Use Of Multiple Languages Research Articles

Learning the languages of technology: Multilingualism in Indonesian vocational secondary education

In Indonesia, we can consider vocational secondary education as being in the front lines of global contact, in which youth as students directly face the demands of globalized industries and labor markets. Within vocational high schools, the use of multiple languages often plays an important yet unrecognized part of vocational training. This paper will discuss, based on ethnographic data collected in 2013 from two vocational schools in Semarang, the way in which students use multiple languages, mainly English, Indonesian, and Javanese, as part of their process of learning vocational skills. The main argument of the paper is that vocational schools teach students a specific technical variety or register of language, which combines parts or sometimes fragments of multiple languages, often for the purpose of technical vocational competence and not necessarily for the development of linguistic competence. This results in a form of “segmented competence” (Blommaert and Omoniyi 2006). However, youth as students can use this technical register to not only localize global forms of technological practice in their learning processes but also to participate, albeit marginally, in the global or transnational technology-based communities of practice of their vocational program.Keywords: multilingualism; globalization; youth; vocational high school

Stimmen zu Mehrsprachigkeit in finnischen Unternehmen: Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der LangBuCom-Studie

This paper addresses multilingualism in Finnish companies. It presents the selected results of a survey, which was carried out within the project Languages in international business communication (LangBuCom). The questionnaire was answered by 272 employees, who have business contacts with German-speaking partners. The paper focuses on the respondents' language skills, on their attitude towards multilingualism, on the use of multiple languages in the work context and on problems when using multiple languages. The study shows that the respondents have diverse language skills and a majority has language skills in five or more languages. The respondents' attitudes towards multilingualism are (very) positive and they often experience situations where they use two or more languages in one and the same situation. However, they mention different challenges when using multiple languages, but they also provide solutions how to overcome the problems.

Centering Nepantla Literacies from the Borderlands: Leveraging “In-Betweenness” Toward Learning in the Everyday

This article argues that building powerful literacies involves the centering of dispositions and practices that thrive on the boundary—spaces that are not always sanctioned as educational. Leveraging youths’ repertoires is particularly important for educators of nondominant learners who are committed to challenging characterizations of their students as being inept or deficient. To this end, we address how the design of learning opportunities that attend to polylingual repertoires (Gutiérrez, Bien, Selland, & Pierce, 2011)—the use of multiple languages and forms of expression-—can open up opportunities, pathways, for youth to leverage new identities as resources for consequential learning. We advance the idea of organizing learning environments where youth playfully negotiate their nepantla identities that are often in a “state of perpetual transition” (Anzaldúa, 1999, p. 100). We argue that nepantla literacies, or literacies that thrive in the boundary, emerge through negotiations with syncretic (Gutiérrez, 2014) literacies—those that are valued in the academy and across spaces and communities.

Intercultural experiences and cultural identity reconstruction of multilingual Chinese international students in Germany

ABSTRACTThe goal of this article is to examine intercultural experiences and the cultural identity reconstruction of Chinese international students in Germany by focusing on their cultural learning, and use of multiple languages including English as a lingua franca (ELF), German and Chinese. Three rounds of individual interviews over 1 year were conducted with 17 Chinese students in German universities assisted with emails as a supplementary method. The results of qualitative analysis of data indicate that despite the varying degrees of interculturality they displayed in their intercultural experiences, most participants foregrounded their core Chinese identity against other intercultural identities, and possible explanations for this were discussed. This study extends our understandings of cultural identities of border-crossing students in a broader range of contexts.

The use of multiple languages in a technology-based intervention study: A discussion paper

Background and objectivesWith an increasing number of racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S., nursing research frequently involves the use of multiple languages, especially to promote the understanding of educational materials related to nursing care. Furthermore, with a recent emphasis on innovation in health-related research, the use of technology is prominent in nursing research. However, practical issues in the use of multiple languages, especially in technology-based intervention studies, have rarely been reported and/or discussed in nursing literature. The purpose of this paper is to identify practical issues in conducting a technology-based intervention study using multiple languages among Asian American breast cancer survivors. MethodsIn a large-scale technology-based breast cancer intervention study, research team members wrote memos on issues in translation process and plausible reasons for the issues. Then, the memos and written records were analyzed using a content analysis. By using individual words as the unit of analysis, line-by-line coding was done, and idea categories representing practical issues were extracted from the codes. ResultsSix themes representing the practical issues were extracted. Issues were found in recruiting and retaining bilingual research team members; maintaining consistency in translation process; keeping cultural and conceptual equivalence; repeating IRB protocol modifications; finding and using existing translated versions; and arranging technological aspects related to electronic multiple-language versions. ConclusionThe use of multiple languages in a technology-based intervention study is feasible. However, it is necessary to effectively manage unforeseen challenges through various strategies.

THE IBERIAN THIRD SPACE IN A NOVEL BY A CATALAN EXILED IN MEXICO: LANGUAGE(S) IN PARAULES D’OPOTON EL VELL BY AVEL·LÍ ARTÍS GENER

This essay argues that the treatment of languages in the novel Paraules d’Opoton el Vell (1968) [Words by Opoton the Elder], written by the Catalan author Avel·li Artis Gener during his exile in Mexico, opens a third space between Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s deterritorialization, and Walter Mignolo’s decoloniality, in a way that engages with both these ideas as it distances itself from them. Through the use of multiple languages and registers, the questioning of names, the creation of new words, and translations, Paraules d’Opoton el Vell deterritorializes language. However, by including a multiplicity of languages, it questions Deleuze and Guattari’s focus on minor languages as forces that deterritorialize the major language. At the same time, the variety of languages introduced in the novel shows the colonial difference while proposing a pluriversality like the one Mignolo links to the decolonial option. Nevertheless, Paraules d’Opoton el Vell cannot be completely lined up with decolonial critic...

Language, silence and translation in Emanuele Crialese’s polyglot migration film Nuovomondo – Golden Door (2006)

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7968.2017v37n1p119 O presente artigo centra-se na análise do filme Nuovomondo– Golden Door (Itália-França, 2006), de Emanuele Crialese, dando particular atenção ao uso de diferentes idiomas (inglês, italiano e dialeto siciliano) neste filme sobre migração e à respetiva tradução para legendagem do filme em DVD. As interações linguísticas que têm lugar em Nuovomondo colocam uma série de questões relativamente à possibilidade – e impossibilidade – de traduzir material culturalmente específico de um produto multi-semiótico para uma outra língua/cultura. Ao assumir a importância transnacional do filme como epítome de (in)traduzibilidade cultural, este ensaio examinará e discutirá questões relacionadas com o papel da língua, do silêncio e da tradução. O filme constitui um exemplo perfeito de como a língua desempenhou um papel central na definição das relações de poder entre migrantes e norte-americanos no porto “(in)desejável” novecentista. Também discute de que modo formas de inclusão, subversão e legitimação são articuladas numa cultura dominante, como a dos Estados Unidos, em resposta à alteridade e o papel da tradução como exercício de poder e de (re)negociação identitária.

Mehrsprachigkeit in der unternehmensinternen und -externen Kommunikation in Unternehmen in Pohjanmaa: Ergebnisse einer Befragung

This paper addresses multilingualism in companies’ internal and external communication. It presents the selected results of a survey, which was carried out within the project Corporate communications between Ostrobothnia and the German-speaking countries. The questionnaire was sent to 145 companies in the Finnish regions Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia and Central-Ostrobothnia, which have business contacts with the German-speaking countries. The paper focuses on the language skills of respondents, on the use of multiple languages in the work context – within the company as well as externally – and on the role of languages in an organizational context. The study shows that the respondents not only have diverse language skills in four or more languages, but they usually interact in several working languages. Usually, several languages are used in the companies’ internal communication. In the companies’ external communication with German business partners, English and German play an important role. According to the respondents, these two languages – as well as Russian – are regarded as important in the work context, and expected to remain so in the future.

Plurilingual proficiency as a learning objective for a multilingual curriculum in the study of business in Finland

AbstractPlurilingual skills are among the key skills required in international business communication. Employees working in international business operations use multiple languages concurrently, switch between them, and mediate between different languages and cultures. Up until now however, the language teaching accompanying business studies at universities has aimed at developing proficiencies geared to single languages. Plurilingual skills such as language alternation, code-switching, mediation, and transfer strategies have not been taken into account. Learning objectives that satisfy the particular requirements of multilingual individuals are thus missing from the curriculum. The Pluriling study, a didactically aligned analysis of the language requirements of the alumni of the Turku School of Economics, presents empirically reliable data that, in the first instance, describes the use of multiple languages in international business communications. Based on answers to open questions, typical plurilingual skills and strategies are defined and summarised under the term

Pondering the Text as Change Maker

This article discusses Isabel Hofmeyr's Gandhi's Printing Press: Experiments in Slow Reading. It highlights the many ways in which the rise of the printing press, and the increasingly important role of both the editor and the reader, was also pivotal in creating an Islamic public sphere in the Indian Ocean. The essay discusses the efforts of Gandhi to create a “reading public” as well as the reformist orientation, the importance of translation, the provisional nature of the printed texts, and the use of multiple languages and scripts.

FOR THE 1ST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION VOICE AND SWALLOW DISORDERS; 13-15 MARCH 2015

It was indeed an enormous honour for the College of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences (CSLHS), Ziauddin University to host our country’s 1st National Conference on Communication Voice and Swallow disorders (1NCCVS), with distinguished speakers and guests enthusiastically participating from India, England, UAE, America, Sweden, Lahore and Islamabad, endeavoring to bring Pakistan on the world map in the field of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. Communication is inherent to our existence; it is the divine blessing that makes us who we are. Language magnanimously characterizes the human race and has the power to bind those that share it as a common medium of shared thoughts and information amongst one another. Proficient knowledge and use of multiple languages by people of our world can profoundly affect their socio-cultural beliefs and practices. Human infants are born with the potential to acquire language, which is one of the most miraculous human abilities that encompasses sensory, neuromotor, psycholinguistic, social and cognitive skills.

The Situated Multiliteracies Approach to Classroom Participation: English Language Learners’ Participation in Classroom Mathematics Practices

Guided by sociocultural theory and the theory of multiliteracies, learning is perceived as a shifting participation in practices, which is mediated by multiple physical and symbolic tools. Drawing on the situated multiliteracies approach, which integrates these two theories, the purpose of this ethnographic research is to examine the participation of English language learners (ELLs) in mathematics practices in an urban Canadian classroom. This study describes ELLs’ successful participation in classroom mathematics practices in relation to the context that supported their participation. I highlight the teacher’s use of multiple languages and physical and symbolic tools, along with her affirmation of students’ identities as multimodal users. The finding from this study calls for broadening the definition of language in content-area classrooms and for embracing identities created through classroom interactions as an integral part of learning.

Practical issues in multi-lingual research

BackgroundWith an increasing number of ethnic minority populations, the use of multiple languages in one research study has increased in recent years. The use of multiple languages helps increase comprehensiveness of educational materials and/or survey questionnaires, and promote ethnic minorities’ participation in research. However, little has been clearly known about practical issues in using multiple languages in one research study. ObjectivesThe purpose of this paper is to explore practical issues in using multiple languages in a study among diverse sub-ethnic groups of Asian American breast cancer survivors in order to propose future directions for the use of multiple languages in research projects. MethodsThroughout the research process, research team made written records of practical issues and possible reasons for the issues as they arose. Weekly group discussions among research team members were administered, and the written records of these discussions were reviewed and analyzed using the content analysis. The unit of analysis was individual words. The words in the data (memos and written records) were classified into idea categories that emerged from the coding process. ResultsThe idea categories included issues in: (a) collaborators from various sub-ethnic groups; (b) IRB protocol submissions; (c) consistencies in translation process, (d) conceptual equivalence; (e) cultural differences; (f) existing translated versions; and (g) authorship issues. Based on the issues, we made the following suggestions for multi-lingual research: (a) networking and setting multiple communication channels with potential collaborators; (b) checking the institution's IRB policies related to the use of multiple languages; (c) setting the rules and procedures for translation process; (d) checking existing different language versions of instruments; and (e) setting the rules for authorship in advance. ConclusionsThe suggestions made in this study would help the researchers be prepared in advance to deal with the challenges.

Nancy Huston’s Polyglot Texts: Linguistic Limits and Transgressions

Throughout her career, Nancy Huston has both accepted and transgressed the limits of bilingualism. Limbes / Limbo (1998), L’empreinte de l’ange (1998), The Mark of the Angel (2000), Danse noire (2013), and Black Dance (2014) are five texts that demonstrate Huston’s diverse use of polyglot writing. While Limbes / Limbo is characterized by its use of bilingual writing and self-translation, L’empreinte de l’ange and The Mark of the Angel possess monolingual narratives accompanied by five different languages. By contrast, whereas Danse noire presents self-translations and multilingual dialogues within three alternating narratives, Black Dance demonstrates a less intense use of multilingualism. What, then, can be said about Huston’s use of multiple languages? And what are the stakes of this unique, multilingual style? In view of these five texts, this study will examine the benefits and disadvantages of Huston’s polyglot writing. Moreover, it will expose the linguistic limits for the “readerly” experience of Huston’s work. When used minimally or as a form of bilingual self-translation, Huston’s presentation of foreign languages enhances her narratives. When used excessively, or as a way to dominate the text, however, this multilingualism impedes the reader’s comprehension of the narrative. In navigating these inter-lingual limits and transgressions, this study will uncover some of the linguistic problems and solutions inherent in Huston’s work.

Handling Interpretation and Representation in Multilingual Research: A Meta-study of Pragmatic Issues Resulting from the Use of Multiple Languages in a Qualitative Information Systems Research Work

Although the number of multilingual qualitative research studies appears to be growing, investigations concerned with methodological issues arising from the use of several languages within a single research are still very scarce. Most of these seem to deal exclusively with issues related to the use of interpreters and translators in qualitative research (e.g., Temple & Edwards, 2002; Temple, Edwards & Alexander, 2006; Edwards, 1998; Temple & Young 2004). Methodological investigations going beyond pure translation dilemmas in qualitative research are, however, almost non-existent. The reason for this seems to be simple: the situation where the researcher possesses mother-tongue fluency in all or most of the languages used in a particular study – and, thus, is in a position to probe interpretational and representational problematics related to the multilingual character of this study with an adequate depth – is very rare. The author of this paper has used her recent qualitative research work in the area of Information Systems as the basis for a meta-study in which she investigates selected methodological issues resulting from the use of five different languages within the frame of a single research work. This paper specifically focuses on challenges encountered and observations made concerning three different issues, namely, how to choose the interview languages in a situation where the prospective interviewees have very diverse ethnic backgrounds, which languages to use for the data analysis in a situation where the data has been collected in several different languages, and how to determine the most appropriate stage of the research for transitioning from the languages used to collect and analyze the data to the language of the final research product. Although this meta-study is based on an Information Systems research work and is, thus, specifically addressing qualitative Information Systems researchers conducting multilingual research and encountering language-related issues in their work, this study might also be of interest to any researcher using qualitative research methodologies and employing more than one language to collect data, conduct data analysis, and craft the final research product.

Cortical motor systems are involved in second-language comprehension: Evidence from rapid mu-rhythm desynchronisation

Understanding neurocognitive mechanisms supporting the use of multiple languages is a key question in language science. Recent neuroimaging studies in monolinguals indicated that core language areas in human neocortex together with sensorimotor structures form a highly interactive system underpinning native language comprehension. While the experience of a native speaker promotes the establishment of strong action–perception links in the comprehension network, this may not necessarily be the case for L2 where, as it has been argued, the most a typical L2 speaker may get is a link between an L2 wordform and its L1 translation equivalent. Therefore, we investigated, whether the motor cortex of bilingual subjects shows differential involvement in processing action semantics of native and non-native words. We used high-density EEG to dynamically measure changes in the cortical motor system's activity, indexed by event-related desynchronisation (ERD) of the mu-rhythm, in response to passively reading L1 (German) and L2 (English) action words. Analysis of motor-related EEG oscillations at the sensor level revealed an early (starting ~150ms) and left-lateralised coupling between action and semantics during both L1 and L2 processing. Crucially, source-level activation in the motor areas showed that mu-rhythm ERD, while present for both languages, is significantly stronger for L1 words. This is the first neurophysiological evidence of rapid motor-cortex involvement during L2 action–semantic processing. Our results both strengthen embodied cognition evidence obtained previously in monolinguals and, at the same time, reveal important quantitative differences between L1 and L2 sensorimotor brain activity in language comprehension.

LANGUAGE POLICY IN EUROPE - BABYLON OF THE XXI CENTURY

In recent decades, much has been written about the dialogue of cultures and differences between them manifested by languages, which are the objects of interdisciplinary research. However, the active role of multiplicity of languages and their interaction in particular with the relevant areas of knowledge do not always attract the proper attention. Along with many languages, Europe seeks to move away from monolingualism in favor of multilingualism, recognizing that it is promising, so political actors support it. The principles of multilingualism have been adopted in the international (European) and national levels and formalized in terms of plurilingualism and multilingualism. The plurilingualism is the use of multiple languages by one and the same person. It is an integral part of cultural diversity and respect, a necessary condition for human development as a professional and as a person. The multilingualism is denoted by a policy of equality of languages in the community. The European Union is a multilinguistic organization. Language policy of the European Union has been defined since the establishment of the communities, it was different from the language policies of other international organizations and was based on the principle of cultural and linguistic diversity (although the term multilingualism was not used) with the aim of ensuring access to information and justice for all EU citizens in all official EU languages. Held in Europe language policy led to the institutionalization of the concept of multilingualism, particularly by the European union, which could serve to the development of linguistic law. The EU language policy is linked with the objectives of the integration law which makes it different from the plurilingualism. It acts as an instrument for intercultural dialogue and social cohesion, as a guarantee of prosperity and employment opportunities. At the same time it generates a lot of linguo-legal problems concerning different statuses of languages; EU official languages, working, state, regional, national languages, as well as minorities and migrants languages.

A Judeo-French Wedding Song from the Mid-13th Century: Literary Contacts between Jews and Christians

The subject of this article is a bilingual Judeo-French wedding song, edited by David Simon Blondheim in 1927. It is studied in its linguistic (Hebrew and French) and cultural (Jewish and Christian France) context. In the Jewish tradition, the song belongs to a widely used form of poetry in which two or more languages alternate. A similar bi- and multilingualism can also be found in medieval Christian poetry in France and in Muslim poetry in Moorish Spain. The present study concentrates on poems in which French can be found together with other languages. The article demonstrates influence from Christian multilingual poetry on the Judeo-French wedding song. In addition, it discusses how Jewish and Christian poets proceed when using more than one language and what reasons there are for the use of multiple languages within a single text.

Code-switching among Stranded Urdu speaking People in Bangladesh: An Observation

The use of multiple languages has assumed a considerable importance in the present linguistic world. Monolingual people or countries are hardly found nowadays; even a country though homogeneous, has linguistic minorities who use various languages. People, therefore, tend to develop their ability of speaking several languages simultaneously. Sociolinguistics observes that bilinguals or multilingual often switch from one language to another at the middle of conversation without hampering any motive they are talking for. Different grounds provoke the people to language shifting. In Bangladesh, there are some Urdu speaking people using two languages Bengali and Urdu. The old people who have been living in this country since the then East Pakistan and are habituated to speak Urdu often use Bengali amidst their talks whereas the young people who are used to speaking Bengali, as they are born and brought up in Bangladesh, sometimes do shift languages from Bengali to Urdu. This paper focuses the causes of code switching taking into concern the cases of both the old and the young people shifting their codes either from Urdu to Bengali or from Bengali to Urdu.

The use of interpreters in medical settings and forensic medical examinations in Australia: The relationship between medicine and linguistics

Medical examinations are dependent on combining communication with professional competence. In the development of a global multicultural community with the use of multiple languages, doctors have become increasingly dependent on language facilitation such as interpreting and translation. Despite professional studies, the use of language facilitation with its associated problems has not been fully explored in graduate and post-graduate medical and forensic medical training. There may still be some lack of reciprocal understanding between the medical and linguistic fields, their ethics, obligations and limits although both fields and their ethical frameworks are closer related than might be expected. This article is a discussion that aims at providing a basic understanding of guidelines as to the origin and appropriate use of language interpretation in medical and forensic medical examinations.