English and the Imagining of a Cosmopolitan City

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-98
Author(s):  
Christina P. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
National Language ◽  
Education Reforms ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
The Future ◽  
Upward Social Mobility ◽  
Language And Education ◽  
The City

Chapter 4 considers the role of English in how the Girls’ College grade 10 Tamil-medium students navigated inequalities in the school as a whole and the Tamil-medium stream and claimed status as cosmopolitan Kandy or Sri Lankan girls. The use of full English in the classroom risked making them seem uppity, but the girls skillfully used English-inflected Tamil to articulate desired identities and stake claims in the future. Despite their multilingualism, the girls’ identities as predominantly Tamil speakers shaped how they interacted in school and in their home and neighborhood settings. This chapter argues that while their representation of themselves as Kandy girls avoided ethnicity-based models of identity, inconsistent with ideologies present in the national language and education reforms, they did not view Kandy as ethnically integrated so much as associate the city with their potential for upward social mobility.

scholarly journals Languages Speak Reconciliation: An Interdisciplinary Study on the Impact of National Language in Post War Reconciliation Sri Lanka

2022 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 665-679
Author(s):  
Aruna Jayathilaka ◽  
Thisiri Medagama ◽  
Udeshini Panadare ◽  
Prawardhani Menike
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
National Language ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
Post War ◽  
Mixed Approach ◽  
National Languages ◽  
The Impact

The Role of National Language is endorsed in different contexts and it has triggered an inspirited debate within the Sri Lankan political history when its discriminatory nature policies marked a triumph of linguist nationalism. The recognition of the Sinhala language as the only National Language in Sri Lanka and its dominance, drifted both communities apart causing frustration and tension among ethnic groups, which have ultimately culminated in ethnic strife that lasted almost three decades. National Languages, hence wield as a sociopolitical tool that demands a balance among languages, recognition, and policies. Similarly, Sri Lanka, in its path to reconciliation also demands a balance among National Languages, policies, and its recognition among the communities. This study thus explores the Role of National Language in promoting social cohesion and coexistence among ethnic groups to achieve anticipated “Reconciliation” within Sri Lankan social fabric.  The paper draws upon a mixed approach employing qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews. Data were gathered from interviewing 20 undergraduates from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis.   Findings revealed that the recognition of National languages in their due status will make a huge impact on fostering reconciliation within Sri Lankan Society. It is further not to be confused with the Link Language as a National Language since its duty in social integration is relatively limited in the cases where the understanding of cultural, traditional, and historical attributes of an ethnic community is more pronounced especially in grappling with attitudinal problems inherited within ethnic communities.

scholarly journals The Role of Higher Education in Promoting Social Mobility in Indonesia

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Muhammad Husni Arifin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Social Economy ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Relevant Theory ◽  
Upward Social Mobility ◽  
Inequality Of Educational Opportunity

This paper explains the link between higher education and social mobility in Indonesia. There are several theoretical frameworks talking about the link between higher education and social mobility and the relevant theory of them is Raymond Boudon’s Inequality of Educational Opportunity (IEO) and Inequality of Social Opportunity (ISO). The results reveal that the link between higher education and social mobility in Indonesia is influenced by other factors: inequality of social-economy and geography and cultural disparities. Furthermore, the more decreasing inequality in the society, the more people can go to higher education and in turn will promote upward social mobility.

Travellers, Tourists and Texts1

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Talbot ◽  
Tahir Kamran
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Suez Canal ◽  
North India ◽  
Rudyard Kipling ◽  
The Future ◽  
The City

The chapter discusses the growth of western tourism to Lahore in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. Tourism was made possible by the emergence of steam ships and railways and the opening of the Suez Canal. The pioneering role of the Thomas Cook Company is highlighted. The 1906 Royal visit of the future George V and the writings of Rudyard Kipling further increased interest in the city amongst the wealthy and leisured western classes. Travel perpetuated Orientalist stereotypes of the city. The chapter examines a range of guidebooks, including the Newell Guide and later motorists’ guides produced by the Automobile Association of North India revealing how they reproduced the colonial official accounts of Lahore’s history that played down its wider commercial connections. The chapter concludes with an examination of the more discerning view of the city in the 1912 unpublished travel account of the Fabian socialists Sydney and Beatrice Webb.

scholarly journals Multilingualism and language learning: The Rome city report

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Menghini
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
National Language ◽  
Educational Practices ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Educational Support ◽  
Language And Education ◽  
University Of Rome ◽  
The City

This article illustrates the findings on multilingualism related to the educational sphere in the city of Rome, within the scope and theoretical framework of the international project LUCIDE (Languages in Urban Communities – Integration and Diversity for Europe). Particularly, it describes the type of linguistic and cultural support offered to plurilingual citizens and the language teaching practices that have emerged from the study of the University of Rome 'Foro Italico' Unit, as presented in the Rome city report (Evangelisti, et al ., 2014; Menghini, 2015). The symbolic and pragmatic uses of languages, their status, and their visibility in educational practices are particularly highlighted, as part of the challenges related to the city authorities' approach to multilingualism, particularly for the educational field. The role of public and private institutions, and their interaction in language learning practices and in the educational support for plurilinguals and foreigners in Rome are investigated and considered in light of the national language and education policies and guidelines. The article's conclusions indicate some possible steps for improvement in educational practices at city level, to better support plurilingual citizens and to effectively face the challenges of multilingualism.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Behaviour of the Micro Urban Areas: A Comprehensive Study of Sachal Goth, Sindh, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-49
Author(s):  
Yasira Naeem Pasha ◽  
Shahla Adnan ◽  
Reena Majid Memon ◽  
Tania Ali Soomro ◽  
Asim Mobeen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Developmental Patterns ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Organic Growth ◽  
The Future ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Socioeconomic Profile ◽  
The City

The socioeconomic profile of the sub-urban areas in Pakistan is a matter of concern for the presumable developments in the future. The micro urban areas are the indicators of the prospective developments in the city. The role of the prevailing socioeconomic patterns in the city is important for the future developmental opportunities to be identified. These socioeconomic behaviours are depicted through several factors which indicate the behaviours of the inhabitants and the opportunities and discrepancies the particular area is facing. The objective of this research is to explore the socioeconomic behaviour of the inhabitants of the selected area in order to analyze the comprehensive socioeconomic profile of the area. It adopts the mixed methods approach to conduct the research surveys and necessary documentation. It also signifies the understanding of the socioeconomic profiles of the inhabitants in the area by analyzing their historic background, work profiles, expenditure distribution, educational aspects, commercial activities, transport facilities, and the provision of amenities. The findings are detailed out in a quantitative mode and further summarized in the SWOT analysis which also indicates the potential areas for the future developments. The current study takes into account the collective socioeconomic profiles and concludes the organic growth. Moreover, the findings are also helpful to establish that the socioeconomic profiles of the area which can be useful for suggesting the developmental patterns for the betterment of the area. 

Adoption and Samurai Mobility in Tokugawa Japan

1970 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 617-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray A. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Family Histories ◽  
Upward Social Mobility ◽  
Status Differences

AbstractsHistorians have overstated the role of adoption as a channel of upward social mobility for poor but bright young samurai in Tokugawa Japan. An analysis of family histories and public service records of four han shows that adoption helped to preserve both samurai lineages and the political system of daimyo rule. It also created opportunities for younger sons to remain in the elite class under a system of primogeniture. Adoption in the middle and upper (shi) ranks of the class was normally between related families of roughly the same social status. Where status differences were involved, the adopted son usually represented a higher status than the adopting family. The few records available for lower ranks (sotsu) reveal some marriage and adoption with commoners, but none with the higher ranks of the samurai class. In sum, adoption clearly supported the system of hereditary status, but rarely provided opportunities for poor but bright samurai to get ahead in society.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Behaviour of the Micro Urban Areas: A Comprehensive Study of Sachal Goth, Sindh, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-49
Author(s):  
Yasira Naeem Pasha ◽  
Shahla Adnan ◽  
Reena Majid Memon ◽  
Tania Ali Soomro ◽  
Asim Mobeen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Developmental Patterns ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Organic Growth ◽  
The Future ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Socioeconomic Profile ◽  
The City

The socioeconomic profile of the sub-urban areas in Pakistan is a matter of concern for the presumable developments in the future. The micro urban areas are the indicators of the prospective developments in the city. The role of the prevailing socioeconomic patterns in the city is important for the future developmental opportunities to be identified. These socioeconomic behaviours are depicted through several factors which indicate the behaviours of the inhabitants and the opportunities and discrepancies the particular area is facing. The objective of this research is to explore the socioeconomic behaviour of the inhabitants of the selected area in order to analyze the comprehensive socioeconomic profile of the area. It adopts the mixed methods approach to conduct the research surveys and necessary documentation. It also signifies the understanding of the socioeconomic profiles of the inhabitants in the area by analyzing their historic background, work profiles, expenditure distribution, educational aspects, commercial activities, transport facilities, and the provision of amenities. The findings are detailed out in a quantitative mode and further summarized in the SWOT analysis which also indicates the potential areas for the future developments. The current study takes into account the collective socioeconomic profiles and concludes the organic growth. Moreover, the findings are also helpful to establish that the socioeconomic profiles of the area which can be useful for suggesting the developmental patterns for the betterment of the area. 

scholarly journals An Attitude of Gratitude: Older Japanese in the Hopeful Present

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Iza Kavedzija
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Meaningful Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Meaningful Existence ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The City

In this article I explore ideas of the good and meaningful life in older age, based on ethnographic research with older Japanese in the city of Osaka. Some of my interlocutors and friends in the field spoke about the approaching end of their life. When speaking about the time remaining, many expressed their sense that the future ‘will somehow turn out [all right]’ (nantonaku). This statement of quiet hope acknowledged change and encapsulated a desire to support others; it also shifted emphasis away from the future. This is not to say that the experience was for my interlocutors primarily marked by an orientation towards the past: by reminiscing and recollection. Inhabiting the moment was equally important. While reminiscing and narrating past events clearly relate to meaning-making, then, what is the role of dwelling in the moment for maintaining a meaningful existence? I will argue that dwelling in the moment allows for the cultivation of an attitude of gratitude, which lends meaning to a life. This attitude of gratitude binds together both reflection on the past and attention to the present moment in its fullness. It also, I suggest, opens up space for a particular kind of hope, grounded in the moment. Thus, the sense of the good and meaningful life that my older friends conveyed encapsulates an attitude of gratitude as a way of inhabiting the present, rather than dwelling in the past or leaping towards the future. 

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