Language In England Research Articles

British Sign Language and its Role in Dentistry

Hearing impairments affect up to 1.57 billion individuals globally, and 11 million people within the UK. Worldwide, 60% of hearing loss in children is due to preventable causes. Types of hearing loss vary in their aetiology and severity; however, all can negatively affect an individual's quality of life. The general health of those within the deaf population has been shown to be poorer than that of the general population, with under-diagnosis and under-treatment of chronic conditions putting individuals at risk of preventable ill-health. Deaf individuals experience greater problems in accessing healthcare, with a lack of British Sign Language (BSL), deafness awareness training and other communication aids being identified as barriers in such settings. With respect to dental health, deafness can result in poorer oral hygiene and greater dental caries. Communication issues faced at the dentist include being called from the waiting room, communicating with the dental team, mask wearing and background noise in the surgery. British Sign Language is a visual and spatial language, using movements of the hands, body, face and head. With its own grammar, syntax, idioms and regional variations, it is recognized as an official language in England, Wales and Scotland. This article provides a general background on hearing loss, its influence on general and dental health, an introduction to BSL, and hopes to encourage the general dental practitioner to seek further training in BSL. CPD/Clinical Relevance: To aid in effective communication with patients who have hearing loss, a knowledge of BSL would be helpful.

Policy tug of war: EBacc, progress 8 and modern foreign languages in England

ABSTRACT Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) as a secondary school subject is affected by two policies, namely the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and Progress 8, which contribute to the measurement of performance in exams at age 16 (GCSEs). In this paper, I discuss the concept of performance measurement in schools and the purpose it purportedly serves, before outlining these two policies and considering how they contribute to the culture of performance measurement and a non-neutral discourse around ‘standards’. I argue that the two policies act in tension in a game of tug of war with one another in such a way that the net positive effect on the subject of MFL is zero, but that the negative effect on students is substantial. I suggest that the policies act to impose middle-class notions of what it means to be educated on students, with a substantial negative effect on students from low socio-economic status backgrounds both in terms of their interest in the subject and their perceptions of their own value within the education system.

The Moment of Patient Safety: Iatrogenic Injury, Clinical Error and Cultures of Healthcare in the NHS

Summary This article explores the ‘the moment of patient safety’—the period around 2000 when patient safety became a key policy concern of the British National Health Service (NHS), and other healthcare systems. While harm caused by medical care (iatrogenic injury) had long been acknowledged by clinicians and scientists, from 2000 a new systemic language of patient safety emerged in the NHS that promoted novel managerial and regulatory approaches to patient harm. This language reflected the state’s increasing role in regulating healthcare, as well as the erosion of medical autonomy and the rise of new forms of bureaucratic management. Acknowledging a transnational, intellectual context behind the rise of policy interest in patient safety—for example, the application of insights from the industrial safety sciences—this article examines the role played by domestic cultural factors, such as medical negligence litigation and healthcare scandals, in helping to define the new language in Britain.

Foreign language provision in English primary schools: making evidence-based pedagogical choices

Fluency in more than one language is generally accepted as being advantageous in our modern global age. However, in addition to the obvious personal, social, cultural and economic benefits of being bilingual, it has been claimed that bilingualism enhances cognitive development in a range of areas relevant to educational outcomes. Given the poor track record of teaching children foreign languages in England, schools that are not required to follow the National Curriculum are understandably keen to investigate innovative methods for teaching languages, with the aim of not only enhancing language learning but also of stimulating heightened cognitive functioning. Our purpose in writing this paper is to arm education professionals with a critical awareness of the evidence supporting the bilingual advantage and innovative but unproven foreign language taster courses, in order to support them in making evidence-based pedagogical choices. We explain how young children effortlessly learn their first language(s) and argue that it is unrealistic to expect this process to be replicated in the foreign-language-learning classroom. We then review some of the evidence supporting the so-called ‘bilingual advantage’ and argue that the advantage is found in only specific, as yet undetermined, narrow circumstances and not in the bilingual population as a whole. We scrutinize the suitability of unproven foreign language taster courses for young children and argue that their claims are unlikely to be justified. Finally, we provide some objective criteria to help schools, from early years settings to the end of primary, to judge the efficacy of novel ways of teaching languages before adopting them.

Re‐evaluating online oral examinations

Re‐evaluating online oral examinations

Othering through language: English as an Additional Language in England’s educational policy and practice

AbstractAbout one‐fifth of the total school population in England was recorded as having English as an Additional Language (EAL) in 2018. This paper reflects on the problems presented by the lack of a comprehensive national strategy and guidance for EAL provision, support, and training, and how these issues reveal the existence of ethnocentrism within educational policy and practice in England. The findings are based on interviews with educational staff and participant observation in schools conducted in three schools in Manchester, UK between December 2019 and February 2020 as part of the Horizon 2020 MiCREATE project. The authors question whether categorizing multilingual pupils in opposition to monolingual English speakers serves any practical purpose or merely ‘others’ these children, and they call for broader recognition of multilingualism within the national curriculum and educational practice.

The history of formation of legal english language: the current problems of globalization of legal language

The article discusses the history of emergence and development of legal language in England, as well as the role of Latin and French in its formation. Latin is still an integral part of legal language since Latin dominated in almost all of medieval Europe, and legal documents were written in Latin for many centuries. The legal language has a complex terminology, and it is often used not only by people of the legal profession, but also by ordinary, unprepared people when entering into civil law relationships in the form of contracts of sale, lease, and loan. However, they do not always understand the legal terms. In order to understand the legal language, it is necessary to turn to the history and analyze whether it is possible to create a universal legal language in the realities of the modern world. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the term legalese has appeared in legal linguistics, which means the legal language used by lawyers, especially when drafting legal documents. Legal language is filled not only with legal jargons, but also with archaism, technical terms and even expressions used in ordinary language, which has a different meaning for a lawyer. The purpose of this study is to examine the history of the emergence of legal language in England, the terminology of law, as well as to discuss problems associated with legal terminology in the era of globalization. The analysis shows that legal dictionaries in the English language continue to be replenished with neologisms, but the international society is not ready to create a single universal language of legal terms. Key words: legal language, legal language in English, neologism, globalization.

Developing inclusive communities: understanding the experiences of education of learners of English as an additional language in England and street-connected children in Kenya

ABSTRACT The Salamanca Statement and subsequent international calls to action around inclusive education aim to meet Education for All goals and foster inclusive communities for learners within mainstream education. However, there are diverse interpretations of what inclusion means in practice that vary across local, national and international contexts. In developing inclusive pedagogies with teachers at the forefront of providing support, the use of labels to categorise particular groups of learners according to perceived learning needs can further marginalise them, affecting their sense of belonging in school and their academic and social identities. We present case studies drawn from two doctoral studies conducted in contextually and culturally different settings to understand learners’ experiences of marginalisation in education. The experiences of learners of English as an additional language transferring from primary to secondary school in England illustrate marginalised positioning assigned by teachers’ perceptions. The ability to ‘settle in’ to school of street-connected children transitioning (back) into education in Kenya is influenced by their interactions with peers, teachers and the wider community on and after the street. Findings emphasise the need for understanding experiences through shared narratives and dialogue, starting with learners’ experiences to develop pedagogies and foster inclusive communities within and beyond schools.

PRINCIPAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

The research investigates historicalstages of the origin of Americanvariant of English and deals with theprincipal differences between twovariants of the English language,particularly British and American. Thearticle presents a detailed descriptionof the distinctive features ofpronunciation, vocabulary,orthography, and grammar of the twomost widely used variants of Englishwith examples on each peculiarity.The authors analyze the reasons ofthe differences appearanceconsidering historical aspects of theUSA development. A particularattention is paid to vocabulary, as it isthe most demonstrative aspect ofdifferences in the American and Britishvariants of English. In the research,the authors mention the reasons,causing those differences, particularlychange of the word meaning in thelanguage of the USA, introduction ofthe words in the USA defining somephenomena, concepts, items, etc.,which differ from the correspondingwords in the English language inEngland, penetration of borrowings,words of no-English origin, etc. Thearticle substantiates that bothAmerican and British English are justtwo variants of one language thoughwith significant specificities. Theresearch also presents examples ofmisunderstanding, caused bypeculiarities of vocabulary use in thestudied varieties of English. Anyway, itis stressed that both variants belong tothe integral language body and theirdifferences are actually neutralized bythe majority of similarities, whichsignificantly dominate. Nevertheless,someone persists on the principality ofthe American variant, arguing that it issimple, widely used, and modern. Onthe contrary, the followers of theBritish variant of English accuse it asan inaccurate superficiality in thelanguage use. Both ideas deserve toexist and are partially correct.However, the works supply argumentsfor primary studying the British variantof English as it is rich, elegant andauthentic. Having mastered it,afterwards it is possible to learn thebright, changeable, simple, and full ofslang variant, i.e. American English, oranother exotic variant.

Medieval Historical Writing: Britain and Ireland, 500–1500. Edited by Jennifer Jahner, Emily Steiner, and Elizabeth M. Tyler. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. xvi+581.

<i>Medieval Historical Writing: Britain and Ireland, 500–1500</i>. Edited by Jennifer Jahner, Emily Steiner, and Elizabeth M. Tyler. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. xvi+581.

(Trans)Gender in the News: Specialized language in the UK press. A corpus-based discourse analysis

In recent years, gender variant, non-binary and queer identities have become prominent topics of discussion in society as much as in the field of cultural and linguistic studies, and language has been playing a seminal role in the process of shaping and negotiating these identities. The press, in particular, works as one of the most active agents in the creation of discourses linked to those communities. This paper presents the final outcomes of a research project that focuses on the representation of transgender people in the British press as social actors (van Leeuwen 1996, 2005, 2008) and formulates hypotheses with regard to the use of LSP (Language for Specific Purposes) in this type of representation.

Present Absence Book Circulation, Indian Vernaculars and World Literature in the Nineteenth Century

More books from India in Indian languages circulated in Europe in the nineteenth century than now – partly thanks to the efforts of book importers like Trübner & Co. Trübner’s monthly American & Oriental Literary Record (1865–) shows pages and pages of imported Sanskrit books, but also books in Hindi, Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Arabic, Persian, and so on. Trübner also imported Peruvian, Argentinian, Brazilian, Yucatanese and other books from Latin America. Yet this impressive circulation and presence of books did not translate into their recognition as world literature. Voluminous compendia like John Macy’s The Story of World Literature (1927) cover “Asian Literature” in merely thirteen pages (out of five hundred), and fail to mention any modern Indian writer apart from Rabindranath Tagore, damning him with faint praise. Why was this material presence and circulation of books in non-European languages in Britain and other parts of Europe matched by their absence as modern literary texts from the imagination of world literature? This essay examines the “technologies of recognition” (Shih) that made modern Indian literatures virtually invisible though materially present in Europe, and the conditions of visibility that occasionally allowed them to be seen.

A Case Study of the Productivity of the Prefix Cyber- in English and Greek Legal Languages

Abstract The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of the Greek language on modern legal languages in the United Kingdom and United States of America. The focus is placed on terms with the prefix cyber- of Greek origin that have recently enriched the English legal languages in connection with the fact that certain new phenomena (legal institutions) have been regulated by laws as a result of the development of new technologies. Therefore, the authors have investigated the occurrence of terms with the prefix cyber- in legislation and other legal texts. Apart from the analysis of borrowings in the English legal languages, the authors have also investigated the occurrence of equivalent terms in Greek and Cypriot legislation and other genres of legal texts. Furthermore, the analysis involved the investigation of the occurrence of terms with the analysed prefix cyber- in European Union legislation and terminological databases (mostly IATE) to find out whether the borrowings may become internationalisms of Greek origin. Furthermore, the authors have also investigated whether for those terms with a prefix of Greek origin there are synonyms in the languages under scrutiny of non-Greek origin.

THE IMPORTANCE OF “ENGLISH” LANGUAGE IN TODAY’S WORLD

English is one of the most powerful languages in all over world. Though it was the native language of Britain, it has become the Universal language nowadays. In different aspects of life like cultural, social, political, ethical parts have a deep influence of English language in it. Apart from this, English has become the key of education, offices, laws, business etc. For authors also, it has a great value as a non-native language. In most of the countries over the world English was not the language of such importance from beginning. But after twentieth century it has its own prestigious value in the world, by which it has conquer its place over other languages.

Hostility Towards immigrants’ languages in Britain: a backlash against ‘super-diversity’?

ABSTRACTSociolinguists have adopted the concept of ‘super-diversity’ from cultural anthropology to analyse multidimensional changes in ethnolinguistic identities resulting from recent mass migration. Sociolinguistic super-diversity is thus understood as a central aspect of shifts in migration patterns that have increased the complexity of cultural identities beyond traditional, more static ‘multicultural’ diversity, both in Britain and globally. How is the presence of more complex and diverse linguistic identities viewed by the public? This paper explores attitudes towards perceived increased multilingualism and multiculturalism expressed in the BBC’s Have Your Say Internet forum. The majority of postings blame immigrants for communication problems with the British ‘home’ community and allege their unwillingness to learn English; many also assume that (only) a monolingual national community guarantees social coherence and they are dismissive of any language mediation services. In view of these ‘folk-sociolinguistic’ assumptions and linguaphobic attitudes, the notion of super-diversity needs to be reconfigured so as to include the (unintended) adverse impact of the migration-induced increase in the diversity and complexity of imagined ethno-linguistic identities.

A “living, cloven, apostolic tongue” and “philanthropic philology” – exploring the possibility of working-class writings on language theory in the 1840s

ABSTRACTThis article looks at two essays by John Goodwyn Barmby published in the New Moral World and Howitt’s Journal of Literature and Popular Progress to explore the possibility of a working-class theory of language in England in the 1840s. Positioning these writings in relation to connections between politics, language theory and culture made by middle-class writers in the 1830s, I examine how they extend a tradition of “alternative” politically radical language theory from the turn of the century by invoking and accentuating discourses that became crucial to the study of language in England. I conclude that Barmby’s essays are best understood as instances of working-class labour on language theory in the 1840s, and as such they provide an important critical perspective on the work being done by others to appropriate social, cultural and political discourses to define English language in terms of the emergent paradigm of the New Philology.

Official status of languages in the United Kingdom and Ireland

What are the official languages of the United Kingdom and of Ireland? Constitutions typically provide a starting point, although the answer is clearer in the case of the latter than the former. Nonetheless, the adoption of language legislation by the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament, in respect of Welsh and Gaelic, forms part of a general shift towards official status within the UK; clarity in Northern Ireland, contemplated by the Belfast Agreement and St. Andrews Agreement, is further off. These changes also highlight an emerging story of the status of recognised languages at UK level. Meanwhile, the constitutional position in the Republic of Ireland has been supplemented by legislation and caselaw. This article considers the developing status of various languages (especially Welsh, Gaelic, and Irish) in the UK and Ireland, set in the context of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, issues of identity and territory, and the similarities and differences between laws on language within and across both states.

The study of foreign languages in England: uptake in secondary school and progression to higher education

ABSTRACTThe decline in the numbers of students learning foreign languages in secondary schools in England, together with the low and decreasing number of top grades in these subjects, has raised concerns among educationalists, employers and politicians in the last few years. The aim of this research was, therefore, to investigate the uptake of and progression in foreign languages in order to better understand the challenges these subjects are facing and their position in schools and universities. The analyses presented in this article showed that that the number of 16–18 year old students choosing to study a language continues to decline. However, combinations of languages with science subjects and with mathematics were relatively popular. Regarding progression, achieving good grades in language subjects was one of the factors with greatest influence on continuing to study language subjects (e.g. in higher education). However, performance in languages was, in general, worse than average performance at school. The research concludes that the current position of languages in schools in England might lead to very low levels of participation in the learning of languages other than English by the end of compulsory education. This will have an impact on higher education provision and languages, an already vulnerable area in higher education, is likely to become more so.

‘English a foreign tongue’

Abstract The 2011 UK Census was the first ever to ask a question about language in England. The period during which the census was planned coincided with a period of intense politicisation of the language issue, which had previously not been a major point of controversy. The census results showed that 98.3% of the adult population either spoke English as their ‘main language’, or could speak it well or very well. In 4% of households no adults spoke English as a main language. These statistics produced an intense media reaction focussed on the number of people who supposedly could not speak English, with some high-level misunderstandings about what the figures meant. This paper discusses the pervasiveness in the census process of ideologies about language, and how an apparently honest attempt to collect information for service providers was used to justify anti-immigration discourse and the reduction of services for non-speakers of English.

The Grammar of Politics: A Brief History of Legislative Language in Britain

AbstractLegislative language is a crucial, yet somewhat overlooked element of British politics. So how has the language of British legislation changed over the past century? For this study, all 191,080 pages of legislation enacted between 1900 and 2015 were assessed for changes in the quantity of legislation, and 5,878 sections of legislation from 1920 to 2015 were analysed for changes to the quality of language. Parts of speech that affect the subject, object and verb of sentences were recorded, giving a novel long‐term study of indeterminacy in legislative language. Findings show that interpreting legislation became increasingly dependent on circumstance and discretion after the war. Change further accelerated after 1975. This reflected a widening gap between public demands placed on government power and the difficulties faced in accommodating these demands.