This article examines Irish language activism in Northern Ireland, an understudied yet successful case of grassroots mobilization in the context of a post-conflict consociational democracy. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, it analyses how language campaigners navigated and ultimately overcame a range of challenges—civic malaise, consocational vetoes, and elite-driven political culture—to achieve official recognition of their language via historic legislation in 2022. We show how a group of activists developed community spaces and language reclamation infrastructure to cultivate an independent political ecosystem prepared to upset norms of top-down consociational politics. This strategy enabled the movement to decouple from dominant ethnonational elites, broaden support beyond traditional communal boundaries, and exploit the UK’s multi-level governance system through strategic venue-shopping during periods of consociational collapse. By foregrounding the interaction between civic activism, ethnonational identity politics, and power-sharing institutions, the article contributes to scholarship on mobilization in divided societies and offers wider insights for minority language campaigners operating in similar political environments.

Kin terms appear among infants' earliest words, yet a full mastery of kin concepts typically emerges only in late childhood. This prolonged developmental trajectory reflects not only children's acquisition of an abstract relational system of words, but also their growing understanding of social relationships and interactional norms. In this paper, we review research on kin term acquisition from three perspectives: word learning, language socialization, and social learning. We then outline the problem space for a contemporary study of kin term acquisition, highlighting the most urgent barriers to understanding the nature of kin representations and their development. We close by introducing findings from two pilot studies that shed light on how social, cultural, and linguistic experience shapes kin term acquisition. By bringing together insights from psycholinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and infant social cognition, we aim to capture the richness of kin concepts in development and to offer a framework that can inspire future research across these fields.

Language on social media reflected the identity and characteristics of its users, including differences in language style between generations. Millennials and Generation Z were two dominant demographic groups in digital communication that exhibited linguistic variations, which often caused gaps in understanding during online interactions. Variations in language structure and expression posed challenges in understanding the context of cross-generational communication. Therefore, this study aimed to classify linguistic styles across generations in social media texts by combining Sentence-BERT (SBERT). FastText-based synonym augmentation in Indonesian, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a margin-based classification model that utilizes embedding representations from SBERT. The results showed that synonym augmentation improved model accuracy from 85% to 93%, with a similarity threshold of 0.7 providing the best balance between data diversity and semantic consistency. These findings confirmed that synonym-based augmentation and SBERT semantic adaptation were effective in capturing generational linguistic differences in informal Indonesian. This approach had the potential to be applied in other NLP tasks that required contextual understanding of social language variation, such as sentiment analysis and cross-generational dialect detection.

Although alcohol is largely consumed socially, experiments rarely test its effects on social language. Guided by the premise that language is a fundamental social behavior that shapes alcohol's socio-emotional effects, this preregistered study addresses critical gaps by testing alcohol's verbal effects in unstructured small-group interactions using the largest sample to date, proper controls, and reliable/replicable text-processing measures. Sayette et al. (2012) randomly assigned unacquainted triads of social drinkers (360 males, 360 females) to alcohol, placebo, or control conditions, and recorded them during an unstructured interaction. Here, extensive transcription efforts permitted examination of alcohol's impact on approximately half-a-million words, using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) system. Hypotheses aligned with general verbal disinhibition were unsupported. Instead, alcohol, vs. placebo and control, decreased the proportion of negative emotion words (B = -0.19, OR = 0.83, p < .001) and increased occurrence of positive-emotion words (B=0.26, IRR = 1.30, p = .002). Further, there was a trend such that alcohol, vs. placebo and control, reduced verbal authenticity (B = -4.32, β = -0.19, SE = 2.37, t(233.23) = -1.82, p = .07). Post-hoc analyses suggested this effect was driven by males, with alcohol decreasing authenticity (B = -9.85, β = -0.43, p = .040) and increasing confident/dominant language (B = 9.63, β = 0.42, p = .045), selectively in all-male groups. Results indicate that alcohol alters the emotional focus of conversation and illuminate potential sex-differences in its effects on authenticity/bravado. This study underscores the value of incorporating formal language measures into alcohol (and other drug) research.

&lt;p&gt;Language socialization (LS) is the process by which individuals engage in the social world using language and get introduced to society’s cultural practices. In school environments, this involves curricular language learning and students’ participation in extra-curricular activities regulated by school norms (e.g., school breaks, religious routines, etc.). The recent educational turn in linguistic landscape (LL) studies has shed light on various aspects of the “schoolscape,” suggesting the use of the LL to raise visibility of children’s diverse sociolinguistic repertoires. This study explores how monolingual/bilingual students in a Greek public elementary school get socialized through dominant language use and cultural practices. Specifically, we focus on the dynamics of the &lt;em&gt;performed&lt;/em&gt; schoolscape, produced within the classroom and during the daily state-induced prayer, applying linguistic ethnography. Drawing on seventy-five hours of field notes (FN) recorded in a rural elementary school between February and March 2023, our key findings reveal aspects of classroom discourse, focusing on teachers’ voices and an unfolding power game, that together shape students’ LS. Specifically, school-based LS is performed in the form of: (a) classroom norms compliance; (b) a power game drawing on excellence discourse; (c) embodied cultural norms compliance; (d) grammar error correction; (e) socio-spatial arrangements beyond the verbal; and (f) sharing repertoires in research-initiated safe translanguaging spaces (language portraits). We conclude that the Greek schoolscape remains a socio-spatial process of selective or exclusive inclusion, and school-based language socialization, foregrounding the dominant Greek language and established cultural elements, is construed as a suppressive process that perpetuates bilingual students’ invisibility.&lt;/p&gt;

Decades of research have established links between speech input and children's vocabulary growth. However, it is unclear if input also facilitates phonological development. Phonology has a strong biological component-implicating fine motor development-so language socialization factors like speech input may matter less. Further complicating matters, children in many cultures are exposed to vastly different amounts of speech input, and yet these children still reach many major language development milestones on age-appropriate timelines. How does speech input relate to infant phonological development in the first years of life? We estimated infants' (1) speech input and (2) vocal maturity using daylong audio recordings taken in an Indigenous Quechua- and Spanish-speaking community in Bolivia (n = 10, M age = 12 months, 5 females, 5 males) and an immigrant Spanish- and English-speaking community in the United States (n = 10, M age = 9 months, 4 females, 6 males; all Hispanic or Latino). Although we found no differences in the overall amount of speech input to adults and children between communities, infants in the United States were 2.5× more likely to hear speech directed to them than the infants in Bolivia. When child-directed speech (CDS) was instead characterized to include all speech directed to any child within the infants' vicinity, there were no differences between communities. When employing these different definitions of CDS, we found positive relationships between quantity of speech input and different metrics of the Bolivian infants' vocal maturity. These results paint a nuanced picture showing that directed speech input, even when less common, is related to early phonological development, and that by expanding the definition of speech input to accommodate diverse cultural settings we can understand how infants' language development is resilient to differences in speech input.

ABSTRACT This study sheds light on dinner table conversations as a substantial part of language learning in three Chinese immigrant families in the United States. It explores how everyday interactions help children develop their multilingual skills and pass on cultural values through generations. Unlike previous research that often focuses on language input from adults or child language learning on its own, this study illustrates the two-way nature of socialization. Data were gathered through ethnographic audio recordings of natural mealtime conversation among three Chinese immigrant families. The data were transcribed and analyzed using a language socialization framework based on interactional sociolinguistics and ethnographic discourse analysis. The findings show that mealtime conversations also became opportunities to strengthen family connections and express shared cultural values. By showing how multilingual skills and cultural knowledge grow through daily family activities, this study highlights the home environment as crucial for maintaining early multilingual experiences. These insights enhance our understanding of how language, identity, and culture interact in immigrant families. They also emphasise the mutual roles of both adults and children in preserving heritage language and fostering socialization across generations.

Abstract Background Cochlear implantation is widely regarded as the most effective auditory augmentative rehabilitation for children with sensorineural hearing loss. However, post-implantation remediation programs need further refinement to better meet the evolving communication demands of these children in daily life. Methods This study aimed to develop an Arabic Socio-Cognitive Linguistic Rehabilitation Program (ASCLP) for pre-lingual, unilaterally implanted Egyptian children and evaluate its efficacy in improving social language use and overall language outcomes. A total of 100 pre-lingual, unilaterally implanted children were randomly assigned to two groups: Group A, which received the ASCLP, and Group B, which received a conventional therapeutic program. Assessments using the Preschool Language Scale, 4th edition (Arabic version), and the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatics Language Test (EAPLT) were conducted before and after the program. Both groups were further subdivided by age: Group 1 (4–6 years) and Group 2 (6–8 years). Results The data revealed that younger and older cochlear-implanted children who participated in the rehabilitation program significantly improved their linguistic competencies. Overall linguistic competence was positively correlated with initial pragmatic language scores, particularly in manner and pragmatic functions. Receptive language skills were specifically linked to the age at early implantation, while expressive language abilities significantly correlated with pragmatic factors. Conclusion All groups in the ASCLP showed significant improvements, regardless of implantation age or therapy start. Higher initial pragmatic scores and earlier implantation ages were key for better outcomes.

This study explores the Second Language Socialization (SLS) experiences of international students in a study abroad (SA) Chinese language program in China, focusing on a structured L2 interview task with two groups of local interlocutors: Chinese peers and local strangers. Drawing from task recordings, surveys, written reflections, and follow-up interviews, this research unveils two contrasting interacting dynamics: peer interviews were characterized by supportive but overly accommodating responses, while stranger interactions were less sympathetic, more critical, and accompanied by tensions stemming from power dynamics, cultural stereotypes, or misunderstandings. Through a SLS lens, the study reveals how intersecting identities and positionalities of study SA participants, such as being female and racially unmarked, impacted unequal access to meaningful language and interactions with strangers, while visibly foreign students sometimes triggered nationalistic or defensive reactions. In addition, SA participants’ language proficiency, limited inquiry strategies, and narrow perceptions of the interview task also constrained their ability to engage more effectively with authentic SLS opportunities. The study underscores the need for pedagogical intervention to optimize L2 learning SA participants’ membership-building and identity negotiation in the target community. Practical implications emphasize structured pre- and post-task guidance, peer facilitation training, critical task reflection, enhanced intercultural preparation on sensitive interview topics, and context-specific identity awareness to better prepare students for authentic intercultural communication during study abroad programs. Abstract in Mandarin 本研究探讨在华留学中文项目中国际学生参与二语社会化的经历，重点关注与两组本地对话者（中国同龄人和本地陌生人）进行的二语访谈任务。通过对任务录音、调查问卷、书面反思以及后续访谈的分析，研究揭示了两种截然不同的互动动态：与同龄人进行的访谈体现出同龄人对学习者支持但过度迁就的回应特点，而陌生人在访谈互动中则表现出同情心较低、更具批判性，并伴随着因权力动态、文化刻板印象或误解而引发的紧张关系。通过二语社会化视角，本研究揭示了学习者的多重身份与位置性（如女性身份或亚裔种族等）如何导致在与陌生人互动时获得有意义语言和交流机会的不平等，而非亚裔外貌特征明显的外国学生则有时会引发陌生人民族主义或防御性反应。此外，学习者的语言水平、有限的提问策略，以及对访谈任务的理解不足，进一步限制了他们更有效地把握真实的二语社会化机会的能力。该研究强调需通过教学干预，优化学习者在目标社区中建立归属感与进行身份协商的能力。实践意义包括：提供结构化的任务前后指导、同伴引导培训、批判性任务反思、对敏感采访话题的跨文化准备、以及针对具体语境的身份意识培养，从而更好地帮助学生为在海外学习期间进行真实的跨文化交流做好准备。

Abstract Nigeria’s youthful population continues to navigate complex social realities marked by unemployment, identity struggles, political exclusion, and shrinking civic spaces. Amid these challenges, music remains one of the most accessible cultural resources through which young people express aspirations, frustrations, resistance, and hope. Beyond entertainment, music functions as a lived social language that shapes values, builds community, and inspires action. Yet its role as a deliberate tool for youth empowerment and sustainable social change remains under-examined. This paper explores how music can be harnessed as an instrument for youth empowerment and sustainable social change in Nigeria. The study addresses the problem that, despite the centrality of music in youth culture, limited qualitative attention has been given to how young Nigerians themselves interpret music as a space for agency, identity formation, moral reflection, and social engagement. Four research questions guide the study, focusing on youth experiences of empowerment, identity formation, social awareness, and the sustainability of music-driven social action. Adopting a qualitative and interpretive approach, the study draws on reflective analysis, participant narratives, informal conversations, and contextual observation of youth engagement with music in social and cultural settings. Findings reveal that music serves as a platform for voice and visibility, enabling youths to articulate social concerns and negotiate identity. The study also finds that music fosters resilience, communal bonding, and critical social consciousness, particularly among marginalized youths. Furthermore, music emerges as a catalyst for awareness-raising and moral reflection, though its capacity for sustained social change depends on supportive structures such as education, mentorship, and community engagement. The study contributes to youth and cultural discourse by affirming music as a viable tool for empowerment and sustainable social transformation in Nigeria. Keywords: Music, Youth Empowerment, Social Change, Nigeria, Cultural Expression, Sustainability

This study explored the Affini, an indigenous conflict resolution practice of the Sidama people in southern Ethiopia, as a pedagogical process contributing to children’s emotional, linguistic, and moral development. Using a critical ethnographic design, data were collected from 12 elders, 20 parents, and 20 children through focus group discussions, interviews, and observations. Although some child participants were older than eight, their reflections centered on formative early childhood experiences with Affini . Thematic analysis identified three interrelated pedagogical functions: language socialization through structured dialogue and proverbs; emotional regulation through empathy, and active listening; and intergenerational knowledge transfer emphasizing justice, patience, and collective responsibility. Findings revealed that children’s indirect participation in Affini through observation, assigned tasks, and role-play facilitated their gradual integration into community norms and moral reasoning. The study concludes that Affini serves as an informal yet powerful educational framework that supports cultural continuity and socio-emotional learning. It argues for integrating such culturally grounded practices into early childhood care and education policy and teacher training to promote equity and epistemic justice.

ABSTRACT Situated in Chinese-and-English-medium higher education, this intrinsic case study rethinks prevailing standards for successful Language Socialization (LS) by examining misrecognized success. In such cases, learners’ visible competence and smooth participation are taken as evidence of successful integration, even as they remain internally distant and superficially engaged. To capture this process in institutional contexts, the study follows a bilingual Canadian undergraduate during a six-month exchange at a university in China and uses thematically analyzed qualitative data to trace socialization across academic and peer interactional contexts. Findings show that, despite fluent Chinese and confident public performance, the participant’s engagement with the local community often remained limited. He avoided clarification, relied on contextual inference, and used digital tools to manage interactional demands. These practices were not rooted in linguistic deficiency but shaped by social-cognitive mechanisms aimed at preserving self-image and minimizing discomfort. To illustrate this pattern, the study introduces the transparent shell metaphor to show how visible participation can coexist with constrained internal socialization. The study problematizes behaviorally oriented LS standards that equate fluency with adaptation and highlights pedagogical needs for emotional safety, reflective dialogue, and low-risk opportunities for clarification in bilingual and international classrooms.

The present study reports on analysis of how two teachers in Lebanon, and their students navigated the learning and teaching of geometric proof in English, in a context in which Lebanese Arabic is the language of home and wider society. One of the teachers taught in a public school, the other in a private school. The study focuses on language socialization practices in the two grade-seven classrooms, in relation to the specific genre of geometric proof. The focus is not directly on proving as a cognitive process; rather, the study explores the interactional process of interpreting and constructing geometric proofs as a form of textual organization. This focus is consistent with the theoretical framing in which learning mathematics is understood as a process of socialization into mathematical discourses, of which the proof genre is a part. The findings reveal four main sets of socialization practices in relation to the genre of geometric proof. These sets of practices were guiding, obtaining information, deducing and attending to accuracy and precision.

Language socialization has been widely used to examine how learners acquire communicative practices through participation in interaction. However, relatively little research has explored how Chinese EFL learners develop argumentative reasoning in peer discussion from a language socialization perspective. Drawing on Freeman’s argument model (2011), this study employs discourse analysis to investigate the development of reasoning structures in collaborative discussions, with a focus on self-evidence, rebuttal, and counter-rebuttal. The results reveal several developmental patterns. First, students gradually developed preemptive rebuttal, indicating an emerging awareness of potential counterarguments. Second, participants increasingly showed a preference for rebutting the premise or conclusion itself rather than the reasoning process. Third, while fallacious rebuttals appeared during the developing stage, they disappeared in the later stage as collaborative reasoning became more stable. Finally, re-counter-rebuttals emerged in the mature stage, reflecting more sustained argumentative interaction. These findings highlight the dynamic development of argumentative structures in collaborative reasoning and contribute to a better understanding of how peer discussion facilitates the socialization of reasoning practices among EFL learners.

Abstract The article explores how regional cooperation is shaped under conditions of weak institutionalization and high external involvement. The author introduces the concept of “external regionalism” and proposes a typology of C5+ formats based on their degree of institutionalization, thematic specialization, and political-symbolic significance. Drawing on the analysis of official documents, policy statements, and comparative regionalism theory, the article demonstrates that Central Asia is moving toward a form of “hybrid regionalism”—lacking rigid architecture but developing a core of coordination. This process is framed as an experiment in “soft institutionalization” amid competition among external actors seeking to shape regional order. The research methods include critical discourse analysis and content analysis of political declarations and texts adopted following the meetings. Critical discourse analysis on macro-level delves into the joint Central Asian declarations and provide a deeper understanding of the overall structure of social language and constructs that are used. Content analysis was implemented to extract most frequently words in declarations used in consultative meetings official documents. Uncovering frequency of words help to understand the context of motives and most significant incentives and prerequisites that drive Central Asian leaders to engage in this format. At the same time, comparative analysis serves as a basis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the internal format of regional cooperation as well as external platforms under the auspices of the C5+1.

ABSTRACT This article examines Cuentos de Sábado, a community-based Spanish storytime program developed in collaboration between local universities and a Massachusetts school district. Anchored in sociocultural linguistics and framed by language socialization theory, which emphasizes how language use mediates social, cultural, and identity development, the study explores how the program promotes positive language ideologies, supports multilingual development, and engages undergraduate heritage speakers in meaningful community work. Drawing on data from student talking circles and ethnographic notes, we analyze how participants reflect on their linguistic practices and the impact that the program has on those. Findings reveal three key themes: (1) intergenerational transmission as a central motivation for involvement, (2) the value of using Spanish in otherwise English-dominant academic settings, and (3) the program’s role in building community and fostering belonging. While students experience Cuentos as a rare and affirming space for Spanish use, they also note the limits of Spanish visibility outside the program. We argue that Cuentos de Sábado offers a model for interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholarship. It demonstrates how linguists and academics can contribute to social justice by collaborating with communities to create spaces that affirm linguistic and cultural identities. Such programs are critical for challenging negative linguistic ideologies and nurturing positive ideologies about multilingualism.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the identity development of five international students during their degree studies at a U.S. university. Drawing on identity and second language socialization theories, the study used a qualitative and interpretivist approach through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and background questionnaires. Participants, who were notably diverse in terms of national origin, educational level, and linguistic background, reflected on their experiences of cultural and academic adjustment during long-term study in the U.S. higher education context. Four themes emerged: (a) context-driven communicative confidence, (b) shifting identities in a new cultural context, (c) social integration and relationship barriers, and (d) strategic communication and daily adaptation. Participants described ongoing negotiations of self as they engaged with new linguistic, academic, and social expectations. Their narratives reveal how identity shifts were influenced by emotional responses, peer relationships, institutional dynamics, and communicative practices. The study highlights the need for more inclusive and culturally responsive university environments that support international students’ sense of belonging, confidence, and personal growth. Although the study is conducted in a U.S. institutional setting, the findings offer implications about international student identity development processes relevant to higher education contexts more broadly.

Abstract In this paper we aim to articulate an interdisciplinary research agenda for the study of multilingual families that draws upon and transcends existing theorisations in the fields of language socialisation and family language policy. We understand family as a discursive space, where members negotiate not only what counts as valid knowledge, that is, the language repertoires that matter to them, but also who they are, the social relations they establish, and how they want to be seen socially. Family knowledge is transmitted through everyday communicative practices, mostly rituals and shared family stories. This transmission entails a continual renegotiation and adjustment, according to the different life circumstances each family member is experiencing. We argue that the notion of discursive space enables a socio-historically situated understanding of family as a social space of both consensus and dissensus where members’ trajectories ultimately shape what and how knowledge is distributed. Methodologically, family as a discursive space is captured through the longitudinal/biographical ethnographic study of the situated idea of ‘our family’. This notion is mobilised by family members either to align or misalign themselves with what others aim to transmit. We illustrate how ‘our family’ is done and displayed by drawing on Clara’s case. Clara, a Catalan-speaking mother decides to raise her children in English. She engages in a set of family activities to expose her children to English from birth. Being an English-speaking family in a Catalan context becomes a family project in need of discursive normalisation, to which even the husband, who does not speak the language well, agrees. Our analysis brings together data collected from a virtual ethnography conducted during the pandemic. With this paper, we aim to contribute a new research programme to studies of multilingual families that places centre stage a thorough understanding of the notion of family, and how it is done and displayed.

This article offers a critical theoretical review of Northern Portuguese cuisine, examining it as a field where memory, identity, and heritage intersect with processes of adaptation and reinvention. Beyond descriptive accounts of “traditional dishes,” the review engages international debates on intangible cultural heritage, authenticity, and food politics to situate Portugal within a broader analytical framework. The findings show that authenticity is not a fixed essence, but a relational performance negotiated between communities, institutions, and markets. Practices such as caldo verde , cozido à portuguesa , papas de sarrabulho , and alheira de Mirandela illustrate how tradition is continuously reinterpreted, while conventual sweets reveal that heritagization can reinforce asymmetries of recognition and economic benefits. The analysis further demonstrates that ‘gastronationalism’ and ‘gastronativism’ operate simultaneously, projecting some practices as representative while sidelining others, thereby reshaping perceptions of internal diversity. The article contributes theoretically by proposing heritagization as situated process legitimation, structured around three interrelated dimensions: (1) lived memory, rooted in everyday practices; (2) adaptive innovation, which ensures vitality; and (3) community participation, which guarantees cultural legitimacy. By articulating these dimensions, Portuguese gastronomy is positioned within global discussions on food heritage, where cases such as the Japanese washoku and the Swedish fika illustrate both the opportunities and risks of institutionalized heritage preservation. Ultimately, gastronomy emerges not only as food production or a tourist attraction, but as a social language that organizes experiences, conveys collective memories, and sustains cultural identities while also shaping possible futures. • Traditional food practices are living repertoires that are constantly being updated. • Tradition and innovation coexist in the contemporary reinvention of regional gastronomy. • Food acts as a mediator between the body, memory, territory and identity. • Cultural policies must recognize the plurality of culinary methods.

The proposed article sheds light on the lexical space of modern Albanian language, describing the tendencies that mark the speech of modern youth and raising awareness of the dimension and conceptualization of youth slang in the Albanian context. A qualitative and quantitative methodology is applied to observe the relation between culture, language and different social situations in which students use slang. The semantics and etymology of slang vocabulary are analysed based on the results of a questionnaire given out to first-year students. The questionnaire results revealed that youth slang significantly influences the students’ social interactions and plays a key role in shaping and expressing their social identity. Additionally, the impact of youth slang on the students’ use of standard language suggests that this may be a supporting factor for their pragmatic development. Youth slang provides opportunities for students to learn interactive linguistic skills and engage in peer conversations, which contribute to the co-construction of their social and cultural worlds and language socialization.