Languages, nations and identities

This article reviews a range of ways in which issues of national identity have been shown to be linked with the topic of language. We suggest that there is scope for development both of the theoretical underpinning to claims made about the nature of these links, and also, in consequence, to the methodological approaches appropriate to empirical investigations of them. Here, we explore the ways in which aspects of the social world such as those summarised above are understood theoretically. The first part of the paper argues that debates about the relationship of languages to forms of social identity, particularly those associated with nationalisms, often make a number of assumptions - about languages, about collectivities and about social agency. The second part interrogates these assumptions and proposes the utility of realist theory in evaluating claims in this area. In the final part of the paper, we outline the methodological implications of our argument

Linguistic ethnography in realist perspective

This article engages with linguistic ethnography from the perspective of sociological realism. It begins by reviewing some of the positions expressed in the linguistic ethnography (LE) literature about the extent to which LE is defined by theoretical orientation as well as by method. The article is then framed around a kind of ‘generic’ sociolinguistic research question – ‘Which people use which kinds of language in what circumstances and with what outcome(s)?’. Taking each element in turn, it explores the ways in which an ethnographic approach contributes to the processes of: classifying speakers as members of various kinds of social groups; identifying language varieties; accounting for the inf luence of ‘context’; and identifying ‘outcomes’. I suggest that each of these aspects of social linguistic research stands to benefit from the methods developed in ethnography, and from the theories and principles underlying the approaches it uses. However, drawing on the work of contemporary realist social theorists, the article concludes that ethnography is a method suited to illuminating certain aspects of such questions better than others

‘I just couldn't do it’:representations of constraint in an oral history corpus

Corpus linguistic techniques are increasingly being used by discourse analysts whose interest is in the ‘critical’ issues of inequality and the representation of disadvantaged groups. This paper reports an extension of these approaches, where concordancing was used to analyse a corpus of 144 transcribed oral history interviews in order to explore the issue of constraint on the speakers’ goals and experiences. The analysis is of the expression I couldn't, which is contextualised with reference to research on negation and modality in authentic discourse contexts. This paper explores the ways in which I couldn't is deployed to refer to constraints of three main kinds: physical (pertaining to the body and material objects), structural (pertaining to the distribution of resources) and cultural (pertaining to social norms and expectations). The approach illustrates the advantage of maintaining an analytical distinction between the discursive and the material, so as to explore the interplay between them

Anthropomorphic grammar?:some linguistic patterns in the wildlife documentary series Life

Human language inevitably depicts the world from a human point of view. This article briefly reviews key positions on the use of anthropomorphic and anthropocentric language taken by scientists and discourse analysts. It then presents the data used in this investigation - a corpus of transcripts of the television series Life. The methods of analysis are explained, as is the focus adopted, which is less on the more obvious, lexical choices made by the presenter, David Attenborough, and more on the grammatical patterns which we suggest play a significant role in the depiction of the wide range of species represented in the programs. Three grammatical features - pronouns, the connective so, and the to infinitive form - were explored in context, and the results demonstrate how, separately and together, they play a significant role in the representation in these texts of animals' perspectives, connoting in subtle ways both intention and evaluation. We suggest a need for greater dialogue between broadcasters, discourse analysts, and ethologists

Book reviews and forum contributions in Applied Linguistics - continuity and change

This short article reflects on issues in applied linguistics from the perspective of the editor of the Book Reviews and Forum sections of the journal

Translation:a biosemiotic/more-than-human perspective

This article contributes to the developing recognition that the challenges raised by the enterprise of translating between languages extend beyond human language. It suggests that there are parallels between the political issues recognised by translation scholars – of exclusion, misrepresentation and speaking for ‘the other’ – and those raised by biosemiotics, the study of signs in all living systems. Following a discussion of convergence in current developments in translation studies, semiotics and human-animal studies, the article presents an analysis of empirical data, with specific reference to the different meanings of the verb HEAR. The findings demonstrate the anthropocentric assumptions that are embedded in the way hearing is routinely represented, and an argument is presented for the recognition of these in communications about the semiotic resources relevant to non-human life forms. The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications of these issues for the enterprise of translation

Prime Ministerial self-reported actions in Prime Minister’s Questions 1979-2010:a corpus-assisted analysis

This article analyses prime ministerial self-representation in the context of responses to the questions put to four recent British Prime Ministers during Prime Minister’s Questions. From the transcripts of these PMs’ contributions to PMQs, all the clauses with ‘I’ as subject were identified. Corpus analysis software was used to calculate which are the most frequent verbs of which ‘I’ is the subject when PMs answer questions during PMQs. The verbs were classified semantically, and pragmatic and rhetorical patterns were identified. Results show a high proportion of cognitive and communicative processes, as opposed to verbs denoting physical or material actions. Through the close analysis of PMs’ utterances featuring structures with ‘I’ and three frequent verbs – THINK, UNDERSTAND and SAY – we explore patterns in their argumentation, management of face and authority, and identification with the norms of this political institution as well as those of the wider society. We argue that normative influences on what PMs represent themselves as doing include explicit constraints on parliamentary behaviour, an adversarial culture that persists despite long-standing criticisms, and the requirement to conform both to the conventions of this ritualised discourse situation and to broader socio-cultural expectations

First catch your corpus: methodological challenges in constructing a thematic corpus

This paper describes the process by which we have constructed a corpus of heterogeneous texts about non-human animals. It aims to contribute both methodologically – in respect of the challenges of compiling a thematic corpus – and substantively – in relation to the identification of some features of discourse about animals. Having introduced the research project and its guiding questions, the article describes the principles of data selection and the procedures used in analysis. We highlight the methods we devised both to avoid the potential circularity associated with pre-determined search terms, and to overcome the limitations of a relatively small corpus containing a wide range of relevant vocabulary. We go on to report some initial findings on the most frequent animal naming terms and adjectives describing them, including a small case study of the adjectives ‘live’ and ‘dead’. The article concludes by indicating the ways in which the iterative methods we have employed are open to further extension, and points to some methodological and substantive implications of this enterprise

Representing Women, Women Representing:Backbenchers' Questions during Prime Minister's Questions, 1979-2010

This article investigates linguistic traces of changing trends in the substantive representation of women and broader representational claims related to constituencies, via an analysis of all backbench questions posed during Prime Minister's Questions in the UK House of Commons, 1979-2010. We investigate the impact of sharp increases in female MPs and left-wing female MPs in particular, and the presence of a left-wing government on MPs' talk about women and about constituencies. We find no evidence of curvilinear trends in talk about women related to changes in government and female parliamentary presence. We also find that female MPs can be considered critical actors with regard to constituency talk