scholarly journals Living in several languages: Language, gender and identities

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Burck
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Discursive Analysis ◽  
First Languages ◽  
Research Interviews

Living in several languages encompasses experiencing and constructing oneself differently in each language. The research study on which this article is based takes an intersectional approach to explore insider accounts of the place of language speaking in individuals’ constructions of self, family relationships and the wider context. Twenty-four research interviews and five published autobiographies were analysed using grounded theory, narrative and discursive analysis. A major finding was that learning a new language inducted individuals into somewhat ‘stereotyped’ gendered discourses and power relations within the new language, while also enabling them to view themselves differently in the context of their first language. This embodied process could be challenging and often required reflection and discursive work to negotiate the dissimilarities, discontinuities and contradictions between languages and cultures. However, the participants generally claimed that their linguistic multiplicity generated creativity. Women and men used their language differences differently to ‘perform their gender’. This was particularly evident in language use within families, which involved gendered differences in the choice of language for parenting – despite the fact that both men and women experience their first languages as conveying intimacy in their relationships with their children. The article argues that the notion of ‘mother tongue’ (rather than ‘first language’) is unhelpful in this process as well as in considering the implications of living in several languages for systemic therapy.

He Said. She Said: Exploring the Differences in the Language of Male and Female

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald U. Saculles
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Language Preference ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Language Differences ◽  
Good Taste ◽  
John Gray ◽  
The Difference

John Gray, in his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, explored the differences in the behaviors and languages of men and women by means of his eponymous metaphor that men and women are from distinct planets and that each gender is acclimated to its own planet’s society and customs, but not to those of the other. This metaphor is anchored on the Difference Theory, popularized by Deborah Tannen, which examines the effect that gender has on language use. This study, therefore, is an attempt to explore differences in male and female language in English, Filipino, and Iloco. It seeks to determine the linguistic features that characterize the language of the two groups represented by 100 students from LORMA Colleges. These include language preference; linguistic borrowing; dynamics of code-switching; use of adjectives in English Filipino, and Iloco; and syntactic complexity. Language differences also cover topic preferences of men and women; topics considered not in good taste for conversation, taboo words and the euphemisms used to skirt them, the use of cathartic expressions, the use of cuss words, reasons for uttering cuss words, and the source of learning cuss words. Furthermore, this study also explores how men and women perceive each other’s language, and they’re own.

scholarly journals How much does parental language behaviour reflect their language beliefs in language maintenance?

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanjiang Yu
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Know How ◽  
Migrant Families

It has been widely accepted that parental language beliefs play a crucial role in language maintenance. Studies show that Chinese immigrants are not exempted from language shift although they are frequently reported cherishing their language as an important part of their culture. This paper attempts to find out how parental language beliefs reflect their daily language behaviour. Eight recent Chinese migrant families had 60 minutes of conversation recorded each month for one calendar year. Their language use has been analyzed and compared with the information gathered from a home language use questionnaire. Results show that there is a substantial gap between parental language beliefs and their actual language behaviour. Although the parents state they strongly support mother tongue maintenance, within 28 months, the use of mother tongue had dropped significantly and there is very little evidence showing much effort from the parents to prevent this from happening. This could be either because they want their children to keep their first language but do not know how to do this, or, their language beliefs are different from their behaviour. This should raise methodological issues regarding how to interpret parental language beliefs properly in the research area.

Language and the Aboriginal Child

1983 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-46
Author(s):  
J. Schmider
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Language Difference ◽  
Language Deficit

The language used by Aboriginal and Islander children has become in recent years a major focus of attention, with concern being felt on two broad fronts. There has been an increasing awareness that many use a mother tongue which is not English; at the same time there has been a growing realisation that many of those Aboriginal and Islander children who do use English as a first language use a form of language which differs from that normally used in the school. Whereas originally the tendency was to see these deviations from mainstream language use in terms of language deficit, they are now increasingly accepted as examples of language difference. A major philosophical shift has therefore occurred in the area of language teaching: an early emphasis on remediation and compensation has given way to a stress on language development; and language programs are now based on a philosophy of acceptance of the child’s language, and on the belief that it is necessary to start from where the child is. Thus programs no longer aim to ‘stamp out’ the child’s language or to ‘overcome’ the influence of the home, but instead have as their goal the extension and broadening of the child’s already existing language abilities. The emphasis has shifted from ‘correctness’ in terms of standard English, to ‘appropriateness’ in terms of language use in different social situations.

scholarly journals Teacher’s target language use in classroom discourse: teacher’s point of view

EDUPEDIA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Puspa Sari ◽  
Syahrir Syahrir ◽  
Husnani Aliah
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Discourse ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Language Knowledge ◽  
Students First ◽  
Teaching Learning

The language class is closely related to the assumption that students will learn and generate the target language. Students are supposed to be able to relate, at least, with the language they have studied. The teacher hopes to not only teach but also use the target language in their teaching-learning process and show the students how to use it. This research explores the teacher's target language in the classroom discourse from the teacher’s point of view—a Qualitative approach employed in this research. The teacher believed that the use of the target language has to be in a maximum way. However, drawn away by the situation of students’ target language knowledge, the use of target language becomes infrequently used. She only used target language for simple words or sentences, which is she knew her students able to comprehend. She needed to use the target language and the students’ first language and mother tongue to help the students more comfortable comprehending the lesson.

scholarly journals De la primera lengua a la traducción literaria: Itinerarios de evaluación y reescritura creativa / From mother tongue teaching to literary translation: Assessing and creative rewriting

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-208
Author(s):  
Jorge J. Sánchez Iglesias ◽  
Marta Seseña Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
First Language ◽  
Literary Translation ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Language Training ◽  
Novice Writers ◽  
Area Of Study

Esta propuesta parte de las particularidades de la formación en Lengua A para Traductores, un ámbito poco definido y normalmente muy alejado de los contenidos literarios. Se plantean dos conjuntos de actividades, vinculados a la evaluación y a la reescritura, de cuya vinculación surgen los conceptos de lectura intencional y desautomatización de la escritura, y que parecen por tanto especialmente adecuadas para fomentar una creatividad en el uso de la lengua que resulta de la mayor importancia para la traducción literaria. A partir de unas primeras experimentaciones con reescritura de textos literarios, se puede concluir que las nociones de tono y estilo están intuitivamente disponibles para los escritores noveles y son por tanto excelentes candidatas para ser operativas en la formación en traducción literaria.  The distinguishing characteristics of First Language training - a vaguely defined area of study which is not usually explored in literary publications - will form the basis of our investigation.  We will consider two sets of activities, both linked to evaluation and rewriting, which will allow us to explore the concepts of intentional reading and deautomisation of the writing process. These notions seem especially useful for encouraging creativity in language use, a highly important skill in literary translation. Based on the results of a few initial experiments involving the rewriting of literary texts, we can conclude that novice writers are intuitively aware of tone and style. These notions could therefore provide an excellent focus for literary translation training.    

scholarly journals PEMERTAHANAN BAHASA DAERAH DI KOTA AMBON: STUDI KASUS BAHASA DAERAH DI NEGERI LAHA SEBAGAI SATU-SATUNYA BAHASA DAERAH DI KOTA AMBON [Local Language Maintenance in the city of Ambon: A Local Language Case Studying in the Laha Village as a Local Language only in the City of Ambon]

TOTOBUANG ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
Harlin Turiah
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Local Language ◽  
The City ◽  
Language Mastery

The purpose of this research is to describe local language maintenance in Laha village as the only local language in the City of Ambon. The kind of this research uses quantitative desceiptive. The method of this research is qualitative method where questionnaires were specifically given to 50 respondents that were chosen randomly (random sampling). Beside that, the writer also interviewed some informants and did observation in Laha village and some decent villages in Ambon. The result of this research showed that the condition of local language in Laha village is in danger of extinction. It is shown from local language mastery in society, speakers’ age, first language use, mother tongue, mastery period of local language, and local language acquisition in Laha village. Most speakers of Laha local language can only communicate with little local language of Laha (passive speakers). In terms of age, most of the fluent speakers of local language of Laha are above 50. Those who are under 50 can communicate limitedly, passively understand the language, and even some of them can not communicate using the language at all.   Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pemertahanan bahasa daerah yang ada di Negeri Laha  (setingkat desa) sebagai satu-satunya bahasa daerah yang ada di Kota Ambon. Jenis penelitian ini menggunakan deskriptif kuantitatif. Metode dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kuantitatif yang secara spesifik responden diberikan kuesioner atau daftar tanyaan dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 50 orang yang diambil secara acak (random sampling).  Daftar tanyaan penelitian secara umum meliputi situasi dan kondisi bahasa daerah yang ada di Negeri Laha termasuk pemakai dan pemakaiannya. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa sekarang ini, kondisi bahasa daerah yang ada di Negeri Laha Kota Ambon terancam punah. Hal itu terlihat dari penguasaan bahasa daerah dalam masyarakat, usia penutur, bahasa yang digunakan ketika masa kecil (anak-anak), bahasa pertama yang dipelajari, masa penguasaan bahasa daerah, dan pemerolehan bahasa daerah di Negeri Laha. Kemampuan penguasaan berkomunikasi dalam bahasa daerah di Negeri Laha lebih banyak hanya bisa berkomunikasi secara sedikit-sedikit daripada bisa berkomunikasi secara aktif. Dari segi usia, kebanyakan yang dapat dan lancar berbahasa daerah Laha rata-rata usia di atas 50 tahun. Untuk usia di bawah usia 50 tahun, kebanyakan dapat berkomunikasi secara sedikit-sedikit, bisa memahami (pasif), dan sebagian pula tidak bisa berkomunikasi sama sekali.Abstrak

Does learning to read in a second language always put the child at a disadvantage? Some counterevidence from Morocco

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Wagner ◽  
Jennifer E. Spratt ◽  
Abdelkader Ezzaki
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Achievement ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
General Application ◽  
Learning To Read ◽  
Rural Town ◽  
Arabic Speaking

ABSTRACTResearchers have gathered a variety of evidence to support the theory that learning to read in one's “mother tongue” or first language enhances a child's achievement relative to that of children obliged to learn to read in a second language. Evidence collected primarily in Europe and America has been applied by international organizations to support early mother-tongue education programs in many Third World countries. The data reported in this article suggest that a general application of this conclusion is not justified. The present article reports on a longitudinal study of literacy acquisition among 166 grade 1 children from a rural town in Morocco. Children in the sample came from two distinct linguistic communities (Moroccan Arabic and Berber), but lived in the same village, attended the same schools, and received literacy instruction in Arabic and subsequently French. The study also considered a number of background variables that might influence learning to read, such as Quranic preschooling experience, parental literacy, gender, and SES. Analyses showed that while there were significant differences in Arabic (first literacy) reading achievement between Berber- and Arabic-speaking groups in the first year of the study, such differences virtually disappeared by year 5. Quranic preschooling, also conducted in Arabic, was found to be a mediating influence on achievement in grade 1. Learning to read in French (second literacy) was unrelated to Berber or Arabic linguistic background, but highly related to reading achievement in Arabic, thus providing support for Cummins's (1979) “interdependence” hypothesis. Overall, the findings support the proposition that children in certain social and linguistic contexts need not be taught in their mother tongue in order to achieve literacy norms of the majority language group. These findings are discussed in terms of the context of language use and language prestige in the Moroccan setting, and in terms of their potential generalizability to other linguistic and cultural contexts.

Salvaging the Mother Tongue in Exile

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 187-204
Author(s):  
Tomás Espino Barrera
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
The Past ◽  
Progressive Loss ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
Lost In Translation ◽  
Deliberate Effort ◽  
Deep Sense

The dramatic increase in the number of exiles and refugees in the past 100 years has generated a substantial amount of literature written in a second language as well as a heightened sensibility towards the progressive loss of fluency in the mother tongue. Confronted by what modern linguistics has termed ‘first-language attrition’, the writings of numerous exilic translingual authors exhibit a deep sense of trauma which is often expressed through metaphors of illness and death. At the same time, most of these writers make a deliberate effort to preserve what is left from the mother tongue by attempting to increase their exposure to poems, dictionaries or native speakers of the ‘dying’ language. The present paper examines a range of attitudes towards translingualism and first language attrition through the testimonies of several exilic authors and thinkers from different countries (Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory, Hannah Arendt's interviews, Jorge Semprún's Quel beau dimanche! and Autobiografía de Federico Sánchez, and Eva Hoffman's Lost in Translation, among others). Special attention will be paid to the historical frameworks that encourage most of their salvaging operations by infusing the mother tongue with categories of affect and kinship.

First grammar books in the Habsburg Monarchy: individual initiative and regulatory interference by the state (1760s–1770s)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2 (11)) ◽  
pp. 137-157
Author(s):  
Olga V. Khavanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
German Language ◽  
Habsburg Monarchy ◽  
Private Initiative ◽  
The One

The second half of the eighteenth century in the lands under the sceptre of the House of Austria was a period of development of a language policy addressing the ethno-linguistic diversity of the monarchy’s subjects. On the one hand, the sphere of use of the German language was becoming wider, embracing more and more segments of administration, education, and culture. On the other hand, the authorities were perfectly aware of the fact that communication in the languages and vernaculars of the nationalities living in the Austrian Monarchy was one of the principal instruments of spreading decrees and announcements from the central and local authorities to the less-educated strata of the population. Consequently, a large-scale reform of primary education was launched, aimed at making the whole population literate, regardless of social status, nationality (mother tongue), or confession. In parallel with the centrally coordinated state policy of education and language-use, subjects-both language experts and amateur polyglots-joined the process of writing grammar books, which were intended to ease communication between the different nationalities of the Habsburg lands. This article considers some examples of such editions with primary attention given to the correlation between private initiative and governmental policies, mechanisms of verifying the textbooks to be published, their content, and their potential readers. This paper demonstrates that for grammar-book authors, it was very important to be integrated into the patronage networks at the court and in administrative bodies and stresses that the Vienna court controlled the process of selection and financing of grammar books to be published depending on their quality and ability to satisfy the aims and goals of state policy.

FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH TEXTBOOKS IN ALBANIAN SCHOOLS (COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS)

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2319-2324
Author(s):  
Rina Muka ◽  
Irida Hoti
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
The Third

The language acquired from the childhood is the language spoken in the family and in the place of living. This language is different from one pupil to another, because of their social, economical conditions. By starting the school the pupil faces first the ABC book and then in the second grade Albanian language learning through the Albanian language textbook. By learning Albanian language step by step focused on Reading, Writing, Speaking and Grammar the pupil is able to start learning the second language on the next years of schooling. So, the second language learning in Albanian schools is related to the first language learning (mother tongue), since the early years in primary school. In our schools, the second language (English, Italian) starts in the third grade of the elementary class. On the third grade isn’t taught grammar but the pupil is directed toward the correct usage of the language. The textbooks are structured in developing the pupil’s critical thinking. The textbooks are fully illustrated and with attractive and educative lessons adequate to the age of the pupils. This comparative study will reflect some important aspects of language learning in Albanian schools (focused on Albanian language - first language and English language - second language), grade 3-6. Our point of view in this paper will show not only the diversity of the themes, the lines and the sub-lines but also the level of language knowledge acquired at each level of education. First, the study will focus on some important issues in comparing Albanian and English language texts as well as those which make them different: chronology and topics retaken from one level of education to another, so by conception of linear and chronological order will be shown comparatively two learned languages (mother tongue and second language). By knowing and learning well mother tongue will be easier for the pupil the foreign language learning. The foreign language (as a learning curriculum) aims to provide students with the skills of using foreign language written and spoken to enable the literature to recognize the achievements of advanced world science and technology that are in the interest of developing our technique. Secondly, the study will be based on the extent of grammatical knowledge, their integration with 'Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing' as well as the inclusion of language games and their role in language learning. The first and second language learning in Albanian schools (grade III-VI) is based on similar principles for the linearity and chronology of grammatical knowledge integrated with listening, reading, writing and speaking. The different structure of both books help the pupils integrate and use correctly both languages. In the end of the sixth grade, the pupils have good knowledge of mother tongue and the second language and are able to write and speak well both languages.

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