A Relational Approach to Lexical Borrowings in the Discourse of Romanian Bilingual Immigrants in Spain

A Relational Approach to Lexical Borrowings in the Discourse of Romanian Bilingual Immigrants in Spain. This paper is a neurocognitive analysis of idiosyncratic lexical borrowings recorded in the discourse of bilingual Romanian immigrants living in Spain. The neurocognitive approach, also known as Relational Network Theory (RNT), conceives language as an interconnected relational network composed of nodes and lines, part of and connected to the general cognitive system. Linguistic processing is a result of spreading activation through the network and of interaction of the system with other biological systems. The model elegantly describes real and inferred linguistic behaviors, both well-formed and erroneous. We use this approach to explore the underlying mechanisms that trigger the emergence of linguistic interference in the discourse of bilingual speakers. We focus on several lexical borrowings selected from corpora of Romanian spoken in Spain, and we model them, using the NeuroLab tool, in relational network terms. The network modeling of these hybrid forms pinpoints new ways of understanding the differences between adapted and non-adapted, and between necessary and luxury borrowings. We conclude that the RNT model is well suited for explaining bilingual processing and, arguably, one of the few models that can account for the hybrid forms emerging in the discourse of bilingual speakers. Keywords: Relational Network Theory, lexical borrowing, Romanian, Spanish, Rumañol, neurocognitive linguistics.

Barriers To Immigration Using The Quebec Skilled Workers Immigration Program (QSWP) : A Study Of The Online Exchanges Among Romanian Immigrants And Prospective Immigrants

Many immigrants face obstacles as they navigate through the lengthy and stressful immigration process and its procedures. This project is based on an investigation of an outline discussion forum through which successful immigrants and prospective immigrants exchange information regarding their immigration proceedings. The target groups that were chosen for my inquiry are prospective immigrants from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data this paper generates valuable knowledge about the first-hand experiences of individuals applying to come to Canada through Quebec's Skilled Workers immigration program. The findings show that although there is plenty of official information offered to prospective immigrants, they still encounter difficulties as they navigate through the immigration process.

Barriers To Immigration Using The Quebec Skilled Workers Immigration Program (QSWP) : A Study Of The Online Exchanges Among Romanian Immigrants And Prospective Immigrants

Many immigrants face obstacles as they navigate through the lengthy and stressful immigration process and its procedures. This project is based on an investigation of an outline discussion forum through which successful immigrants and prospective immigrants exchange information regarding their immigration proceedings. The target groups that were chosen for my inquiry are prospective immigrants from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data this paper generates valuable knowledge about the first-hand experiences of individuals applying to come to Canada through Quebec's Skilled Workers immigration program. The findings show that although there is plenty of official information offered to prospective immigrants, they still encounter difficulties as they navigate through the immigration process.

Main Concerns in Times of COVID-19 in Three Groups of People: Italians, Romanian Immigrants in Italy, and Romanians in Romania

This chapter is a description of results of a study conducted in Italy involving Italians (N = 491), Romanian immigrants (N = 275), and Romanians in Romania (N = 312) with aim to explore the principal sources of anxiety and uncertainty during COVID-19 pandemic, and the differences between the groups. In addition, the study analysed the role of resilience as a potential moderator between perception of sources of anxiety during COVID-19 and distress. A questionnaire was administered containing several scales. Results showed that Italians and immigrants have similar concerns and that the perception of resilience play significant role in determining emotional distress.

Informality on Wheels: Informal Automobilities Beyond National Boundaries

This article unpacks informal practices related to modernity’s quintessential mobility machine: the car. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among low-wage Romanian immigrants in Spain who maintain transnational connections with their regions of origin in Romania, this paper addresses the role of the automobile system and of informal practices in migrants’ daily work and life mobilities. I contend that informal automobilities are a set of livelihood strategies and infrapolitical activities that use cars to confront the constraints of geographical and social mobility regimes. The result is a heavily controlled car system that also provides the flexibility to move informally between formal rules in order to make a living. The transnational approach allows us to go beyond earlier accounts of informality that focus on the local and/or national scale by treating the car as a translocal object embedded socially and economically in transnational relationships. These conclusions contribute to increasing our knowledge of post-structural informality and mobility, but they are also relevant to understanding how a future carless or post-car world would impact on the populations that need, or exploit, the automobile system to survive and would oppose unequal mobility regimes.

‘Coming from Abroad’: Exploring Romanian Migrants’ Transnational Social Networks through the Prism of Temporary Return

Return features heavily in the narratives and lives of Romanian immigrants in London, as a key topic of debate rather than a mere end goal of their migration. By analysing their experiences of temporary return, this paper1 reveals the tensions and contradictions embedded in migrants’ transnational social networks. It applies a two-fold focus: first examining the importance of return for Romanians in London; then considering how experiences of temporary return shape migrants’ social networks. The paper is based on data from my scoping doctoral fieldwork, five weeks of participant observation and interviews with Romanians in northwest London. Key words: migration, Romania, transnationalism, return, social networks.

A Neurocognitive Analysis of Idiosyncratic Semantic Borrowings in the Discourse of Bilingual Romanian Immigrants in Spain

A Neurocognitive Analysis of Idiosyncratic Semantic Borrowings in the Discourse of Bilingual Romanian Immigrants in Spain. In this paper we look at the semantic borrowings that spontaneously emerge in the oral discourse of bilingual Romanian immigrants who live in Spain, and we analyze them from a neurocognitive perspective. Also known as Relational Network Theory, this approach conceives language as an interconnected relational network composed of nodes and lines. Linguistic processing is a result of spreading activation through the network. We use this approach to explore the mechanisms underlying the oral production of semantic borrowings selected from corpora of Romanian spoken in Spain, and we model them, using the NeuroLab tool, in relational network terms. The network modeling shows that these hybrid forms emerge naturally from the properties of the system and can be explained in terms of shared parts of either phonological or semantic subnetworks involved in the production of analogous forms. It also delivers additional explanation to the proliferation of mixed meaning and sound induced semantic borrowings in the form of a higher pressure for rewiring coming from two different parts of the system.

Can Meta-Stereotyping Account for Unwarranted Negative Reception of the UK TV Documentary “The Romanians are Coming”?

In February 2015 the UK TV station Channel 4 started screening James Bluemel’s series “The Romanians Are Coming”, a three-part documentary film about “the lives of poor Romanian people who seek work in Great Britain, seen through the eyes of the British people”. This documentary provoked strong opposition from some Romanian politicians and mass media outlets. In the UK the reaction was a contrasting one: sympathy, understanding and compassion. We showed the series to three Romanian university classes in 2017-18 and the students largely had a negative reaction similar to that of those Romanian commentators. A standard content analysis of the film, however, suggests that it gives a positive image of Romanian immigrants in the UK. Despite this, our audiences tended to form a negative perception of the film. We attribute this disparity to the wording of its title activating two classical stereotypes: that Romanians are often Roma, and that poor people are a source of social problems. The film as a whole in fact projects an opposite message, but once these stereotypes have been activated the content is automatically perceived as negative.