scholarly journals Contribution to linguistic politics in the Interwar Period — Ministry of Communication for the sake of language

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Ewa Woźniak
Keyword(s):  
Interwar Period ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Rail Transport ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Advisory Body ◽  
Foreign Origin

The article presents the interwar initiatives of the Polish Ministry of Transport (for some time functioning under the name of the Ministry of Railroad) that served to encourage appropriate language use. In order to promote linguistic correctness in rail transport, the ministry established the Language Commission, which functioned in 1919–1938. The members of this organisation, which was an advisory body of the ministry, included linguists (A.A. Kryński, K. Król, S. Szober). The commission published lists of phrases of foreign origin that were deemed incorrect, especially those used in official letters. Recommended equivalents were provided, too. The commission also Polonized German terminology. These initiatives serve as evidence of language awareness at the time. They also bring new arguments to the discussion of Poland’s linguistic politics in the interwar period.

scholarly journals Sprachgebrauch und Spracheinstellungen in der Deutschschweiz. Pfarrpersonen als sprachbewusste Sprecherinnen und Sprecher im Fokus

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Oberholzer
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
German Dialects ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Real Language ◽  
High Degree

The relation between Swiss German dialects and Standard German has been subject to public and scholarly debates for over 100 years. Among the most frequently discussed points are the appropriateness of spoken Standard German in different contexts and the attitudes of Swiss people towards the two varieties. This paper summarises the results of a completed research project (Oberholzer in Vorb.), which surveyed language use and language attitudes in Swit-zerland for a specific group of speakers: pastors and priests working in German-speaking Switzerland. The paper shows how pastors and priests make use of the diglossic situation and the possibility to code-switch in Sunday services. The use of Standard German emerges as an important communicative resource in German-speaking Switzerland. In addition, real language use and intended language use match to a high degree; this shows the degree of language awareness of this particular group in a diglossic situation. Furthermore, a relatively new approach – the assumption that several mental models of High German coexist – helps to show differentiated language attitudes and to contradict some of the most common stereotypes regarding Standard German in German-speaking Switzerland. The attitudes towards Standard German in this study are significantly more positive than those observed in previous studies.

scholarly journals Language change in contact: How social class and gender influence multilingual Kui speakers’ language use and identity construction in north-eastern Thailand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Siebenhütter
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Age Factors ◽  
Role Expectations ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Gender Influence ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
And Gender

Men and women in the Kui society in north-eastern Thailand use Kui, Thai, and other languages differently and at varying confidence levels. This paper investigates relationships between gendered differences in language use and socioeconomic status and age factors of such use. It specifically examines how Kui minority language use and competence are conditioned by gender and discusses potential reasons for this variation by examining gendered language awareness and sociolinguistic attitudes. Moreover, it discusses whether societal role expectations in collectivistic cultures influence the model of linguistic change and if women in the Kui society function as “leaders of linguistic change,” as represented in Labov’s sociolinguistic model. The findings reveal current Kui-speaking preferences and give predictions on prospective language use, which is a stable situation of multilingualism whereby current Kui speakers continue to socialize and teach the language to prospective Kui speakers. The results confirm the applicability of Labov’s model; however, the unique characteristics of Kui’s linguistic situation indicate a need to adapt the model to account for cultural differences in collectivistic non-western societies.

scholarly journals Ist Standarddeutsch für Deutschschweizer eine Fremdsprache? Untersuchungen zu einem Topos des sprachreflexiven Diskurses

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hägi ◽  
Joachim Scharloth
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
The Status ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
The Relationship

This paper is concerned with the question, whether the status of Standard German in German-speaking Switzerland is adequately described as that of a foreign language. It discusses typological aspects, language awareness and language ideologies among German-speaking Swiss people, the practice of language acquisition, the language use in private life and media and the linguistic discourse about the relationship between the use of Swiss German and Standard German. It argues that from a linguistic point of view in none of these fields a clear decision can be made whether Standard German is a foreign language or not. Thus, the authors suggest that the conceptual framework ought to be widened to adequately describe the status of Standard German in German-speaking Switzerland. Finally, they take occasion to develop the concept of "Sekundärsprache"/"secondary language" for language situations similar to that in German-speaking Switzerland.

scholarly journals Journalists' language awareness: inferences from writing strategies

2006 ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Perrin ◽  
Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Ethnographic Observation ◽  
Multi Method Approach ◽  
Method Approach

What journalists want to do is not always what they actually do as they sit at their computer workstations writing news based on source texts. This article focuses on journalists' writing behavior and their writing strategies in a sample of 17 case studies. Data was collected with progression analysis, a multi method approach combining ethnographic observation and interviews with computer logging and retrospective verbalizations. With this approach, it is possible to make inferences about the awareness journalists have of their language and their language use. The explorative findings show that there might be considerable differences between the professionally guided intentions of writers and their actions - a strong argument for multi-method approaches in production- oriented discourse analysis. Furthermore, the findings show clear differences between experienced and inexperienced journalists: the repertoires of the experienced journalists contain more writing strategies that are oriented to the management of the writing process and the design of the text function. Heightened language awareness may well be linked causally to writing success.

Workplace perceptions and attitudes toward standard English use

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Yeok-Hwa Ngeow ◽  
Keng-Soon Soo ◽  
Avon Crismore
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Civil Sector ◽  
Insight Into

This study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of Malaysian civil sector and private sector workers toward the use and acceptance of Malaysian English, a variety of nonstandard English. A survey using a 20-item Likert Scale questionnaire highlighted some language issues: current perceptions and attitudes about and use of standard English, international intelligibility, public models of language use, and behavioral intentions of civil sector and private sector Malaysians toward standard English. The major findings for the combined sectors were 1) a recognition of the importance of attaining international intelligibility of English in their interactions with foreigners and 2) mixed reactions toward the use of standard English language within their Malaysian society. Differences were found for some items between the civil sector and private sector workers as well as for the factors of age, gender and ethnicity. Studies like this one can be used as a model for replication to find out more about language perceptions and attitudes in other countries and are significant for raising the language awareness needed by educators to better help their students succeed in finding employment, by employers to gain insight into employees’ perceptions and attitudes toward and use of English in order to enhance communication. In addition, the study raises important questions and issues such as about the growth and acceptance of non-native varieties of English in Malaysia and other countries.

Karol Janicki, Against essentialism: Toward language awareness. Lincom Studies in Pragmatics 07. Munich: Lincom Europa. 1999. Pp. vi + 253. Pb $55.

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-131
Author(s):  
Roman Kopytko
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Social ◽  
Uncritical Acceptance ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Rich Content

The book under review is a special one in regard to both content and form. The rich content of Against essentialism (AE) includes philosophical, linguistic, and social claims as well as the interrelationships between them. The form of AE is a continuation of a respectable tradition of dialogical and argumentative writing from Plato to Feyerabend. However, the focus of Janicki's investigations is not Feyerabend and his iconoclastic principles – for example, “Anything goes,” or the critique of the scientific method that is, Feyerabend's contribution to postmodern thought – but rather Popper's (1945) rejection of Aristotelian essentialism (cf. Janicki 1990). The main goals of AE are clear: first, to show the errors and harmfulness of essentialist thinking, the unjustified belief in the importance and power of definitions (or defining concepts and terms in sciences), and the claim that words and their definitions adequately reflect physical, mental or social reality; and second, to propose language awareness as a remedy that can alleviate the problems produced by the uncritical acceptance of essentialist ideology and philosophy. The main object of Janicki's critique is the social-scientific insistence on providing definitions of all concepts, including those that in reality cannot be defined. The eight dialogues in AE deal with crucial aspects of language use and its consequences for human (mis)communication, interpersonal relations, and various other social phenomena.

Exploring doctoral students’ perceptions of language use in supervisory written feedback practices – because “feedback is hard to have”

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elke Stracke ◽  
Vijay Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Doctoral Writing ◽  
The Impact

The mastery of academic writing is essential in doctoral writing. Supervisory feedback provides opportunities for students to improve their writing. It is a communicative tool that can be categorised based on fundamental functions of speech: referential, directive, and expressive. This study provides some understanding of the impact that language and speech functions have on the learning experiences of doctoral students. Sources of data are oral interviews with each student, and their supervisor’s written feedback on drafts of that student’s thesis. Analysis of the feedback provided useful insights into the type of feedback the student considered useful for their development. The students found value in all three types of feedback. In particular, expressive types of feedback often led to an emotional reaction, as students viewed praise, criticism and opinions as motivating or challenging. We argue that expressive types of feedback can play an important role for developing academic writing. This study assists supervisors to acquire a higher level of language awareness so they are better equipped to provide feedback that supports the academic writing and overall learning of their students.

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