Metalinguistic Discourse Research Articles

Transformative impacts of explicit morphological instruction on irregular inflectional acquisition in Saudi EFL learners

The study aimed to investigate the transformative effect of overt instruction on the acquisition of irregular inflectional morphemes by Saudi EFL learners. A mixed-method approach consisting of quantitative data and complemented with a qualitative descriptive analysis was adopted for this study to measure the transformative effect of explicit instruction through pretest and posttest procedures. Input Processing Theory and Processability Theory were used in this study to see the transformative effect of overt instruction between the control and experimental groups. The study employed visual aids and metalinguistic discussion instructional techniques to treat the experimental group with a one-hour session once a week, other than the normal classroom instruction sessions. In total, it continued for seven consecutive weeks. The results demonstrated that a p-value less than 0.001 for all three hypotheses developed in the study posited in favour of the alternative hypothesis and rejected the null hypothesis. Hence, the two groups significantly differed in their vocabulary knowledge: morpheme recognition and morpheme use in writing. The results support the hypotheses developed initially in this study that overt instruction of inflectional irregular morphological knowledge transfers to the EFL learners’ writing skills and facilitates L2 acquisition. The study has significant implications for foreign language learners, L2 teachers, and researchers.

Metalinguistic Discourse in an Emerging Sign Language

In this paper, I explore metalinguistic discourse in Zinacantec Family Homesign (‘Z sign’), an emergent sign language developed by three deaf siblings and their hearing family members. In particular, I examine how metalinguistic discourse unfolds between a hearing Z signer and various members of her family—including her deaf siblings, her elderly hearing father, and her young hearing son. I do so via a close examination of several snippets of conversation in which the Z signers talk about the “right” way to sign, paying close attention to how they mobilize various semiotic devices, including manual signs, eye gaze, facial expressions, and speech. I aim to understand not only the formal components of metalinguistic discourse in Z sign but also how it functions as a form of social action in this small linguistic community. How do members of this family position themselves and others as (in)competent, (non-)authoritative signers in light of existing social divisions among them? How do they reinforce or challenge those social divisions through metalinguistic discourse? How might metalinguistic discourse contribute to the propagation of emergent linguistic norms throughout the family? I find that a recurrent device for enacting metalinguistic critique among the Z signers is the partial re-production and transformation of others’ utterances and other visible actions, manifested in a way that exploits the availability of multiple, semi-independent manual and non-manual articulators in the visual modality.

Emergent Pragmatic Conventions in Spoken ELF Corpus Data: Micro-Diachronic Analysis of Inclusive vs. Exclusive Multilingual Practices

This article examines multilingual practices as an example of emergent pragmatic conventions in three Transient International Groups (TIGs) using spoken English as a lingua franca (ELF) from the Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE). The analysis combines principles of corpus linguistics and conversation analysis by adopting a new approach for the micro-diachronic analysis of spoken interaction. Quantitative and qualitative evidence and micro-diachronic visualizations of VOICE transcripts show how the three groups examined interactively develop group-specific multilingual practices. The analysis reveals that the three groups have different preferences in this respect. While two groups develop inclusive multilingual practices in the course of their interaction, one group shows a tendency to use multilingual practices exclusively, primarily in side sequences. In addition to multilingual use, the presence or absence of metalinguistic discussions about language (and languages) plays a role for creation of shared transcultural territory and the formation of group identity. These processes are indicative of how unacquainted multilingual speakers negotiate and develop pragmatic conventions more generally.

Critical Discourse Analysis on Parental Language Ideologies of Bilingual and Multilingual Child-Rearing and Language Education Using Facebook and Internet Forums

This study examines the computer-mediated discussion topics of parents who raise bilingual and multilingual children in four active Facebook and Internet forums, and investigates how the language ideologies embedded in the multiple languages being used in these forums are expressed. In this study, 179 data points, including users’ posts and thread comments, were collected to identify the most frequently discussed topics as part of my description of the database, in order to identify parental ideologies by using values analysis. The five most-discussed topics were selected to make a critical discourse analysis on the narratives to understand the language ideologies regarding the use of multiple languages, and regarding what users of the groups are saying specifically about the languages when analyzing metalinguistic discourses. This study found the most recurrent language ideologies that parents expressed on these online forums were supporting bilingualism/multilingualism, and claim that bilingualism/multilingualism is advantageous. Parents also demonstrate language ideologies supporting keeping languages separate, such as following the one parent one language (OPOL) method, using the minority language at home, and so on. A detailed values analysis with illustrative sample messages from the online posts and comments also more specifically shows the recurrent language ideologies identified, and parents’ views underlying their narratives on their posts and thread comments.

Vorwissen aus Erfahrung mit Sprache(n) – eine Basis für Conceptual Change?

According to large scale performance surveys, students show rather weak systematic metalinguistic knowledge and struggle to express their observations. Due to their language awareness, though, they build up metalinguistic knowledge based on their individual language experience, which invites discussing “conceptual change” as a theoretical concept for learning (1), even though the quality and the structure of metalinguistic knowledge remain to be explored further (2). This paper discusses examples of a project exploring how metalinguistic reflection outside the classroom is related to individual experience, e. g. multilingualism. The examples will be discussed to ask if they correspond to “conceptual change”, what impact the findings of the project have on didactics of language and how they could encourage metalinguistic discourse in the classroom (4).

Don’t call me <i>obasan </i>‘aunt’

This study investigates the use of the kinship term obasan “aunt” as an address term in Japanese by analysing three types of data: metalinguistic discourse in online discussion; the most typical collocates for the term in a large corpus of Japanese websites; and the results of a survey of native speakers. The study demonstrates that address practices towards aunts appear to be changing. The most typically collocated adjectives and adjectival nouns with obasan as a term of reference in the corpus reveal an overwhelmingly negative conceptualisation of the term in contemporary contexts. The survey results show an increasing trend towards addressing aunts with their names and nicknames instead of obasan. The analysis shows an almost pejorative connotation of the fictive use of obasan, and this appears to interfere with its literal use as an address term towards actual kin, hence the decrease in its usage.

Metalinguistic discourses of ‘styling the other’

This article explores how mobility shapes language, gender and sexuality during periods of indeterminacy, focusing on the discursive construction of masculinities. Using styling/‘styling the other’ as an interpretive framework, the article analyses how economic precarity leads to ambivalence in the masculinities of Zimbabwean heterosexual-identifying male migrants (ages 26–30 years) in Johannesburg. Interview data suggests that these men engaged in male-to-male sex work to achieve economic security. To solicit wealthy white men, the men performed stereotypical Black hypermasculinity and sophisticated, cosmopolitan gay subjectivities through language crossing and physical styling. These performances ultimately aimed to achieve the normative masculine identity of being a husband and provider. The article elucidates the paradox in which the men appropriated Polari, a British gay patois, and foreign or white understandings of Black/African masculinity to style the ‘other’ while fulfilling traditional Zimbabwean notions of masculinity.

Around-language discourse during the Russian-Ukrainian war

The goal of this study was to find out how the discourse related to the language issue, which has developed, in particular, in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet, changed after Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine. For this purpose, the material was collected during the period of 2012—2021, with a comparison of theses and arguments in the discussions that arose around the appearing issues of the language situation with those recorded during the year of the Ukrainian-Russian war. Nowadays, the discourse surrounding the language issue has changed. Even those political forces that used it as a tool of pre-election campaigning, speculating on the topic of the division of society on the basis of language, immediately changed their rhetoric. The language-related discourse has lost its former characteristic of debate; it has become more radical, highly symbolised, and sometimes pejorative; the former polarity of thoughts has disappeared. It displays public reflections on the nation-building function of language. More and more Ukrainians are coming to understand that “language matters” and “language is a weapon”. The symbolic “war of languages” has transformed in the physical plane into a “war with the help of language”. The language has become a weapon of the military. At the same time, Ukrainian journalists shock the society by covering scandals surrounding the issue of language, as the term ‘Movosrach’, which is a manipulative denomination for language-related discussions and which emphasises contempt for those who raise the issue of language functioning, arose long before the start of the full-scale war. Many people are convinced that the language situation in Ukraine will undergo a radical change after the war. This refers, at a minimum, to the levelling of the status, prestige, and ultimately the prevalence of the Russian language. Expert opinions carry significant weight when it comes to the language issue. However, a part of society still hopes that in the language policy, the state will adhere to the position of non-interference in the language practices of society. Based on the current language policies and the prevailing language attitudes, the development of the language situation in the country is likely to be influenced by the ongoing events; however, it is expected that the trends related to language communication guidelines and the vision for the language development will remain inertial. Keywords: metalinguistic discourse, Ukrainian language, language issue, rhetoric, RussianUkrainian war.

‘English is our 2nd language, konglish is our mother tongue’: Recolonizing English Through Translingual Activism in a Social Movement

Abstract This paper probes alternative meanings and processes for decolonizing English that arise from the particular geopolitical histories and identities of Hong Kong and engagement with political and translingual activism. I illustrate the positioning and tension between English, ‘Kongish’ (a mix of English and localized linguistic resources in Hong Kong), and Chinese in 1,355 comments from four live-streamed videos of clashes between the police and protesters. Despite the default language of the news page being Chinese (standard written Chinese and written Cantonese), a vast majority of the comments are written in English and Kongish. I analyse the commenters’ metalinguistic discourse that represents their alignment and non-alignment stances towards the various linguistic practices in the comment threads. I draw on ‘translingual activism’ (Pennycook 2019) to understand the linguistic resourcefulness of the commenters who support the protests and the indexing of an us–them relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China. Rather than decolonizing English, I argue that the Hong Kong commenters recolonize English for new subversive purposes to maintain an ideological ‘separation’ between their Hong Kong and Chinese identities in times of political transformations.

Implementing a Metalinguistic Approach to Secondary School Writing.

Writing is an essential skill that secondary students need to establish for success in their further education, careers, and lives. However, most secondary students in the United States do not achieve the level of writing proficiency expected to ensure academic and future success. One approach that is emerging more in the research literature is the use of a metalinguistic approach to writing. This tutorial begins with a discussion of current educational demands and performance trends in secondary-level academic writing and how secondary students and their educators are presently struggling to meet those demands. The tutorial continues further with a discussion of existing effective writing interventions, as well as current gaps in areas of writing intervention that have the potential to be filled if metalinguistic abilities are also targeted as part of comprehensive secondary-level writing instruction. The author then provides rationale for the use of a metalinguistic approach to secondary school writing including explanation of the metalinguistic processes of writing, how to target those processes while writing, and existing metalinguistic writing interventions. The tutorial concludes with step-by-step suggestions and methods for instructors/interventionists to implement a metalinguistic approach to academic writing with secondary students including (a) review of the critical aspects of students' academic writing expectations, (b) collection of baseline data of students' metalinguistic abilities, (c) facilitation of metalinguistic discussion while working on writing with students, and (d) differentiation of students' instructional level of support. This tutorial will provide instructors/interventionists with the background information, rationale, and a framework to implement a metalinguistic approach to writing that can be utilized when working with secondary students during any academic writing task.

X-Wörter im Deutschen: Ein Wortbildungsmuster zur diskursiven Vermeidung von Begriffen

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the German word formation pattern X-Wort within the theoretical framework of discourse morphology. For this purpose, morphological, semantic, and pragmatic analyses are combined on the basis of the German reference corpus. It is shown that the word formation pattern is productive and extremely frequent. However, the meaning of the word formation product is not always clear, since only two X-Wörter (N-Wort and F-Wort) can be considered lexicalized. Instead of word meanings acquired through the formation, a common function of the X-Wörter can be identified: they are used in metalinguistic discourses to avoid and mask certain terms. In this context, X-Wörter differ with respect to the motivation of avoidance: (i) racist terms, (ii) vulgar terms, and (iii) politically and superstitiously explosive words are avoided and masked. Thus, X-Wörter are part of euphemistic language. As such, their use can also be enregistered, and acquire a social-symbolic function, which indicates moral-ethical ideas of the speaker or writer. Consequently, we describe the word formation pattern as a form-meaning/function-pair whose morphological structure perfectly fits its communicative needs to avoid and mask specific words in discourses.

Language maintenance and shift in a Swiss community on the Black Sea

Abstract This paper explores the dynamics of the linguistic situation in a Swiss colony of Shabo on the Black Sea, created in 1822. Its political belonging changed several times: from the Russian empire to the Kingdom of Romania and the USSR (today Ukraine). Metalinguistic discourse produced by various social actors in different sociopolitical settings is compared here to the use of Francoprovençal, French, and Russian as discovered in archival data. Accordingly, the study is based, on the one hand, on the narratives in manuscripts and publications (from the Archives of Odessa, Bern, and Romainmôtiers), and on the other hand, on a corpus of private letters (from family archives in Vaud), as well as early (socio)linguistic descriptions compared to linguistic data collected in Vaud. This case study aims to shed light on the complex relationship between the linguistic processes and language ideologies in changing socio-political spaces.

The limits of thematization

AbstractA fundamental capacity of language is its reflexivity. But not every aspect of language is equally accessible to being reflected upon. Michael Silverstein's 1981 paper, the “Limits of Awareness,” set the terms of this discussion in linguistic anthropology with his study of speakers' “awareness” of pragmatic forms and their corresponding capacity to talk about them. His notion of differential “awareness” of aspects of language has since been foundational to linguistic‐anthropological understandings of language ideologies. Here we consider Silverstein's argument with reference to our research in Laos, exploring the limits of metalinguistic discourse. We argue that the apparent constraints on our capacity to talk about aspects of language do not evidence limits of awareness of elements of language, but rather constraints on our ability to thematize those elements, that is, to bring them into joint attention. The central issue is thematization, and the relation of interest is a relation of joint attention between speakers. Metalanguage is thus constrained not (only) by psychological limits but by the social and semiotic limits on what people can bring into mutual focus within interactions. To present our framing of the issue and show what it helps us see, we distinguish two kinds of thematization and describe their subtypes, affordances, and constraints. We then demonstrate how social conventions—broadly understood—can circumvent these constraints, allowing people to thematize otherwise difficult to thematize forms.

Treatment of and Attitudes Towards ‘Other’ Languages in Modern Russia: Evidence from Metalinguistic Discourse

Russian Federation, being de jure and de facto linguistically diverse multilingual country, can be described, at the same time, as being under a strong influence of monolingual language ideology, with Russian totally domineering in most public spheres. Minority languages and especially languages of migrants lack official recognition and support, and their speakers often have to face prejudices and negative stereotypes. The paper aims at revealing language ideology prevailing in modern Russia through analysis of attitudes to languages other than Russian as they are expressed in discourse about language, i.e. metadiscourse. When approaching it, it is important to distinguish state discourse (manifestation of official language policy) and public discourse (collective attitudes towards certain sublanguages and their users expressed more or less directly). The analysis shows that over the past two decades, official language ideology in Russia has shifted from guaranteeing linguistic equality and diversity to having an emphasis on unity and purity and giving support to the Russian language. This reorientation is realized through status planning, corpus planning, and acquisition planning. At the level of public discourse, analysis of collective attitudes towards the languages used by non-native speakers demonstrates that a significant part of the Russian-speaking population express negative attitudes towards non-native speakers and their poor Russian language skills, which once again confirms that there is dominant monolingualism and purism in public discourse. However, language practices in Russia are gradually becoming more diverse which can become a challenge for monolingualism and purism in future.

Awareness and salience in language contact The case of Asturian Spanish

Awareness of a sociolinguistic variable and linguistic behavior are intricately connected, such that the former can influence speakers’ use of particular linguistic variants. As a result, exploring awareness and salience as part of linguistic variation is crucial to fully understanding the linguistic choices that speakers make in interaction and the social meaning of the variants they employ. In this article, I investigate how patterns in the production and perception of Asturian features might be explained by examining their cognitive and social salience, and the different levels of sociolinguistic awareness observed in the communities in which Spanish and Asturian are in contact. After an analysis of metalinguistic discourse on public social media, the article explores the effect of cognitive salience and explicit awareness on the perceptions of the Asturian gender morphemes /-u/ and /-es/, as well as how the availability of Asturian “ye” to index interactional stances relates to the speakers’ awareness of this sociolinguistic variant, its symbolism, and their control over its use. I show that different dimensions of salience and awareness affect the indexical fields of these contact variants, allowing some features to become markers of Asturian identity and social status, to adopt particular styles, and to be employed as stance-marking units based on the speakers’ interactional needs.

Vague terminology and pedagogy

A key challenge for any academic field is using, and teaching about, field-specific terminology. Speech science faces a unique set of circumstances, since many students and non-experts believe they understand a specific term. However, their definitions may vary drastically from the agreed upon definitions within the field. This becomes even more complicated when a specific piece of terminology is contentious within the field. Take, for example, the term “non-native.” Recent work has demonstrated that this term is simultaneously imprecise (i.e., does not refer to all and only individuals who meet specific criteria) and othering (i.e., inherently places one group in opposition to the “normal” group of native speakers). However, this terminological conundrum provides a ripe ground for pedagogical shift. In this presentation, we address both the pedagogical opportunities available in addressing these terminological issues, including metalinguistic discussions of the notions of categories and how this may tie into discussions around linguistic relativity. Furthermore, this approach allows for a broader discussion in the classroom that changing terminology only solves part of the problem; regardless of the terminology we use, we do not mitigate the bigger issues of interest. In fact, altering terminology alone can result in virtue-signaling (miles-hercules & Muwwakkil 2021).

Metalinguistic discourse and dialect performance

Abstract This investigation examines how dialect identity and linguistic ideologies are negotiated and performed through dar +gerund, a northern Andean Spanish construction used to express an attenuated request or favor. Specifically, positive, neutral, and negative sentiments expressed through metalinguistic commentary are analyzed from a corpus of 450 tweets collected on Twitter between 2008- May 2019. This analysis shows how a higher degree of emotional intensity in negative sentiments signals linguistic and cultural discrimination towards this Kichwa-contact induced construction. On the other end, positive sentiments celebrate and defend this feature as an intrinsic part of the Andean Ecuadorian dialect and identity. This negotiation of the linguistic and cultural significance of dar +gerund serves to destabilize dominant negative perceptions and renegotiate the meaning of this NAS feature.

Salience and Evaluation of Morphosyntactic and Semanto-Structural Variation

This paper presents the results of an online survey studying both salience and evaluation of specific morphosyntactic and semantic features in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The study, for example, addresses weil ‘because’ clauses with main clause word order, nachdem ‘after’ clauses with causal meaning, and erinnern ‘remember’ selecting an accusative object. The salience of the phenomena that were studied differs considerably depending on whether the feature has been subject to metalinguistic discourses or not and on how widespread the variant is across language regions. Especially features that have been subject to metalinguistic discourses and features that are restricted to relatively small language regions appear to be highly salient. Features that are common in a broader linguistic area are less salient to all speakers.

Sociolinguistic representations of variation in Moroccan spoken Arabic: discourses, practices and internet memes

Abstract This paper explores metalinguistic representations of Moroccan Arabic, through speakers’ discourses – taken from various spontaneous recordings and interviews with Moroccan Arabic speakers, of various ages, social backgrounds, and, for the most part, living in Meknes – and humoristic images and memes mocking local accents to be found on social media. By comparing language practices and metalinguistic representations with internet memes related to language stereotypes, our objective is to highlight indexicality, iconization and rhematization, in the circulation of metalinguistic representations, especially their reproduction through copy and imitation, which is the main attribute of memes that interests us. Markers, values, meanings associated with variation constantly change and shift through speakers’ practices and discourses, interacting with language ideologies, representations and stereotypes. With that in mind, we examine metalinguistic discourses and sociolinguistic variables in parallel to each other in order to study old and new representations along with social categories such as young/old, virile/effeminate, as well as regional stereotypes.

From stigmatization to predilection: folk metalinguistic discourse on social media on the northwestern Moroccan Arabic variety

AbstractThe sociolinguistic situation in Morocco is complex, with a diversity of Arabic varieties that interact daily. Existing linguistic ideologies have created a hierarchical relationship between these varieties that has been forged for political and socio-economic reasons. Thus, the variety of Casablanca, the economic capital of the country, leads the linguistic levelling in the country and therefore has more social value, but others have less social value, even reaching stigmatization. This is the case of the northwest Moroccan variety that is stigmatized for most Moroccans, but shapes the collective identity in this region. One of the most important cities in the region is Tetouan, a medium-sized city, where the arrival of influences from other Moroccan varieties has created a new-urban variety and has contributed to shaping a new Tetouan identity. This article focuses on folk metalinguistic discourse on the Tetouan Arabic variety. The purpose is to evaluate the metalinguistic beliefs used by speakers to build a collective identity at local and regional level. To do this, the role of social media as a space for ideological language discussions is shown, and chats posted on a Facebook group are examined as an interactive source of data. Specifically, the focus will be placed on an open chat called “Tetouan”, founded in 2012, and in which people from this city write mainly. The results reveal that the social meanings of the different varieties produce antagonistic ideas about them, depending on the context and the participants in the linguistic interaction.