Indian Journal of Language and Linguistics
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Language Diversity: Perceptions of Students towards Multilingual Instruction in Higher Education Pedagogy under NEP 2020
Get PDFSpeaking multiple languages can take the aplomb at high level. The quality of teaching completely depends on the instruction given by the teacher in the classroom that enable students in acquiring the subject knowledge. Linguistic barrier sometimes occurs when students are taught in the classroom using a language that cannot be understood by the students. It is observed that students from different places get disconnected due to different native languages. In order to overcome such issues that are encountered by the students, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in India has brought a transformative change in the educational landscape, focusing on the importance of multilingualism in higher education. The policy focuses on the use of mother tongue and regional languages as mediums of classroom instruction. Some prior findings suggest that majorly students possess positive attitude towards multilingualism in education, associating it with vitrified comprehension and retention. However, the research also highlights significant concerns that cannot be neglected. Students expressed worries about the practical implementation of multilingual instruction in higher education due to the varying proficiency levels. There are also some significant concerns about the competency of teachers in executing multilingual approach in classroom instruction as it requires training
A Comparative Study of the Linguistic and Other Prejudices in the Selected Works of Margaret Mitchell and Margaret Walker
Get PDFIn this paper, we talk about the representation of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in literary works. Up till the early nineteenth century AAVE was represented by non-native speakers, who were mostly white authors (Minnick, 2004). The approach of these authors towards the dialect is claimed to be derogatory. The linguistic prejudice against AAVE was a result of the social prestige attached not with the language variety but with its speakers, who had their origins in slavery. It was after Harlem Renaissance, when the African American writers started representing themselves that people got to know the real plight of the African Americans through their own stories. These writers also did a fairly authentic representation of the variety used by the African Americans and common people in the American South. Thus, this paper does a comparative analysis of one novel each, of an African-American and a European (White) American Author. It stylistically analyses the text of two authors coming from different racial backgrounds and studies and compares the linguistic features of their dialectal representation of AAE. This research work is a literary survey of data collected that tries to look at the biases for or against the African-American speech community. The works analysed are Walker (1966) by Margaret Walker and Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell. The two authors will also be analysed through the lens of Tajfel’s (1979) “social identity theory” which deals with in-group and out-group racism
Speech-Language Pathologists' views and their approach towards assessment and management of child language disorders in bilingual context: Indian scenario
Get PDFThis study aimed to gain insight into the SLPs' views about bilingualism and the approach toward the assessment and management of bilingual children with language disorders in the Indian context. The survey included a single questionnaire consisting of 31 questions, involving multiple choice questions, open questions, and Likert scales. It elicited information about demographic data of SLPs, the history of their language and use; SLPs' views about bilingualism concerning clinical practice and theoretical aspects; and SLPs' professional practice and caseload. The survey was conducted in online mode using the google forms platform and it was circulated through e-mail and social media platforms with the link to the online google forms questionnaire. A sample of 33 professionals across (n=29 from urban & n=4 from rural backgrounds) India took part in the study. The education level of the professionals varied from bachelor's to Postdoctoral degrees. The professionals' work experience ranged from one year to eight years. Most of the professionals except three worked at second-tier city levels. This survey was designed to examine current practices for the assessment and management of language disorders in bilingual children. Heterogeneity in the views and approach towards bilingualism was observed. Consensus is needed among the professionals who are practicing regarding the assessment and management of bilingual children. Professionals' mixed views towards bilingualism might be addressed by initial and ongoing continuing education focused on typical bilingual development and second language acquisition
Linguistic Divide in between self and other: A Critical Analysis of Standardisation of Language: A North Kerala Village Study
Get PDFThis study examines the linguistic experiences of three caste categories in a community in North Kerala in an effort to comprehend how caste is embodied in language. It examines how linguistic inequality is caused by language standardisation and how people who speak non-standard languages deal with the issue without forsaking their mother tongue. Through a comparative comparison of three caste groups, including the scheduled caste (SC), other backward class (OBC), and the general category (GEN), the study was carried out in Thachankunnu in Kerala (GEN). The participants' direct experiences with the educational institutions are used to analyse the causes and effects of linguistic discrimination. The theoretical frame of the register has been used as the basis of analysis. The study found that participants experienced job loss and linguistic inequality in class participation, demonstrating the existence of language-based discrimination. In various contexts, dialect shifting is regarded as a means of concealing the social status and identity of vernacular language speakers. Identification of the value of mother tongue, language diversity, and resistance to deprivation all play essential roles in achieving language uniformity
Working Memory and Language Aptitude in Relation to the Retention of New Vocabulary Items among Iranian ELF Learners
Get PDFLanguage aptitude studies have recently been noticed to develop into a modern interdisciplinary research topic with a great enthusiasm related to educational psychology, second language learning, and cognitive neuroscience, especially with regard to working memory. Moreover, because in the process of teaching and learning, lexical knowledge has a leading role which may be touched by the differences that are observed in the degree of the working memory and the learner’s aptitude. This study was organized to explore the significance of the difference between the working memory and language aptitude among Iranian foreign language learners in relation to the retention of new vocabulary items. For this end, 47 Iranian EFL learners studying at grade nine were randomly chosen from different high schools in different districts in Saravan, Iran. In this study, a LLAMA test was applied to measure the participant’s language aptitude, an N-back test to measure working memory and Vocabulary Knowledge Scale for measuring knowledge of vocabulary. Mann-Whitney U test was used to answer the research questions since the assumptions of parametric tests did not met. The results revealed that learners who had a higher working memory and higher language aptitude had similarly better performances in the retention of new vocabulary items. The present investigation offers some speculative and performative visions for not only teachers, but also researchers mainly involved in the studies of language and mind
Semantic Analysis of Swahili Action Verb “To cut”: A Natural Semantic Metalanguage Approach
Get PDFThis research paper aims to analyze the Swahili action verb “to cut” within the framework of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) theory. The study also seeks to identify other Swahili verbs that share similar semantic correlations. No research has been conducted on the verb “to cut” using the NSM model in Swahili. Therefore, this research is crucial in bridging the gap in the existing literature. Swahili holds a significant position as one of the official languages in Kenya, alongside English, making it prevalent in the region. To achieve the research objectives, a qualitative-descriptive research design methodology was employed. Native Swahili speakers were involved in the study, and selected texts were utilized as data sources. Through self-examination and careful analysis, a total of 22 Swahili verbs were identified to have comparable semantic correlates to the verb “to cut.” These verbs include kata, tahirisha, pogoa, tema, katisha, nyofoa, chuna, vunja, kuhasiwa, tenganisha, nyoa, keketa, chanja, punguza, fyeka, pasua, chana, chinja, katika, gawanya, chomoa, and ng’oa. The findings of this study reveal that the Swahili word for “cutting” is derived from the original meaning of “doing” or “happening.” In this context, X represents the agent, Y represents the patient, and Z represents the instrument used in the action of cutting. By exploring the semantic relationships of the verb “to cut” and identifying other verbs that share similar patterns, this research sheds light on the versatility and richness of the Swahili language verbs
Linguistic Imperialism: A Study of its Impact on the Assamese Language in the Greater Sivasagar District of Assam
Get PDFThe state of Assam in India is the home to the people who speak Assamese, an Indo-Aryan language. Assamese is the native tongue of the people of Assam and the official language of the state of Assam. Based on linguistic standards and conventions, Assamese is a vital language for writing. However, when we attempt to see the language from the viewpoint of native speakers' attitudes towards the language, we find that the language is steadily deteriorating among the linguistic community. This deterioration is caused by Linguistic Imperialism. Linguistic Imperialism is a phenomenon in which a dominant language attempts to weaken other languages both socially and politically and in a theoretically founded way. The impact of the dominance is increasing day by day due to which a negative attitude has increased significantly among the native speakers of Assamese who considers English as superior to their mother tongue. Negative attitude is one of the reasons of language endangerment and we cannot deny the possibility of endangerment of the Assamese language in the far future if the dominance of English goes on increasing. History is evident that languages with a huge literature and population got extinct because of the reasons like negative attitude, dominance of other languages, decreasing rate of fluent native speakers, examples of such languages are Sanskrit, Hebrew, etc. This paper tries to analyse the negative attitude which is gradually increasing in the Assamese language and ways to strengthen it by reverting the dominance of Linguistic Imperialism by languages like English and Hindi
The cognitive cost of deriving implicature: A reaction-time study
Get PDFIf A asks B “Do you like berries?”, and B replies “I like some berries,” B would infer that A does not like all kinds of berries. Such inference derived by negating the stronger alternative (all) is known as the scalar implicature (SI). Earlier experimental studies showed that computation of SI requires additional processing time compared to literal interpretation, and hence they argued that derivation of implicature is cost-demanding. Some recent experiments, however, found that derivation of implicature does not require any additional processing cost. The present study re-examines the comprehension of implicature using a Truth Value Judgement task. The hypothesis of this study is that the computation of implicature is as immediate as the computation of literal meaning if the sentences are preceded by prior context and communicative intent as in real conversation. The study uses a two-between-subject design where 32 native English speakers were required to read a ‘context’, followed by a ‘question’ and an ‘answer’. The context followed by the question either demanded the lower-bounded ‘literal’ meaning or the upper-bounded ‘pragmatic’ meaning of the under-informative answers which is the implicature. The result indicates that when a prior context and a clear communicative intent guide the hearer toward the intended meaning, both literal and pragmatic meaning comprehension is immediate. The result certainly indicates against the Default Inference accounts, but it also opposes the Literal-first hypothesis of the Contextualist school. The result strongly supports the Constraint-Based account of implicature derivation and brings additional support to the studies which argue for immediate implicature computation
Bilingual Palestinians' Attitudes towards Code-Switching
Get PDFPrestige is a matter that concerns everyone as an attempt to follow the high class. The way people speak is one of the most noticeable factors that are used to determine if they are prestigious or not. Code-switching helps to create a new level of prestigious speech which is what we are trying to test in this study in the community of Hebron-Palestine. The purpose of this study is to investigate participants’ attitudes towards Code-switching (whether it is prestigious or not) and what reasons led to these attitudes. Data were collected from 80 members of the society from different educational levels and different age categories using a questionnaire that was sent to participants online. The study revealed that that code-switching is considered prestigious and it reflects the level of education of people in the society. Society turns out to believe that code-switching is a sign of prestige after the dramatic growth of the use of social networking. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed. Researchers hope that this study will help other linguists who are trying to search in this field
Desire Predicates in Presence and Absence of the Light Verbs: Addressing their Embedded Clausal Structure in Bangla
Get PDFThe current study focuses on an intriguing dichotomy seen in the Bangla (Bengali: Indo-Aryan) language, which centers on the desire predicates expressed by the term itʃtʃʰe ‘desire’. In the Bangla language, the desire predicate itʃtʃʰe can be used independently or in conjunction with the light verb hɔwa ‘happen’ to form the NV conjunct itʃtʃʰe hɔwa, indicating the occurrence of the desire. According to the scholarly works of Dasgupta (1989), Chatterjee (2014), and Butt (2010) the Bangla language exhibits the presence of composite verb formations, whereby a nonverb is combined with a verb. These formations involve the occurrence of a light verb with a noun, adjective, or adposition. The primary focus of this study will be on the differentiation between the bare verb itʃtʃʰe ‘desire’ and its usage in conjunction with the light verb forming itʃtʃʰe hɔwa. The distinction between them pertains to their embeddability qualities, namely the clausal complements they choose