Pluricentric Research Articles

English as the Pluricentric Language: Changes within the Educational Process

English as the Pluricentric Language: Changes within the Educational Process

The challenge of teaching Spanish L1 as pluricentric language from a critical linguistic perspective

The challenge of teaching Spanish L1 as pluricentric language from a critical linguistic perspective

Teaching Philippine English through schoolscapes

AbstractSchools in general and their so‐called linguistic schoolscape in particular have become an interesting object and subject of (socio)linguistic investigation over the past few years. This article, therefore, explores how schoolscapes may be turned into a potential pedagogical arsenal for teaching and learning a local variety of English – Philippine English – and an avenue for a conceptualisation that English is indeed a plural language. One may note that in spite of the fact that schoolscapes are (socio)linguistically intricate and a learning space itself, the literature about linguistic schoolscapes as an instructional apparatus for teaching English and its varieties remains scant, and thus this article hopes to be a touchstone for an ongoing conversation about the pedagogical promise of schoolscapes more specifically in English language teaching in the Philippine setting. Put more succinctly, this article hopes to further explore the fertile intersection between schoolscape and slanted towards Philippine English pedagogy.

Postmodernism Paradigm and its View on the Existence of Language

Objective: The emergence of postmodernism as a continuation and correction of the shortcomings of modernism is expected to provide new alternatives and complement the repertoire of human thinking, especially about the existence of language and culture. Although, in principle, all paradigms of thinking have their own advantages and disadvantages. This paper aims to examine the issues surrounding the postmodernism paradigm, which is focused on two main things, namely: the concept and basic principles of the paradigm and the view of the postmodern paradigm in relation to the existence of language phenomena. Method: Methodologically, this article is based on a literature study, which is conducted by identifying various theories related to postmodernism, to answer the problems that have been raised. Results and Discussion: From the results of this study, the following conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, the postmodernism paradigm is an approach to philosophy, art and culture that emerged as a response to the ideas and values of modernism that were dominant in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Postmodernism rejects the idea that there is a single narrative or truth that can explain the world, and instead, emphasizes the diversity, complexity and relative nature of everything. Second, in the context of its view on language, postmodernism offers several perspectives, among which the key ones are openness to the plurality of languages, the destruction of the concept of binaries and oppositions, the importance of meta-narrative, and intertextuality. Postmodernism is present to provide an alternative to new ways of thinking in knowledge, especially by prioritizing the principle of respecting differences in plural particularities, as a counter to the thesis of modernism which believes in the importance of the principle of uniformity and universality. Research Implications: Studying the postmodernist paradigm and its views on language can open insight into the complexity and dynamics of language in various contexts. This influences how we understand the world, interact with others, and organize our knowledge. Originality/Value: The value and originality of the study of postmodernism and language paradigms lies in its ability to raise new questions, provoke critical thinking, and open space for new developments in various disciplines and cultural practices.

Auditives Dekodierungstraining zur Unterstützung der Dolmetscherausbildung: Die Rolle der deutschen Sprachvarietäten und der neuen Technologien

The paper aims to propose a reflection on the importance of German varieties in the preparation of interpreters. Like many other languages, German is classified as a pluricentric language, i. e. a language officially spoken in more than one centre or nation. This makes it a very variegated language that boasts a multitude of both standard and non-standard varieties. The task of interpreters who choose German as a foreign language is therefore to be able to understand and translate into another language what is spoken by native speakers of German, many of whom, according to the previous statement, often speak different varieties. To do this, the interpreters’ preparation must consider the inclusion of the different language varieties of both standard and non-standard German, especially at the level of auditory decoding, in order to facilitate the understanding of the message at a receptive level. Starting from the definition of a pluricentric language, this contribution will highlight the main difficulties of interpreters at the level of listening comprehension, most of which are found at the level of auditory decoding, before proposing training aimed at decoding the different varieties of standard and non-standard German realised through the use of new technologies.

What corpus language planning is in place for public television outlets in the Catalan communicative space?

ABSTRACT This article examines the latest developments in the corpus language planning interventions in the implementation of the codification (Haugen, E. (1983). The implementation of corpus planning: theory and practice. In J. Cobarrubias & J. A. Fishman (Eds.), Progress in language planning. International perspectives (pp. 269–289). Mouton.) of Catalan by Catalan-language media corporations, taking into consideration that Catalan is a pluricentric language (Darder, L. (2015). La variació lingüística en els mitjans audiovisuals com a estratègia conscient. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 25, 303–316. https://raco.cat/index.php/TSC/article/view/342907; Costa-Carreras, J. (2021). Compositionality, pluricentricity, and pluri-areality in the Catalan standardisation. In A. Cortijo Ocaña & V. Martines (Eds.), History of Catalonia and its implications for contemporary nationalism and cultural conflict (pp. 182–197). IGI Global; Mas Castells, J. À. (2021). Invitació al pluricentrisme. Notes per a l’estudi d’una llengua pluricèntrica en conflicte. Treballs de sociolingüísticacatalana, 31, 15–30. https://raco.cat/index.php/TSC/article/view/386900) that is standardised both de facto and de jure. It concludes that Muhr, R. (2020). European pluricentric languages in contact and conflict – An overview. In R. Muhr, J. À. Mas Castells, & J. Rueter (Eds.), European pluricentric languages in contact and conflict (pp. 11–64). Peter Lang approach to language variation management does not fit with the Catalan communicative space, and that the proposals, both of the term multi-standard by Auer, P. (2021). Reflections on linguistic pluricentricity. Sociolinguistica, 35(1), 29–47. https://doi.org/10.1515/soci-2021-0003, and of the term location by Dollinger, S. (2019). The pluricentricity debate on Austrian German and other Germanic Standard varieties. Routledge are not needed, as Mas Castells’s (2021) definition of ‘centre’ is fully pertinent for Catalan. A sociolinguistic and standardological perspective has been adopted (Joseph, J. E. (1987). Eloquence and power. The rise of language standards and standard languages. Frances Pinter; Costa-Carreras, J. (forthcoming). On the epistemological status of comparative standardology and standardisation. Caplletra, 79 (fall 2025)) to compare the style guides of three audiovisual media corporations, with an exemplification on a particular issue in relation to both prescription and use. An appropriate description of the linguistic pluricentricity of three Catalan-language media corporations (Darder 2015; Costa-Carreras 2021; Costa-Carreras, J. (2022, June 15–17). What ideological factors are relevant to analyse language variation management for Catalan? Talk presented at the Symposium Rules and incentives in language policy and planning: Economic, legal and sociolinguistic approaches; Mas Castells 2021) is therefore offered: the Catalan Broadcasting Corporation with headquarters in Catalonia, the Valencian Broadcasting Corporation with headquarters the Valencian Country, and the Broadcasting Public Entity of the Balearic Islands with headquarters in the Balearic Islands.

Second Language Learning for Sustainable Development: Barriers for Learners in Rural Communities

Learning of second language for sustainable development is defined as learning language that changes skills, knowledge, values and attitudes to build more sustainable and just societies for all (UN 2015: UNESCO 2017). It would not be preposterous to opine that language and communication play a paramount role in the quest for development, be it human, social, political, technological and any other form of development. Looking in Tanzania as a country, the plurality of ethnic languages through information flows, undoubtedly constitutes a barrier to effective human development processes. It draws on data from students in rural communities in one of the ward secondary schools in Tanzania. The study specifically sought to find out the type of pronunciation errors that students frequently commit and teachers views on how pronunciation errors can be addressed. Transfer of Learning Theory by Thorndike (1923) and Contrastive Analysis Theory by Charles Fries (1945) informed the collection and analysis of the qualitative data. Thus, data were collected through interviews with teachers and students and pronunciation tests administered through a wordlist and analyzed qualitatively. Seven teachers in three ward secondary schools and 35 students were involved. The findings of the study revealed that mispronunciation of English words was due to the difference in sounds between student’s mother tongue and English language. Moreover, the findings revealed that students lacked linguistic exposure as most of them meet English at school and constantly use Kiswahili and mother tongues at home. Therefore, teachers become the chief language input providers. The study recommends that teachers should take note of these differences in sounds and limited exposure to English language when designing and implementing lessons in classrooms since they are the main language input providers.

Methodological Aspects of Teaching German as a Pluricentric Language

This scientific article explores the methodological aspects of teaching German as a pluricentric language, with a specific focus on the role of the Austrian national variant. Pluricentrism theory suggests that the German language is characterized by equal national variants present in German-speaking countries. Researching these national variants is crucial, as it combines linguistics with ethnolinguistics and cultural studies, providing a deeper understanding of language phenomena through an anthropocentric lens. One important aspect of studying a national language and its variants is examining the national worldview and functioning of ethnically marked vocabulary. While textbooks and manuals for teaching German as a foreign language often overlook the norms and standards of Austrian German, the existing differences between national varieties encompass all linguistic levels. Several researchers have contributed to the study of German language variability, particularly the Austrian variant. They have examined grammatical, pragmatic, and phonological peculiarities, as well as the language’s functions in various styles and contexts. However, certain issues remain unresolved, such as linguistic processes in the Austrian German vocabulary, the functional capacity of Austriacisms (Austrian-specific terms) compared to Standard High German counterparts, and the impact of Austrian language policy and media on linguistic processes. The study employs a methodology that involves analysing Austriacisms found in dictionaries and verifying their usage in Austrian newspapers. The researchers explore the lexical and semantic aspects of Austriacisms, categorizing them into three groups: Austrian realia, semantic Austriacisms with different meanings in Austria, and lexical Austriacisms used in Austria instead of German counterparts. The article presents the results of this analysis, highlighting thematic groups such as gastronomy and management/administration, which are prominent in the Austrian variant. Understanding the methodological aspects of teaching German as a pluricentric language, specifically considering the Austrian national variant, is essential for language educators. By acknowledging and incorporating the linguistic peculiarities of Austrian German into language teaching materials, educators can provide a more comprehensive and accurate representation of the language, facilitating effective language learning and intercultural competence development.

AUSTRIAN MEDIA DISCOURSE AS REFLECTION OF CULTURAL-LINGUISTIC BEING OF THE ETHNOS

We consider the impact of media discourse on linguistic culture, focusing on the Austrian press and its role in development of the Austrian national version of German; we analyze the current research of the Austrian German standard, conducted on the material of modern journalism; we identify the main lexical processes that occur in modern Austrian German and are reflected in the media discourse; we substantiate the presence of convergent and divergent features in the functioning of Austrian German. The aim of the article is to reveal the features of Austrian media discourse and to identify the main processes taking place in the language of the Austrian press at the lexical level, in particular the use of Austriacisms and Teutonisms, as well as regionally marked lexical-morphological and phraseological units. We see its relevance in identifying trends in the development of pluricentric language and in elucidating the impact of media discourse on it. Thus, influence of mass media (especially of the press) on development of the Austrian national version of German is undeniable. It manifests itself in the fact that mass media, which are published in Germany, are a source of penetration of the new linguistic phenomena into the Austrian German. As a rule, this relationship is not symmetrical: German is the donor language for the Austrian German, which in this situation is the recipient language. In general, the linguistic colour of the national media is of great importance for the functioning and further development of the divergent version of German in Austria.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Persian Version of the Harris Hip Score.

The Persian language, also known as Farsi, is a pluricentric language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan by about 140 million people. This study aims to translate the Harris hip score (HHS) into Persian with cross-cultural adaptation and to evaluate its validity and reliability. One hundred fifty-six total hip arthroplasty patients completed the Persian version of the HHS, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Forgotten Joint Score, and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and satisfaction postoperatively. Using Cronbach's alpha (α) coefficient, internal consistency was evaluated. Correlations (Spearman's Rho) were used to assess validity. A test-retest reliability assessment of the Persian HHS was conducted (n= 47) using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Content validity was evaluated using the floor and ceiling effects of the HHS. The final translation of the Persian HHS was approved to be used. The preoperative and postoperative Cronbach's alpha were 0.71 and 0.70, respectively, and showed acceptable internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient was excellent (0.869, P < .001). Insignificant ceiling effects (13.5%) and no floor effects (0) were observed. The HHS score was significantly and strongly correlated with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (r= 0.696, P < .001), VAS pain (r= 0.654, P < .001), VAS satisfaction (r= 0.634, P < .001), and Forgotten Joint Score (r= 0.648, P < .001). The Persian HHS demonstrated excellent reliability and validity properties. Accordingly, Persian HHS may be a helpful tool for assessing patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty.

Massive Open Online Courses and intercultural competence: analysis of courses fostering soft skills through language learning.

This paper aims to survey language teaching MOOCs that promote intercultural competence (IC). Specifically, the survey aims to identify the keywords most relevant to MOOCs with IC components, the languages taught, the offering countries, and the embedded soft skills. The selection of keywords is important because they can indicate connection between different disciplines. After trialing a broader set of keywords in several rounds of initial search, we identified five keywords that are the most relevant to language education with IC components on MOOCs: culture, intercultural, cross culture, multi culture, and society. Then courses with these five keywords on language learning are selected for further analysis. The results are summarized as follows: (1) Most language teaching MOOCs are found under the keyword "culture," indicating a strong connection between language education and intercultural communication; (2) In terms of the target languages and the offering countries, it is found that English, Chinese, and Spanish are the major languages widely taught in the context of intercultural competence; China, United States, and Ireland are the three countries which offer the highest numbers of MOOCs in this respect; United States, United Kingdom, and Australia are the three countries which offer the highest numbers of MOOCs of different languages. The results indicate that a limited number of languages and offering countries dominate the language learning MOOCs. The study calls for a plurality of languages and cultures to be taught through MOOCs, making more diversified knowledge systems accessible to global audiences. (3) The language teaching MOOCs not only focus on language but also aim to foster five types of soft skills (language learning skills, communication skills, business and entrepreneurship skills, career development skills, and cultural development skills), suggesting that intercultural competence and its related soft skills are usually important components embedded in such MOOCs courses.

Opening Up Research on the Teaching of Reading by Looking beyond US Borders: What We Might Learn from Early Literacy Instruction in China

This article discusses early literacy instruction in China, including the impact of biliteracy education on Chinese society. This presentation is based on interviews with over two dozen scholars of Chinese literacy instruction, as well as primary early grades language arts classroom teachers from four different regions across China. The purpose of this examination of literacy education in China is to open our views of literacy instruction beyond US borders, especially in those countries with different language/literacy systems. Because of the rapid increase of emergent bilingual students in our schools, we need to gain a better understanding of literacy and biliteracy education in the countries where those students grew up. On the one hand, this insight can help us realize the literacy practices that emergent bilingual students may bring to their learning in our classrooms and the importance of biliteracy as a requisite for our education. On the other hand, this understanding will urge us, both researchers and educators, to reexamine our beliefs and scholarship in reading or literacy education, and open our vision to the plurality of languages, multiple literacies, and diverse methods of literacy instruction beyond our land.

Adressing Linguistic and Cultural Heterogeneity in Chemistry Classrooms: Findings from the In-service Teacher Training Program

One of the challenges in the teaching science in Bosnia and Herzegovina is its plurality of languages and cultural diversity. In the previous initial teacher education, there was a lack of quality preparation for these modern challenges; opportunities to teach cultural and linguistic diversity were not recognized. Therefore, the challenge is to encourage experienced chemistry teachers to develop competencies for an intercultural teaching environment within the Educating Science Teachers for All (ESTA) project. The participants of the in-service professional development program were chemistry teachers from three cantons in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the program was to develop and improve professional competencies through workshops and work in groups, with discussions on selected topics and laboratory exercises with the use of modern laboratory equipment and ICT. Teaching opportunities were offered in linguistically diverse classes, as well as in classes with other forms of student diversity. The results showed that teachers are aware of the need to be sensitized for student differences. They expressed positive impressions and willingness to adjust the teaching material according to the needs of their students, but also the need for further support through collaboration with the university staff.

Teaching English as a Pluricentric Language: Insights from TEIL, World Englishes and Critical Pedagogy

The English language has taken an active role in the post-method era, and now the nature of teaching English as a foreign or second language has been altered to incorporate a variety of critical constituents within its scope. To exemplify, the concepts of teaching English as an international language, world Englishes, and critical pedagogy have started to play a crucial part in teaching English. In this connection, considering the enhanced and critical roles of these concepts in L2 teaching, the conceptual domains of teaching English as an international language, world Englishes, and critical pedagogy are outlined in the present conceptual paper. Accordingly, the approach of theory synthesis was adopted, and it was aimed to contribute to the existing literature on these concepts by giving a new impulse to teaching English in the post-method era. In parallel with this purpose, the concepts were first discussed within the framework of English language teaching, and a macro strategic framework was instanced to demonstrate a post-method way of teaching English as a foreign or second language.

TEACHING PORTUGUESE: NATIVE, FOREIGN AND HERITAGE LANGUAGE

In a multilingual and multicultural world, it is important to emphasize Portuguese as a pluricentric language in its different aspects. Learning a language and its new literacies has consequences for the identity of its students. Therefore, it is vital to reinstate the importance of updated theoretical and pedagogical study materials for teachers and educators respecting the linguistic and cultural identities of its students in a constructive dialogue utilizing different learning contexts. Thus, this issue of Diadorim hosts theoretical papers that discuss and problematize the teaching of the Portuguese Language, from the perspective of native, foreign or heritage language. The target audience for the material includes students, professors, and researchers from Graduate, Undergraduate, and Basic Education Programs.

Setting Limits to Identity: Constraints on Linguistic Variation in Children’s Literature

ABSTRACT This paper deals with problems stemming from linguistic variation in children’s literature in a pluricentric language such as Spanish. Specifically, a paradigmatic case of the tensions will be studied, namely a collection of children’s books about the Canary Islands, Leyendas Canarias (2012–2021). The sociolinguistic setting is the particular status of Canarian Spanish between American Spanish and European Spanish. The paper outlines a research project in discourse analysis and the linguistic landscape approach applied to the study of intralinguistic variation in children’s literature (Daly, 2017, 2018, 2019; Van Dijk, 1998). Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of lexical and morphological strategies, the research explores how intralinguistic diversity is represented and from which perspective it is conceived. The analysis shows the underlying power relations between varieties, that is, the centre and the periphery, and the effects that can be drawn for Canarian children in the creation of their own national identity.

Post-monolingual Anglophone Novels

Abstract A range of recent anglophone novels is committed to weaving connections between English and other languages, thus turning English into a language of encounter. Activating both multilingual and translingual configurations, these novels are what one might—in line with Yasemin Yildiz (2012)—call “post-monolingual.” Post-monolingual novels are powerful expressions of the plurality of languages that coexist within seemingly homogeneous spaces. Fluidizing the boundaries between languages, these novels pose intricate challenges for literary studies, which concern all major dimensions of the literary text, that is, its poetics, its modes of reading, and the logic of publishing. The article explores the complexities at the heart of post-monolingual novels, offering close readings of Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s The Dragonfly Sea (2019) and Karina Lickorish Quinn’s The Dust Never Settles (2021).

Language as a means of communication and social construction: Regarding the formation of our identity and shared culture

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural dimension of language that turns into an issue of identity. The paper analyses the relationship between communication/language and culture. The deductive method, analysis, synthesis, and modelling, combined with a literature search in several databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus search and Web of Science, made possible the revelation of the issue of language as a means of communication, social construction, and the formation of our identity and common culture. The presented research was developed by describing various approaches and models of the concept of culture that have influenced and continue to influence intercultural communication, and by describing linguistic theories related to the relationship between language and culture. The results of the work have shown the connections between language, discourse, individual, and culture. The concept of individual identity has been established. The phenomenon of the social and/or cultural identity of a group and their differences was revealed. In the article a philosophical judgment about intercultural dialog was conducted. In addition, the question of what the identity and behaviour of individuals in their collective life was revealed. The revelation of these issues has shown that dealing with the cultural nature of language is not an easy task, especially in terms of the hypothesis that language is a distinctive feature of individuals. The results of the work have shown that it is a discourse in the intercultural dialogue that represents ways of speaking that are specific to both individuals and shared cultures. In the era of interference, intercultural communication is opportune and appropriate. The importance of the results lies in the development of four competencies in the context of “plurality of languages” that show how cultural identity traits can enable the intercultural dialogue.

Introduction: The plurality of Premodern German studies

AbstractWhat is German studies for a historical period in which Germany did not exist? This introduction to the special issue on Premodern German Studies advocates for a more inclusive definition of German and a more diverse practice of German studies. Between 800 and 1800, Central Europe was marked by shifting political boundaries, cultural‐religious plurality, linguistic transformations, imperial expansions and contractions, and missionary colonization with its accompanying forms of violence. The contributions in this volume challenge two related preconceptions: that relevant material from majority German‐speaking regions is exclusively in German; and that the regions from which material relevant for German studies originates are solely those where German was or is widely spoken. This issue also seeks to show how premodern studies can support the important work of scholar activists by examining the plurality of time periods, regions, cultures, languages, literatures, and identities encompassed by the expansive field of premodern German studies.

Prosody and fluency of Finland Swedish as a second language: Investigating global parameters for automated speaking assessment

This study investigates prosody and fluency of Finland Swedish as a second language (L2). The main objective is to investigate global measures of prosody and fluency as predictors of overall oral proficiency, fluency, and pronunciation ratings.We analyzed parameters related to temporal fluency, timing (based on syllable durations), and f0 change from spontaneous speech produced by 30 native and 235 non-native speakers of Finland Swedish representing proficiency levels from beginner to intermediate. We used pairwise comparisons to investigate the differences between native speech (L1) and L2 samples from different proficiency levels. To study the predictability of ratings with acoustic parameters, we fitted a multiple linear regression model for each assessed dimension of L2 skills.The comparison of L1 and L2 samples as well as L2 samples with different proficiency and fluency levels showed clear differences in f0 change and fluency parameters. Standard deviation of syllable durations also showed differences with respect to L2 learners’ fluency level. The results for multiple linear regression models, however, indicate contribution of rate-normalized standard deviation of syllable duration to fluency ratings, alongside traditionally used fluency parameters. As for proficiency ratings, f0 slope complemented fluency parameters in the prediction model. The predictive power of the parameters varied depending on the assessed dimension of L2 skills.This study provides new information on the prosodic features of Finland Swedish as a second language and suggests new research on the assessment of non-dominant varieties of pluricentric languages. The results support previous findings on the importance of speed and pausing measures in predicting oral L2 skills. However, further investigation of language-specific f0 and timing parameters as part of automated or computer-assisted speaking assessment is called for.