Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020
Meike Wernicke
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 1-16
Abstract
This paper examines how normative assumptions about language teacher identity and cultural belonging can work to construct an intercultural identity that problematizes language ideologies of standardization, monolingualism, and linguistic and cultural purism. The data are drawn from a larger study investigating ...
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This paper examines how normative assumptions about language teacher identity and cultural belonging can work to construct an intercultural identity that problematizes language ideologies of standardization, monolingualism, and linguistic and cultural purism. The data are drawn from a larger study investigating the professional identity construction of a cohort of Canadian French-second-language teachers who participated in a professional development sojourn in France. The analysis presented here centers on one teacher's (re)conceptualization of French culture, which both highlights and subverts prevailing Eurocentric discourses in French-second-language education and of particular prominence in study abroad contexts. The teacher’s semi-structured interview accounts are approached from a participant-relevant perspective as discursive action that serves to display a particular identity as French language teacher. The use of membership categorization analysis is especially productive in attending to how identity categories associated with discourses of authentic Frenchness are drawn on to construct a French teacher identity that challenges taken-for-granted conceptions of culture in intercultural encounters abroad.
Reza Pishghadam; Shima Ebrahimi; Ali Derakhshan
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 17-34
Abstract
The close relationship between language and culture has been highlighted by scholars in sociology, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, psychology, and linguistics. They postulate that language is a tool to instantiate cultural concepts and delineate how individuals perceive the world. Regarding ...
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The close relationship between language and culture has been highlighted by scholars in sociology, sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, psychology, and linguistics. They postulate that language is a tool to instantiate cultural concepts and delineate how individuals perceive the world. Regarding such an outstanding impetus and triggered by the conceptualization of cultulings (culture in language), language structures and expressions can manifest the overt and covert cultural patterns. Not only can the cultuling analysis of a society disclose the cultural patterns entrenched in the language, but also it can unearth the effective and defective cultural memes. To this end, our cultural model, underpinned by environmental factors, cultural, emo-sensory, and linguistic differences, can provide a robust model to analyze cultulings of a given society. Therefore, to analyze and explain the cultulings, the cultural, emotioncy, and SPEAKING models are suggested to be collectively utilized to reflect the participants’ culture. The amalgamation of these models and the underlying environmental factors can delineate people’s specific behaviors and cultulings which can culminate in euculturing.
Christian Nchindia
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 35-54
Abstract
Much has been written on funding for ESOL, but little is known about how ESOL learners use language as a tool to integrate into British society. This study seeks to understand the extent to which studying 'ESOL for citizenship course' help learners integrate into British society, the difficulties they ...
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Much has been written on funding for ESOL, but little is known about how ESOL learners use language as a tool to integrate into British society. This study seeks to understand the extent to which studying 'ESOL for citizenship course' help learners integrate into British society, the difficulties they encounter, and what ESOL professionals can do to mitigate them. Data was collected through focus group interviews and initial analysis was done using Nvivo software. Three theoretical frameworks were applied: Baker’s (2011); Ward and Kennedy’s (1999); and Dai and Chen’s (2014). The findings revealed that although ESOL learners nursed initial stereotypical views about British culture before arrival, their perceptions significantly improved after arrival. Despite these positive perceptions, they were resistant to assimilate and the gap between home and host cultures remained wide. Findings also unveil that the underlying objective of learning the language was predominantly instrumental. That is, they wanted to learn English as a means of getting a better job or advancing their studies in the UK, than to integrate. Some implications for practice in the ESOL context were identified.
Masood Khoshsaligheh; Saeed Ameri; Farzaneh Shokoohmand; Mehdi Mehdizadkhani
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 55-74
Abstract
Given the increasing pace of dissemination of cultural content across global borders, subtitling as a cost-effective solution for rendering audiovisual programs is gaining more popularity, even in societies, which have been traditionally using dubbing as the dominant modality for foreign films and television ...
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Given the increasing pace of dissemination of cultural content across global borders, subtitling as a cost-effective solution for rendering audiovisual programs is gaining more popularity, even in societies, which have been traditionally using dubbing as the dominant modality for foreign films and television series. Likewise, various types of subtitling practices have developed and are used in Iran both at official and non-official outlets. While official dubbing has failed in some aspect in addressing the growing interest of Iranian viewers of foreign content, a variety of non-professional subtitling has been filling the gap, and subtitling appears to be dominating the audiovisual media market. Despite such developments, the necessities of professional practice of subtitling, including standardized guidelines, codes of ethics and practice, and training, have never been realized in Iran. In the absence of a professional subtitling tradition, this article presents the status quo of non-professional subtitling into Persian and introduces the specific typology of this practice in the Iranian mediascape.
Su-Hie Ting; Su-Lin Ting
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 75-89
Abstract
The study examined the ethnic identity and other-group orientation of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. The data were collected from 504 Chinese respondents (252 students, 252 parents) using Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Identity Measure. The results showed that the parents had a stronger ethnic identity ...
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The study examined the ethnic identity and other-group orientation of ethnic Chinese in Malaysia. The data were collected from 504 Chinese respondents (252 students, 252 parents) using Phinney’s (1992) Multiethnic Identity Measure. The results showed that the parents had a stronger ethnic identity than their children. For both groups, the mean scores for affirmation and belonging were the highest among the four ethnic identity components, and the ethnic identity achievement mean scores were the lowest. The results indicate that the Foochow Chinese respondents had a foreclosed identity, whereby they have made a commitment to their ethnicity without extensive exploration of the meaning of belonging to their ethnic group. Gender and socio-economic background have significant effects on strength of ethnic identity, but Chinese-medium education is not linked to ethnic identity. The findings suggest that the Chinese are moderating their ethnic identity, but their positive other-group orientation is far from the level of cultural adaptation that is required for assimilation.
Hamid Allami; Najmeh Barzegar
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 90-104
Abstract
This study investigates the representation of ordinary people in the inaugural speeches of two Iranian presidents and their underlying ideologies through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). An aggregate model integrating Fairclough’s three-dimensional (1989), Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive ...
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This study investigates the representation of ordinary people in the inaugural speeches of two Iranian presidents and their underlying ideologies through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). An aggregate model integrating Fairclough’s three-dimensional (1989), Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive (1993), and Van Leeuwen’s socio-semantic (1996) approaches to CDA was proposed and applied as the analytical tool. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed for the study design. In the quantitative part, statistically significant differences in the use of vocabulary items and structures were investigated based on the description stage of Fairclough’s and van Leeuwen’s frameworks. In the qualitative part of the study, attempts were made to justify the found similarities and differences based on the interpretation and explanation stages of Fairclough’s and van Dijk’s frameworks. The study showed that in spite of differences in the presentation of political self, both presidents design similar strategies in their political discourse to project the identity of common people within their sociocultural context.
Munmun Gupta; Katharina Sukamto
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 105-120
Abstract
The present study highlights a number of similarities and differences among cultural communicative styles used in India versus Indonesia. The analysis is based on Hall’s theory (1959, 1966, 1976, 1983) of high-context (HC) and low-context (LC) cultures, and Hofstede’s (2008) cultural dimension ...
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The present study highlights a number of similarities and differences among cultural communicative styles used in India versus Indonesia. The analysis is based on Hall’s theory (1959, 1966, 1976, 1983) of high-context (HC) and low-context (LC) cultures, and Hofstede’s (2008) cultural dimension of collectivism versus individualism. When viewed through the lens of Hall’s theory, India and Indonesia can both be classified as HC cultures, although India appears to be moving in the direction of LC culture. When both cultures are observed via Hofstede’s account of collectivism versus individualism, it is evident that Indonesia belongs to a collectivist culture, whereas India can be considered as both individualistic and collectivistic. There are marked differences in the ways that Indians and Indonesians interact, yet they also share a number of similarities, including respecting their elders and persevering in the accomplishment of tasks. This study also suggests how potential gaps between members of different cultures can be bridged by promoting intercultural acceptance.
Uche Gloria Oboko
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 121-136
Abstract
Language plays major functions in society. The way of life of a people is handed down from generation to generation through language. The Igbo people are known for their rich oral tradition and cultural heritage especially in the use of proverbs. Some studies on Igbo proverbs have focused on the semantic ...
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Language plays major functions in society. The way of life of a people is handed down from generation to generation through language. The Igbo people are known for their rich oral tradition and cultural heritage especially in the use of proverbs. Some studies on Igbo proverbs have focused on the semantic classifications, structures of the proverbs, the relevance of Igbo proverbs in interpersonal relationships and conflict resolutions as well as explored the stance of proverbs in the creation of dichotomy in gender relations in Igbo land. The present study aims at establishing the relationship between Igbo proverbs, their functions in society and their pragmatic force as didactic tools. The proverbs were selected from texts written by Igbo native speakers. Twenty proverbs that teach respect and honour in Igbo land were selected, translated to English and analysed. In Igbo land, proverbs are situated in contexts; hence, the work adopts context, an aspect of Lawal’s 2012 pragmatic theory. The work is analysed in line with the six levels of context identified in the theory in consonance with the Igbo worldview. These levels include cosmological, sociological, social, psychological, situational and linguistic.
Mahir Sarigul
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 137-151
Abstract
The study of cosmopolitans – citizens of the world— and cosmopolitanism, traceable to ancient Greece, has, after a long decline in interest, made a strong comeback in social sciences since the 1990s, particularly in sociology and anthropology. This anthropological study aims to understand ...
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The study of cosmopolitans – citizens of the world— and cosmopolitanism, traceable to ancient Greece, has, after a long decline in interest, made a strong comeback in social sciences since the 1990s, particularly in sociology and anthropology. This anthropological study aims to understand cosmopolitanism and cosmopolitans through native English speaking teachers (NESTs) living in and working at various foundation universities in Istanbul, Turkey. A qualitative method of in-depth interviews with 21 participants was employed over a period of 20 months. Drawing from Diogenes’ and Kant’s concept of “world citizen”, the author elaborates on this theory by highlighting how cosmopolitanism has varied due to globalization and given birth to new cosmopolitan types, one of which is the white-collar cosmopolitan, a category defined through themes and commonalities during data analysis and the interviews, to which NESTs belong. The findings also indicate that cosmopolitanism is evolving into a new form and producing new meanings through specific dispositions particularly, willingness to engage with “the Other” and to embrace cultural, social, ethnic, and religious diversity.
Edwin Dartey
Volume 8, Issue 2 , Summer and Autumn 2020, Pages 152-156
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