Projecting social and discursive identities through code-switching on facebook: the case of Greek Cypriots

Two varieties of Greek are spoken on the island of Cyprus: the local dialect, namely the Greek-Cypriot Dialect (GCD), and Standard Modern Greek (SMG). English is also influential, as Cyprus was an English colony until 1960. The dialect is rarely employed for everyday written purposes; however, it is now evident in computer-mediated communication (CMC). As a contribution to the field of code-switching in writing, this study examines how Greek-Cypriot internet users employ GCD, SMG, and English in their Facebook interactions. In particular, we investigate how identities (discursive and social) are performed and indexed through the linguistic choices of Greek-Cypriot internet users. The findings indicate that switches to GCD add a humorous tone and express solidarity and informality. SMG is mostly used for ‘official’ statements, and it is preferred by mature internet users, while English is used with expressions of affect and evaluative comments.

Ultimate attainment in the use of lexical collocations among heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany and Turkish-German returnees

In this paper we show that heritage speakers and returnees are fundamentally different from the majority of adult second language learners with respect to their use of collocations (Laufer & Waldman, 2011). We compare the use of lexical collocations involving yap- “do” and et- “do” among heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany (n=45) with those found among Turkish returnees (n=65) and Turkish monolinguals (n=69). Language use by returnees is an understudied resource although this group can provide crucial insights into the specific language ability of heritage speakers. Results show that returnees who had been back for one year avoid collocations with yap- and use some hypercorrect forms in et-, whilst returnees who had been back for seven years upon recording produce collocations that are quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those of monolingual speakers of Turkish. We discuss implications for theories of ultimate attainment and incomplete acquisition in heritage speakers.

L3 acquisition: a focus on cognitive approaches

Interest in third language (L3) acquisition has increased exponentially in recent years, due to its potential to inform long-lasting debates in theoretical linguistics, language acquisition and psycholinguistics. Researchers investigating child and adult L3 acquisition have, from the very beginning, considered the many different cognitive factors that constrain and condition the initial state and development of newly acquired languages, and their models have duly evolved to incorporate insights from the most recent findings in psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and cognitive psychology. The articles in this Special Issue of Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, in dealing with issues such as age of acquisition, attrition, relearning, cognitive economy or the reliance on different memory systems –to name a few–, provide an accurate portrayal of current inquiry in the field, and are a particularly fine example of how instrumental research in language acquisition and other cognitive domains can be to one another.

Ultimate attainment in the use of collocations among heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany and Turkish-German returnees

In this paper we show that heritage speakers and returnees are fundamentally different from the majority of adult second language learners with respect to their use of collocations (Laufer & Waldman, 2011). We compare the use of lexical collocations involving yap- “do” and et- “do” among heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany (n=45) with those found among Turkish returnees (n=65) and Turkish monolinguals (n=69). Language use by returnees is an understudied resource although this group can provide crucial insights into the specific language ability of heritage speakers. Results show that returnees who had been back for one year avoid collocations with yap- and use some hypercorrect forms in et-, whilst returnees who had been back for seven years upon recording produce collocations that are quantitatively and qualitatively similar to those of monolingual speakers of Turkish. We discuss implications for theories of ultimate attainment and incomplete acquisition in heritage speakers.

Discourse and creativity

Discourse and Creativity examines the way different approaches to discourse analysis conceptualize the notion of creativity and address it analytically. It includes examples of studies of creativity from a variety of traditions and examines the following key areas, how people interpret and use discourse, the processes and practices of discourse production, discourse in modes other than written and spoken language, and the relationship between discourse and the technologies used to produce it.

Creativity and discourse

This paper will consider the relationship between discourse analysis and creativity and elucidate the ways in which a discourse analytical approach to creativity might be distinguished from the ‘language and creativity’ approaches which currently dominate applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. In the ‘discourse and creativity’ approach I will be describing, creativity is located not in language per se, but in the strategic ways people use language in concrete situations in order to stimulate social change. I will explore how aspects of this approach are reflected in work carried out within the paradigm of world Englishes.

Experimental philosophy of language

Experimental philosophy of language uses experimental methods developed in the cognitive sciences to investigate topics of interest to philosophers of language. This article describes the methodological background for the development of experimental approaches to topics in philosophy of language, distinguishes negative and positive projects in experimental philosophy of language, and evaluates experimental work on the reference of proper names and natural kind terms. The reliability of expert judgments vs. the judgments of ordinary speakers, the role that ambiguity plays in influencing responses to experiments, and the reliability of meta-linguistic judgments are also assessed.

How language can help discrimination in the Neural Modelling Fields framework

The relationship between thought and language and, in particular, the issue of whether and how language influences thought is still a matter of fierce debate. Here we consider a discrimination task scenario to study language acquisition in which an agent receives linguistic input from an external teacher, in addition to sensory stimuli from the objects that exemplify the overlapping categories that make up the environment. Sensory and linguistic input signals are fused using the Neural Modelling Fields (NMF) categorization algorithm. We find that the agent with language is capable of differentiating object features that it could not distinguish without language. In this sense, the linguistic stimuli prompt the agent to redefine and refine the discrimination capacity of its sensory channels. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ett rikare språk med bildmunta : Vad är ett rikt språk och kan bildskapande stimulera till ett rikare språk

A richer language when painting before speaking? – What is a rich language and can painting stimulate towards a richer language?In this work I seek to answer two questions. What may a “richer” language mean and does it become richer when the informants, as a preparation, paint what they are going to talk about in front of the class, than when they do not paint? This I try to do by studying earlyer research about how to measure the richness in languages and by analysing video recordings of speeches when the students in an sfi-class (Swedish for foreigners) painted or did not paint before the speech, and by analysing the richness in their language. The result is my own definition of what rich language is in this context, and a conclusion that painting stimulates the students to use more words and to use specific words that they need to bring the audience their message.

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.

Textual Differences in Game Reviews Written by Men and Women

The aim of this essay is to examine the differences in language use between the genders in game reviews, to find whether there are differences in the use of the language depending on gender. Both sexist language and technical aspects are examined, the technical aspects of writing have been chosen from previous research about gendered differences in writing. The reviews are randomly chosen but the games are selected. There is an equal amount of games with male and female main characters, and the number of reviews is chosen according to the number of reviews written by females, as there are fewer of them, and thus easier to find a matching number of reviews written by males rather than vice versa. The reviews are then examined to find sexist language and differences. This essay finds that there is sexist language in the writing of both genders, such as marked language, but only when the main character of the game is female. Both genders tend to focus on the appearance of female characters and the characteristics of male characters, but there is no known previous research about male and female game characters to compare these results to. However, the technical differences remain consistent with previous research on the same subject, such as female reviewers using more pronouns than male reviewers, and male reviewers using fewer verbs than female reviewers.

Speak Good English Movement in Singapore : Reactions in Social and Traditional Media

The first Speak Good English Movement, SGEM, took place in 2000, and has been organized annually ever since. Speaking a “standard” form of English is considered to bring increased personal power. However, the SGEM wants the Singaporeans to use “standard” English in their private life as well. A decade after the beginning of the campaign, a Speak Good Singlish Movement was started. Based on studies of language and identity, it is understandable why some Singaporeans might feel the SGEM threatens their identity. However, the reactions towards the campaign are mainly positive. For the purposes of this analysis, Twitter messages, Facebook pages, and newspaper articles from The Straits Times were collected. The SGEM has hailed both direct and indirect praise and criticism in both social and traditional media: Five newspaper articles praise the campaign while five criticize it; the results are nine and seven respectively for social media. This thesis looks at reactions towards the SGEM in both social and traditional media, analyzes how these reactions might relate to the ideas of the power of language, its variety and the relation of language and identity.

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.

El cambio de código en hispanohablantes en Suecia : Experiencias y actitudes

In this thesis it is investigated how Spanish-speakers in Sweden experience living with two languages ​​and how common it is for them to use code-switching in their everyday speech. The study has focused on not only the experiences but also the use of code-switching among Hispanics who have become bilinguals in Sweden. The study has also examined the attitudes the informants show towards code – switching.The aim of this study is to provide a picture of the experiences Spanish-speakers have of becoming bilinguals in Sweden and of learning and using Swedish as a second language. It is of interest to see how the bilinguals converse inside and outside the home and how frequent and accepted it is among the Hispanics in Sweden with the use of code-switching in different social contexts. In summary, we can see that the Hispanics in Sweden are satisfied with the linguistic development they have experienced by learning a new language and that they consider it beneficial being bilingual. The study shows that code-switching is very much used, but not fully accepted even by those who use it on a daily basis. Code-switching is in many cases not considered appropriate and it is sometimes performed unconsciously.

L’évolution du français par rapport à l’histoire et en comparaison avec celle du suédois

Une langue est comme un être vivant. Elle porte les traces des avis, des sentiments, de la joie et des déceptions de nos ancêtres. En même temps elle reflète les toutes tous derniers modes de vie et la manière de penser et d’agir dans la vie quotidienne. Ce sont sa grammaire, ses mots, ses proverbes et ses citations qui en témoignent. Ses sons soulignés par l’intonation et la prosodie nous laissent presque deviner l’esprit de vitalité, de mélancolie ou d’élégance de la langue et de ces locuteurs. Mais est-ce qu’il est possible de trouver aussi les traces des événements historiques et sociaux dans l’évolution d’une langue? Cette question est centrale dans ce mémoire qui suit l’évolution du français à partir du latin parlé dans l’Antiquité et en comparaison avec celle d’autres langues notamment celle du suédois.