die spanning wat bestaan tussen 'n afgebakende en 'n vooruitstrewende benadering tot taal. Aspekte soos gebruiksfrekwensie en die verspreiding van tale sou belangrik wees vir taalbeplanningsdiskoerse wat op 'n vooruitstrewende benadering gebaseer is, terwyl die aantal moedertaalsprekers belangrik sou wees vir 'n afgebakende benadering tot taal. Ten slotte word beklemtoon dat handel 'n invloed het op die diskoers oor taa