Showing papers in "Critical Inquiry in Language Studies in 2008"
TL;DR: The authors explored the transition from the linguistic imperialism of the colonial and post-colonial ages to the increasingly dominant role of English as a neo-imperial language in the U.S. empire.
Abstract: The article explores the transition from the linguistic imperialism of the colonial and postcolonial ages to the increasingly dominant role of English as a neoimperial language. It analyzes ‘global’ English as a key dimension of the U.S. empire. U.S. expansionism is a fundamental principle of the foreign policy of the United States that can be traced back over two centuries. Linguistic imperialism and neoimperialism are exemplified at the micro and macro levels, and some key defining traits explored, as are cultural and institutional links between the United Kingdom and the United States, and the role of foundations in promoting ‘world’ English. Whereas many parts of the world have experienced a longstanding engagement with English, the use of English in continental Europe has expanded markedly in recent years, as a result of many strands of globalization and European integration. Some ongoing tensions in language policy in Europe, and symptoms of complicity in accepting linguistic hegemony, are explored....
235 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the issue of social structure and individual agency in language learning through the life histories of three young engineering graduates in Hong Kong, and argues that the degree of individual agency, in the form of the degrees of "investment" made in their language learning, and the application of "creative discursive agency" can be seen as influential on the development of the three young men.
Abstract: This paper examines the issue of social structure and individual agency in language learning through the life histories of three young engineering graduates in Hong Kong. English is identified as an important form of cultural capital, which to a considerable extent determines the development of the three individuals, each of whom comes from a modest family background. In spite of the undeniable role of cultural capital (a product of social structure), examples of individual agency, in the form of the degrees of “investment” made in their language learning, and the application of “creative discursive agency” (which is to a large extent not a result of the official school curriculum) can be seen as influential on the development of the three young men. The discussion section of the paper considers the relative importance of social structure and individual agency in language education in a post-colonial society such as Hong Kong and the roles of “investment” and “creative discursive agency.” It argues that i...
61 citations
TL;DR: Edelsky, Carole as mentioned in this paper published a new edition of With Literacy and Just... with the title "With literacy and just..." and the subtitle "With Just...".
Abstract: Edelsky, Carole (2006). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 315 pp + ix. $22.50, paperback, ISBN 0-8058-5508-4. The title and subtitle of Carole Edelsky's new edition of With Literacy and Just...
48 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the complex and nebulous terrain between two theoretical concepts, imagined communities (Norton, 2000, 2001), that is, individuals' imagined affiliations with certain groups, and regimes of truth (Foucault, 1980), dominant images inscribed and reinscribed into individual consciousness until they become normative.
Abstract: In this article, we explore the complex and nebulous terrain between two theoretical concepts, imagined communities (Norton, 2000, 2001), that is, individuals' imagined affiliations with certain groups, and regimes of truth (Foucault, 1980), dominant images inscribed and reinscribed into individual consciousness until they become normative. Using the context of two research studies, one a critical narrative study of life-story narratives of L2 users and the other a critical feminist ethnography of beginning ESOL teachers, the researchers examine the ways in which social structures and contexts can behave simultaneously as tyrannizing regimes of truth and as liberating imagined communities. This inherent contradiction illuminates the ways in which the two theoretical constructs taken together can lead to a more complex and nuanced understanding of identity construction. 1Authors' names are listed in alphabetical order and do not represent any hierarchy.
42 citations
TL;DR: In this article, two recorded consent sessions were analyzed using a hybrid sociolinguistic approach, which revealed a lack of understanding and recall of information by participants, domination of sessions by the counselor, poor explanation of concepts, minimal participant contribution, and lack of validation of participant understanding.
Abstract: South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural context that poses communication challenges to health professionals. In a clinical trial, information must be thoroughly understood by participants in order for consent to be informed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. This pilot study aimed to identify communication successes and breakdowns in informed consent sessions in an HIV vaccine trial. Two recorded consent sessions were analyzed using a hybrid sociolinguistic approach. Analysis revealed a lack of understanding and recall of information by participants, domination of sessions by the counselor, poor explanation of concepts, minimal participant contribution, and lack of validation of participant understanding. Interactions were not conducted in the participants' first language and a linguistically and culturally inappropriate consent document was used. It could not be said that consent was thoroughly informed in these cases. Investigating and adapting communication practices may prove valuable ...
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted an empirical study on metaphor based on numerous interviews with parents of young children and found that parents understand learning to read as the acquisition of reading skills, and different parents repeatedly use the same metaphors when describing these reading skills.
Abstract: This research presents an empirical study on metaphor based on numerous interviews with parents of young children. Contemporary metaphor theory is complemented by a well-articulated place for culture and the role metaphor plays in cultural understanding. I demonstrate that 1) parents understand learning to read as the acquisition of reading skills; 2) different parents repeatedly use the same metaphors when describing these reading skills; 3) because parents have a folk or common-sense understanding of learning to read, the metaphors help organize their reasoning; 4) the metaphors also index sociocultural information at the level of the communicative event, specifically aspects of morality; 5) the hegemonic structure of this morality is evoked through indirect indexicality and is therefore registered and reproduced below the speaker's threshold of awareness.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of how individuals invested in English as an international language cope with resistance to globalization within local contexts is presented, concluding by discussing the implicat...
Abstract: Building on previous critical research regarding student resistance to English Language Teaching (ELT), this paper illustrates Chilean high-school English teachers' use of narrative to make sense of ideological challenges from students. While the government of Chile is promoting English in connection with the nation's export-oriented economic policies, this promotion of English has been resisted by leftist movements unrepresented within the current neoliberal “consensus;” coping with political resistance is a perennial challenge for English teachers. Through an analysis of dialogic voicing in narratives audiotaped during life-history interviews, the paper illustrates how Chilean English teachers make sense of their positioning within ideological struggles over the connection between ELT and global capitalism. Thus, this paper is a case study of how individuals invested in English as an international language cope with resistance to globalization within local contexts; I conclude by discussing the implicat...
12 citations
TL;DR: McCardle, Peggy and Hoff, Erika (2006) as discussed by the authors, Multilingual Matters. 170 pp. US $49.95, paperback, ISBN 1-853598-69-0
Abstract: McCardle, Peggy and Hoff, Erika (Eds.). (2006). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. 170 pp. US $49.95, paperback, ISBN 1-853598-69-0. Many children in the United States and around the world grow up...
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a sociolinguistic study of political discourses is presented, where social variables (socioeconomic status SEC) and linguistic variables (morphosyntactic, lexical, and pragmatics variables) are used to analyze Latino American politi...
Abstract: Linguistically, political discourses have generally been discussed within qualitative approaches (e.g., Blackledge, 2005; Chilton, 2004; Chomsky, 2004; van Dijk, 2005; Wodak, 2002). This paper presents tools to design a quantitative research relating political speech with sociolinguistic variables. Notions such as Accommodation Theory (Giles & Powesland, 1997), Audience Design (Bell, 1997), and Identity (Fairclough, 2003; Mendoza-Denton, 2004) shape the rhetorical performance of politicians and explain the importance of sociolinguistic variables within political discourse. Once those realities are correlated, I define social variables (socioeconomic status SEC [Labov, 2001]) and linguistic variables (morphosyntactic, lexical, and pragmatics variables [Schilling-Estes, 2004], address forms [Ervin-Tripp, 1972], vocabulary [Fairclough, 2003]) to develop a sociolinguistic study on a corpus of political discourses. Finally, linguistic variants are proposed and put into practice analyzing Latino American politi...
6 citations
TL;DR: The Task Force on Standards for the Learning of Esperanto K-16, an international group of educators, stan... as discussed by the authors reported on the drafting of the K -16 Student Standards for Learning Esperanto in the United States.
Abstract: In light of the ongoing attention to standards-based education in U.S. schools and the concern over how to effectively develop literacy skills in a first, let alone a second, language, this article reports on the drafting of the K–16 Student Standards for Learning Esperanto in the United States. Esperanto is ideally suited to aid children in the primary grades develop accurate phonemic awareness and an understanding of the parts of speech because of its absolutely regular sound-symbol correspondence and the transparency of it morphosyntactic structure. In addition to improved first language (L1) literacy skills, the early successful second language (L2) acquisition experience that Esperanto can provide leaves students more inclined and better prepared to study French, Italian, German, Spanish, or other ethnic languages when the opportunity becomes available to them. It is in this spirit that the Task Force on Standards for the Learning of Esperanto K–16, an international group of Esperanto educators, stan...
5 citations
TL;DR: The essence of this book is well captured in its title as mentioned in this paper, and unlike previous books on the subject, which often connect gesture and other semiotic systems by the conjunction “and” (e.g., Emmorey & Reilly...
Abstract: The essence of this book is well captured in its title. Unlike previous books on the subject, which often connect gesture and other semiotic systems by the conjunction “and” (e.g., Emmorey & Reilly...
TL;DR: In this article, a definition of peoples' identity as scientific as possible and a close look at the conditions that make creativity possible are presented, where the periods of great creativity were those when communication was sufficient to make remote partners stimulate one another but not to the point where exchanges would be easy enough to level their differences and oppose their diversity.
Abstract: This article first attempts to supply a definition of peoples' identity as scientific as possible and takes a close look at the conditions that make creativity possible. The study of science history clearly indicates that the periods of great creativity were those when communication was sufficient to make remote partners stimulate one another but not to the point where exchanges would be easy enough to level their differences and oppose their diversity. Globalization and the strong will of the people who promote it to make the world uniform stifle cultural diversity and create conditions for a regression. Technoscience, which is wrongly considered as Science, is in the process of stifling true science, which aims to develop our understanding of nature. In a world of instant communications that naturally tend to lower differences, it is essential for us to reinforce identities and cultures if we want to stay original, to keep contributing to knowledge development, and working toward universality.
TL;DR: Erlbaum as discussed by the authors explores the interdisciplinary potentials of pragmatics as an established area of linguistics, and explores the potential of this area for a new generation of linguists.
Abstract: Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 336 pp., US$42.95, paperback, ISBN 0-805-85543-2 This new book explores the interdisciplinary potentials of pragmatics as an established area of lingui...