Multilingual sign in Namtso (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Malay version of my recent blog post about Chinglish Translated by Ridwan Wahid Bayangkan sekiranya akhbar New York Times meminta pembacanya menghantar ‘blonde jokes’…
Ingrid PillerJune 2, 2010
Multilingual sign in Namtso (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Japanese version of my recent blog post about Chinglish Translated by Kimie Takahashi （高橋 君江） このシナリオを想像してみてください。もしNew Yorkタイムズがブロンド女性を馬鹿にするジョークや黄色人種の面白エピソードを募集したとしたらどうでしょうか？さらにその応募キャンペーンが盛り上がり、ブログや Facebookやツイッターでそれが出回り、さらには、ジェンダー、エスニックの学者達がそれを取り上げ、「なぜブロンド女性や黄色人種はこんな馬鹿な ことをするのか」などと分析しだしたりしたらどうなるでしょうか？ (more…)
Ingrid PillerMay 30, 2010
Multilingual sign in Namtso (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Chinese version of my recent blog post about Chinglish Translated by Zhang Jie (张洁); 译文：张洁 设想某日《纽约时报》向读者征集最喜爱的金发女郎笑话或者有色人种所做的最滑稽的事。再设想该活动开展后迅速充斥了整个网络空间，任何对性别或种族问题有所兴趣的人都在博客、facebook和微博上热烈讨论着，甚至连从事性别和种族研究的学者们也开始群情激昂地对金发女郎或有色人种的荒谬行径提供种种分析。 (more…)
Ingrid PillerMay 30, 2010
Multilingual sign in Namtso (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Imagine the New York Times asked readers to send in their favorite blonde jokes or to report the funniest thing they’ve ever seen…
Ingrid PillerMay 26, 2010
Installment #7 in the mini-series on multilingual signage When I lived in Basel in Switzerland, my then-preschool child was just learning to make sense of the alphabet and to sound…
Ingrid PillerMay 22, 2010
Installment #6 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Multilingualism sells! Some forms of multilingualism that is. In the world of marketing, languages operate like brands: they are a signifier for…
Ingrid PillerMay 19, 2010
Installment #5 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Signage not only appears in public space. Through our consumption of all kinds of products, we bring a multiplicity of signs into…
Ingrid PillerMay 15, 2010
Installment #4 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Toilets as an object of sociolinguistic research?! Not likely?! Think again! Today, I am going to discuss toilet signage as an indicator…
Ingrid PillerMay 7, 2010
Installment #3 in the mini-series on multilingual signage The lovers of English poetry among you will recall how the phrase “Betreten verboten” (“No trespassing”) encapsulates his alienation from Berlin and…
Ingrid PillerMay 3, 2010
Installment #2 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Much of the signage that can be found in contemporary public spaces is commercial. It is a form of advertising, and language…
Ingrid PillerApril 29, 2010
Over the next few weeks my introductory sociolinguistics students are doing a group work task in which they explore the linguistic landscape in their suburb and relate the visibility of…
Ingrid PillerApril 27, 2010
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Erwin Koller, one of my teachers and mentors, in Lisbon this weekend. It’s a special gift when teacher and student become friends…
Ingrid PillerApril 22, 2010
Non-English speakers’ access to emergency services in Australia is in the news again as a Melbourne man has been convicted of the murder of his wife. What makes the case…
Ingrid PillerApril 12, 2010
I missed the UN’s French language day! It’s not the fact that I missed it that bothers me – I’m late for pretty much everything – it’s the fact that…
Ingrid PillerApril 4, 2010
About ten years ago an overseas student from South Korea who was about to fail a unit I was teaching left a suicide note under my office door. She described…
Ingrid PillerMarch 16, 2010
I have served as book review editor for Discourse and Society for ten years and recently resigned from my roles as book review editor for Discourse Studies and Discourse and…
Ingrid PillerMarch 1, 2010
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