The Influence of Family Language Policy and Social Networks on Language Attitudes and Language Use of Russian-Language Youth

Summary An individual’s linguistic attitudes and language repertoire are influenced by a variety of environmental factors. Linguistic research has shown that language use is highly influenced by language policies and social networks. This article seeks to analyze how certain language policies and social relationships affect one’s linguistic behavior. The aim of this study is to investigate the linguistic attitudes and language-use tendencies of Russian youth in Lithuanian cities. The participants of this study were Russians and Russian-speakers based in the three largest cities of Lithuania. Their ages ranged from 15 to 29 y.o. A total of 128 respondents participated in the survey. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to obtain the necessary data. The study revealed the main tendencies of language use of Russian youth, as well as the most distinct language attitudes in different cities. The results showed that the Russian community in Vilnius and Klaipeda is quite strong. The young generation tend to have stronger ties with other members of the group comparing to the Russian community in Kaunas. Russian remains the main language of communication in Russian families in Klaipėda and Vilnius. Meanwhile, in Kaunas, the Lithuanian language became the main language in both the public and private sectors. According to the collected data, school is one of the biggest influences in the formation of linguistic repertoire. A social network created in an educational institution might have even greater impact on a young person’s linguistic attitudes than family and its language policies. Other studies also showed that young individuals want to fit in, so they usually choose the language their peers use (Vilkienė, 2011; Geben, 2013 and others). Further linguistic research could examine larger groups, different ethnic minorities, observe the development of language use tendencies. Also, the information has to be updated periodically.

Preparing Ell Writers for Becoming Multilingual Writers: Challenges and Strategies

Summary The increasing number of international students enrolled in higher education in English-speaking countries has presented the growing need to support their academic writing development. It, however, has often led to the hasty assumption that English language learner (ELL) writers need to quickly adopt the dominant academic writing conventions in order to succeed in an English-speaking academic community. Even though the growing number of scholars have started to pay attention to ELL writers’ diverse writing styles and multiple identities, little research and discussion have taken place on how language practitioners could engage ELL writers in developing their voices as multilingual and multicultural writers. By analyzing a qualitative interview with ten experienced writing consultants and instructors, this paper explores major challenges that ELL writers experience and different strategies that could effectively help them develop their voices as writers in the academic context where English is dominantly used as the medium of instruction. Findings show that while many colleges and universities in English-speaking countries still adopt a monolithic view and label ELL writers as ‘a troubled non-native writer’, it is crucial for writing consultants and instructors to acknowledge ELL writers’ multilingual background and help them to develop their unique voices and achieve sustainable development and progress.

Peculiarities of Phonetic and Orthographic Adaptation of Latin Terms in English Clinical Terminology: On the Issue of Latin Terminological Competence Formation of Foreign Medical Students

Summary The article deals with the phonetic and orthographic adaptation of Latin terms in English clinical terminology in the context of Latin terminological competence formation of foreign medical students with English as the language of instruction. About 8,000 of the most common clinical terms selected from various lexicographic English sources have been studied on the basis of etymological and comparative approaches to demonstrate the grade of inconsistency in the reflection of Latin terms in modern English medical terminology. The quantitative analysis allowed us to determine and classify the main tendencies in the process of phonetic and orthographic development of Latin terms: (1) imitation of classical Latin spelling; (2) ‘simplification’ of classical Latin spelling; (3) syncretism of the first and second tendencies (parallel use of classical Latin and ‘simplified’ variants as synonyms). The analysis has also identified in some cases the phenomenon of ‘hypercorrectness’. The lack of a unified norm is reflected in all the analyzed reference sources, complicating the lexicographic description of medical terms as well as the process of teaching / learning the medical terminology. The proposed solution is to develop and implement some unified criteria for phonetic and orthographic adaptation of Latin terms in English. The possible ways to solve the problem are either to adhere to the etymological principle, returning ad fontes of medical terminology, and to use only non-monophthongized and non-simplified forms or to use monophthongized and phonetically and graphically simplified forms following the norms of modern English. Consistent adherence to one system of rules for the development of Latin terms is a needed requirement for the proper formation of terminological competence in medical students and correct use of terminology in their further professional activity.

Plesionyms as a Vocabulary Teaching Tool: The Case of Estonian EFL Learners

Summary The present study investigated the effectiveness of using plesionyms, or near-synonyms, as a vocabulary teaching tool in the English as a foreign language classroom and attempted to determine at what level of proficiency this technique could be incorporated. 40 Estonian university students who were enrolled in three different ESP courses participated in the study. The students were divided into 4 groups according to their level of proficiency: one experimental and one control group consisted of B1 level students; and one experimental and one control group consisted of B2 level students. The experimental groups learned the vocabulary in plesionymic pairs by discussing the differences as well as the similarities between near-synonyms. Meanwhile, the control groups learned the same words non-adjacently, meaning that the words were taught independently and neither differences nor similarities between words were discussed. Based on the findings, it was concluded that teaching vocabulary through plesionymic pairs facilitates immediate recall and long term memory retention among B2 level students. This vocabulary teaching method could be considered more effective at more advanced levels of proficiency.

Linguistic Identity: Between Multilingualism and Language Hegemony

Summary A priori accepting multilingualism as a value, we must understand that it is not permanent. It is empowered by our mother tongue, which creates an essential opportunity as well as a precondition for the acquisition of competences of other languages. However, the language itself, being a tradition, i.e., a living process, is affected by other languages, so the identity of a language cannot be understood without an understanding of its curriculum vitae. The historical path of the Lithuanian language comes from the world of multilingualism. Urban life in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is unimaginable without the people speaking Polish, Belarusian, Ruthenian, Latin and Yiddish. Real multilingualism did not separate people into “us” and “other; this phenomenon emerged later, after some centuries, with the disappearance of urban multilingualism in the urban culture and manifesting as a certain opposition against the “others’, as efforts to create a natural for many people identity-divide which has impact and unities on the basis of a language. In the multilingual world the perception prevailed that we are all “us” but different. The real, conversational and every day multilingualism enabled the dissemination of contextual meaning, reception of different thinking and nuances of a global outlook rather than only communicating information. The emergence of one, the most important and rational, “global” language hegemony determines a new communication which does not require the competence of several languages (even the knowledge of the neighbors’ language), as communication proceeds through a certain mediator and in the long turn embraces various areas of life. However, bilingualism is not the final result; the hegemonic language trespasses the boundaries of the purpose of the lingua franca and aims at overtaking the functions of the native language. So, what is the role and destiny of the latter? This is what the study aimed at discovering.

Language Use Among Malaysian Tamil Youth

Summary Most studies on the language use of Malaysian Tamils focus on the upkeep of the Tamil language. There is, however, a dearth of investigations into language use in a multilingual context among the younger generation of speakers. The present study aims to fill this gap by using Fishman’s (1972) domain model to examine the language used by Tamil youth in intra-group communication in seven domains. Data were collected from 109 questionnaires, 42 audio-recordings of natural conversations and 40 interviews. The findings revealed that in four domains, which were the family, friendship, religion, and neighbourhood, Tamil is used more frequently. The highest usage of the language is predominantly among friends. However, there was a decreasing use of Tamil in the family domain among the younger generations with many married participants claiming to use English rather than Tamil as the home language. This does not bode well for the maintenance of Tamil as a first language in the future. The findings show how participants’ use of Tamil, English and Malay is linked to concepts of identity, solidarity, and their perceptions of these languages. The findings also point to the development of a localised variety of Tamil reflective of the Malaysian cultural landscape.

I Participate; Therefore, I Am (And I Learn): Researching Learners’ Multilingual Identity in the Multilingual School Context

Summary This study examines the relationship between the participation of multilingual students in FAL (French as an additional language) classroom and language learners’ identities associated with the related community of practice. Classroom participation, a key concept of the study, is defined as a verbal form of learners’ investment in language learning, which can both enhance language learning and change the identity of language learners. The research was conducted in an international multilingual school in Croatia among eight 5th grade multilingual and multicultural students learning French as an additional language. For data collection purposes, French language lessons and twelve video recordings with a total length of approx. 480 minutes were observed and taped. A qualitative analysis of the participation of each student was conducted with the regard to the power relations among members of the classroom. The analysis revealed that, from the chosen theoretical perspective where an additional language is seen both as a tool of power and a tool for power, the identity of language learners can be described as a dynamic combination of some of the following identity positions: a language learner in a position of power, a language learner in a higher position of power than others, a language learner in a reduced position of power but eager for a position of power, a language learner in a reduced position of power but not eager for a position of power. The results of this study are consistent with the main assumptions about the identity of language learners made by other socially oriented authors in SLA (Norton-Peirce, 1995; Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2004; Darvin & Norton, 2015), according to which language learners’ identity is multiple, dynamic, discursively shaped and context-dependent.

Metacomprehension Awareness of Primary School Plurilinguals

Summary This qualitative-quantitative study examines the level of metacomprehension awareness in international primary school students before, while, and after reading narrative texts. The first part of the study brings a short overview of theoretical background and previous research pertaining to metacognition and metacognitive strategies, reading comprehension, and plurilingualism in the context of formal education. The second part describes the participants, along with their diverse personal experiences regarding language and education. Two tests and a brief questionnaire were used for collecting the majority of information. A semi-structured interview was conducted to inquire about the participants’ attitudes towards reading narrative texts and the languages to which they give preference while reading such texts. The findings reveal that, at the age of ten, plurilingual students demonstrate a certain amount of metacomprehension awareness while reading narrative texts in English. No major differences were found between two language-specific groups defined by the students’ mother tongues, but certain differences occurred between boys and girls. Established reading language and language preferences for reading narrative texts seem to play an important role in effective reading comprehension, whereas age seems to be a more critical factor in the development of metacomprehension awareness of plurilingual 10-year-olds.

Translation of Proper Nouns During Periods of Interwar and Soviet Lithuania: The Case of “The Tartuffe” by Molière

Summary Translation is not an isolated field of activity. It is closely related to the certain historical, political, ideological, socio-cultural, and sociolinguistic context of a country, i.e., translation depends on polysystems of a particular period of time. The article examines two different translations of Moliere’s play “The Tartuffe” into Lithuanian. “The Tartuffe” was first translated by Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė in 1928 and later in 1967 by Churginas. This research is based on the polysystem theory of Even-Zohar and Toury’s theory of norms in translation. For the analysis of the translations of the theatre play, proper nouns were chosen as the object of the research. The analysis was done using comparative, linguistic descriptive and quantitative methods. These methods assisted in comparing decisions of translation used to translate proper nouns of “The Tartuffe”. Moreover, the analysis reveals the tradition of translation of proper nouns and the changes during the Interwar and Soviet Lithuania periods. In order to achieve the aim of the research, the objectives are as follows: to discuss the activity of translation as a part of the polysystems, to select and classify proper nouns of the research material according to translation decisions chosen by each translator, to review its validity and to discuss translation changes of Lithuanian translation tradition from the beginning to the end of XX century. After a comparative study of the translation of personal nouns in the research material, the author identifies and discusses five translation decisions: phonetic adaptation, omission, grammaticalization of the authentic form, replacement into another proper noun and actualization. Both translators mainly used phonetic adaptation, i.e., linguistic application of proper nouns. Looking towards both translations from the perspective of the social norms theory of Toury and the theoretical concept of polysystemical and binary oppositions of Even-Zohar, it can be assumed that translating Moliere’s play “The Tartuffe”, which belongs to the world literature canon, both translators (Čiurlionienė-Kymantaitė and Churginas) accepted the translation challenges of classical literature, understood the value of the work and the importance of maintaining the uniqueness of this theater play which belongs to Classicism. A comparative analysis of translation of the proper nouns allows identifying the dynamic formation of the tradition of proper nouns translation and its changes in Lithuania starting from quite diverse decisions of translation during the Interwar period, which was characterized by a free translation market, unrestricted selection of translations and their adaptation to the sociocultural and linguistic expectations of the readers, to the development of centralized and institutionalized norms in translation during the period of Soviet Lithuania, which was marked by unanimously applied rules of translation of the proper nouns and norms of the standard Lithuanian language. The results of the comparative research of the translation of the proper nouns allow us to confirm that the first translation, published in 1928, introduced Molière’s play to the Lithuanian culture of translation but became obsolete. Thus, almost forty years later, in 1967 there was a need for a new version of translation of “The Tartuffe” that would be adapted to a contemporary period in which cultural systematic knowledge and the usage of cultural elements and language differed from the first translation version.

Deconstruction of the Discourse of Femininity: A Case of Thai Girls’ Schools

Summary The study investigates the construction of femininity ideologies of girls-only school websites in Thailand and deconstructs them for analysis at the lexical level. Ideological beliefs underlying the custom of upbringing of young women in Thai cultural contexts are the focus of investigation. We pay a particular attention to how the schools communicate their key messages of vision, mission, core values, and about us on their websites and conduct a corpus-driven discourse analysis on the data. Findings from running tests of frequency and collocation reveal the traits of femininity constructed in the discourse, built the praising of obedience, submissiveness and lady-like features. We conclude that benevolent sexism is a common cultural practice evident in educational institutions.