Immigration, security and the public debate on US language policy : a critical discourse analysis of language attitudes in the United States of America

The narrative of the United States is of a "nation of immigrants" in which the language shift patterns of earlier ethnolinguistic groups have tended towards linguistic assimilation through English. In recent years, however, changes in the demographic landscape and language maintenance by non-English speaking immigrants, particularly Hispanics, have been perceived as threats and have led to calls for an official English language policy.This thesis aims to contribute to the study of language policy making from a societal security perspective as expressed in attitudes regarding language and identity originating in the daily interaction between language groups. The focus is on the role of language and American identity in relation to immigration. The study takes an interdisciplinary approach combining language policy studies, security theory, and critical discourse analysis. The material consists of articles collected from four newspapers, namely USA Today, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle between April 2006 and December 2007.Two discourse types are evident from the analysis namely Loyalty and Efficiency. The former is mainly marked by concerns of national identity and contains speech acts of security related to language shift, choice and English for unity. Immigrants are represented as dehumanised, and harmful. Immigration is given as sovereignty-related, racial, and as war. The discourse type of Efficiency is mainly instrumental and contains speech acts of security related to cost, provision of services, health and safety, and social mobility. Immigrants are further represented as a labour resource. These discourse types reflect how the construction of the linguistic 'we' is expected to be maintained. Loyalty is triggered by arguments that the collective identity is threatened and is itself used in reproducing the collective 'we' through hegemonic expressions of monolingualism in the public space and semi-public space. The denigration of immigrants is used as a tool for enhancing societal security through solidarity and as a possible justification for the denial of minority rights. Also, although language acquisition patterns still follow the historical trend of language shift, factors indicating cultural separateness such as the appearance of speech communities or the use of minority languages in the public space and semi-public space have led to manifestations of intolerance. Examples of discrimination and prejudice towards minority groups indicate that the perception of worth of a shared language differs from the actual worth of dominant language acquisition for integration purposes. The study further indicates that the efficient working of the free market by using minority languages to sell services or buy labour is perceived as conflicting with nation-building notions since it may create separately functioning sub-communities with a new cultural capital recognised as legitimate competence. The discourse types mainly represent securitising moves constructing existential threats. The perception of threat and ideas of national belonging are primarily based on a zero-sum notion favouring monolingualism. Further, the identity of the immigrant individual is seen as dynamic and adaptable to assimilationist measures whereas the identity of the state and its members are perceived as static. Also, the study shows that debates concerning language status are linked to extra-linguistic matters. To conclude, policy makers in the US need to consider the relationship between four factors, namely societal security based on collective identity, individual/human security, human rights, and a changing linguistic demography, for proposed language intervention measures to be successful.

Un estudio sociolingüístico sobre el catalán : Los efectos de la inmersión lingüística

This thesis analyzes the current state of the language immersion program in Catalonia after its implementation 30 years ago, and after the immigration wave of the last decade. The language immersion is a method of teaching a second language using a language of instruction different than the students’ mother tongue. The Catalan authorities use this as a method for preserving Catalan in the society.The aim of this study is to examine the use of Catalan at school and outside of school by students who have followed the language immersion program. Language attitudes play an important role for the maintenance of a minority language, as Catalan. Therefore, in this study, the informants’ attitudes towards Catalan have also been measured. The method applied is a quantitative method where the informants have answered a written questionnaire. The results show a high level of knowledge of Catalan and its frequent use in the classroom. In contrast, outside of school the Castilian language is more often used. The informants seem to have a positive attitude towards Catalan.The conclusion is that the language immersion works satisfactory in a school context but often fails outside of school.

Actitudes hacia el catalán : un estudio sociolingüístico de principiantes del catalán en Barcelona

This study focuses on the Catalan language of Catalonia, a region located in the east of Spain. There are many immigrants living in this region who decide to learn the Catalan language in hope of finding a job or to integrate in the Catalan society. The main aim of this study was to discover the types of language attitudes the beginners of Catalan show towards this language (general, instrumental and integrative attitudes). Language attitudes are of importance because it can indicate the “health” of a minority language, such as is usually considered Catalan. The method applied was direct, where the informants had to answer a written questionnaire. The results of the study show positive attitudes towards the Catalan language and its general use in Catalonia. The main conclusions of the study were that the informants showed positive and slightly more instrumental attitudes towards Catalan, indicating that the main motive of learning the language was more of practical use than integrative motives.

¡Solo vos! : Un estudio sociolingüístico sobre las actitudes hacia el voseo argentino

Resumen En este estudio se analizan las actitudes lingüísticas de un grupo de mujeres argentinas, venezolanas y mexicanas residentes en Qatar, Argentina y Suecia en relación con el voseo argentino. Metodológicamente se utilizan tres técnicas: la primera consiste en grabar dos versiones de un texto leído por una persona de Argentina; en la segunda un grupo de informantes escucha el texto grabado y contestan simultáneamente una encuesta que evalúa su postura con respecto al uso del pronombre vos, así como de sus usuarios; la tercera está dedicada a la entrevista, en la cual se pregunta a las informantes argentinas cuál es su opinión acerca del voseo como sinónimo de identidad lingüística. El análisis de los resultados indica que existe una diferencia significativa entre cómo se juzgan las dimensiones de estatus y solidaridad, ya que las entrevistadas dieron un menor valor a los atributos relacionados con la dimensión de estatus que a los de solidaridad. Resumiendo los resultados, se advierte que las argentinas evalúan más positivamente el uso del vos que el tú, confirmando que tienen una posición positiva sobre su identidad lingüística.

”Metcha suki ya nen” : A sociolinguistic attitude survey concerning the Kansai dialect

西日本にある関西弁はたくさん色々な形で標準語と異なる。関西弁は１９７０年代の後に、全国で人気を得た。この社会言語学の研究の目的は現在の関西弁に対する感情を調査することである。これは関西弁の話し手ではなくて日本語の母語話者に配ったアンケートで調査された。質的また量的な分析である。結果は一般的に関西弁に好意的であったが、人気がある理由もいろいろあり、それらをさぐるために歴史的なそして文化的な見方を通して議論する。

Actitudes hacia la lengua náhuatl : Un estudio sociolingüístico con jóvenes de la Ciudad deMéxico.

Nahuatl is one of the indigenous languages in Mexico that is at risk of falling out of use. The research in the last years have showed that this occurs due to the low amount of Nahuatl speakers and the social stigma and discrimination towards the indigenous peoples, among other factors.The studies of language attitudes are relevant when making attempts to revitalize a language. As Mexico City authorities have considered to implement a revitalization project, we wanted to approach the real situation of Nahuatl in that city. Our purpose was to measure the attitudes of young people towards this language. By using a direct method –a questionnaire- we asked two groups of students if they agreed or disagreed with some items about Nahuatl and its speakers. One group had contact with Nahuatl speakers and but not the other one. We compared the results and they showed that the students who have contact with Nahuatl have more positive attitudes than those who don’t have any contact with it. This study also revealed that the reason why the first group showed positive attitudes was solidarity with the Nahuatl speakers. However, the both groups considered that speaking or learning Nahuatl cannot contribute to raise their status in the Mexican society.

Actitudes hacia la variedad caló y sus hablantes : Un estudio sociolingüístico de las opiniones de adolescentes andaluces

Caló is a language/variety spoken by the Spanish Calé (i.e. the Roma). The variety belongs to a group oflanguages referred to as “Para-Romani”, characterized by Romani vocabulary, but largely non-Romani morphology, phonology and syntax, in the case of Caló deriving from Spanish. Much research has been carried out regarding the vocabulary and the grammar of this variety.The conclusions drawn in those studies indicate that Caló is on its way to extinction. However, thereis an expressed interest in reintroducing the variety, in a form called “Romanó-Caló”. Language attitudes play a decisive role for the destiny of endangered languages. In order for arevitalization project to be successful, the attitudes towards the variety being reintroduced have to bepositive. The aim of this study is to measure the attitudes that both Calé and non-Calé have towards Calóand Caló speakers, a type of study never carried out in the past. The methods applied are both direct andindirect. In part one, 231 informants listened to different recordings of voices acting as either a “Spanishspeaking person” or a “Caló speaking person”, a technique referred to as ‘matched guise’. Firstly,the informants were asked to write down their first three impressions of the speakers. Secondly, nineshort questions related to the voices were asked, to which the subjects expressed their answers on attitudescales. They were also asked to match the voices with photos of people. Furthermore, theinformants have answered questions regarding what variety is spoken at home, as well as if he or she hasany knowledge of, or contact with, any language/variety, apart from Spanish. 182 informants continuedwith part two of the questionnaire, which consisted of 20 items – positive and negative statementstowards Caló and Caló speakers. The informants have rated their agreement or disagreement to thesestatements on a Likert scale. Another exercise measured the willingness of the informants to use Calówords for naming various objects. In addition, the subjects were tested on their knowledge of some Calówords, as well as asked whether they thought it was “useful” to know how to speak Caló. Variousstatistical methods have been used in order to establish whether or not the results are statisticallysignificant. The results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes differ towards Caló and Calóspeakers, depending on the informant’s (a) ethnicity (b) contact with Caló as well as with Calóspeakers, and (c) gender. It is those who – in their own opinion – belong to the ethnic group Calé, as wellas those who claim that they have some contact with the variety and its speakers, who show positiveattitudes in both parts of the study. The women also show more positive attitudes than the men. It is alsopossible to note positive attitudes towards the variety and its speakers among the subjects with a highlevel of knowledge of Caló words, as well as among those with the highest willingness to use Caló. These observations suggest that a revitalization project of the variety Caló has a clear chance ofbeing successful.

ACTITUDES HACIA LA VARIEDAD CANARIA : Un estudio sociolingüístico de estudiantes universitarios en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

En este estudio se analizan las actitudes lingüísticas hacia la variedad canaria en comparación con la variedad español peninsular considerado estándar de veinte estudiantes universitarios en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. La investigadora utiliza una versión modificada del método matched guise que consiste en una grabación de cuatro versiones de un mismo texto leído por dos hablantes de la variedad canaria y dos hablantes de la variedad español peninsular considerado estándar. Los informantes escuchan el texto grabado y contestan consecutivamente un cuestionario, evaluando las voces de la grabación. Según el resultado obtenido existe una diferencia entre la valoración de la dimensión de estatus y la dimensión de solidaridad. Los informantes valoran más positivamente a la variedad español peninsular estándar al nivel estatus, mostrando actitudes desfavorables hacia la variedad canaria. En la dimensión de solidaridad se manifiestan actitudes contradictorias hacia la variedad canaria, indicando una posible oposición entre una variedad culta y una vulgar.

English as a Second Language and Children’s literature : An empirical study on Swedish elementary school teachers’ methods and attitudes towards the use of children’s literature in the English classroom

Previous research has shown multiple benefits and challenges with the incorporation of children’s literature in the English as a Second language (ESL) classroom. In addition, the use of children’s literature in the lower elementary English classroom is recommended by the Swedish National Agency for Education. Consequently, the current study explores how teachers in Swedish elementary school teach ESL through children’s literature. This empirical study involves English teachers from seven schools in a small municipality in Sweden. The data has been collected through an Internet survey. The study also connects the results to previous international research, comparing Swedish and international research. The results suggest that even though there are many benefits of using children’s literature in the ESL classroom, the respondents seldom use these authentic texts, due to limited time and a narrow supply of literature, among other factors. However, despite these challenges, all of the teachers claim to use children’s literature by reading aloud in the classroom. Based on the results, further research exploring pupils’ thoughts in contrast to teachers would be beneficial. In addition, the majority of the participants expressed that they wanted more information on how to use children’s literature. Therefore, additional research relating to beneficial methods of teaching English through children’s literature, especially in Sweden, is recommended.

Authentic Texts in English Language Teaching : An empirical study on the use of and attitudes towards authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom

International assessments indicate that Swedish students achieve high results in reading, writing and understanding English. However, this does not mean that the students display oral proficiency, despite an emphasis on functional and communicative language skills in the current English Syllabus. While a previous literature study by this researcher has shown that authentic texts are a way to increase these skills, most of the results shown are from an international viewpoint. Thus an empirical study was conducted within Sweden with the aim to examine the use of authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom. Twelve teachers have answered a questionnaire on how they use authentic texts in their language teaching, as well as their opinions about these as a teaching tool. Additionally, 37 students have answered a questionnaire on their attitudes about authentic texts. Results indicate that all of the teachers surveyed see authentic texts as an effective way to increase students’ communicative competence and English language skills; however, only a few use them with any frequency in language teaching. Furthermore, this seems to affect the students’ attitudes, since many say that they read authentic texts in their free time, but prefer to learn English out of a textbook at school. These findings are based on a small area of Sweden. Therefore, further research is needed to learn if these opinions hold true for the entire country or vary dependent upon region or other factors not taken into consideration in this study.

Contemporary Approaches to Translation in the Classroom : A study of students' Attitudes and Strategies

The purpose of this study is to explore the strategies and attitudes of students towards translation in the context of language learning. The informants come from two different classes at an Upper Secondary vocational program. The study was born from the backdrop of discussions among some English teachers representing different theories on translation and language learning, meeting students endeavoring in language learning beyond the confinement of the classroom and personal experiences of translation in language learning. The curriculum and course plan for English at the vocational program emphasize two things of particular interest to our study; integration of the program outcomes and vocational language into the English course - so called meshed learning – and student awareness of their own learning processes. A background is presented of different contrasting methods in translation and language learning that is relevant to our discussion. However, focus is given to contemporary research on reforms within the Comparative Theory, as expressed in Translation in Language and Teaching (TILT), Contrastive Analysis and “The Third Space”. The results of the students’ reflections are presented as attempts to translate two different texts; one lyric and one technical vocational text. The results show a pragmatic attitude among the students toward tools like dictionaries or Google Translate, but also a critical awareness about their use and limits. They appear to prefer the use of first language to the target language when discussing the correct translation as they sought accuracy over meaning. Translation for them was a natural and problem-solving event worth a rightful place in language teaching.

Attitudes Towards and Uses of the Japanese Adverbzenzen by Swedish Learners of Japanese

The word zenzen is an adverb that is used frequently in daily conversational Japanese. From the Meiji period (1868-1912) until the early Showa period (1924-1989) the word was used together with both affirmative and negative words to form expressions. In the early Showa period the grammatical rules in education changed so that the only acceptable use was together with a negative word. From the 1990’s onward, the use together with an affirmative word has made a comeback especially among younger Japanese people. However even though the usage together with an affirmative word has made a comeback and was considered normal once in history, in today’s society it is still considered as slang and thus not recommended usage in formal situations. Foreign language learners however, tend not to learn a language only by textbooks but also by imitating the language of native Japanese speakers and Japanese popular culture. This may lead to a confusion regarding what words are acceptable to use in conversations. Therefore in this study, an online survey that examines the usage and attitudes regarding the word zenzen aimed at Japanese language learners at Swedish universities was conducted. The results of the survey showed that although a majority of the learners showed a good understanding of the usage, more than half of the learners displayed a feeling of confusion regarding the usage of the word. The gender comparison regarding the usage showed no major differences. Having lived in Japan, having Japanese friends whom you speak Japanese with regularly and length of Japanese study was associated with an increased understanding of the usage. Regular consumption of Japanese popular culture, however, was not associated with an increased understanding of the usage. A literature analysis was also conducted to examine the attitudes regarding the usage of zenzen in a variety of books with topics including business language and books aimed at Japanese language teachers. The results showed that zenzen used together with a negative word was considered as the norm while zenzen used together with an affirmative word was not recommended to be used in formal situations. When recommending proper usage of the word zenzen together with an affirmative word to foreign learners of Japanese, hijou-ni and totemo was seen as better alternatives to zenzen in a formal situation.

Attitudes towards the minority variety Caló in the south of Spain : a sociolinguistic study

Caló is a variety spoken by the Spanish Calé (i.e. the Roma). It belongs to a group of languages referred to as “Para-Romani”, characterized by Romani vocabulary, but largely non-Romani morphology, phonology and syntax, in the case of Caló deriving from Spanish. According to previous research carried out – with focus on the vocabulary and the grammar of this variety – Caló is on its way to extinction. However, there is an expressed interest in reintroducing a form called “Romanó-Caló”. Attitudes play an important role in minority language maintenance as well as in order for a revitalization project to be successful. The aim of this study is to measure the attitudes that both Calé and non-Calé have towards Caló and Caló speakers, a type of study never carried out in the past. The methods applied are both direct and indirect. In total, 231 informants listened to different recordings of voices acting as either a “Spanish speaking person” or a “Caló speaking person”, a technique referred to as ‘matched guise’, answering questions related to the voices on attitude scales. Furthermore, 182 of the informants rated their agreement or disagreement to positive and negative items towards Caló and its speakers on a Likert scale. The results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes differ towards Caló and Caló speakers, depending on the informant’s (a) ethnicity (b) contact with Caló as well as with Caló speakers, and (c) gender. It is those who – in their own opinion – belong to the ethnic group Calé, as well as those who claim that they have some contact with the variety and its speakers, who show positive attitudes in both parts of the study. The women also show more positive attitudes than the men. It is also possible to note positive attitudes towards the variety and its speakers among the subjects with a high level of knowledge of Caló words, as well as among those with the highest willingness to use Caló. These observations suggest that a revitalization project of the variety Caló has a clear chance of being successful.

Children’s Literature and English Teaching – Swedish Teachers’ Methods and Attitudes

This study investigates how primary school teachers of grades F-3 pupils in a number of sample schools in Sweden use children’s literature and other methods to enhance their teaching of English. The study explores the attitudes of these teachers’ to using English children’s literature as a teaching tool to promote language development in their pupils, focusing on vocabulary. An empirical questionnaire study was carried out including a total of twenty-three respondents from seven schools in a Stockholm suburb. The respondents are all working teachers with experience of teaching English to young learners, particularly in grades F-3. This study contributes with new knowledge about the often-recommended use of children’s literature as a method for teaching English to young learners, connecting international research with empirical data from the Swedish context. While the results suggest that the majority of the respondents are positive to using children’s literature in their teaching and regularly do so, many of them feel that it is somewhat difficult to find relevant materials to plan, implement and evaluate lessons within the allocated time-frame. Based on these results, further research about how to create more effective ways of using children’s literature as a method for English vocabulary teaching in Swedish schools is recommended.