Eastern Girls and Boys: Mapping Lesbian and Gay Languages in Kuala Lumpur

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hadzantonis
Keyword(s):  
Language Ideologies ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Language Practices ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
Significant Bias ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Gay Communities ◽  
Language Styles ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors

Lesbian and gay communities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, evidence unique and highly localized language practices, influenced by the specific organization and appropriation of a variety of social and cultural factors and networks. A hybridity and restylizing of Islamic, Confucianist, neoliberal, and transnational discourses significantly shape these communities, thus providing a lens through which to effect description of these speech communities. This paper discusses language styles in lesbian and gay communities in Kuala Lumpur, and evidences that their language practices, language ideologies, and identities, are fostered and legitimized in culturally complex ways. These complexities become predicated on a specific reapropriation of transnational factors, sociocultural histories, and patriarchal standpoints, mediated by society at large. As such, the study explores and finds a significant bias across these two communities, in that the language practices specific to gay communities far exceed those of lesbian communities. These language practices are mediated by gendered practices and gendered differentials pervasive of larger Malaysian society.

The Path of Standard Albanian Language Formation

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-115
Author(s):  
Sindorela Doli Kryeziu
Keyword(s):  
Single Unit ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Language History ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors ◽  
Cultural Body ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Language Literature

Abstract In our paper we will talk about the whole process of standardization of the Albanian language, where it has gone through a long historical route, for almost a century.When talking about standard Albanian language history and according to Albanian language literature, it is often thought that the Albanian language was standardized in the Albanian Language Orthography Congress, held in Tirana in 1972, or after the publication of the Orthographic Rules (which was a project at that time) of 1967 and the decisions of the Linguistic Conference, a conference of great importance that took place in Pristina, in 1968. All of these have influenced chronologically during a very difficult historical journey, until the standardization of the Albanian language.Considering a slightly wider and more complex view than what is often presented in Albanian language literature, we will try to describe the path (history) of the standard Albanian formation under the influence of many historical, political, social and cultural factors that are known in the history of the Albanian people. These factors have contributed to the formation of a common state, which would have, over time, a common standard language.It is fair to think that "all activity in the development of writing and the Albanian language, in the field of standardization and linguistic planning, should be seen as a single unit of Albanian culture, of course with frequent manifestations of specific polycentric organization, either because of divisions within the cultural body itself, or because of the external imposition"(Rexhep Ismajli," In Language and for Language ", Dukagjini, Peja, 1998, pp. 15-18.)

Entering the Clubhouse

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmin B. Kafai ◽  
Deborah A Fields ◽  
William Q. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Online Communities ◽  
File Sharing ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
After School ◽  
End User ◽  
Programming Software ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors ◽  
Learning Programming ◽  
School Club

Previous efforts in end-user development have focused on facilitating the mechanics of learning programming, leaving aside social and cultural factors equally important in getting youth engaged in programming. As part of a 4-month long ethnographic study, we followed two 12-year-old participants as they learned the programming software Scratch and its associated file-sharing site, scratch.mit.edu, in an after-school club and class. In our discussion, we focus on the role that agency, membership, and status played in their joining and participating in local and online communities of programmers.

scholarly journals Family multilingualism from a southern perspective: Language ideologies and practices of Brazilian parents in Norway

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Lomeu Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
Global South ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Language Practices ◽  
Epistemic Justice ◽  
Intercultural Encounters ◽  
Race Ethnicity

AbstractThis article derives from a three-year ethnographic project carried out in Norway focusing on language practices of Brazilian families raising their children multilingually. Analyses of interview data with two Brazilian parents demonstrate the relevance of examining intersectionally the participants’ orientation to categorisations such as social class, gender, and race/ethnicity. Additionally, I explore how parents make sense of their transnational, multilingual experiences, and the extent to which these experiences inform the language-related decisions they make in the home. Advancing family multilingualism research in a novel direction, I employ a southern perspective as an analytical position that: (i) assumes the situatedness of knowledge production; (ii) aims at increasing social and epistemic justice; (iii) opposes the dominance of Western-centric epistemologies; and (iv) sees the global South as a political location, not necessarily geographic, but with many overlaps. Finally, I draw on the notions of intercultural translation and equivocation to discuss the intercultural encounters parents reported. The overarching argument of this article is that forging a southern perspective from which to analyse parental language practices and beliefs offers a theoretical framework that can better address the issues engendered by parents engaged in South–North transnational, multilingual practices.

scholarly journals Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 99-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Besley ◽  
Torsten Persson
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Low Income ◽  
News Media ◽  
Weak Sense ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Weak Institutions ◽  
Social And Cultural Factors ◽  
A Share

Low-income countries typically collect taxes of between 10 to 20 percent of GDP while the average for high-income countries is more like 40 percent. In order to understand taxation, economic development, and the relationships between them, we need to think about the forces that drive the development process. Poor countries are poor for certain reasons, and these reasons can also help to explain their weakness in raising tax revenue. We begin by laying out some basic relationships regarding how tax revenue as a share of GDP varies with per capita income and with the breadth of a country's tax base. We sketch a baseline model of what determines a country's tax revenue as a share of GDP. We then turn to our primary focus: why do developing countries tax so little? We begin with factors related to the economic structure of these economies. But we argue that there is also an important role for political factors, such as weak institutions, fragmented polities, and a lack of transparency due to weak news media. Moreover, sociological and cultural factors—such as a weak sense of national identity and a poor norm for compliance—may stifle the collection of tax revenue. In each case, we suggest the need for a dynamic approach that encompasses the two-way interactions between these political, social, and cultural factors and the economy.

Vietnamese–Australian children’s language proficiency and use

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692110345
Author(s):  
Van H Tran ◽  
Cen Wang ◽  
Sharynne McLeod ◽  
Sarah Verdon
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Language Practices ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Factors Associated

Aim: To explore Vietnamese–Australian children’s proficiency and use of Vietnamese and English and identify associated factors that are related to demographics, language practices, language ideologies, and language management. Methodology: Vietnamese–Australian parents ( n = 151) completed a questionnaire (in English or Vietnamese) regarding their child’s language proficiency and use, demographic details and a range of factors as conceptualized by Spolsky’s language policy theory: language practices; language ideologies; and language management. Data and analysis: Bivariate analyses (Pearson’s correlation and analysis of variance) and multiple regression models were conducted to explore associations between language proficiency and use and associated factors and identify the most significant factors. Findings/conclusions: Factors associated with children’s Vietnamese language proficiency (oral/written) included: demographic factors; language practices; language ideologies; and language management. In contrast, children’s English language proficiency (oral/written) was linked to demographic factors and language practices. Children’s Vietnamese language use was not significantly correlated with demographics but rather with language practices, language ideologies, and language management. Children’s home language use and proficiency did not have a negative impact upon their English proficiency. Originality: This study is the first to consider factors associated with Vietnamese–Australian children’s language proficiency and use. Significance/implications: Demographic factors, language practices, language ideologies, and language management were associated with children’s language proficiency and use. The results can be used by parents, educators, policy-makers, speech–language pathologists and other professionals to support Vietnamese–Australian and multilingual children around the world to develop and maintain their home and majority languages.

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