Problems with the 'language‐as‐resource' discourse in the promotion of heritage languages in the U.S.A.

In the United States, language 'rights' have been tethered to ethnic or racial entitlements as a means to redress historical patterns of discrimination and exclusion. The perception that language 'rights' are about the redress of past wrongs has had negative effects on efforts to gain broad public support for the teaching and maintenance of languages other than English. The language‐as‐resource orientation ( Ruiz 1984 ) is considered as an alternative to a language rights approach. However, analysis of texts produced by advocates of the heritage language movement reveals the shortcomings of the language‐as‐resource metaphor in advancing broad‐based support for the teaching, maintenance, and use of minority languages in the U.S. While efforts to promote heritage language education as a national strategic priority may result in short‐term governmental support, wider and more sustained popular support for such programs will require significant modifications in the underlying values and ideologies about the status and role of languages other than English in education and public life.     

Media consumption and self-identification: Hungarian and Slovak case study

The media impact on the process of ethnic identification, particularly with regard to how ethnic minority individuals reflect upon their ethnic origin, is the focus of this article. We analyse the relationships media consumption has with the identity-reflection process using biographical narratives of individuals from two ethnic minority communities in Eastern European countries: Slovaks in Hungary and Hungarians in Slovakia, focusing on how media consumption channels ethnic self-identification of minority individuals in terms of their affinity with their country of origin, their country of residence, and with Europe as a whole. Ethnic minorities in these two countries have been intensely affected by political changes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We include analysis of some quantitative data and biographical narratives of ethnic minority individuals from the ENRI-EAST project, with close analysis of six biographical cases.     

Dilemmas in planning English/vernacular relations in post‐colonial communities

In the context of globalization and post‐modern discourses, the debate about the relative status of local and dominant languages poses serious policy problems for post‐colonial communities. Critics of minority language rights (MLR) generally point out that engineering a language shift on behalf of a vernacular language – motivated by the preservationist interests, collective rights and sentimental associations of an ethnic group – is futile, as the economic and social mobilities of individuals are bound to work against this enterprise. Proponents of MLR have gone to the other extreme of essentializing the linguistic identity of minority communities, generalizing their language attitudes, and treating local language rights as non‐negotiable. This article addresses this debate in the context of the attempts to promote Tamil by the military leadership in the North and East of Sri Lanka. The paper brings together data gathered in sociolinguistic studies for four years in the Jaffna society in order to understand the reception of the language policy in everyday life. The leadership recognizes that language policy is a symbolic statement for political purposes and tolerates certain inconsistencies in policy and practice. While the community assures itself of ethnic pride and linguistic autonomy with the stated policies, it negotiates divergent interests in the gaps between the policy/practice divide. Scholars should recognize the agency of subaltern communities to negotiate language politics in creative and critical ways that transcend the limited constructs formulated to either cynically sweep aside or unduly romanticize language rights.     

Partner selection and divorce in ethnic minorities: distinguishing between two types of ethnic homogamous marriages

This article compares divorce risks according to marriage type. The common dichotomy between ethnic homogamous and ethnic heterogamous marriages is further elaborated by differentiating a third marriage type; ethnic homogamous marriages between individuals from an ethnic minority group and a partner from the country of origin. Based on the analysis of data concerning the Turkish and Moroccan minorities in Belgium, it has been confirmed that the divorce risk associated with these marriages is higher than that of other ethnic homogamous marriages. However, specific divorce patterns according to marriage type also indicate the importance of differences between the minority groups.     

Emerging Hispanic English: New dialect formation in the American South

Although stable Hispanic populations have existed in some regions of the United States for centuries, other regions, including the mid‐Atlantic South, are just experiencing the emergence of permanent Hispanic communities. This situation offers an ideal opportunity to examine the dynamics of new dialect formation in progress, and the extent to which speakers acquire local dialect traits as they learn English as a second language. We focus on the production of the /ai/ diphthong among adolescents in two emerging Hispanic communities, one in an urban and one in a rural context. Though both English and Spanish have the diphthong /ai/, the Southern regional variant of the benchmark local dialect norm is unglided, thus providing a local dialect alternative. The instrumental analysis of /ai/ shows that there is not pervasive accommodation to the local norm by Hispanic speakers learning English. There is, however, gradient, incremental adjustment of the /ai/, and individual speakers who adopt local cultural values may accommodate to the local dialect pattern.     

Shared spaces,shared structures: Latino social formation and African American English in the U.S. south

This study examines the appropriation of grammatical structures of African American English (AAE) by adolescent Latinos attending a multi‐ethnic middle school in North Carolina. The study couples quantitative variationist analysis of four ‘core’ grammatical features of AAE (invariant be, copula deletion, past‐tense copula leveling, and third‐person singular –s absence) with the findings of an ethnographic study of Latino adolescent identity in order to better understand the social processes leading to the incorporation of AAE grammar into English varieties spoken by Latinos. Results show that Latino students from across social formations make use of AAE grammatical features, but differ significantly from African American students in terms of sociolinguistic patterning. Ethnographic data shed light on linguistic data in three domains: (1) differences in use of AAE structures between male and female Latino/a students; (2) the prolific use of AAE by one gang‐affiliated student; and (3) the racial complexities within the ethnic category ‘Latino.’     

Constructing ethnicity in interaction

In the present study, I continue ongoing efforts to incorporate social constructionist viewpoints into sociolinguistics by demonstrating how two interlocutors use linguistic resources to project and shape ethnic (and other facets of) identity in unfolding talk. The interaction is a sociolinguistic interview from a large‐scale sociolinguistic study of a rural tri‐ethnic community in the southeastern U.S. I examine a range of features and types of features and in addition use both quantitative and qualitative methods. Further, I examine the linguistic usages of both the researcher (the interviewer) and the research subject. The analysis confirms that identity is dynamic and multifaceted and is very much a product of ongoing talk, although pre‐existing linguistic and social structures also come into play. In addition, the analysis demonstrates that identity is dialogic as well as dynamic and that researchers play a large role in shaping the linguistic usages of those they study.     

'Du hast jar keene Ahnung': African American English dubbed into German

This paper explores the translation of sociolinguistic variation by examining the ways that African American English (AAE) is dubbed into German. In discussing this ubiquitous yet poorly studied area of language use, I show that ideas about language as an index to social groupings are transferable to the degree that the ideas overlap in the cultures in question. In the case of German, if the character being dubbed is young, male and tied to the street cultures of the urban inner city, then AAE is dubbed using a form of German that has links to the urban youth cultures of north‐central Germany. The transferability of sociolinguistic variation is important to issues related to cross‐cultural communication and the ideologies that may play a role in the outcomes of that communication as well as to linguistic creativity and language style more generally.     

Immigrants working with co‐ethnics: Who are they and how do they fare?

Participation in ethnic economies has been regarded as an alternative avenue of economic adaptation for immigrants and minorities in major immigrant‐receiving countries. This study examines one important dimension of ethnic economies: co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace. Using a large national representative sample from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this study addresses four questions: (1) what is the level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace for Canada’s minority groups? (2) How do workers who share the same ethnicity with most of their co‐workers differ from other workers in socio‐demographic characteristics? (3) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with lower earnings? (4) Is higher level of co‐ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with higher levels of life satisfaction? The results show that only a small proportion of immigrants and the Canadian‐born work in ethnically homogeneous settings. In Canada’s eight largest metropolitan areas about 10 per cent of non‐British/French immigrants share a same ethnic origin with the majority of their co‐workers. The level is as high as 20 per cent among Chinese immigrants and 18 per cent among Portuguese immigrants. Among Canadian‐born minority groups, the level of co‐ethnic workplace concentration is about half the level for immigrants. Immigrant workers in ethnically concentrated settings have much lower educational levels and proficiency in English/French. Immigrant men who work mostly with co‐ethnics on average earn about 33 per cent less than workers with few or none co‐ethnic coworkers. About two thirds of this gap is attributable to differences in demographic and job characteristics. Meanwhile, immigrant workers in ethnically homogenous settings are less likely to report low levels of life satisfaction than other immigrant workers. Among the Canadian‐born, co‐ethnic concentration is not consistently associated with earnings and life satisfaction.     

The geolinguistics of /l/ vocalization in Australia and New Zealand

Recent work in comparative sociolinguistics marks a re–engagement of variationists studying language change in progress with geography. In this study of the vocalization of /l/ in nine speech localities in Australian and New Zealand English, the geographical, the linguistic and the social constraints on variation are all included in the quantitative analysis. The usual identification of the starting point of change as the factor that is quantitatively ‘more’ is challenged by variable constraint hierarchies associated with speech localities as well as by the identification of Christchurch as the place of the origin of the sound change. Neither the gravity nor the urban hierarchy models of diffusion explain the geographical pattern of the sound change; a number of place effects are proposed as potential explanations, including the geographical variability of the vigorousness of the change. Variable isoglosses representing discontinuities in the dataset are mapped; they reveal the subtle patterns of sociolinguistic variation that mark the difference between Australian English and New Zealand English.     

The Effects on Clinician Identification when Clinician and Client Share a Common Ethnic Minority Background

ABSTRACT

A quasi-experimental study addressed the question of whether clinician identification with the client differs in therapeutic dyads in which clinician and client are from the same ethnic minority background than in therapeutic dyads in which clinician and client are from a different ethnic background. An availability sampling plan was used to obtain a sample of sixty Japanese American and sixty White social workers. Subjects watched one of two videotaped vignettes of either a Japanese American or White client. An identification inventory was used to measure range and intensity of identification. Findings demonstrated that match of ethnic minority background heightened range and intensity of identification. Additionally, match of generation, place of origin, and assimilation level also increased the respondent's identification with the client. Furthermore, feelings of vulnerability, a concern of overidentifying, and an added sense of investment occurred more frequently when the respondent and vignette client were from the same ethnic minority background.     

A majority sound change in a minority community: /u/-fronting in Chicano English

Many sociolinguistic studies have found that minority groups are not participating in the sound changes characteristic of the majority community. This study, however, presents evidence that /u/-fronting, a sound change observable in California Anglo speakers, is found in the minority Mexican-American community as well, among speakers of Chicano English. Furthermore, while a high percentage of variation research has focused on correlating sociolinguistic variables with traditional social factors (age, gender, and social class being the most common), the results of this research underscore the need to analyze variation within the context of those social categories that are of particular significance to the specific community being studied, as well as the importance of incorporating interactions among social factors into a sociolinguistic analysis.     

Making globalization work for Chinese higher education by building bridges between internationalization and multiculturalism

The rapid expansion of higher education in China is bringing together two phenomena, internationalization and multiculturalism. This study explores the question of what Chinese universities are doing to bridge the gap between these two. Three types of higher education institutions attended by minority students are selected: a university under the governance of an ethnic autonomous region, located in Inner Mongolia; a university under the Central Ministry of Education in Beijing, and a university under the Ethnic Affairs Bureau, specifically designated for nationalities, in Hubei Province. A content analysis of selected relevant documents and interviews with university academic/administrative staff, Han and ethnic minority students were carried out. Chinese universities seem more than willing to internationalize for status advancement. However, multiculturalism in the sense of recognition of ethnic minority cultures, is not viewed as bringing higher status. The implications for bridging internationalization and multiculturalism are raised.     

The Prospects of Global English as an Inclusive Language

English is increasingly a global language, as it is the world's most popular second language and the primary language of international communication. The emergence of English as a global language raises many potential normative challenges, such as the risks that it will erode minority cultures and that it will give core English-speaking countries an unfair advantage over nonnative speakers. I argue that global English can be made more inclusive for nonnative speakers and that the benefits of global English can therefore be realized without suppressing the cultures of nonnative English speakers. However, realizing this potential depends on overcoming the beliefs that English should be neutral and that there is a standard correct form of English.     

Exploring How National Politics Influences the Outcome of Intergroup Contact among Muslim Minority Members

This article adds to the existing research in intergroup contact among ethnic minority members by hypothesizing that national political debate has the capacity to enhance the positive outcomes of cross‐group interaction. Analyses show that the capacity of intergroup contact to reduce prejudice toward majority members is disproportionately stronger among Muslims than among non‐Muslim minority members. Specifically, at the time of data collection, the two categories—Muslims and majority members—were highly salient in the public debate, whereas the non‐Muslim minority member category was not primed as a contrast to the majority culture. The political debate most likely stimulated Muslims to generalize their positive contact experiences to the entire majority group. The analysis contributes to the theoretical refinement of the so‐called categorization model by focusing on politically induced reactions among contacted ethnic minority members toward majority members. The analysis utilizes a tailor‐made national sample (fielded during the Mohammad Cartoon Crisis in 2006) among ethnic minority members in Denmark (N  = 3,272).     

Voices in discourses: Dialogism, Critical Discourse Analysis and ethnic identity

In this article we attempt to combine the Bakhtinian, dialogical philosophy of language and critical discourse analysis (CDA) with our analysis of ethnic identity. The data we discuss are an interview with a Sami journalist who works in the Sami media. We analyse the interview from the points of view of dialogism and CDA to illustrate how identity must be understood as something which is both individual and social in nature. We reject the earlier essentialist interpretations of identity which see it as purely individual and psychological in nature. At the same time, we argue that those views of identity that see it as exclusively socially constructed can be misleading as well. We aim to illustrate our individual‐cum‐social viewpoint by discussing how identity is represented through a variety of voices and a variety of discourses. We discuss ethnic identity as related both to social level discourses that our subject drew on – such as the discourses of the journalistic profession or ethnicity and to 'voices' that bear witness to his experiences as an individual and his individual life course.     

Quoting ethnicity: Constructing dialogue in Aotearoa/New Zealand1

Within the system of direct quotation, speakers have a number of resources at their disposal from which they can select to construct dialogue. This article presents an investigation of the ways in which Maori and Pakeha English speakers deploy these resources. The analysis reveals extensive differences in the construction of dialogue between Maori and Pakeha which include, but are not limited to, quantitative differences in the use of individual verbs of quotation. Distinct effects of tense/temporal reference and mimetic re‐enactment permeate the systems, and patterns of use surrounding the zero quotative emerge as central to many points of differentiation. It is argued that these patterns form distinct strategies in the deployment of quotative resources and in this sense are indexical of ethnic identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand.     

Ethnic Entrepreneurship Among Indian Women in New Zealand: A Bittersweet Process

This research article explores the lived‐in and lived‐through experiences of Indian women entrepreneurs in New Zealand in the context of ethnic entrepreneurship. Through a four‐stage model emerging from qualitative interviews, the article illuminates the bittersweet entrepreneurial process of ethnic minority migrant women. The four stages are: the low permeability for entry into the job market for ethnic minority migrant women; underemployment; setting up a micro‐enterprise and expanding the business and creating employment for others, primarily co‐ethnics as well as an expanding customer base. A combination of factors ranging from perceived discrimination, low self esteem and feelings of being devalued, to ethnic networks and lack of access/knowledge of government resources and the entry of women from Indian business families feed into each of the four stages of this model. The article offers an analysis of minority voices, along with implications for future research.     

Sociophonetic variation in a long‐term language contact situation: /l/‐darkening in Welsh‐English bilingual speech

This study investigates /l/‐darkening in the Welsh and English speech of bilinguals in North Wales. Although it is claimed that /l/ is dark in all syllable positions in northern varieties of both languages, there have been no quantitative investigations of this feature which consider cross‐linguistic phonetic differences, the differing nature of language contact between North East and North West Wales, and differences in the way both languages are acquired by speakers. The dataset of 32 Welsh‐English bilinguals, aged 16–18, was stratified by speaker sex, home language, and area. Tokens of /l/ in word‐initial onset and word‐final coda positions were analysed acoustically. The results show cross‐linguistic differences in onset position and that such differences were found to be greater in the speech of female speakers. Differences were also found between the two areas. These results are discussed with reference to the influence of extra‐linguistic factors on speech production and the possible social meaning associated with dark /l/.     

The barriers to the effectiveness of culturally sensitive practices in health and social care services for Chinese people in Britain

This paper studies the problem that health and social care practitioners, intending to satisfy their ethnic minority users’ cultural preferences, end up providing services against their wishes. In particular it points out that this problem is caused by over-emphasising two key assumptions of ethnic minority groups. The first assumption is that all members of the same ethnic minority group organise their health and social care according to their cultural principles. The second assumption is that their cultural principles are monolithic. Demonstrating that these two assumptions may not necessarily be applicable to all ethnic minority groups, this paper discusses the diverse strategies used by Chinese people in Britain to organise their health and social care, and the differences between their two important cultural principles, Taoism and Confucianism. In order to demonstrate to professionals and the Government that they should not over-emphasise these two assumptions and that they need to pay attention to ethnic minority groups’ diverse needs, the paper suggests that different ethnic minority groups may need to unite to increase their influence in the service provision process. However it also warns that this tactic may lead to the subordination of minority group interests in the articulation of those large groups.