New documentary explores identity in the linguistic landscape with a focus on Qatar Focusing on official street signs in Qatar written with non-standard Arabic spellings, Mal Lawal explores the complex interplay of…
The South Asian presence in colonised Australia is on the rise. I say colonised Australia because, in discussing linguistic diversity in this country, I acknowledge the diverse Aboriginal and Torres…
Mis dos voces (Image credit: Rayon Verde) Imagine this: you go out to a fast-food restaurant and order a burger. While you wait for your order to be filled, you…
The link between language and identity is a subject written about most profusely by linguists, and it never seems to fall into obsolescence. Yet, novelists manipulate the association between language…
Passport photos of early Chinese immigrants (Source: Invisible Australians) For most Chinese migrants, China is what they call home. China is the basis on which they establish a sense…
This week is Library and Information week (#LIW2018). Library and Information Week aims to raise the profile of libraries and information service professionals in Australia. What better way to celebrate…
On the ferry from Spain to Morocco My recent book Becoming Diasporically Moroccan explores how next-generations after migration use communicative resources to feel ‘at home’ in their ancestral homeland. By…
Media image for "the dual identity" of bilinguals (Source: Luxemburger Wort) We keep reading media reports of studies which conclude that people who speak more than one language are capable of perceiving…
The 16th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML XVI) will be held at University of Jyväskylä Language Campus The 16th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML XVI) and the 34th Summer School and Conference…
Jinhyun Cho was awarded her PhD for her thesis about "Interpreting English language ideologies in Korea: dreams vs. realities" Many people around the world dream of learning English. The pursuit of…
A monument near Baganuur (Outer Mongolia) with an inscription of poem "My Native Land" by Natsagdorj (Source: Wikipedia) In the middle school Mongolian textbooks there is a well-known text called…
Yangshuo's West Street (Source: chinatravelca) Tourism has been found to be beneficial for minority language maintenance in a number of contexts from around the world. For instance, Anand Torrents Alcaraz…
Schneider, Britta. 2014. Salsa, Language and Transnationalism. Multilingual Matters. In my post on English in Berlin, I wondered what is required for a language to become ‘local’, and about the…
Actress Noemí Busquets as the wise yet naughty Esperanceta Gassia at the Ecomuseu de les Valls d’Àneu during the theatrical night visit to the ethnographic museum of Esterri d’ Àneu…
Business card promoting private English tuition In Iran, as in many other countries around the globe, the craze for learning English has been on the rise. This tendency is attributed…
Speak English, people! says British politician Ed Miliband (Source: msn.com) Every ten years the UK government conducts a census, which every British resident is obliged by law to take part…