Analyses of bilinguals’ speech patterns and related cultural stereotypes as portrayed in films have become relatively frequent in recent years. This paper focuses on the nature and amount of ...‘linguistic space’ provided by the film industry for the sociolinguistic presence of the ‘Other’ in bilingual contexts. It represents an analysis of films in which bilingual characters (in English and one of Asian Indian languages*) are presented. The analysis focuses on on-screen produced stereotypes about such bilinguals, immigrants’ struggles to assimilate to the English-dominant cultural and linguistic context, and patterns of code-switching between English and Asian Indian languages, i.e., contexts of usage of the two languages. The first part of the analysis focuses on identifying patterns of recurring topics in the analyzed films as they are connected with different aspects of negotiating the identity of bilinguals in English and one of Asian Indian languages. Topics related to the conflict between homeland nostalgia and traditional values upheld by first-generation immigrants and a more noticeable cultural assimilation among second- and third-generation immigrants are reflected in the extent of linguistic assimilation among different generations of immigrants. The second part of the analysis focuses on instances of code-switching, i.e., specific contexts in which English and Asian Indian languages are used, as well as factors that contribute to such instances of code-switching. Sociolinguistic analyses of the portrayal of bilinguals in English and one of Asian Indian languages in film production might partially explain the nature of stereotypes about such bilingual speakers.
Immigration in Ireland, including the Croatian one, has risen significantly in recent times. That is why in the last several years Ireland has been trying to find ways of ensuring the adequate ...cultural and linguistic integration of immigrants into Irish society. This paper deals with the language use and attitudes among Croatian immigrants in Ireland. The research that was conducted in the period from June to August 2019 included 82 Croatian immigrants in Ireland. It included the application of a questionnaire that consisted of four parts and that was filled out by the participants through the Facebook social network. The participants were asked questions connected to their emigration to Ireland. Most of the language-related questions included a reference to the English language, with a focus on specific aspects related to the process of learning, knowledge and use of English in different contexts. The results of the research suggest, among other things, that most participants have a positive attitude towards residing in Ireland and towards the English language. Most of them evaluated their current knowledge of English as better than average. Although the knowledge of English was not predominantly evaluated as crucial for finding employment in Ireland, still a significant number of participants evaluated it as relevant for their employment.
The paper investigates how obesity as an aspect of physical appearance is represented in English and German. The existence of various expressions that refer to obesity leads to the assumption that ...both investigated languages rely on euphemisms and dysphemisms to talk about obesity. Using a corpus of different expressions from lexicographic sources, we analyse their descriptions and their classification as euphemisms in specialized and general dictionaries. Semantic phenomena that might be identified within such expressions were also taken into consideration. To investigate the usage of the identified euphemisms and dysphemisms, a questionnaire was administered among native speakers of English and German. The corpus was used to trace the space between euphemisms and dysphemisms in language use. The main goal was to identify the ways in which obesity is referred to in two different sociocultural contexts, and to establish the extent to which lexicographic identifications and descriptions of euphemisms overlap with native speakers’ perceptions and use of such items.
When analysed in the context of language testing in naturalisation processes, the broad notion of ideology can be approached from two quite distinct but closely related points of view. On one hand, ...ideology may be analysed to refer to construction and deconstruction of a nation's constitutive elements which form the basis of its own identity. The second point of view includes a more restricted view of the notion of specific language ideologies that may fit into a broader concept of national ideology and serve its specific purposes. The primary aim of this article is to use the narrower sense of the term in order to analyse the different language ideologies that may be identified through the comparative study of the importance and procedures of language testing in naturalisation processes in the USA and Croatia. However, such an investigation will inevitably lead to some conclusions regarding the broader sense of the notion of ideology as well.
Lors de l'analyse dans le contexte des tests de langue dans les processus de naturalisation, la notion générale de l'idéologie peut etre abordée de deux points bien distincts, mais étroitement liés, de vue. D'une part, l'idéologie peut etre analysé de se référer a la construction et la déconstruction des éléments constitutifs de la nation qui constituent la base de l'idée de la nation de sa propre identité. Le second point de vue comprend une vue plus restreinte de la notion d'idéologie car elle se réfere a des idéologies linguistiques spécifiques qui pourraient correspondre a un tel concept plus large de l'idéologie nationale et de servir ses fins spécifiques. L'objectif principal de ce document est d'utiliser le sens étroit du terme, afin d'analyser les idéologies linguistiques différentes qui peuvent etre identifiés par l'étude comparative de l'importance et les procédures de tests de langue dans les processus de naturalisation dans les Etats-Unis et la Croatie. Toutefois, une telle enquete va inévitablement conduire a des conclusions concernant le sens le plus large de la notion d'idéologie ainsi.
This article deals with changes of form and meaning of the Croatian proverb 'Odjeća ne čini čovjeka čovjekom' (Clothes do not make the man). The analysis is done on the basis of its use in newspaper ...articles and spoken communication. Furthermore, the data are interpreted within the framework of cognitive semantics. The analysis shows that the proverb is often used in modified form and that it has changed its form from negative to positive. Most of the informants recognize its modified form 'Odijelo ne čini čovjeka' (The suit does not make the man) as the original one. From the cognitive semantic point of view, changes analysed in relation to the concept of basic conceptual metaphor point to changes in the socio-cultural context and to perception of the importance of (outward) appearance.
The focus of this paper is on language attitudes towards English words and phrases in the Croatian language. In order to prevent loanwords, linguistic purism has arisen as a theory about what ...languages should be like. The tradition of linguistic purism in Croatia has been shaped by various socio-historical factors. English may be viewed as a language of opportunity, or as a threat to the survival of other, usually minority and endangered, languages. In order to provide an insight into the use of English words and phrases in the Croatian context, a questionnaire about language attitudes and awareness was conducted on 534 participants. The aim of the questionnaire was to determine participants’ language attitudes and familiarity with English words and phrases. The results show that although people in Croatia generally like English, many of them are not familiar with English words, especially older participants and those with little or no knowledge of the English language. Moreover, the results indicate that the younger generation is more inclined towards English than the older generation; however, they are not as familiar with Croatian equivalents as they claim.
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