scholarly journals Inclusive Language Use in Multicultural Business Organizations: The Effect on Creativity and Performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Lauring ◽  
Anders Klitmøller
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Group Processes ◽  
Language Diversity ◽  
Theoretical Idea ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Shared Identity ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Multicultural Organizations ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
And Performance

Few studies have dealt with inclusive language use in multicultural organizations. This is unfortunate because it has been hypothesized that such organizations will be more creative and will perform better than mono-cultural organizations if communication issues are dealt with correctly by managers. In this study, we test the general hypothesis that inclusive language use by managers and employees in formal and informal situations will increase the creativity and performance in multicultural organizations. By use of responses from 676 individuals employed in privately owned multicultural companies, we found that management common language communication was strongly associated with performance but not with creativity. Openness to language diversity among employees, however, had strong relations with both creativity and performance. This indicates that management communication may provide information and a shared identity that can increase the performance of an organization. Yet in order to increase creativity, there is a need to also facilitate inclusive group processes. The findings provide new insights into the theoretical idea that diversity leads to creativity and performance if communication is managed correctly.

Linguistic Competence in Aphasia

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-92
Author(s):  
Leonard L. LaPointe
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Feral Children ◽  
Performance Factors ◽  
Performance Loss ◽  
Linguistic Rules ◽  
Communication Goals ◽  
Aphasia Treatment ◽  
And Performance

Abstract Loss of implicit linguistic competence assumes a loss of linguistic rules, necessary linguistic computations, or representations. In aphasia, the inherent neurological damage is frequently assumed by some to be a loss of implicit linguistic competence that has damaged or wiped out neural centers or pathways that are necessary for maintenance of the language rules and representations needed to communicate. Not everyone agrees with this view of language use in aphasia. The measurement of implicit language competence, although apparently necessary and satisfying for theoretic linguistics, is complexly interwoven with performance factors. Transience, stimulability, and variability in aphasia language use provide evidence for an access deficit model that supports performance loss. Advances in understanding linguistic competence and performance may be informed by careful study of bilingual language acquisition and loss, the language of savants, the language of feral children, and advances in neuroimaging. Social models of aphasia treatment, coupled with an access deficit view of aphasia, can salve our restless minds and allow pursuit of maximum interactive communication goals even without a comfortable explanation of implicit linguistic competence in aphasia.

scholarly journals “Service Programmes” on Jordanian Radio: Understanding Broadcaster Persona through an Interdisciplinary Analysis of Language and Performance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jona Fras
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Water Pipe ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Radio Stations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
And Performance

My ESRC-funded doctoral research explores linguistic practice on Jordanian radio today. The main conclusion of my research is that details of Arabic use in the radio setting have significant implications for the kind of audiences addressed – that is, who is included as a legitimate or “validated” listener – and the way members of the public can participate in radio discourse – this latter in particularly through call- ins, which are a frequent feature of Jordanian radio programming more generally.This paper looks at one type of programmes present on many contemporary Jordanian radio stations: the so-called “service programmes,” "barāmiž ḳadamātiyya," in which listeners call the station and speak live on the air in order to request assistance or mediation with local authorities in resolution of an issue – such as a damaged road, a broken water pipe, et cetera. It compares two popular service programmes: Barnāmiž al-wakīl, hosted by Muhammad al-Wakeel, and Wasaṭ al- balad, hosted by Hani al-Badri. It argues that, in order to properly appreciate the differences between the two programmes, an interdisciplinary approach to the data is required. This has raised certain methodological issues for my work, but on the other hand allowed me to explore new theoretical pathways and contribute new insights to scholarship on both contemporary Arabic language use, and Middle Eastern media.

Primary and secondary factors in language maintenance in a medium-sized community language: Catalan in Spain

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-552
Author(s):  
Raquel Casesnoves ◽  
Josep-Àngel Mas ◽  
Anna Tudela
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Very High

Aims and objectives: The main aim of this study is to find out which social and ideological factors determine the maintenance of Catalan language in public contexts, and particularly the relative weight each factor contributes to the choice. The question is which of the socio-demographic and ideological factors determines to a greater extent the use of Catalan. Methodology: Participants completed a survey, which consisted of a sociolinguistic questionnaire and an attitudinal test based on the matched-guise technique. Sociolinguistic inferences concerning the relationship between different factors and language use were made using statistical methods. Data: Six hundred university students from the cities of Valencia, Palma and Barcelona answered the same survey. University students are a very interesting research group, since they are going to become part of the most influential social groups. Findings: Results from the analysis support the importance of social networks in understanding language maintenance, apart from making some differences between the territories clearer: this relative importance of social networks is very high in Valencia and Palma, but not in Barcelona. Originality: This study shows the first comparison between the influence of different kinds of factors in the use of the Catalan language, as well as the comparison between the behaviour of the three major Catalan-speaking cities. Furthermore, the focus on the factors related to university students’ language use is not a much-visited field. Significance and implications: The use of Catalan seems to be naturalized in Barcelona, whereas in Palma and Valencia the use of this language is more ideologized – and minor. The coincidence in the same territory, Catalonia, of the major language use in all situations and the more incisive and inclusive language policy should point out the direction that campaigns to promote Catalan in the other two regions should take.

scholarly journals Geschlechtergerechte Sprache im Arabischen. Skizzierung des Forschungsstands und Fallanalyse arabischer Übersetzungen bayerischer Behördentexte.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lisa Schor
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Geschlechtergerechte Sprache ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
And Gender

Während sich geschlechtergerechter Sprachgebrauch im deutschen Sprachraum bereits mehr oder weniger etabliert hat, steckt die Forschung zur sprachlichen Gleichbehandlung in der arabischen Welt noch in den Kinderschuhen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird zunächst der aktuelle Forschungsstand rund um Gender Bias und geschlechtergerechte Sprache im Arabischen skizziert. Im Anschluss folgt eine Einzelfallstudie, in der 15 Behördentexte bayerischer Staatsministerien und deren arabische Übersetzungen einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse unterzogen werden. Anhand eines eigens erstellten Kategoriensystems wird analysiert, welche Strategien derzeit bei der Übersetzung geschlechtergerechter Formulierungen ins Arabische angewandt werden. Aus der Skizzierung des Forschungs-stands geht hervor, dass die arabische Sprache sowohl auf formaler als auch auf soziolinguistischer Ebene viele androzentrische Elemente enthält. Verschiedene Möglichkeiten für einen geschlechtergerechten Sprachgebrauch werden dargestellt. Es wird ersichtlich, dass in der arabischen Welt eine zunehmende Sensibilisierung für sprachliche Gleichbehandlung zu beobachten ist. Die Einzelfallstudie zeigt, dass geschlechtergerechte Formulierungen bei der Übersetzung ins Arabische bevorzugt ins generische Maskulinum übertragen werden. Gelegentlich finden sich zwar auch Beidnennungen, diese sind jedoch als wörtliche Übersetzung der Ausgangsformulierungen zu interpretieren. Die Intention der Ausgangstexte für sprachliche Gleichbehandlung spiegelt sich in den arabischen Übersetzungen nicht wider, daher wird geschlussfolgert, dass den Übersetzenden das Konzept geschlechtergerechter Sprache nicht hinreichend bekannt ist. While gender-inclusive language use is already more or less established in the German-speaking society, research on linguistic equality in the Arab world is still in its early days. This paper first outlines the current state of research on gender bias and gender-inclusive language in Arabic. It is then followed by a case study in which 15 official texts of Bavarian state ministries and their Arabic translations are subjected to a qualitative content analysis. Through a system of categorization, the study analyzes which strategies are currently used in translating gender-inclusive phrases into Arabic. From the outline of the state of research, it is clear that the Arabic language contains many androcentric elements, both on a formal and sociolinguistic level. Various possibilities for gender-inclusive language use are presented. It becomes apparent that there is an increasing awareness of linguistic equality in the Arab world. The case study shows that gender-inclusive phrases are preferably transferred to the generic masculine when translated into Arabic. Occasionally, pairing is also found, however it is to be interpreted as a literal translation of the source material. The intention of the source texts for linguistic equality is not reflected in the Arabic translations. Thus, it is concluded that the translators are not sufficiently familiar with the concept of gender-inclusive language.

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