4,025 research outputs found
Mixed-methods approaches to the study of language attitudes
Full text linkThe use of more than one method is advisable in the study of any aspect of language as it allows for a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues and problems than the use of any one method on its own (see e.g. Creswell and Plano Clark, 2007; Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2009). It has long been recognised that mixed methods research is particularly important where language attitudes are concerned (see e.g. Agheyisi and Fishman 1970). Ideally, all three types of methods that can be used to investigate language attitudes should be employed – that is, direct and indirect methods as well as content analysis of the societal treatment of languages/varieties. Yet if this is not possible, at least a combination of two methods is recommended because, as Ryan et al. (1987: 1076) note, ‘[t]o use only one method […] is to be guilty of misunderstanding the nature of language attitudes.’This chapter will introduce readers to the key issues that should be borne in mind when conducting mixed methods research – including, for instance, the order in which particular methods should be used and why, the nature of the required participant sample(s), and issues pertaining to the analysis of data resulting from different methods.These key issues will be illustrated by means of two case studies. The first case study (Kircher 2014) was conducted to investigate attitudes towards French and English in the Quebec context, and it made use of a matched-guise experiment and a questionnaire. The reason for choosing these was that direct and indirect methods often yield quite different results. This is by no means an issue of relative methodological merit but is due to the fact that they simply produce results at different levels of analysis: they ‘lay claim to quite different layers of experience and as such manifest sometimes quite contradictory, yet highly rational, attitude constellations’ (Ryan et al. 1987: 1076). This case study thus demonstrates that using mixed-methods approaches thus leads to a deeper understanding of language attitudes as part of larger social processes (cf. Cargile et al. 1994) in a manner that no one method on its own could do. The second case study (Hawkey 2018) examined the situation of societal bilingualism of French and Catalan in Northern Catalonia, focusing on attitudes towards Catalan. It made use of direct elicitation methods in the form of qualitative interview data, and analysis of the societal treatment of Catalan by means of variable analysis. The combination of micro-level practices (in the form of variable language use, providing examples of the conative component of attitudes) and macro-level data revealed in semi-structured interviews offers a comprehensive account of the multifaceted nature of attitudes in a given sociolinguistic context. The combination of direct elicitation methods and societal treatment analysis allows for a broader representation of the attitudinal and ideological landscape of a specific language community than could be afforded by the use of one method alone. <br/
Reading Ruth : towards a postmodernist, literary and womanist analysis
No full textBibliography: leaves 132-140.This dissertation examines the book of Ruth from a postmodemist, literary and womanist perspective. The main methodology is postmodemist literary criticism, but it employs intertextual and autobiographical approaches as well. Chapter 1 is an exploration of the plot of Ruth and reveals that in order for the end goal of the plot to be achieved "emptiness has to return to fullness." It is shown that Ruth's action (her decision to return with Naomi) is the catalyst that begins the process that ultimately leads to the denouement of the plot. The fact that it is the two women, Ruth and Naomi, who drive the plot forward, indicates that the Book of Ruth is a woman's story. Chapter 2 demonstrates that the significance of narrative time for any literary analysis lies in the fact that the amount of time allowed for the retelling of the events rarely corresponds to the time it took for the events to happen. Since Ruth is a short story, the choice of what to tell, what to omit as well as how long to dwell on details are indeed significant. In other words it is shown that literary time is only spent on those aspects which are crucial for the advancement of the narrative. Since the reader's main goal is to see how the conflicts are resolved, the literary time spent on the resolution of the conflicts is an indication of where the weight of the story needs to lie. In this case, it is certainly with Ruth and Naomi judging from the amount of time spent on dialogues between the two women. They are therefore the ones that contribute to the resolution of the conflicts of the plot. Chapter 3 reveals that in the book of Ruth the narrative voice or the perspective of attitudes, conceptions and worldview are those of a woman. The fact that the book of Ruth is named after a woman; the fact that at the very outset all the males in the story die and it is the women that take over the narrative; the fact that in the end the women of Bethlehem declare that Ruth is better to Naomi than seven sons are just some of the reasons that substantiate the argument that the narrative voice in the book of Ruth was that of a woman. It is also shown that this narrative voice (whether overt or covert) subverts gender and ethnic expectations. Chapter 4 outlines the way in which biblical characters are portrayed. The subsections of chapter 4 deal with the characterisation of each major character: Naomi, Boaz, and Ruth. Chapter 4 is the longest chapter since it is difficult to evaluate characterisation without engaging the other facets of literary criticism as well, such as plot and dialogue
Montreal’s multilingual migrants: Social identities and language attitudes after the proposition of the Quebec Charter of Values
No full textPrevious research by the author showed that at the beginning of the 21st century, multilingual migrants in Quebec’s urban centre Montreal shared the same attitudinal trends as the city’s non-migrants – most likely as a result of their shared, civic identity. However, these findings originate from a time at which the provincial government was strongly propagating a civic (rather than an ethnic) national identity. Then, in 2013, the provincial government proposed the Quebec Charter of Values, a bill putting forward the prohibition of religious symbols in the public sector. The Charter caused much controversy and was seen by many migrants as an act of ethnocentrism. In this chapter, Ruth Kircher presents the findings of a new, questionnaire-based study that investigates whether the Charter has caused changes in first- and second-generation immigrants’ social identities and in their attitudes towards French, the province’s official language, compared to English, the primary language of the rest of Canada and North America at large
SMiLE Revisited
No full textThe SMiLE Revisited project provides new analyses of the North Frisian data originally collected as part of the Sustaining Minoritized Languages in Europe (SMiLE) project, examining these data (transcripts of 87 interviews) from new perspectives. The re-analyses focus on three key aspects: (1) the terminology used to refer to North Frisians and their language - a comparison of language community, academics, and policy makers; (2) attitudes towards North Frisian - a corpus-assisted discourse study comparing traditional, new, and non-speakers of this minority language; and (3) perceptions of North Frisian in the linguistic landscape.
A report on the original SMiLE project — authored by Femmy Admiral, Lena Terhart, and Nils Langer — can be found here: https://folklife.si.edu/smile/north-frisian
The co-investigators for the SMiLE Revisited project are Ruth Kircher (European Centre for Minority Issues), Samantha M. Litty (Europa-Universität Flensburg), and Lena Terhart (Nordfriisk Instituut)
Dr. Ruth Westheimer: Sexually Speaking
No full textRuth Westheimer (born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth, is a globally recognized psychosexual therapist, media personality, author, radio, television talk show host, and Holocaust survivor. Her media career began in 1980 with the radio show Sexually Speaking, which continued until 1990. She has hosted several series on the Lifetime Channel and other cable television networks from 1984 to 1993 and is the author of 45 books on sex and sexuality
Ruth Rewald 1987
No full textMaterials relating to the discovery of the formerly unknown author Ruth Rewald by German scholar Dirk Krueger in 1987. Krueger also found book by Rewald, which was given to the library.Dirk Krueger, 1988.Jewish children book author, born June 1906 in Berlin, deported to Auschwitz in July 1942.digitize
Ruth Stone, 12th Annual ODU Literary Festival
No full textRuth Stone is the author of six books or chapbooks of poetry: In an Iridescent Time, 1960; Topography and Other Poems, 1971; Unknown Messages, 1973; Cheap, 1975; American Milk, 1986; Second-Hand Coat: New and Selected Poems, 1987. Three new books will be published this year: Who is the Widow\u27s Muse?; The Yasha Poems, and The Solitary. We were very fortunate that Ruth Stone taught creative writing as a visiting faculty member at Old Dominion University during 1989-90
An Introduction to Language Attitudes Research
No full textBy providing an introduction to language attitude theory, this chapter serves as a reference point for the subsequent chapters. The chapter begins by considering attitudes in general (their formation, functions, and components) before focusing specifically on language attitudes. The chapter examines the link between language and social identity, the notion of language attitudes as reflections of social mores and the related issue of language attitude change, and the difference between (and inter-relatedness of) language attitudes and ideologies. The chapter then discusses the implications and consequences of language attitudes at the micro as well as the macro level. Subsequently, the chapter covers the key individual and socio-structural factors that influence language attitudes, and it discusses the evaluative dimensions of language attitudes (and how they are connected to the aforementioned socio-structural factors). The chapter introduces the three types of methods by means of which language attitudes can be investigated – that is, the analysis of the societal treatment of language, direct methods, and indirect methods – and the key overarching issues in language attitudes research which are covered in the book (i.e. regarding different community types, different data types, priming, and mixed-methods approaches). The aims of the book, and its structure and contents, are explained
AHC interview with Ruth B. Mandel
No full textMay 31, 2012Ruth B. Mandel was born Ruth Blumenstock in Vienna, Austria.Austrian Heritage CollectionRuth B. Mandel is the author of the book 'Jewish women in politics'.Digital recordin
Letter from Ruth Takagi to Mrs. Margaret Waegell, April 1943
No full textHandwritten correspondence from Ruth Takagi to Margaret Waegell discussing Takagi's family and working conditions in the camp. Takagi discusses an upcoming move and teaching position at the Tule Lake incarceration camp.The Japanese American Archival Collection documents the people, places, and daily life of Japanese Americans, primarily those who lived in the once thriving community of pre-war Florin in the Sacramento region, as well as the conditions in American incarceration camps during World War II. The approximately 7,000 original items include personal and official letters, photographs, diaries, arts and crafts, newsletters, textiles, camps artifacts, yearbooks and other publications
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