English and discourses of commodification among tourism workers in the Himalayas

In this article, I investigate commodification discourses and ideologies of English from the perspective of Nepali tourism workers. Drawing data from interviews with porters and trekking guides in Nepal, I argue that English is not seen as merely a transactional means to convey meaning; it works in combination with the traditional form of labor and care in the local economy, establishing itself as a powerful tool to establish closer interpersonal relationships, enhance such interpersonal relationships for economic gains and commodify local identities and cultures in the tourism market. The interview and ethnographic details show that language learners are agentive and capable of making sense of their actions by positioning themselves variously in terms of ethnicity, economic class and job category. These workers think that tourists' linguistic and financial resources are the empowering tools that enable them to travel to locations that they want. They also want to empower themselves with English skills and translocal imaginaries to travel and see the world beyond their immediate reach. Repertoires in English are considered as instruments to mediate their imaginaries and the foreign worlds they want to be part of.     

Young Norwegians and their views on climate change and the future: findings from a climate concerned and oil-rich nation

Young people represent the future, but little is known about their attitudes towards climate change, one of the most serious issues facing the world today. The purpose of the present study is to contribute with improved and new knowledge of young Norwegians’ understanding of and attitudes towards this issue, with a special focus on perspectives of the future. Of particular interest is the influence of divergent framings of the climate question in Norway, due to conflicting interests between the petroleum industry and climate concern. The young people's voices are elicited through two different surveys undertaken during the fall of 2013, one national (Norwegian Citizen Panel) and one local (School survey conducted among high-school students). The study generated both quantitative and qualitative findings, stemming from closed-ended as well as open-ended questions. The data were handled through a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results show that the voices tend to be oriented towards the opinion that Norway has a responsibility to help poor countries as well as a duty to prevent climate change and that the country should reduce its oil production. We further observe that young Norwegians have an optimistic view of the future, based on a pronounced belief in technology and science.     

The educational attainment of second-generation mainland Chinese immigrants in Taiwan

The social status and well-being of political immigrants’ children are seldom touched upon in literature. This paper focuses on the impact of refugee experience on the relative educational attainment of second-generation immigrants in Taiwan. In contrast with the results in van Ours and Veenman (J Popul Econ 16(4):739–753, 2003) and Riphahn (J Popul Econ 16(4):711–737, 2003) who showed that second-generation immigrants lag behind their native counterparts, this paper’s principle finding is that the father’s immigration status can help his children achieve a higher educational qualification than native Taiwanese after controlling the relevant determinants of educational attainment, including parental background and the neighborhood where the interviewee grows up. In addition, women born in the earlier cohort benefit more by their fathers’ immigration status than their male counterparts do. However, Taiwanese schooling advances across generations are impressive, whereby the gap in schooling attainment between second-generation immigrants and native Taiwanese is found to decline over time.

大学英语视听说翻转课堂教学模式的构建与实施

“翻转课堂”,即将知识传授和知识内化的顺序颠倒安排。知识传授由学生在课前自主完成,知识内化则放到课堂上实现,即从“课堂授课听讲+课后完成作业”转变为“课前自主学习+课堂协作探究”。从分析当前大学英语视听说的教学现状入手,阐述了以TBLT为基础的英语视听说翻转课堂的构建与实施,并进一步指出这种新型教学模式所带来的优势和挑战,以期为大学英语视听说教学更为合理、有效地利用翻转课堂模式提供一定的借鉴和参考。     

论价值语言

语言有描述语言和价值语言之分。虽然在纯粹的描述语言和纯粹的价值语言之间也存在兼有描述和价值二重性的混合语言,但这并不能作为没有描述语言与价值语言之分野的依据。价值语言有两种功能,一是评价对象,一是指令人。价值语言的类型有评价语言与指令语言、自然价值语言与人工价值语言、肯定性价值语言与否定性价值语言、原生价值语言与派生价值语言之分。价值语言内部还存在四个级别的差异,它们相互之间存在统摄与被统摄的关系,并由此形成一个有内在逻辑关联的有机系统。价值语言在性质上似乎与以真假为值的传统语言逻辑不相容,但实际上,价值语言也一直遵守的是传统语言逻辑。如果我们将传统语言逻辑所注重的真假值改为对错值,那么,传统逻辑就既可在实际上与价值语言相容,也可在名义上和性质上与价值语言相容。     

The source of Black-White inequality in early language acquisition: Evidence from Early Head Start

I compare language learning trajectories for Black and White children over the first 3 years of life using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study (EHSRE) in order to determine the timing and source of divergence in early language skill. Results indicate that that while controlling for racial differences in family background and a measure of the home language environment cannot entirely account for disparities in language acquisition, interactions between age, race and maternal education, and between race and a time-varying measure of the home language environment play a significant role. I show that returns to parental education and the home language environment, in terms of language learning, are higher for White children than their Black peers. Specification checks confirm that these results are robust to alternate definitions of child language and the home language environment, and that no interactions between race, age and any of the other covariates are significant. I discuss possible explanations for these race specific education gradients, including measurement error and test bias. In addition, I address relevant empirical issues in estimating language growth with respect to linguistic inputs and the home language environment.     

论布迪厄的社会语言学——“语言交换的经济”理论

"语言交换的经济"理论是布迪厄社会语言学的核心思想.它主要包括以下几个方面的内容:语言是一种可供交换的经济资本;语言交换有一定的市场与调节规则;语言交换是言说者运用策略与技巧的言语行为;语言关系总是符号权力的关系."语言交换的经济"理论表明,在复杂的社会关系网络中,各种社会主体与有资本形式有很大差异.该理论也揭示了隐藏在言说者背后的诸多复杂社会因素,揭示了语言交换在权力关系的无形操纵下,人们为了利益运用各种策略进行"交换"的真实面目.     

文白之辨——译经史上文质之争的实质

汉译佛经不但对佛教的传播起到重要作用,而且成为中国近代汉语发展的一股原动力。译经伊始,就出现了所谓文质问题。学界倾向性的看法一般认为译经中的文与质实际上是指意译与直译,即译经方法问题。译经史上的文质之争虽与意译、直译有一定关系,而其最关键者乃在于语言上的文与白,以文言翻译则显文,以白话翻译则为质。     

新疆民汉语互学现象的由来和发展

本文从民族迁徙、通婚、经商、入侍、屯田诸方面入手,通过大量民汉接触的史料,对新疆民汉语互学现象产生的基础和条件,对民汉语互学现象的发展过程以及民汉语互学现象对新疆社会经济产生的影响,进行了较为系统的论述,客观地反映出两千多年来汉族与当地民族密切交往的历史以及共同为新疆社会经济发展所做的努力.     

通向《逻辑哲学论》神秘主义的双重路径

《逻辑哲学论》中的神秘主义是前期维特根斯坦的重要思想之一。西方学者对这一思想的具体内容以及它同《逻辑哲学论》中其他思想之间的关系评价不一,而且这些评价都有自身的局限性。事实上,如果从全局的视域来考察《逻辑哲学论》就会发现,通往神秘主义有两条路径:一条是语言哲学的路径;另一条是逻辑哲学的路径。神秘主义是维特根斯坦对有意义的科学命题和缺少意义的逻辑命题进行分析所推导出的一个逻辑结论,它与《逻辑哲学论》中的图像论和逻辑哲学是一个不可分割的整体,这种整体性表明维特根斯坦力图实现经验的自然科学、先验的逻辑学和超验的伦理学的统一。