Design of ISD-1: an instrument for social diagnosis in care homes for older persons*

This article describes the design process and main features of an instrument developed for use in the specialist area of intervention in care homes for older persons. The essential aim of ISD-1 (instrument for social diagnosis) is to permit the correct formulation of social diagnoses and to standardise and define the professional language used by social workers. Its content has been organised into 4 dimensions of social diagnosis, divided into 15 sub-dimensions containing 83 diagnostic categories. This work was performed in Spain, in the 24 care homes of the Madrid Social Care Agency of the Community of Madrid, involving the participation of the 40 social workers practising in these centres. ISD-1 is an easily understood and used tool, of potential use for social workers practising in care homes for older persons and capable of being adapted for use in other institutional environments, as well as being capable of adaptation and translation for its application in other countries.     

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.     

The dynamics of citizen sociolinguistics

The objective of this paper is to explore the dynamics of citizen science (CS) in sociolinguistics or citizen sociolinguistics, i.e. the engagement of non‐professionals in doing sociolinguistic research. Based on a CS‐study undertaken in Norway where we engaged young people as citizen scientists to explore linguistic diversity, this paper aims to clarify the definition of citizen sociolinguistics; it seeks to advance the discussion of the advantages of CS and of how CS can contribute to sociolinguistics; it also addresses the opposite: how sociolinguistics can contribute to the general field of citizen science; and it discusses the challenges of a CS‐methodology for sociolinguistic research, epistemologically and ethically, as well as in terms of recruitment, quality control and possible types of sociolinguistic tasks and topics. To meet the needs of society and societal challenges of today there is a need to develop methods and establish scientific acceptance for the relevance of public engagement in research. This paper argues that citizen sociolinguistics has the potential to advance the societal impact of sociolinguistics by constructing a dialogue between ‘the academy’ and ‘the citizens’; citizen sociolinguistics relies on and encourages participatory citizen agency, provides research experience, stimulates curiosity, further research, public understanding of science and (socio)linguistic awareness, and encourages linguistic stewardship.     

Strategies and cues adolescents use to assess the age of an online stranger

A common risk among adolescents is sexual solicitation, in which an adolescent is asked to provide sexual information, engage in sexual talk, or in sexual activities. Although scholars increasingly address this topic from an intrapersonal perspective, there is little attention to factors of language use and message content. In two focus group studies, we investigated whether adolescent girls consider themselves capable of assessing whether an online stranger is an adult or a peer, the extent to which adolescent girls actually succeed in making this assessment, the strategies they apply to do so, and the content- and language-related cues focused on. Our findings suggest that most of the adolescent girls are confident in their ability to assess whether the stranger is a peer or an adult with possible sexual intentions. However, we also found that only 43% were able to correctly make this assessment. Most of the adolescents seem to apply the passive strategy of uncertainty reduction: They scan the profile page of the stranger, check contact information, and the profile picture. They may choose to apply the interactive strategy to find out more about the online stranger. Important content-related cues that alarm adolescent girls are: ignoring personal questions, showing an exaggerated amount of interest, acting as a friend, and being sexually oriented. Language cues mentioned related to word usage, abbreviations, sentence length, and tone.     

英汉谚语的文化差异及其交际策略

语言是人们进行交流的工具,亦是记载文化的符号系统,语言和文化相互影响又相互制约。谚语作为语言的一种特殊形式,亦承载着传递文化的作用。英语谚语和汉语谚语作为两种不同语言的瑰宝,亦表现出不同文化间的差异。对于英汉谚语的文化差异应当精准的翻译和应用,加强彼此文化的理解。     

优化国际语言服务环境背景下关于大学英语写作教学的若干反思

国际语言服务的水平直接体现了一个城市乃至国家的国际化程度,关系到一个城市或国家的国际形象和国际竞争力。随着中国与国际社会的交流日深,对既有自己的专业又具备一定的英语综合运用能力的复合型人才的需求也随之增加。他们不但要有一定的英语口头表达能力,书面表达能力也面临着新的挑战和要求。但我国高校的大学英语课普遍对写作环节重视不足,导致学生的写作基础薄弱。文章分析了大学英语写作过程中存在的普遍性问题并提出了相应的对策。     

英语口头输出与书面输出的差异性对比分析——一项基于构建语言模因语料库的研究

以50名非英语专业大学生为对象,在构建同一语言模因语料库的前提下,对英语口头输出能力和书面输出能力影响的差异性进行了相关调查研究,并用SPSS17.0对数据进行分析。实验结果和访谈表明,构建同一语言模因语料库进行语言输入,对英语口头和书面输出有不同程度的影响,对书面输出的影响较口头输出的影响显著。同时在实验研究发现的基础上,分析了构建同一语言模因语料库对英语口头输出和书面输出影响存在差异性的原因所在,并提出使两者均衡协调发展的对策。     

英语教育对蒙古族大学生的民族认同和语言态度的影响研究

以30名蒙古族英语专业大学生作为研究对象,开展了为期两年的英语绘本教学跟踪调查,对比分析他们在英语学习过程中的民族认同和语言态度的变化,探讨英语教育对于蒙古族大学生民族认同和语言态度的影响及二者的相关性。     

Attachment Disturbances Delay Language Acquisition in Internationally Adopted Children

Cross-sectional research on internationally adopted children has indicated an association between early attachment disturbances and language deficits. Raaska et al. (2013 Raaska, H., Elovainio, M., Sinkkonen, J., Stolt, S., Jalonen, I., Matomäki, J., … Lapinleimu, H. (2013). Adopted children's language difficulties and their relation to symptoms of reactive attachment disorder: FinAdo study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(3), 152–160.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) have speculated that this relationship is likely bidirectional. In an attempt to elucidate the causal relationship between these two risk factors, the attachment disturbances and language skills of 44 internationally adopted children were assessed in a cross-lagged structural equation model. Greater attachment disturbances at wave 1 predicted less gain in language by wave 2. In contrast, language at wave 1 was not predictive of attachment disturbances at wave 2. These results suggest that early attachment problems may present an important risk for later language development and should be an immediate and primary focus of post-adoptive intervention for families adopting internationally.     

Fighting words? Joning as conflict talk and identity performance among African American preadolescents

This study examines how preadolescent African American students in Washington, D.C., used a linguistic practice called ‘joning,’ a style of verbal play similar to ritual insults, in peer interactions. Sociolinguists have focused on how children socialize each other into vernacular styles appropriate for peer group use but often assume that they disalign with social and linguistic norms for classroom behavior. Drawing from a nine‐month ethnographic study that the author conducted in an after‐school program, this article analyzes the structure and function of joning as a vernacular style of African American Vernacular English and its uses in constructing classroom identities. Joning often facilitated student learning, but it was perceived as a socially and physically risky linguistic practice because of its uses as conflict talk in the local community. Focusing on preadolescence as a key stage of language socialization, this article shows how minority students modify peer‐learned linguistic practices to pursue academic success on their own terms.