Language Today Research Articles

Scholarship and Language Revival: Language Ideologies in Corpus Development for Revived Manx

AbstractIn this article the role of different ideological viewpoints concerning corpus development within the Manx revival movement in the second half of the twentieth century is explored. In particular, the work of two prominent figures is examined: the Celtic scholar Robert L. Thomson, who published extensively especially on Manx language and literature, and also contributed to the revival, particularly as editor of several pedagogical resources and as a member of the translation committee Coonceil ny Gaelgey, and Douglas Fargher, a tireless activist and compiler of an English-Manx Dictionary (1979). Broadly speaking, Thomson was of a more preservationist bent, cautious in adapting the native resources of the language and wary of straying too far from attested usage of the traditional language, while Fargher was more radical and open especially to borrowing from Irish and Scottish sources. Both were concerned, in somewhat different ways, to remove perceived impurities or corruptions from the language, and were influenced by the assumptions of existing scholarship. A close reading of the work of these scholar-activists sheds light on the tensions within the revival movement regarding its response to the trauma of language death and the questions of legitimacy and authenticity in the revived variety. Particular space is devoted to an analysis of the preface of Fargher’s dictionary, as well as certain features of the body of the work itself, since this volume is probably the most widely consulted guide to the use of the language today. Finally, it is argued that the Manx language movement today would benefit from a reassessment and discussion of the ideological currents of the past and present, and a judicious evaluation of both the strengths and weaknesses of existing reference works.

Konceptualizacja mowy i języka w Trylogii Henryka Sienkiewicza

This article concerns the conceptualization of speech and language in Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy. Certain methods of conceptualizing speech, language or words are timeless, they represent a durable in terms of culture, mental tissue of language. In the novel by Sienkiewicz, the conceptualization of speech and language reflects the typical for Sarmatian mentality skills and noble duties: fighting efficiency and the oratory ability. Especially strongly and permanently rooted in the Polish language is the metaphor of a dispute as war, and within it the language as a weapon, especially sword. The proper thinking in the nobility era is especially clearly reflected by the metonymic statement: prisoner–language, reflecting utilitarianism of war, and a series of farm metaphors and comparisons, such as milling with a tongue or turning the tongue as the axis of the carriage wheels. References of this type are readable even today, however they do not have now this contemporary freshness and immediacy of references, but rather seem anachronistic in the modern urban world. Durable in everyday language today is the phraseology binding language and speaking with emotion, expressing itself for example in such collocations as: bite your tongue or forget one’s tongue. Typical of nobility is also, embodied especially in the character of Onufry Zagloba, positive valorization of noble multispeech, as a testimony of eloquence and erudition.

Overseas Chinese Students’ Perceptions of the Influence of English on their Language and Culture

The English language today functions as a lingua franca with the largest number of learners and users of any language. As an international language, it has attracted much attention in terms of its impacts on other languages. As another key language with the largest number of native speakers, the Chinese language has also demonstrated a global status, with an increasing number of language learners and users. This paper investigates Chinese overseas students’ perceptions of the influence of English on the Chinese language and culture. By adopting a series of qualitative interviews, this paper researches the attitudes of overseas Chinese students studying in the UK towards the influence of English on the Chinese language. In order to explore how the uses of English influence the Chinese language in the Chinese context, the paper investigates students’ attitudes towards the Gaokao reform, the influence of English on Chinese language and culture, and the future use of English in China. It concludes that, although the Chinese language is developing quite rapidly with both L1 and L2 speakers, English represents an important channel for people’s personal development, and English as a lingua franca will continue to be used for a range of purposes in many Chinese people’s lives for some time to come.

Are words signs or symbols?

This is not the debate of today. But language today is playing multiple roles. This is significant to talk now about the words. The structuralist, the formalist and existentialist approaches towards words should be seen. This very article looks at the different attitudes towards words and is based on Sartre's remarkable book “What is Literature”.

TESL/TEFL: Teaching english as a second or foreign language

Undoubtedly, teaching is a noble profession. Teaching provides a unique service to meet the educational needs of an individual or of society. Teaching facilitates learning and enlightens the society. Apart from achieving curriculum outcomes, teaching emphasizes the development of values-human values and moral values, and guides students in their social life. Teachers employ certain practices and updated techniques with suitable methodologies, from time to time, to educate students in all aspects. English is a global language today and it has brought about a revolution in communication, technology, education etc across the world. Teaching and learning English language has become a passion and a fashion for people across the world. English is taught and learned as a second language or a foreign language around the world. To meet the global requirements and grab the opportunities in terms of employment, everyone tries to learn English. English is the only way to most of the young graduates to get jobs or run their own industries. English is taught as a second language and a foreign language but there are basic differences between TESL (teaching English as a second language) and TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language). This research paper throws a light on these differences and analyzes how teachers adopt certain techniques in teaching English as a second language as well as a foreign language. It will be discussed in a comprehensive way in order to bring out the basic differences between TESL and TEFL and similarities also. Moreover, the outcomes of English teaching as ESL and EFL will be discussed.

Jan Hus between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic by Thomas A. Fudge

Reviewed by: Jan Hus between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic by Thomas A. Fudge Louis J. Reith Jan Hus between Time and Eternity: Reconsidering a Medieval Heretic. By Thomas A. Fudge. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2016. xx + 275 pp. A Czech professor friend who has met historian Thomas A. Fudge considers him to be “very provocative, sarcastic and fun. Czech Hus [End Page 350] scholars are bewildered by him. He is too much for them, but he does a great job of opening up new questions, perspectives, and forcing them from their comfort zones.” That tongue-in-cheek commentary from one of Jan Hus’ fellow countrywomen summarizes one view of the historian/theologian who undoubtedly is the most prolific non-Czech scholar publishing about Hus in the English language today. Author of no fewer than a dozen books and a multitude of articles about the martyred Czech heretic (all listed meticulously in the select bibliography at the end of the volume), Fudge has gathered together eleven essays under two guiding principles: “The first has reflected on what has not been investigated adequately within the historiography of Jan Hus while the second has considered what is unavailable in the English language” (xiv). His goal is not to write yet another Hus biography but rather to present “a series of portraits” of Hus that will enable us to understand better “his ambiguous stance between time (as an historical figure) and eternity (his memory and significance)” (xv). Each chapter, Fudge tells us, was developed specifically for the 2015 sexacentennial anniversary of Hus’ death and was prepared for presentation at “a variety of conferences, symposia, panel discussions, roundtable fora, and keynote addresses and lecture series” (xvii). Part One focuses upon Hus’ career as priest and reformer in Prague (one chapter suggestively entitled “The Sex Life of Jan Hus” concludes that he actually had none). Part Two examines Hus at Constance, focusing especially upon his trial and his views and sermons on heresy, but also on how he was viewed by his many enemies and detractors. Part Three examines Hus’ mixed legacy to the world, in the alleged “Hussite Crusade” in his native Bohemia (where Fudge judges his role to have been surprisingly slight), and particularly in his seven last words, which Fudge compares with the seven last words which Jesus Christ spoke from the cross. It is the final essay, an Epilogue entitled “Politicizing the Legend of Jan Hus” which is likely to prove most provocative for its intended audience of historians and scholars of the Czech Reformation—especially Fudge’s deliberate demolition of three modern legends of Hus: (1) a Catholic legend of Hus as a dangerous subversive and heretic; (2) a Protestant legend of Hus as a forerunner of Martin [End Page 351] Luther; and (3) a Czech national legend of Hus as an idealized national figure “manipulated as a mechanism for reviving and sanctifying the Czech nation” (227). As Fudge readily admits, it is the latter demolition that has provoked cries of outrage from a number of Czech scholars who, he claims, appear “more concerned with the Hus of myth than the Hus of history” (236). The chief objects of his ire appear to be those Czech historians whom he castigates for believing that Hus scholarship can only be carried out by Czech nationals. Inasmuch as Fudge alludes directly to some painful personal experiences of marginalization (even condescension) at the hands of some Czech colleagues, one could be forgiven for wishing that some sympathetic persons could have gently reminded them of Martin Luther’s similar elevation to heroic national stature in late nineteenth-century German historiography, until the twin scourges of National Socialism and Communism ushered in drastic reappraisals and sober reassessments of the great reformer in post-Nazi and post-Communist historical scholarship. Surprisingly, Fudge does not mention Czechoslovakian President Tomáš Masaryk’s oft-expressed desire for a “Hussite state,” despite Masaryk’s selection of a quotation from Jan Hus as the national motto: “Pravda vítězí [Truth prevails].” Similarly, he overlooks the continuum that connects Czech history, from Jan Hus’ zeal for truth to Václav Havel’s famous dictum six hundred years later, that “truth...

Teaching English as a foreign language today integrated approach versus communicative approach

Discovering the methodology that suits your students best is the most important element in the process of teaching especially when it comes to teaching English as a foreign language. With the phenomenal introduction of the communicative approach, the traditional approach has occupied a relatively lower status in most of the language classes. This paper aims at showing that an amalgam of approaches is better than adopting one single approach. Experience and practice have shown that employing both the communicative approach and the traditional approach is more effective and efficient. While the communicative approach provides learners with the cultural context of the target language, the traditional approach introduces the functions of language and its structure mainly grammar. In most of my classrooms, teaching grammar and sentence structure has proved to be fundamental and essential since the grammar and sentence structure of Arabic (the native language) is different from that of English (the target foreign language). Hence, to improve the quality of teaching and to gain better results, the two approaches should be used. The paper also gives a brief overview of the historical background of the two teaching approaches and highlights the most important advantages and disadvantages involved in implementing the communicative and traditional approaches.

“Cyclic” time in the history of Russian

This article offers a diachronic analysis of the concept of “cyclic” time in Russian, more specifically of temporal adverbials such asutrom‘in the morning’ andvesnoj‘in the spring’ that refer to the diurnal and annual temporal cycles in nature. It is argued that evidence from diachrony bears on important theoretical questions: Is the sensitivity to “cyclic” time in language due to cultural factors? How does the external factor of culture interact with language internal factors in the formation of temporal concepts? The proposed analysis indicates that the linguistic development in Russian does not mirror changes in cultural practices and values. Instead, the main burden of explanation is placed on a language internal factor, namely the general drift towards more analytic constructions in Russian, which I argue paved the way for the concept of “cyclic” time as reflected in the grammar of the Russian language today.

The fundamental left–right asymmetry in the Germanic verb cluster

Cinque (Linguist Inq 36(3):315–332, 2005; Universals of language today. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 165–184, 2009; Functional structure from top to toe. Vol. 9 of The cartography of syntactic structures. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 232–265, 2014a) observes that there is an asymmetry in the possible ordering of dependents of a lexical head before versus after the head. A reflection on some of the concepts needed to develop Cinque’s ideas into a theory of neutral word order reveals that dependents need to be treated separately by class. The resulting system is applied to the problem of word order in the Germanic verb cluster. It is shown that there is an extremely close match between theoretically derived expectations for clusters made up of auxiliaries, modals, causative ‘let’, a main verb, and verbal particles. The facts point to the action of Cinque’s fundamental left–right asymmetry in language in the realm of the verb cluster. At the same time, not all verb clusters fall under Cinque’s generalization, which, therefore, argues against treating all cases of restructuring uniformly.

Vowel elision and the morphophonology of dominance in Aymara

This paper examines morphologically conditioned vowel elision processes in Aymara, and proposes that they are due to a two-way division in Aymara suffixes between those which delete a mora from the preceding morpheme and those which do not. This “dominant/recessive” morpheme analysis builds on and simplifies previous accounts, which specified a preference for consonantal or vocalic environment on both sides of each suffix. I observe some phonological tendencies within suffix categories and propose a diachronic hypothesis as to how morphological vowel elision could have evolved from purely phonological vowel weakening processes that are still found in the language today.

Improving English Oral Skills through Pair Work and Peer-Peer Dialogue

The importance of the English language in today’s Education system is beyond doubt. Bearing in mind that the Spanish Educational Authorities and regulations advocate the Communicative Approach, this study shows the origin, evolution and results of an innovation project carried out in the English classes at the 4 th , 5 th and 6 th grades of Primary in a state school in the autonomous community of Valencia (Spain). For that, the authors-teachers employed the methods of action research approach, pair work and peer-peer dialogue supported by the Communicative Approach and collaborative work. The results will demonstrate the different advantages of employing pair work and peer-peer activities within the classroom not only to improve children’s English oral skills but also to contribute to their own personal growth and their development as social citizens.

The Foot is not an obligatory constituent of the Prosodic Hierarchy: “stress” in Turkish, French and child English

AbstractThis paper proposes that the presence/absence of the Foot is parametric; that is, contra much previous research (see e. g. Selkirk, Elisabeth (1995). Sentence prosody: intonation, stress and phrasing. In J. Goldsmith (ed.)The handbook of phonological theory. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. 550–569., Vogel, Irene (2009). Universals of prosodic structure. In S. Scalise, E. Magni, & A. Bisetto (eds.)Universals of language today. Dordrecht: Springer. 59–82.), it is argued here that the Foot is not a universal constituent of the Prosodic Hierarchy; rather, some languages, such as Turkish and French, as well as early child languages, are footless. Several types of evidence are presented in support of this proposal, from both Turkish and French, as well as child English. A comparison of regular (word-final) and exceptional stress in Turkish reveals, for example, that regular “stress” is intonational prominence falling on the last syllable of prosodic words in the absence of foot structure. Both acoustic and formal evidence are presented in support of this proposal, as well as evidence from syntax-prosody interface. The paper also presents evidence for the footless status of French, which, unlike Turkish, is proposed to be completely footless. Several arguments are presented in support of this position, such as the fact that, in French, the domain of obligatory prominence is the Phonological Phrase (PPh), not the Prosodic Word (PWd); in a PPh consisting of several PWds, therefore, nonfinal PWds can surface without any kind of stress or prominence, suggesting that, at least for non-final PWds, one cannot assume stress or foot structure. Finally, the proposal is extended to additional languages, such as those demonstrating Default-to-Opposite Edge stress.

Incorporating LINE Smartphone Affordances

This study used MALL technology to mediate a collaborative learning environment focused on cross-cultural understanding. Research questions addressed the participants' perceptions about the role of the English language today, the use of technology to assist language learning, their attitudes about studying English via cross-cultural interaction, and their perceptions leading to instructional technology design best practices for English learning activities using LINE. Students from Japan and Taiwan wrote collaborative 700 word essays, collaborating via the LINE smartphone app. Data collection used a survey, open-ended questions at the conclusion of the study, and analysis of the actual essays. The instructional design was shown to be successful in fostering beneficial responses by the participants and a strong willingness to engage in future international communication. The affordances provided by LINE are analyzed, and best practices offered for using LINE as a platform for learning.

The next generation of language labs: Can mobiles help? A case study

One major challenge regarding the use of today's language labs relates to teachers' and students' awareness and computer skills. Most teachers and students may not have the requisite computer skills and might soon become overwhelmed by the sophisticated functionality of today's digital lab systems. Thus, they should be provided with the appropriate training and technical support to reduce the apprehension that is usually associated with new technology. Recurrent technical problems are another shortcoming. Failure to operate the lab equipment efficiently due to hardware or software problems will inevitably cause delays and frustration for both students and instructors.To overcome such problems in existing language labs, this paper presents a novel cross-platform mobile lab system for language learning, called Mlab. The target users of MLab are language teachers and students, and the system offers them the freedom to move around and use their own devices at any time and in any place. Therefore, this research paper presents Mlab development and evaluation through three approaches: a holistic test case scenario, think aloud and interview sessions. The results showed high usability rates and generally positive attitudes toward using the mobile lab system.

Surrounded by Water: Talking to Learn in Today's Classrooms

The authors explore the importance of talk and interaction for learning, particularly in relation to new K–12 standards and the prominent role of academic language in today's educational contexts. The article concludes with a detailed example of a Grade 6 teacher's use of content and language objectives to address the needs and strengths of all her students, including her English language learners.

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The importance of learning a foreign language today, probably, is not in doubt. The paper presents the main services and networks, providing the opportunity of learning a foreign language, and considers their advantages and disadvantages.

Tongues as a Site of Subversion

In this article I discuss the close relationship between colonialism and the expansion of language. Language is always politically contested. A language can become an international language today because it has a long history of colonization and subjugation of other groups of people. I analyze the sociopolitical dimension of tongues by engaging, among others, linguist Roman Jakobson, philosopher Michel Foucault, and cultural theorist Judith Butler. By placing tongues in the context of the politics of language, I aim to show that the practice of speaking in tongues can be viewed as a strategic subversion and disruption of the regime of normalized language.

Eudora Welty Foundation

Eudora Welty Foundation Jeanne B. Luckett, Communications Consultant The Eudora Welty Foundation continues to undertake ventures in collaboration with partners to encourage the reading, study, enjoyment, and appreciation of Welty’s written and photographic works, visitation of the Welty House and Garden, and research in the Welty Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Inaugural Eudora Welty Lecture to Feature Author Salman Rushdie One of the strategic goals of the Welty Foundation and its National Advisory Board has been to create an endowed initiative of significant prominence in honor of Eudora Welty. Working in partnership with the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, the Welty Foundation announced in February 2016 the creation of The Eudora Welty Lecture. The inaugural speaker will be author Salman Rushdie, who will present on October 20, 2016, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, as part of the PEN/Faulkner Reading Series. The lecture will be open to the public, and information about tickets will be forthcoming. Details will be posted on the Welty Foundation website: eudorawelty.org. Lecturers will be chosen from the most prominent writers working in the English language today. Each lecturer will present an original talk on the topic of his/her creative origins and will receive a $20,000 honorarium. The Eudora Welty Lecture is inspired by the lectures Welty delivered at Harvard University in 1983 as part of the William E. Massey, Sr. series. Over three lectures (Listening, Learning to See, and Finding a Voice), Welty surveyed her life as a writer and detailed the bonds between her upbringing in Jackson, Mississippi, and her remarkable literary voice. Following in the tradition of Welty, Rushdie will lead the audience along his own thread of revelation. Scholastic Writing Award Winners to Hear Author Shalanda Stanley at Ceremony; Gold and Silver Key Winners Eligible for McMullan Young Writers Workshop From a record 572 submissions, 272 have been selected by judges to receive Scholastic Writing Awards. The awards ceremony was held April [End Page 139] 10, 2016, at the Eudora Welty House and Garden. There are 32 gold key winners, 102 silver key winners, and 142 honorable mentions. A generous grant from the C Spire Foundation enables the Welty Foundation, in association with the Welty House and Garden, to offer the Scholastic Writing program statewide. Shalanda Stanley, author of Drowning Is Inevitable and assistant professor of curriculum, instruction, and leadership at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. Stanley participated by Skype with the students who attended the McMullan Young Writers Workshop for Scholastic medalists last summer at Millsaps College. This year’s Scholastic medalists will be eligible to attend the workshop in the summer of 2016. The Scholastic Writing Awards Ceremony in April was part of a week-long celebration of the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Welty House. Visit the Welty Foundation website for details: eudorawelty.org. Pulitzer Prize Centennial To Be Celebrated with Focus on The Optimist’s Daughter The centennial of the Pulitzer Prize is being celebrated in 2016, and the Eudora Welty Foundation and Welty House and Garden, with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council, will host special events featuring The Optimist’s Daughter beginning in May 2016. The Foundation will produce a reader’s guide which will include photographs of artifacts in the Welty House and Education and Visitors center and flowers in the Garden that are referenced in The Optimist’s Daughter. The month of May will have the book’s focus included in the daily tours. Fundraising Under Way to Endow Eudora Welty Chair of Southern Literature at Millsaps Efforts to endow the Eudora Welty Chair of Southern Literature at Millsaps College have received a significant boost with two gifts of $250,000 each from Joe and Kathy Sanderson of Laurel, Mississippi, and the Phil Hardin Foundation. The $500,000 will be used to stimulate other contributions to meet the $2.5 million goal for endowing the chair. The endowment will enable the college to begin a national search for a preeminent scholar to fill the position. The Welty Chair is being endowed to continue the nationally and internationally renowned work of Suzanne Marrs, who retired from Millsaps in...

Snared by Words?: (Proverbs 6:2): On the Perils of Editing

For last year's words belong to last year's languageAnd next year's words await another voice.-T. S. Eliot, Four QuartetsEvery year, the Oxford Dictionaries choose a word captures the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year.1 On 17 November 2015, Oxford Dictionaries announced that its Word of the Year 2015 would be an emoji, not emoji(s)2 in general but a particular emoji * commonly known as Face with Tears of Joy.3 Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Dictionaries, commented that the increasing popularity of this symbol, and of emojis in general, reflects the failure of traditional alphabet scripts ... to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st Century communication.4 As a pictographic script, he maintained, the emoji is flexible, immediate, and capable of conveying tone and emotion in a way that standard words are not.5The choice of an emoji as the 2015 Word of the Year acknowledges and indeed celebrates the paralinguistic symbols that have developed for the purposes of electronic modes of communication such as texting and Facebook. But from my perch in the ivory tower, this choice also sounds like a cry of despair-or at least an expression of angst and frustration-over the increasingly fraught and contested nature of language today, whether in the public sphere or in the academy. In my own work in Early and Early Christianity,6 I have been training myself to eschew both Judaism and Christianity7 in favor of Jews and Christ-followers8 or Christ-believers. 9 I am wavering on how best to refer to those Greco-Romans variously known as gentiles, pagans, or polytheists.10 I have foresworn hybridity due to its historical role as a foundation for racist laws against mixing and miscegenation-an unsavory past that is as yet (in my view) not entirely redeemed by its reclamation in postcolonialist theory.11 Though I have not given up entirely on identity and community, I may yet do so given the vagueness of the first and the assumptions that attend the second.12 Thankfully, I rarely write about religion, and have therefore been able to stay out of the current fray on the existence or nonexistence of religion in the past and in the present.13As scholars and writers, we must all make terminological and conceptual decisions in keeping with changing sensibilities and the new approaches and insights within our fields. Journal editors, however, face a different problem: what to do about articles that use terms or expressions that we ourselves would avoid? As editors, we have a dual responsibility: to our readers-to ensure, as best we can, that the articles published in our journals constitute contributions to the field-and to our authors-to provide a venue in which they can express their ideas in their own voices and words. While we must exercise judgment, based on the considered advice of esteemed colleagues in the field, when deciding which articles to accept and which to reject, we have some obligation to retain to the extent possible the formulations and language of those articles that will be published in our journals.Most articles accepted for publication do not pose major terminological or other semantic problems when being edited for publication: a footnote here, a semicolon there, some minor formatting changes, and we're done. Occasionally, however, an article will use a term that gives me pause, either because it represents a word choice with which I disagree as a scholar, or because it may be misinterpreted by some of our readers.This dilemma arose with regard to two articles that appeared in the most recent issue of the journal (JBL 135, no. 2 [2016]). Heidi Wendt's fine article Galatians 3:1 as an Allusion to Textual Prophecy used the terms Judean and Judean writings consistently throughout the article in contexts in which I would use Jew and Jewish Scriptures or perhaps Septuagint. Although some readers might view Judean and Jew/Jewish as interchangeable, the question of how best to translate the Greek term ioudaios is a matter of considerable controversy within the field of early Judaism and New Testament studies. …

Teach an I-O To Fish: Integrating Data Science Into I-O Graduate Education

Big data is becoming a buzzword in today's corporate language and lay discussions. From individually targeting advertising based on previous consumer behavior or Internet searches to debates by Congress concerning National Security Agency (NSA) access to phone metadata, the era of big data has arrived. Thus, the Guzzo, Fink, King, Tonidandel, and Landis (2015) discussion of the challenges (e.g., confidentiality, informed consent) that big data projects present to industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists is timely. If the hype associated with these techniques is warranted, then our field has a clear imperative to debate the ethics and best practices surrounding use of these techniques. We believe that Guzzo et al. have done our field a service by starting this discussion.