试论民族语言的文化学意义

民族语言是文化的载体 ,又是民族文化的表现形式之一 ,是一定民族的精神创造活动的结果 ,揭示其潜在的文化内涵 ,具有十分重要的文化学意义。本文只撷取其中的几个侧面 ,进行尝试性论述。     

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.     

Identity Formation in Children and Young People in Open Adoptions from Out-of-home Care in New South Wales,Australia

Semi-structured interviews were used to explore identity development for nine adoptees (aged 9–23 years) who were adopted by their foster carers in New South Wales, Australia. Adoptions were open, with court-ordered face-to-face contact with birth families. Findings suggest that participants had healthy adoptive identities, with coherent and meaningful narratives about their life histories. Adoption provided a sense of security and belonging. Openness provided information to build a self-narrative and encouraged discussion of adoption issues within adoptive families. Adoptive parents were critical in helping children understand their adoption and facilitating direct contact with birth families, thus laying foundations for positive identity development.     

Contact between birth parents and children in kinship care in a sample from Spain

Within the context of kinship care, the main objectives of this work are to study the characteristics of contact between foster children and their birth parents, and their relationship with key variables of fostering, the children and their kinship caregivers. The sample included 189 children from Spain and their kinship families. A semi‐structured placement interview and two scales relating to the child–caregiver relationship and child's psychological adjustment were used with the kinship families. The results revealed a significant percentage of foster children who had no family contact. Various visit types, frequencies and durations were described. Kinship care with contact, compared with placements without contact, was frequently characterized by the absence of professional supervision, and an affectionate child–caregiver relationship; moreover, children with contact were perceived to have fewer serious behaviour and socio‐emotional problems and a greater probability of family reunification. The regression analysis showed that the main predictors for how caregivers assessed contact were the children's emotional reaction during visits and the quality of the relationship between the kinship families and the birth parents. These results suggest the need for further research about contact, which will certainly have a major impact on professional intervention with these families.     

Strengthening Purity: Moral Purity as a Mediator of Direct and Extended Cross-Group Friendships on Sexual Prejudice

The present research investigated whether enhanced perceptions of moral purity drive the effects of intergroup cross-group friendships on the intentions to interact with homosexuals. High-school students (N = 639) reported their direct and extended cross-group friendships with homosexuals as well as their beliefs regarding the moral character of the sexual minority. Participants further reported their desire to interact with homosexuals in the future. Results showed that both face-to-face encounters and extended contact with homosexuals increased their perceived moral purity, which in turn fostered more positive behavioral intentions. Results further revealed the specific role of moral purity in this sense, as differential perceptions along other moral domains (autonomy and community) had no mediation effects on behavioral tendencies toward homosexuals. The importance of these findings for improving intergroup relations is discussed, together with the importance of integrating research on intergroup contact and morality.     

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 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.     

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。     

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。     

语言接触的诸因素分析——以新疆民汉语言接触为例

文章依托语言接触理论,以新疆民汉语言接触为例,从语内和语外因素入手,全面分析了诸多因素对语言接触的影响。语外音素包括政治目标、经贸往来、文化交流、移民杂居、战争征服。语内因素认为,语言是社会发展的产物,是开放调适的体系,是文化发展的赁藉,是动态发展的机制,是扩张竞争的主导,是共同区域的要素,是接触融洽的必然。