Word definition as indicator of metalinguistic awareness in multilingual children.

Francophone populations outside Quebec were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Despite French being one of Canada’s official languages, access to information and services in French remains limited. This study examined Francophone families’ (FF) post-pandemic health and well-being needs (PPHW) in the Canadian Prairie provinces. An online survey assessed PPHW needs among 319 FF in Alberta (AB), Saskatchewan (SK), and Manitoba (MB). Respondents ranked PPHW needs from a predefined list; logistic regression analyzed socio-demographic influences. Divided into AB/SK and MB cohorts, sociodemographic profiles were statistically distinct for many variables, but with similarities found in gender of respondents (women: 73% in AB/SK, 79% in MB), marital status (married: 81% in AB/SK, 88% in MB), area of residence (urban: 86% in AB/SK, 81% in MB), and number of children (2 children: 49% in AB/SK, 41% in MB). Three high-priority needs were shared across provinces: (1) access to recreational, athletic, and artistic activities in French for children (variations by child gender); (2) access to French healthcare professionals (variations by education level and language difference); and (3) social activities in French for families. AB/SK respondents prioritized mental health services in French for adults and youth. MB families prioritized belonging to a Francophone community (variations by gender of children) and education services in French (variations by age of children). Understanding these common and province-specific priorities can inform policy and service planning.

ABSTRACT Most literature on processes of migranticisation and citizenisation focuses on how people are migranticised. This article proposes examining a case of migration facilitation, in which state policies aim at facilitating rather than restricting the migration and settlement of specific categories of people, to empirically examine to what extent it citizenises them. It takes the case of French temporary migration to Quebec, the only province in which French is the sole official language. Since the 1960s, France and Quebec have signed numerous agreements, many of which provide advantageous conditions to migrate and settle in the province. Based on qualitative longitudinal research, the article examines how the regime of immigration facilitation works and how it is experienced by French temporary migrants in Quebec. Results show that while the regime of immigration facilitation does contribute to citizenisation, French migrants are still subjected to various technologies of migranticisation which vary depending on the permit type and multiply as time spent with a temporary residence status increases. The article provides a frame to study such regimes and their effect on individuals, offers additional notions to understand processes of migranticisation and citizenisation, and contributes to the knowledge of experiences of migration from former metropolises to colonial settler countries.

ABSTRACT Although English and French now have equal status in Canada, bilingualism and the language question have been the cause of heated debates in the history of the country, which, since the Treaty of Paris of 1763, has been characterised by the close coexistence of two profoundly different social groups, one francophone and Roman Catholic, the other anglophone and Protestant. While the foundations for present-day bilingualism were implicitly laid by the Constitutional Act of 1791 and reiterated in the Constitution Act of 1867, it was the English language, and the British model, that continued to be promoted as the official language of government. Moreover, during the late-19th and early-20th centuries a number of legislative acts across Canada restricted French-language education and the use of French itself outside of Quebec. As the popular media have always played an important role in representing, shaping and guiding public opinion, the paper investigates, following the methodologies of historical discourse analysis and historical sociopragmatics, the extent to which the language question surfaced in some of the most popular English language magazines published in Canada between the late-18th and early-20th centuries, and, specifically, how the relationship between language and nation was framed and discussed in such publications.

Linguistic diversity in higher education institutions plays a critical role in shaping organizational culture, communication, and productivity, yet it also presents unique challenges in fostering inclusivity. This study, therefore, investigated the role of linguistic diversity at the St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) and its implications for human resource (HR) policies and practices. With Tanzania’s rich multilingual landscape-featuring Swahili and English as official languages alongside over 120 indigenous languages-SAUT serves as a compelling case study on managing linguistic diversity in an academic workplace. The research aimed to (1) assess the current state of linguistic diversity at SAUT, (2) identify associated challenges and opportunities, (3) evaluate its impact on employee satisfaction and productivity, and (4) develop tailored HR strategies to promote inclusivity. Using a qualitative approach, data was collected through interviews with faculty, staff, and administrators, supplemented by document analysis. Findings reveal that while linguistic diversity enhances cultural exchange, creativity, and problem-solving, it also creates communication barriers and feelings of exclusion among non-dominant language speakers. Key challenges include difficulties in formal communication, unequal participation in meetings, and occasional misunderstandings. However, the study also highlights opportunities for leveraging this diversity to strengthen institutional cohesion and global competitiveness. To address these challenges, the study recommends implementing structured language training programs (e.g., Kiswahili for international staff and advanced English for non-native speakers), adopting multilingual signage and documentation, and fostering inclusive communication strategies such as translation services and code-switching accommodations. By proactively managing linguistic diversity, SAUT can enhance employee satisfaction, collaboration, and productivity while reinforcing its reputation as an inclusive academic institution. This research contributes to broader discussions on linguistic diversity in higher education and provides practical HR solutions for multicultural workplaces. The findings underscore the importance of intentional language policies in fostering inclusivity, offering valuable insights for universities and organizations operating in linguistically diverse environments.

ABSTRACT Background In the bilingual Canadian context, the use of a preferred official language with healthcare providers is linked to optimized communication, respectful patient-centered care, improved safety and quality of services. This study aimed to develop and test a questionnaire that measures patients’ experience of how language was considered during an outpatient health encounter. Methods French and English questions were drafted based on a literature review. Questionnaire content and flow were validated through focus groups with experts and service users. Question understanding and clarity was verified with cognitive interviews and pre-tests with diverse service users. The final questionnaire was pilot tested in three health organizations and temporal stability, and construct validity was verified. Results Participants were nine anglophone and eleven francophone experts and service users for the focus groups, six anglophone and six francophone service users for the cognitive interviews, eleven anglophone and ten francophone service users for the pre-test. The resulting questionnaire has 31 experience-related questions organized under six themes: arrival/greeting, interpretation and translation services, language of health services, relationship with healthcare providers, visibility of official languages and follow-up. The questionnaire is completed online in French or English. The questionnaire was pilot tested with 199 participants in three sites. Temporal stability was moderate to good. Initial evidence of construct validity was demonstrated, suggesting that the questionnaire is adequate to evaluate patient experience. Conclusion This questionnaire is the first known bilingual patient-experience tool, focused on the active offer of services in official languages during outpatient healthcare encounters, with preliminary validation.

ABSTRACT Prominent scholars have argued that reframing political positions and issues in terms of moral foundations that appeal to conservatives or liberals can attract more individual-level support for those positions, even when such support would be unexpected. Such a change of attitude would be promising for those looking to narrow ideological divides. As two independent research teams, we set out to explore the promising evidence along these lines and to identify further nuances in the arguments. We tested moral reframing in the context of five issue areas: the environment, tax policy, immigration, English as an official language, and universal healthcare. We consistently found null results, not just for overall samples but for sub-groups that have been hypothesized as the most likely to be affected by moral reframing. Using Bayes factors, the observed data are 100 times more likely to occur under the null hypothesis (of no effect) than the moral foundations hypothesis. We explored the reasons for these null results by examining possibilities such as misunderstanding the treatment, the negative or positive valence of the treatment, and small sample sizes. We found no plausible explanation for the absence of treatment effect. Moral reframing techniques may be less helpful to persuasion than previous research suggests.

National-, institutional-, and individual-level determinants of psychiatric research excellence: Analysis of Stanford-Elsevier lists of the top 2 % scholars worldwide (2017-2023).

Large language models (LLMs) already play an influential role in how humans access information. However, their behavior varies depending on their design, training, and use. We prompt a diverse panel of 19 popular LLMs to describe 3,991 prominent persons with political relevance, and then judge how positively they portray each person. When comparing these assessments, we find disparities in ideological positions between LLMs across different geopolitical regions (Arabic countries, China, Russia, and Western countries), and across different languages (the United Nations’ six official languages). Moreover, among only models from the United States, we find significant normative differences related to progressive values. Among Chinese models, we characterize division between internationally- and domestically-focused models. Our results suggest that the ideological stance of an LLM reflects the worldview of its creators. This poses the risk of political instrumentalization and raises concerns around technological and regulatory efforts aiming to make LLMs ideologically ‘unbiased’.

An Examination of the Influence of Early Exposure to the Official Language on Student Learning and Academic Achievement in a Developing Country: A Study at Two Higher Education Institutions

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become increasingly important in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and in supporting English as a second official language in Tanzania. ICT tools such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, and internet services are now integral to vocational teaching and learning processes. Effective utilisation of these technologies requires vocational trainers to be adequately trained in order to enhance students’ information technology skills and meet the demands of the 21st-century workforce. This study aimed to examine vocational trainers’ perceptions of ICT use in training and learning, as well as the challenges they encounter in implementing ICT in TVET institutions. A quantitative research design was employed, involving fifty (50) vocational trainers from TVET institutions in the Coast Region of Tanzania. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that 46% of the participants demonstrated positive perceptions toward the use of ICT tools such as computers, mobile phones, and the internet as effective teaching and learning resources, while 44% reported being comfortable using ICT in their instructional activities. However, the study also identified several challenges hindering effective ICT integration. These included lack of regular training to keep pace with emerging technologies and software (52%), insufficient time for lesson preparation due to additional assigned duties (54%), inadequate time to master new or updated ICT tools (54%), and limited support from top management (54%). The study concludes that while vocational trainers generally hold positive attitudes toward ICT integration, significant institutional and professional development challenges persist, which must be addressed to enhance effective ICT implementation in TVET institutions

The work is devoted to the issues, challenges and prospects of teaching in Senegalese primary schools. In other words, it deals with the language policy of the State of Senegal on teaching in national languages ​​and/or foreign languages ​​in a context dominated by the implementation of numerous projects and the realization of programs aiming at improving the quality of education. Senegal is a West African country in which several languages, some of which Seereer, Wolof, Pular, Joola etc. that belong to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family are spoken. Beside these languages, there are foreign ones some of which French, that is the official language and English which has started being promoted. However, these languages are always in contact, meanly in schools and universities where they are spoken. In so doing, the languages which are taught or in which subjects are taught at schools, mainly at primary schools are in the score of the study. Thus, the objective of this work is to highlight this linguistic policy and to see the different categories of the language policy in this educational cycle and the challenges of teaching in national languages ​​in the Senegalese educational system. To collect, process and analyze data, we tried to do research related to the teaching in national languages ​​or of national languages ​​and the educational system. Field surveys, interviews and questionnaires were carried out with state and educational actors. The present research has shown that there are some issues, challenges and prospects due to the decisions of the government to implement some local languages and English language teaching in public primary school. Through the contact of these languages, some interference, transfer, code switching, etc. have been noticed. Local languages ​​intervene at the grammatical, morphological, syntactic, phonological levels, etc.

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages, launched in 2022 under the auspices of UNESCO, has predetermined a significant increase in both activities for the preservation and revitalisation of minority languages around the world, the improvement of national and international legislation regulating language relations, and an increase in the number of scientific studies in this field. Changes in language legislation both in the Russian Federation and in large multi-ethnic countries testify to significant shifts in global trends in language policy based on new scientific and statistical data. In this connection, comparative legal studies of the language relations of such countries, among which Canada acquires the greatest interest from the scientific point of view, are of particular relevance. Canada has more than sixty autochthonous languages, nine of which are recognised as official languages. The basic legal provisions are enshrined in the federal Official Languages Act of 1988. In addition, Canada, like the Russian Federation, has a federal structure. The insufficient number of scientific studies, the lack of relevant scientific sources, the absence of Russian-language translations of the major sources of Canadian language law and policy, as well as radical transformations in political views and approaches to the development of language policy in Canada necessitates an increase in comparative legal research, which can provide valuable scientific material for the development of domestic language legislation and linguistic security in the context of the transformation of international politics.

Film titles are often comprised of single words or short phrases, their length rarely exceeding a sentence. Despite this, translating titles for new audiences is a complex task. This study examines this complexity by comparing how the same phrases are translated from English into Arabic when used as film titles versus when they appear within the dialogue as subtitles. Films where the title was uttered during the film were selected. The subtitles of the lines that contained the title reference were contrasted with the official target language title. The comparison focused on the influence of context and function on the translation strategies. The analysis confirmed the extent of this influence and showed that translating titles tended to take a more general approach that focuses on appeal rather than fidelity, while subtitles were specified by context and were thus more sense-oriented. The study recommends that both title localisers and subtitlers resort to the context of the film to produce accurate renditions.

This paper examines errors in Buryat and Russian texts within the linguistic landscape of Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, and investigates the underlying causes for their occurrence. The research material comprises 94 public signs in the two languages, identified from a larger sample of over 3,000 signs. Through an errratological analysis applied to the study of linguistic landscape, the study demonstrates the presence of orthographic, graphic, morphological, syntactic, and lexical errors. The findings indicate that signs in the Buryat language contain errors across all these categories, whereas errors on Russian-language signs are exclusively lexical. The author discusses the factors contributing to the prevalence of errors in Buryat-language material, which include technical constraints, the relatively under-standardized status of the Buryat language in certain domains, and a lack of qualified translators. Errors in Russian-language texts are attributed to insufficient quality control in the production and installation of public signage. Overall, the analysis reveals and corroborates a disparity between the two official languages of the Republic of Buryatia, resulting in a significantly higher incidence of errors on Buryat-language signs compared to their Russian-language counterparts.

Iran, which has been subjected to numerous invasions throughout history and ruled by different nations and dynasties, lacked political unity until the coup carried out by Reza Khan in 1920. In addition, the influence of the clergy in the administration, judiciary, and education and on the conservative public continued. Reza Khan, who ended the Qajar dynasty in 1925 and declared the Pahlavi dynasty with the support of the parliament, ulema and intellectuals, changed and transformed his country with Western-style innovations until he ascended the throne in 1941. Reza Shah, who tried to create a modern European-style nation-state in Iran, undertook many radical reforms to achieve this goal. Persian was declared the official language and reading, writing and speaking local languages were prohibited, the tribes were disarmed and the central authority was strengthened, a new civil code was adopted, and serious investments were made in areas such as education, transportation, industry and health. In order to give society a modern appearance, some regulations were made regarding clothing. However, while these reforms were being implemented, the internal dynamics and conservative structure of the country were ignored, and this led to some important rebellions during the Reza Shah period. This study will examine the uniformity of dress regulation implemented in the name of modernization of Iran, the opposition led by the clergy against this regulation, and two important rebellions.

This study compares early gesture and lexical development in 1,199 infants (0;8–1;6) across South Africa’s 11 official spoken languages using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures. We examined the effect of age, sex, ecological (urban-rural) setting, and maternal level of education (MLE) on early language development. Age was a significant predictor of gesture, comprehension, and production. There was no evidence of a female advantage, except in one language (Sesotho sa Leboa), where females were more likely to produce words. For ecological setting, results were mixed, with five out of 11 languages showing both positive and negative effects for urban versus rural environments. We found no evidence for the impact of MLE in seven out of 11 languages. We discuss possible explanations for these results.

Classical Armenian (Grabar) has played a pivotal role in the development of Armenian linguistic culture and historical-cultural identity, serving not only as the primary means of written communication but also as the official language of state, ecclesiastical, and military administration. The terminology of Classical Armenian-particularly in the military sphere-was shaped by specific historical and political realities, reflecting the sociopolitical structures, value systems, and power hierarchies of the respective eras. During the formation of the ancient Armenian statehood and the organization of military service, a system of military terminology emerged, which was preserved and transmitted to Modern Eastern Armenian through Classical Armenian. These terms carried not only direct denotative meanings but also conveyed the political or social significance of a given position, often indicating the nature of the relationship between the individual and the state or governing authority. This study aims to identify, analyze, and compare the semantic shifts in the Classical Armenian names of certain military ranks and officials as they appear in Modern Eastern Armenian, from both linguistic and historical-political perspectives. Through a synchronic examination of the material, the study presents a detailed semantic description of each term in both Classical Armenian and Modern Eastern Armenian.

Chilean Sign Language (LSCh) was recognized a few years ago as the official language of the deaf community, as well as an essential part of its culture and identity (Law 21.303, 2021). However, there are still no linguistic policies that guide, through an official curriculum, its teaching either as a first or second language. LSCh is taught in higher education contexts; however, there is no evidence of the methodologies that are most effective for its teaching. The present study analyzes the effectiveness of the teaching and learning methodologies implemented in an LSCh workshop for 20 second year students of Special Education. The methodological approach used is action research with a mixed design. The data collection strategies included classroom observations and filming, a focus group and a student survey. The results indicate that active methodologies, in particular, Game-Based Learning, Flipped Classroom and Cooperative Learning together prove to be successful for LSCh learning, promoting motivation, participation and course involvement. We recommend extending the study to other LSCh teaching contexts.

ABSTRACT Linguistic landscape (LL) studies examine how languages in public spaces reflect ideologies, status hierarchies, and community dynamics. While Singapore’s multilingual context has been widely studied, educationscapes remain underexplored, specifically those open to the public. This study investigates the educationscape of Science Centre Singapore (SCS), a public science museum under the Ministry of Education. Data comprised 347 photographs of signage, exhibit information panels, and instructional texts on interactive facilities collected in 2023 and 2025. Drawing on Scollon and Scollon’s geosemiotic framework, the analysis examines how linguistic, semiotic, and spatial resources are orchestrated to convey science knowledge and shape visitor engagement. The findings reveal an English-centered configuration across communicative domains as English functions as the primary language for navigation, behavioural regulation, and scientific explanation. Other official and additional languages are selectively incorporated in commercial areas for localized pragmatism, and on certain exhibit panels and interactive interfaces through QR-mediated digital translations or peripheral multilingual assemblages, signalling institutional efforts to enhance multilingual visibility. Yet English remains visually and interactionally dominant. These patterns highlight how geosemiotic orchestration in educationscapes reproduces sociolinguistic ideologies, shapes visitor interaction, and influences visitor perceptions of language hierarchies, extending LL research in educational settings to a public educationscape.