Resistance and adaptation to newspeakerness in educational institutions: two tales from Estonia

The term ‘new speaker’ has recently emerged as an attempt by sociolinguists not only to understand the diferent types of speaker profles that can be found in contemporary societies, but also to grasp the underlying processes of becoming a legitimate speaker in a given society. In this article, we combine the results from two studies situated in two educational institutions in Estonia in order to fnd out about speakers’ language attitudes and experiences in connection to learning and using Estonian. We concentrate on members of the international community who have relatively recently arrived to the country. Our results indicate that these speakers fuctuate between two prototypical discourses, which we broadly dub as ‘resistance’ and ‘adaptation’ to newspeakerness. Our study thereby adds to current debates on ‘new speaker’ and language policy issues by illustrating how tensions around language legitimacy are played out on the ground in a small nation state such as Estonia

‘Difficulties when learning, easiness when fighting’: Why do families in Latvia choose (pre)schools with a language of instruction other than their L1?

Aims and objectives: Language debates in Latvia often focus on the role of Latvian as official and main societal language. Yet, Latvian society is highly multilingual, and families with home languages other than Latvian have to choose between different educational trajectories for their children. In this context, this paper discusses the results of two studies which addressed the question of why families with Russian as a home language choose (pre)schools with languages other than Russian as medium of instruction (MOI). The first study analyses family narratives which provide insight into attitudes and practices which lead to the decision to send children to Latvian-MOI institutions. The second study investigates language attitudes and practices by families in the international community of Riga German School. Methodology: The paper discusses data gathered during two studies: for the first, semi-structed interviews were conducted with Russian-speaking families who choose Latvian-medium schools for their children. For the second study, a survey was carried out in the community of an international school in Riga, sided by ethnographic observations and interviews with teachers and the school leadership. Data and analysis: Interviews and ethnographic observations were subjected to a discourse analysis with a focus on critical events and structures of life trajectory narratives. Survey data were processed following simple statistical analysis and qualitative content analysis. Findings/conclusions: Our data reveal that families highly embrace multilingualism and see the development of individual plurilingualism as important for integration into Latvian society as well as for educational and professional opportunities in the multilingual societies of Latvia and Europe. At the same time, multilingualism and multiculturalism, including Russian, are seen as a value in itself. In addition, our studies reflect the bidirectionality of family language policies in interplay with practices in educational institutions: family decisions influence children’s language acquisition at school, but the school also has an impact on the families’ language practices at home. In sum, we argue that educational policies should therefore pay justice to the wishes of families in Latvia to incorporate different language aspects into individual educational trajectories. Originality: Language policy is a frequent topic of investigation in the Baltic states. However, there has been a lack in research on family language policy and school choices. In this vein, our paper adds to the understanding of educational choices and language policy processes among Russian-speaking families and the international community in Latvia

Translation Mechanisms in Socio-Technical Niches. A case study of Dutch river management

This paper makes three contributions to the field of transition research. First, it sheds light on how the concept of translation can contribute to a better understanding of agency in niche development. Second, it articulates how the local-global distinction in the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach relates to the levels in the Multi-Level Perspective. Third, the article is empirically novel by presenting a radical sustainable innovation in Dutch water management (‘New Rivers’).Sustainability transitions, translations, strategic niche management, river management

Is there a seasonal variation in the Agulhas Current?

Historical results are critically re-examined for indications of seasonal variability in the surface core speed of the Agulhas Current. Defining the Current core as water flowing southwestward at more than 1 m s-1, it is found that there is no major seasonal variation in mean flow. This is confirmed by more recent direct current measurements

Bacterial secretion and the role of diffusive and subdiffusive first passage processes

Open Access ArticleBy funneling protein effectors through needle complexes located on the cellular membrane, bacteria are able to infect host cells during type III secretion events. The spatio-temporal mechanisms through which these events occur are however not fully understood, due in part to the inherent challenges in tracking single molecules moving within an intracellular medium. As a result, theoretical predictions of secretion times are still lacking. Here we provide a model that quantifies, depending on the transport characteristics within bacterial cytoplasm, the amount of time for a protein effector to reach either of the available needle complexes. Using parameters from Shigella flexneri we are able to test the role that translocators might have to activate the needle complexes and offer semi-quantitative explanations of recent experimental observations.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)Medical Research Council (MRC

LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF THE BALTIC STATES: DATA, RESULTS, FUTURE RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES

This paper gives an overview of activities which have been carried out in the fi eld of Linguistic Landscapes (LL) at Rēzekne University College (Rēzeknes Augstskola, RA) since 2008. Between 2009 and 2012, LL research was carried out within the framework of one of the work groups of the TILRA project funded by the European Social Funds (ESF). TILRA has had the overarching aim to support research in the humanities which may be helpful for understanding local identity and contribute to the regional development of Latgale. In this light, LL research has proven to be of high value for triggering effects in education at all levels, academic research and for enhancing discussions within politics and regional development. The paper fi rst provides a summary of the basic principles of the LL approach as they have been developed in the international linguistic community throughout the past decade. It addresses how the method has gained more and more popularity world-wide and moved from mostly quantitative and descriptive reports of the languages on signs in the public sphere to by far more interdisciplinary studies. Today, scholars in the fi eld of LL do research on signs of all kinds with regard to aspects such as functions of languages, semiotics, or the negotiation of and confl icts on ownership of and power in a territory. After this general introduction, the paper reports of how the LL method has been taken to the Baltic States, at fi rst in education and research at RA. The first of these activities were limited to Latvia (Rēzekne, Ventspils), but soon research was also taken to Lithuania (Alytus, Druskininkai) and Estonia (Pärnu, Narva). The paper then provides examples of the results of the research. On the one hand, a data base with almost 5,000 signs from the 6 towns in the Baltic States where research was carried out has been created. This data base allows for a detailed contrastive analysis of signs in the public sphere with regard to aspects such as the number and hierarchies of languages on the signs and their locations and functions. In cases of, for instance, signs at shops, also the type of shop is included. The research found 23 different languages, of which the titular languages of the Baltic States (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian) dominated, followed by English and Russian. English appears mostly as a language of high prestige, often with predominantly symbolic value. Other languages were rare, and also the regional language of Latgalian was identified on only a small proportion of the signs in Rēzekne. In total, about one third of the signs in the data base is multilingual, the other two thirds displaying only one language (most often, but not always, the respective titular language). On the other hand, the data base has been supplemented by qualitative data obtained through 46 interviews (conducted in Rēzekne, Narva and Druskininkai) with people working in the field of tourism, but also with passers-by in the streets. The interviews focus on e.g. roles of languages in tourism, reflections of regional identities in the LL or connections between the LL and language policies. With regard to tourism, English was found to be of highest importance as a lingua franca, but also Russian plays an important role. The research also asked explicitly whether small private signs may reflect linguistic or ethnic conflicts, but no such examples were found, and interviews confirmed that on a small, local level, the LL is not a place where such conflicts take place. The paper then reports of impacts which the LL activities have had with regard to the popularization of linguistic topics in society at large. By now, several schools in Latvia have used the LL approach in their activities and adapted it to their individual purposes. Other debates to which the LL research has contributed and where LL research and the publications created during the project have proven to have an impact on broader societal developments, are e.g. the relation between language use in private and in public domains, the functions of different languages in the internet, reflections of paralinguistic notions and the economic potential of languages, the latter in particular with regard to the Latgalian language. Finally, the paper highlights directions of future research. This includes the analysis of language contact in micro situations such as on specific notice boards or the use of LL data in discourse analytical studies. More broadly speaking, it is envisaged also to analyse existing LL patterns in the Baltic States in contrast to LL studies in other parts of the world, e.g. the role of Latgalian in the LL vis-à-vis other regional or minority languages in Europe. The paper also provides an overview of important publications which have been prepared or triggered as a result of the LL research, including several master theses and an on-going PhD project. In total, the paper thereby shows how the TILRA project has contributed to establishing research and awareness of the LL approach in the Baltic States, and how it at the same time has given LL research in the Baltic States a recognized standing among international LL researchers. The paper is supplemented by a list of LL publications, including many of those publications published by the project’s participants both in Latvian and international contexts, and by the questionnaire which served as a point of departure for the semi-structured interviews during the research

THE LATGALIAN LANGUAGE AS A REGIONAL LANGUAGE IN LATVIA: A CHARACTERISATION AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF LANGUAGES IN EUROPE

This article looks at Latgalian from a perspective of a classification of languages. It starts by discussing relevant terms relating to sociolinguistic language types. It argues that Latgalian and its speakers show considerable similarities with many languages in Europe which are considered to be regional languages – hence, also Latgalian should be classified as such. In a second part, the article uses sociolinguistic data to indicate that the perceptions of speakers confirm this classification. Therefore, Latgalian should also officially be treated with the respect that other regional languages in Europe enjoy

Die ontwikkeling van wasige beheerders met behulp van ontoegewyde grootskaalse geintegreerde bane

M.Ing. (Electrical & Electronic Engineering)Please refer to full text to view abstrac