Volume 10, Issue 3 , September 2022
Volume 11, Issue 1 , March 2023
Volume 11, 2 (Themed Issue on Language, Discourse, and Society) , July 2023
Volume 11, Issue 3 , September 2023
Kevin D. Vinson; E. Wayne Ross
Volume 1, Issue 2 , September 2013, , Pages 1-14
Abstract
In this paper we set out to accomplish several goals. Primarily, we seek to re-interpret Guy Debord’s (1967) work The Society of the Spectacle in light of modern-day schooling, principally within North America (although we recognize the global connectivity inherent in any current discussion of ...
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In this paper we set out to accomplish several goals. Primarily, we seek to re-interpret Guy Debord’s (1967) work The Society of the Spectacle in light of modern-day schooling, principally within North America (although we recognize the global connectivity inherent in any current discussion of formal education). In addition, we aim to utilize Debord’s conceptualizations as a series of means and mechanisms by and through which to examine (1) various threats posed against the ideals of publicly supported schools and (2) modes of resistance, particularly what we term “dangerous citizenship,” via which committed advocates might challenge the possible consequences of such threats, consequences including disciplinarity/ deterrence, anti-democracy, oppression, anti-collectivity, and inauthenticity.
Mansoor Tavakoli; Salva Shirinbakhsh
Volume 2, Issue 1 , March 2014, , Pages 1-24
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine Cook’s (2003) ‘multiple competence’ by investigating backward pragmatic transfer (from L2 [English] to L1 [Persian]) in refusals to invitations. It explored participants’ frequency and content of refusal strategies in L1 regarding the status ...
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The purpose of this study was to examine Cook’s (2003) ‘multiple competence’ by investigating backward pragmatic transfer (from L2 [English] to L1 [Persian]) in refusals to invitations. It explored participants’ frequency and content of refusal strategies in L1 regarding the status (i.e., power and distance) of interlocutors and the proficiency level of EFL learners. The participants were Persian speakers with no knowledge of English language,and Persian EFL learners at three proficiency levels of elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Data were collected via a three -scenario role play. Results revealed significant differences between Persian native speakers and high-proficient EFL learners in terms of content and frequency of refusal strategies utilized. Concerning the different status of interlocutors, EFL learners seemed more direct and employed more specific responses to their refusals than Persian native speakers did. Overall, this study provided some evidence for backward pragmatic transfer among EFL learners.
Yves Gambier
Volume 2, Issue 2 (Special Issue on Translation, Society and Culture) , September 2014, , Pages 1-12
Abstract
Translating and translation are transformed with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Within three decades, a new work environment is shaking up the translator’s world. New types of translators are emerging. The balance between supply and demand is changing. However, we need adequate ...
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Translating and translation are transformed with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Within three decades, a new work environment is shaking up the translator’s world. New types of translators are emerging. The balance between supply and demand is changing. However, we need adequate tools and methods to investigate the new hierarchy which has become established between translators, between different kinds of job markets. Journalists are like translators confronted with computerization and an influx of amateurs. With all those rapid changes, it is time to consider an economic turn in Translation Studies and also the implications for training.
Shuan Wei-Hong Ko; Zohreh R. Eslami; Lynn M. Burlbaw
Volume 3, Issue 1 , March 2015, , Pages 1-15
Abstract
The present study investigated learners’ interlanguage pragmatic development through analysis of 99 requestive emails addressed to a faculty member over a period of up to two years. Most previous studies mainly investigated how non-native English speaking students’ (NNESs) pragmalinguistic ...
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The present study investigated learners’ interlanguage pragmatic development through analysis of 99 requestive emails addressed to a faculty member over a period of up to two years. Most previous studies mainly investigated how non-native English speaking students’ (NNESs) pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic competence differed from native English speaking students (NESs) and compared learners with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds with NESs. In addition, most of the existing literature on developmental pragmatics has used elicited data. Naturally occurring data, in the form of emails, offer a more valid reflection of learners’ pragmatic competence. This study adopted speech event analysis approach, which seeks to account for all parts of requestive emails and recognizes the “work” each part does in the production of the speech event. Results indicated that, although NNES students did not show much pragmatic development in the frequency and type of strategies they used, the NNES students used a more deferential style in the opening and closing of their emails compared to native speakers. Additionally, the findings revealed the merits of analyzing natural data in interlanguage pragmatics and offered the benefit of recognizing email requests as a situated event.
Christiane Nord; Masood Khoshsaligheh; Saeed Ameri
Volume 3, Issue 2 , September 2015, , Pages 1-16
Abstract
Advances in computer sciences and the emergence of innovative technologies have entered numerous new elements of change in translation industry, such as the inseparable usage of software programs in audiovisual translation. Initiated by the expanding reality of fandubbing in Iran, the present article ...
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Advances in computer sciences and the emergence of innovative technologies have entered numerous new elements of change in translation industry, such as the inseparable usage of software programs in audiovisual translation. Initiated by the expanding reality of fandubbing in Iran, the present article aimed at illuminating this practice into Persian in the Iranian context to partly address the line of inquiries about fandubbing which still is an uncharted territory on the margins of Translation Studies. Considering the scarce research in this area, the paper aimed to provide data to attract more attention to the notion of fandubbing by providing real-world examples from a community with a language of limited diffusion. An exploratory review of a large and diverse sample of openly accessed dubbed products into Persian, ranging from short-formed clips to feature movies, such dubbing practice was further classified into fundubbing, fandubbing, and quasi-professional dubbing. Based on the results, the study attempted to describe the cultural aspects and technical features of each type.
Shaughan A. Keaton; Howard Giles
Volume 4, Issue 2 , September 2016, , Pages 1-10
Abstract
A consensually-agreed position among scholars of communication and aging is that while psychological and physical health mutually impact each other, the quality of language to and from older adult individuals shape each of these—and are shaped by them. Encounters with others inside and outside ...
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A consensually-agreed position among scholars of communication and aging is that while psychological and physical health mutually impact each other, the quality of language to and from older adult individuals shape each of these—and are shaped by them. Encounters with others inside and outside of one’s age ingroup involve stereotyped expectations with regard to language and other speech behaviors, resulting in reinforcement of age-based stereotypes and changes in social interaction, personal control, and self-esteem. These outcomes interfere with the quality of care an older adult receives from medical practitioners as older patients simply enjoy more communication satisfaction with supportive physicians than those who utilize negative age stereotypes and language. Many studies have been language-oriented as evident in attention to patronizing talk, painful self-disclosures, and stereotypes. We overview some of the major findings arising from the study of language and aging, with a view to articulating a more cohesive, integrative model that can coalesce previous theoretical and empirical efforts.
Mohammed Ademilokun; Moji Olateju
Volume 4, 1 (Special Issue on African Cultures and Languages) , March 2016, , Pages 1-19
Abstract
This paper presented a multimodal discourse analysis of some visual images in the political rally discourse of 2011 electioneering campaigns in Southwestern Nigeria. The data comprised purposively selected political visual artefacts from political rallies across the six Southwestern States in Nigeria ...
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This paper presented a multimodal discourse analysis of some visual images in the political rally discourse of 2011 electioneering campaigns in Southwestern Nigeria. The data comprised purposively selected political visual artefacts from political rallies across the six Southwestern States in Nigeria (Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, and Lagos). The data were analyzed using Halliday’s (1985) systemic metafunctional principles and Barthes’ (1977) concepts of anchorage and relay. The study noted that, vests are the commonest type of semiotic artifact while caps, Ankara, and surrogate languages complement the use of vests for visual signification and meaning potentials in the discourse environment. The study also noted that, various political party colors reflect in almost all the visual images and they are suggestive of the ideology or level of commitment and political leanings of discourse participants. The study concluded that, semiotic resources or artefacts are an important aspect of political rallies because of the inherent political, cultural, and social communication that are revealed through them.
Zia Tajeddin; Ali Rahimi
Volume 5, Issue 1 , March 2017, , Pages 1-14
Abstract
Despite the body of research on textbook evaluation from the discourse analysis perspective, cohesive devices have rarely been analyzed in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) textbooks. The acquisition and use of cohesive devices is inherent to naturalistic communication, including business interactions. ...
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Despite the body of research on textbook evaluation from the discourse analysis perspective, cohesive devices have rarely been analyzed in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) textbooks. The acquisition and use of cohesive devices is inherent to naturalistic communication, including business interactions. Hence, L2 learners of business English should be exposed to these devices through cohesion-rich textbooks. This study examined the realization of ellipsis and substitution as two cohesive devices in 11 volumes of four global business English textbooks: Business Result (5 levels), Business Opportunities (1 level), Business Venture (2 levels), and Powerbase (3 levels). The corpus included 626 conversations with a total of 72,889 words. Corpus analysis of ellipsis and substitution frequency per 1,000 words showed that (a) frequency of ellipsis and substitution in conversational corpus was high, (b) ellipsis and substitution were not equally distributed across different levels, and (c) the textbook series constituting larger corpora did not necessarily represent more realization of ellipsis and substitution. Due to the importance of ellipsis and substitution, L2 learners of English for business communication need to be exposed to them through textbooks.
Montserrat Martinez-Vazquez
Volume 5, Issue 2 , September 2017, , Pages 1-14
Abstract
This paper investigates the conceptualization of emotional release from a cognitive linguistics perspective (Cognitive Metaphor Theory). The metaphor weeping is a means of liberating contained emotions is grounded in universal embodied cognition and is reflected in linguistic expressions in English and ...
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This paper investigates the conceptualization of emotional release from a cognitive linguistics perspective (Cognitive Metaphor Theory). The metaphor weeping is a means of liberating contained emotions is grounded in universal embodied cognition and is reflected in linguistic expressions in English and Spanish. Lexicalization patterns which encapsulate this conceptualization include the caused-motion construction, the resultative construction, and the reaction object construction (Goldberg, 1995; Levin, 1993). These patterns are common in English but atypical or non-existent in Spanish and other Romance languages. Results from a corpus analysis, however, reveal that syntactic manifestations of this metaphor are abundant in Spanish, but rare in English. I argue that specific socio-cultural rules are imposed on universal human schemas and particular linguistic availability in this specific domain. In line with recent research on the culture-language interface (Kövecses, 2005; Sharifian, 2011; Wierzbicka, 1999, 2002) this article attempts to show how cultural filters restrain English speakers from using typologically ‘preferred’ constructions in this specific emotional domain.
Minoo Alemi; Zia Tajeddin; Amin Rajabi Kondlaji
Volume 6, Issue 1 , March 2018, , Pages 1-17
Abstract
The present study compared speeches by Iranian President Rouhani, following a moderate political ideology, and his predecessor Ahmadinejad, a seemingly conservative/ principalist president, at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The discourse-historical approach was employed to analyze the two ...
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The present study compared speeches by Iranian President Rouhani, following a moderate political ideology, and his predecessor Ahmadinejad, a seemingly conservative/ principalist president, at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The discourse-historical approach was employed to analyze the two corpora. Other discoursal features such as the representation of self and identity were also incorporated into the analysis. The results showed that the two presidents took two different approaches and styles of speech both in the form of delivery and content of their talks. While Rouhani focused on current issues in Iran’s foreign policy, Ahmadinejad made references to the wrong-doings of world powers. Compared with Ahmadinejad, Rouhani followed a more moderate stance in his talk by employing several strategies like keeping use of the pronoun ‘I’ to a minimum and not identifying himself a radical Muslim and savior of mankind. Moreover, the two presidents differed in their employment of premises or ‘topoi’. Findings reveal the role of topoi in uncovering the ideologies of politicians in their public speeches.
Masoomeh Estaji; Ali Rahimi
Volume 6, Issue 2 , September 2018, , Pages 1-18
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of EFL teachers’ level of instruction, education, and experience on their perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) on the one hand and the effect of teachers’ ICC perceptions on their practices of teaching culture on the other. The ...
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This study aimed to examine the effect of EFL teachers’ level of instruction, education, and experience on their perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) on the one hand and the effect of teachers’ ICC perceptions on their practices of teaching culture on the other. The participants of this study were 111 EFL teachers (59 males, 52 females), selected through purposive sampling. In order to collect data, this study used a Likert scale questionnaire developed by Zhou (2011) and a semi-structured interview (with 12 instructors). The findings revealed that there were no significant differences in the participants’ perceptions of ICC in terms of their level of experience, education, and instruction. However, it was found that, the participants' perceptions of ICC did have a role in their self-perceived instructional practices. Qualitative analyses further evinced that ICC is of paramount significance to most EFL teachers. In brief, the findings suggest that with the increasing influence of globalization, teachers of language need to become teachers of language and culture, developing the specific elements of intercultural competence.
Alireza Jalilifar; Reza Banari; Zohreh Gooniband Shooshtari
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2019, , Pages 1-15
Abstract
The current study qualitatively examined blurbs in the discipline of physics which is perceived to be less infused with evaluative resources and more objective and impersonal in its textual argumentation. The study followed the appraisal framework proposed by Martin and White (2005) to see how interpersonal ...
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The current study qualitatively examined blurbs in the discipline of physics which is perceived to be less infused with evaluative resources and more objective and impersonal in its textual argumentation. The study followed the appraisal framework proposed by Martin and White (2005) to see how interpersonal meaning is textually constructed in blurbs. Findings indicated that writers of the blurbs are more favorably disposed towards employing appreciation than other kinds of attitudinal resources. Two major waves of interpersonal meanings were observed in the hyper-Theme and hyper-New of blurbs. The latter appeared stronger because of the interpersonal contributory effect of the former. Findings showed that the ideational entity receiving initial thematic prominence in the beginning phase of the blurbs is the book rather than the author, leading to the major prominence given to the book, the dense accumulation of appreciation in comparison to other attitudinal resources, the grammatical passivity of blurbs’ structures, and the realization of blurbs’ discourse as a marked theme.
Zia Tajeddin; Mahmood Reza Atai; Rose Shayeghi
Volume 7, 2 (Special Issue on Iranians Views of Cultural Issues) , September 2019, , Pages 1-14
Abstract
In view of the paucity of evidence on teachers’ conceptions of teaching English an International Language (EIL), the present study used panel discussions to investigate the beliefs of 10 native and 10 non-native English-speaking teachers about their roles in teaching English in the EIL contexts ...
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In view of the paucity of evidence on teachers’ conceptions of teaching English an International Language (EIL), the present study used panel discussions to investigate the beliefs of 10 native and 10 non-native English-speaking teachers about their roles in teaching English in the EIL contexts and the perceptions of EIL. The findings revealed that some aspects of teachers’ beliefs about their roles were reshaped after panel discussions. Non-native teachers showed lower levels of self-confidence in their role in teaching EIL and underlined the superiority of native teachers. However, after panel discussions, they were able to notice their advantages in comparison with native teachers. It was also observed that both non-native and native teachers underwent a slight shift in conceptualizing what EIL is. Non-native teachers’ appraisal of native speakerism also decreased after panel discussions. These findings suggest that both native and non-native teachers hold certain beliefs about EIL and native speakerism which are not in line with EIL theorizing.
Farrokh Heidari; Alireza Jalilifar; Anayatollah Salimi
Volume 8, Issue 1 , March 2020, , Pages 1-15
Abstract
The present corpus-based lexical study reports the development of a Pharmacy Academic Word List (PAWL); a list of the most frequent words from a corpus of 3,458,445 tokens made up of 800 most recent pharmacy texts including research articles, review articles, and short communications in four sub-disciplines ...
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The present corpus-based lexical study reports the development of a Pharmacy Academic Word List (PAWL); a list of the most frequent words from a corpus of 3,458,445 tokens made up of 800 most recent pharmacy texts including research articles, review articles, and short communications in four sub-disciplines of pharmacy. WordSmith (Scott, 2017) and AntWordProfiler (Anthony, 2014) were used to screen words based on frequency, range, dispersion, and specialized occurrence. The developed PAWL contains 750 word families covering 17.69% of the corpus under study. The findings of the current investigation confirm the necessity to compile domain-specific academic word lists to address the needs of non-native researchers and postgraduate students over various disciplines. Such a word list can function as a reference for an EAP lexical syllabus. Pedagogical implications are made for pharmacy researchers, postgraduate students, and material designers, who can use PAWL as a lexical repertoire to set their vocabulary learning/teaching goals.
Meike Wernicke
Volume 8, Issue 2 , September 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.
Guzel Khafisovna Bragina; Venera Gabdulkhakovna Fatkhutdinova; Natalia Аnatoljevna Nikolina
Volume 8, 3 (Special Issue on Russian Culture and Language) , December 2020, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
This paper aims to identify and describe the semantic and ethnocultural content of substantive derivatives extracted from the corresponding word-formation nests of the Russian and Tatar languages. The characteristics of the ways of lexicalization of related processes and features are essential for both ...
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This paper aims to identify and describe the semantic and ethnocultural content of substantive derivatives extracted from the corresponding word-formation nests of the Russian and Tatar languages. The characteristics of the ways of lexicalization of related processes and features are essential for both lexical typology and ethnolinguistics. In the derivation-semantic space of auditory perception verbs, lexical units that have a peculiar semantic content are identified. These are first of all names of persons, specific objects, and abstract concepts, which their internal form and lexical meaning determine ethnocultural specificity. Comparison of derived substances that are directly or indirectly related to the process of auditory perception reveals certain conceptual areas and national-cultural meanings that form the language picture of the world and the mentality of each of the ethnic groups. It is proved that the ethnocultural component in the semantic structure of the studied words is also revealed within the same language: when comparing the diachronically marked and modern vocabulary.
Mustapha Chmarkh
Volume 9, Issue 1 , March 2021, , Pages 1-13
Abstract
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first sociolinguistic matched-guise experiment that examined Chinese students’ attitudes toward African American English in both its standard and vernacular variants. This pilot study explored Chinese students’ implicit bias —if any— toward ...
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To the best of our knowledge, this is the first sociolinguistic matched-guise experiment that examined Chinese students’ attitudes toward African American English in both its standard and vernacular variants. This pilot study explored Chinese students’ implicit bias —if any— toward African American English compared to white American English. For this purpose, seventy-two undergraduate Chinese students pursuing their studies in the US rated standard and vernacular English recordings of a White American female speaker and an African American female speaker. To optimize the validity of this experiment, two non-guises were included as distractors. The findings suggest that the participants held a more positive attitude toward White American English. Interestingly, female respondents rated the African American guise slightly higher than their male counterparts. Finally, when the African American speaker’s teaching-related traits were rated, participants favored the standard over the vernacular recording. In sum: the findings suggest that respondents might have an existing/emerging implicit bias toward the African American speaker.
Alireza Jalilifar; Seyed Yousef Savaedi; Alexanne Don
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2021, , Pages 1-15
Abstract
As a central component of political discourse and a prolific resource for argument, political humor targets leaders, politicians, or representatives as well as political institutions, groups, actions, and parties. Each of these groups is liable to be a political humor theme. Although previous literature ...
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As a central component of political discourse and a prolific resource for argument, political humor targets leaders, politicians, or representatives as well as political institutions, groups, actions, and parties. Each of these groups is liable to be a political humor theme. Although previous literature has proved that analyzing the themes of political wisecracks presents valuable information about the socio-political concerns, thematic analysis of political jokes, particularly, in Iranian and American contexts, as a necessary clue for understanding serious sociopolitical issues seems to be an area in need of further analysis. In order to address this problem, this study investigated the most popular themes in Iranian and American political humor. Analysis showed that the general themes of Iranian and American political humor are more similar than different. However, while sexual infamy, racism, and gun control marked considerable themes of American humor, despotic forces and religion-related humor seemed to be exclusively Iranian.
Aishagul Akbembetova; Gulnar Bekkozhanova; Nurzhamal Shengelbayeva; Nuraisha Bekeyeva; Saule Askarova
Volume 9, 2 (Themed Issue on Modern Realities of National Languages of CIS Countries) , August 2021, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
To express their thoughts in Russian, students should have language resources in their active vocabulary, the consolidation of which in memory is advisable based on the skills of their native language. The most important role in teaching students a non-native language is played by transfer, which is ...
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To express their thoughts in Russian, students should have language resources in their active vocabulary, the consolidation of which in memory is advisable based on the skills of their native language. The most important role in teaching students a non-native language is played by transfer, which is one of the central categories of psychology. Russian and Chinese mentalities have different, sometimes opposite features, which make it difficult for Chinese students to learn Russian. The phenomenon of transfer occurs and exists during language contact regardless of the will and desire of bilinguals. As a result of the transfer phenomenon, interference and its cause are that certain areas in the linguistic picture of the world are preserved, to which the proverb and phraseology belong. The authors believe that proverbs should be attributed to the category of fixed expressions of the language and studied from the standpoint of general, particular, and comparative phraseology.
Rosa María Pacheco Baldó
Abstract
This paper discusses nearly eight hundred reviews posted on Google search engine about twenty prisons in Spain and the United States. These countries have cultural values that are inevitably reflected in the language of their speakers. Through a qualitative and then quantitative analysis, some differences ...
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This paper discusses nearly eight hundred reviews posted on Google search engine about twenty prisons in Spain and the United States. These countries have cultural values that are inevitably reflected in the language of their speakers. Through a qualitative and then quantitative analysis, some differences that could be related to the cultural features that are prevalent in these two countries have been found. However, the analysis has focused primarily on the use of metaphor and verbal irony. In particular, the analysis has revealed what could be called ironic metaphor in both corpora, since in a significant percentage of reviews, the prison is compared to tourist accommodation. Undoubtedly, this comparison would be a metaphor, but likewise, it must also be regarded as irony since prison is the antithesis of a leisure facility. As shown, the cultural differences between these countries are sometimes reflected in the reviews, but also a kind of globalization of the metaphor could be argued.
Kamal Yusuf; Yulia Eka Putrie
Abstract
During its development, mosques in Indonesia have become a potential place with friction and conflict over the struggle for identity and the infiltration of various Islamic ideologies. This article explores the linguistic landscape in connection to the use of architectural materials in community mosques ...
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During its development, mosques in Indonesia have become a potential place with friction and conflict over the struggle for identity and the infiltration of various Islamic ideologies. This article explores the linguistic landscape in connection to the use of architectural materials in community mosques in Malang, Indonesia. The community mosques of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Non-NU were selected to see their strategies in contesting their identities representation. The research findings demonstrate that the materiality in the mosques indicates an attempt to designate the identity of each subculture group. The use of languages displayed in the mosques also delineates each community mosque’s efforts to maintain their identity representation from attempts to confiscate the mosque by a particular group or ideology. This study points out that in Indonesia, materiality and linguistic landscape in religious sites (mosques) need to be considered as an effort to anticipate the sociopolitical dynamics that develop in the society.