Category Archives: Language, migration & social justice

nyc2 035re Learn English, Make Friends!

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Ingrid Piller

How to make English-speaking friends is one of the perennial hot topics for new overseas students and new migrants. Advice on how to make “native” friends circulates like an underground currency: “Move in with English-speaking flat-mates!” “Avoid co-ethnics!” “Watch footy … Continue reading →

Posted in Language learning, gender & identity, Language, migration & social justice | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

090729-02-jellyfish-harvest-break-nets_big_2 The politics of subtitling

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Ingrid Piller

Recently, I watched a TV documentary about the proliferation of Nomura jellyfish in Japanese coastal waters. It was a shocking tale of the devastating environmental, economic, social and human impact of overfishing, global warming and marine pollution. The reason I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Language, migration & social justice | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Gerkish Flag Turkish alphabetisation for German integration

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Victoria Benz

Contemporary Germany is the 3rd largest immigrant-receiving country internationally. In 2008, 15.6mio inhabitants (19% out of a total of 82.1mio) were post-1950 immigrants or their descendants (German Bureau of Statistics). With 2.9mio, Turks constitute the largest group of these. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

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ich spreche deutsch Many tongues instead of one!

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Bettina Kleiner

I was so grateful to read Ingrid Piller’s in-depth critical post on German language politics, where she offered a profound analysis of the assumptions underlying the campaign “Ich spreche Deutsch”. The title of the campaign can easily be associated with … Continue reading →

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raus mit der sprache The cult of personal responsibility

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Ingrid Piller

Ads for a campaign to speak German are currently all over Germany. The campaign is called “Ich spreche Deutsch” (I speak German) and aims to convince migrant youths to learn more German or learn German faster. The campaign’s clever slogan … Continue reading →

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