JoLIE 15:3/2022
WORLD LANGUAGES: PEOPLE, MIGRATION AND CULTURES - SHIFTING PARADIGMS IN THE 21st CENTURY. NEW LITERACIES
Alcina Sousa 
University of Madeira, Funchal & ULICES, Lisbon, Portugal
Ana Alexandra Silva
University of Évora; CEL-UÉ, Évora, Portugal
World languages: people, migration and cultures - shifting paradigms in the 21st century. New literacies emphasises theoretical-methodological frameworks describing the way linguistic systems work by drawing on users’ perspective while bearing in mind that linguistic productions and language change in natural languages operate with various extralinguistic dimensions and contexts (Baym 2015; Collins, Baynham, & Slembrouk 2009; De Meo et al. 2014). This desideratum, in the scope of a pluricentric approach (Batoréo, & Casadinho 2009, Silva et al. 2011) featured by lingua-cultural identity studies, is only possible by highlighting this relationship with various social and cultural dimensions (Brekhus 2015; Extra et al. 2009), such as, peoples’ migration moves, with their communicative ethno-styles, and their language contact has evidenced new and other linguistic uses (Canagarajah 2017; Ellero 2010; Hickey 2010; Holm 2004). It is a cross-disciplinary volume, addressing core issues such as standardisation, language contact, globalisation (Collins, Baynham, & Slembrouk 2009), plurilingualism, dialects, language education in conflict zones, in translocal/transcultural spaces, and intercultural communication (Lustig, & Koester 2013) in European languages (with reference to Kachru’s inner and outer circle). Despite turning the focus onto English and the Portuguese languages, and their varieties being shaped at the turn of the new millennium onto/from different continents, it is meant to open the study to other languages, for example, German and Italian (Osório 2018), different uses and linguistic topics, discursive and pragmatic strategies (Almeida 2019; Fraser 2010). It provides a forum for discussing language diversity and change within a selection of languages not frequently gathered in one publication, for instance Angolan Portuguese (Gaspar et al. 2012; Osório 2022), or the Italian language for migrants (Vedovelli 2013, 2017).
This special issue brings together a group of scholars on the much-debated issue of global languages in the contemporary (Dovchin, & Canagarajah 2019) ever-shifting communicative paradigms[1] (Bowe, Martin, & Manns 2017; Osório, & Nkollo 2015; Osório 2018; Sousa, & Osório 2020) gathering diverse but complementary context in the study of language, following, for instance, Larina’s contention (2015) that culture-specific communicative styles deserve a framework for interpreting linguistic and cultural idiosyncrasies (Wierzbicka 2009; Samovar et al. 2013).
It extends and illustrates some of the tenets debated in the last decades, shortly brought forth in the World’s major languages (Comrie 1990:ix): “every human language is a manifestation of our species’ linguistic faculty and any human language may provide an important contribution to our understanding of language as a general phenomenon”. The papers shared by the set of contributors of this JoLIE special issue are, thus, intended to share their current research about interesting facts about their research on language(s). It would be impossible to address the issues often dealt in such a short number of pages, notably: the number of languages spoken all over the world and their distribution, language families and genetic classification, social interaction of languages (i.e., global languages, language contact and diversity), migrations, post-conflict societies, post-colonial languages, or even linguistic cosmopolitanism (Salazar 2010, Sonntag 2015), language maintenance, among others. Therefore, it addresses global languages particularly emphasizing the relation between different language productions and the new (epistemological, social and cultural) paradigms of the 19th century throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. There is, thus, a list of references / research papers written by several academics to provide evidence for the underlying theoretical-methodological background of this publication, with reference to Portuguese, English, Italian and German.
The first contribution is entitled “Unity and diversity in Angolan Portuguese - a pluricentric approach”, by Marçalo and Silva (University of Évora, Portugal). The paper addresses the conflict between national languages and Portuguese in the Angolan society. The latter being the official language is, nonetheless, influenced by the first from a linguistic perspective. The linguistic environment in Angola is clearly a multilingual one; consequently, language interference is a common phenomenon among the languages spoken in Angola. The authors surveyed specific features of Angolan Portuguese from a phonetic, phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic and semantic points of view to provide evidence of an emergent standard in the country.
The volume continues with the joint contribution by Lima-Hernandes (University of São Paulo, Brazil) and Marçalo (University of Évora, Portugal) with the challenging title “Intensifying elative periphrases in European languages: Criterion of pluricentrism?”. It revisits Meillet’s work, arguing that autonomous words in the sentence could, if submitted to a grammaticalisation process, assume functions of a grammatical element. However, Meillet did not imagine that the process he has described could be at the service in other linguistic changes. The focus of this study is to show a new approach to pluricentric languages, this time, based on the study of elative constructions.
“A world without translation: the monolingual utopia” by Neves (New University of Lisbon) claims that language is essentially diverse and it is a human feature to contact with other language systems. Only after the rise of nationalism, in the 19th century, was the monolingual utopia, as he calls it, introduced in societies, giving space to unhealthy attitudes towards language diversity. The scholar also argues that the so-called monolingual utopia is a source of tension, division and cognitive poverty. In fact, recognising multilingualism and diversity is perceived as a step towards solving dystopia.
“The pluricentrism of the Portuguese language and radio broadcast: some reflexions about the OMLP – O mundo da língua portuguesa (RADIOLAVIDE)”, by Mendes Cintado (Pablo de Olavid University, Seville, Spain), gives an account of the above-mentioned radio broadcast and its role as the first Portuguese language program in the Andalusian capital. Its objectives have been devised to enhance ongoing linguistic, cultural, artistic and musical exchange among the university community and the public with affinities with the Portuguese language and the CPLP (Comunidade de Países de Língua Portuguesa / Portuguese Speaking Countries). The researcher suggests the use of technology to develop communicative skills in a second language learning context by highlighting the pluricentric feature and internalisation of the Portuguese Language.
Sousa (University of Madeira, Portugal) discusses the extent to which linguistic cosmopolitanism has been featured in the multiple communicative events displayed in Madeira (Ives 2010, Salazar 2010, Janssens, & Steyaert 2014, Teixeira 2016, Moniz et al. 2021). The article is entitled “Voyage and cosmopolitanism: the long relationship between Portuguese and English in Madeira” and advocates that language is perceived not only as a means of communication there, but also as a marker of cultural identity (Leech, & Larina 2014; Larina 2015). The empirical study of diachronic sort presented by the researcher unveils multiple uses of the English language in Madeira across domains (Sousa 2009a-b, 2014, 2018). Allegedly a monolingual community, Madeira stands out in the Portuguese speaking context with lingua-cultural identity specificities by incorporating English into the Portuguese language for long and having a quired a socio-cognitive and pragmatic stance in several walks of life. The selected corpus also includes evidence gathered from local newspapers issued between 1880 and 1915 and written in English.
Hinner (TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany) discusses “The pitfalls of perceived shared meaning when using English as the lingua franca (Seidelhofer 2005) in international business discourse: a conceptual analysis”. These pitfalls are the result of an assumption of shared meaning which is likely to occur when at least one of the interlocutors is not a native speaker of English. In these situations, one should expect some degree of misunderstanding. The author also argues that identity can influence perception, thus discussing self-image and self-esteem as playing a role in perceptual differences. Cultural taxonomies are used to illustrate the way cultural dimensions can be used to identify potential misunderstandings.
Horníčková and Stranovská (Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia) share their views on “Reading competence in the second foreign language and its measurement”, as complex cognitive and metacognitive activities along with affective and social dimensions are triggered when speakers/learners and readers interact with a text, yet there has not been any consensus as to the measurement of these dimensions so far. The focus of the paper is based on the method of assessing reading competence in the light of the Schulz method. The research study not only aims at the analysis of suitable methods for assessing students’ reading competence in a second foreign (additional) language, but also the definition of indicators of reading comprehension quality.
“Foreign writers in Italian. A non-post-colonial literature” by Ferrari’s (Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy) delves into two historical phenomena which have contributed to the linguistic and cultural hybridisation, notably, colonialism and migration. The author approaches the postcolonial cultural phenomena, with evidence from the American literatures (USA and Canada, Francophonie in Quebec, the Hispanic American literature) up to the recent Anglo-Indian literatures, emphasizing cultural creativity indebted to the structure of the language. Recognizing that Italian is not well spread as a post-colonial literary language, or even not as strong as to its cultural impact, one should admit that the Italian post-colonial literature is misrepresented. Indeed, there is high quality literary production by “foreign” authors, often globally referred to as “migrant literature”. Another paper addressing the Italian language, “The role of dialects in the integration of migrants in Italy”, by Monica Mosca (Università di Scienze Gastronomiche – Pollenzo, IT, and Uniwersytet Wroclawski – Instytut Studiów Klasycznych, Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych), extends the discussion by Ferrari’s claims by discussing language and culture as the most meaningful tools to foster migrants’ integration in the hosting communities. Italy, however, has a standard language coexisting with rather differentiated regional dialects, which can raise some communicative obstacles to any newly arrived migrant. The researcher shows some data on both the national language and the dialects as perceived by migrants (Mirzaei, Roohani, & Esmaeili 2012).
Čapek (Universität Pardubice, Czeck Republic) presents “Die Reflexion der kolonialen Geschichte und der Rassismusdebatte im gegenwärtigen deutschen Wortschatz”. The author reflects upon the short, yet racist and hierarchical ruling model, with reference to the German colonial history. In his view there is an economic model of exploitation still evidenced. The colonial influence can be identified in street names and many lexical terms and concepts of the German language, yet with negative connotations. The researcher provides an extensive list of words or phrases possibly with a post-colonial underpinning, therefore, potentially considered unfriendly, rude, xenophobic, or even racist.
Last but not least, Teodora Popescu (1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia, Romania) contributes a study on “Social realities reflected in proverbs: A comparative approach to Romanian and English cognitive metaphors in proverbs”, which emphasises the relevance of cultural conceptualisations of proverbs in English and Romanian, as well as the way in which they contribute to a better understanding of societal norms, behaviours and expectations. The proverbs analysed were clustered around four key areas of human experience, namely: time (4 categories), work (9 categories), money (6 categories) and man vs woman (11 categories). The author identifies both similarities and differences between the two cultures, English and Romanian and provides an interpretation from an anthropological perspective.
This special volume also includes three book reviews. The first book review by Nunes on Tagg’s Exploring Digital Communication: Language in Action (2015) sheds some light on the central role of language in digital communication as a multimodal phenomenon. Concerns, issues and fears related to online communication in contemporary society constitute the starting point for a better understanding of synchronous and asynchronous language use (Osório 2003).
The second one addresses Stroud and Prinsloo’s Language Literacy and Diversity: Moving Words (2015) in eleven chapters accurately reviewed by Jasmins. All things considered the book asks the reader to reflect upon the concept of linguistic stability, concluding that mobility should be the norm in a globalised world. It also aims at explaining the impact of migration and new media on language variation or change.
Third, Maria-Crina Herteg reviewed the book La violence verbale: Représentations dans le discours littéraire et dans la communication quotidienne edited by Iuliana-Anca Mateiu. The book brings together five articles on the topic of verbal violence representing part of the results of a research project on verbal violence embedded in literary discourse and in everyday speech.
Acknowledgements:
The authors are grateful to Professor Osório for having started the debate on the guiding topics, framework and methodologies underlying the design of this special issue which have been shared in academic meetings for the last five years. A special thank you note is addressed to Ms Alexandra Nunes for granting the technical assistance for this special issue.
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How to cite this article: Sousa, A., & Silva, A. A. (2022). Introduction. World languages: People, migration and cultures - shifting paradigms in the 21st century. New literacies. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 15(3), 9-16. doi: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2022.15.3.2
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[1] Some of the major tenets were presented in academic meetings by Sousa, & Osório, for example at the 10th Conference on Linguistic and Intercultural Education – CLIE-2020 (Alba Iulia, 16 – 17 October 2020). Cf. Sousa, & Osório (2020) conference paper at http://ciel.uab.ro/upload/37_40_book_of_abstracts_final.pdf.