论坛预告｜2021年"语言与社会·Language and Society"线上国际研讨会

“语言与社会”线上国际研讨会

Online International Conference on Language and Society

中国人民大学外国语学院拟于2021年5月7日在线上举办“语言与社会线上国际研讨会”。我们诚邀各位专家、学者与本硕博学生参会交流。此次研讨会会议议程具体如下。

Date

Venue

https://meeting.tencent.com/s/fub5NJWuOhUf

腾讯会议 ID：796 352 873

Conference Agenda

Keynote Speeches

Speech 1

 Lexical Cloning in English：

 A Neo-Gricean Lexical Pragmatic Analysis

Huang Yan, Professor of Linguistics, School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics, University of Auckland；Distinguished Chang Jiang Scholar Chair Professor, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Professor Huang is an internationally leading scholar in Pragmatics and Semantics. He obtained his PhD in Linguistics at the University of Cambridge. He also holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford. His main research interests are in pragmatics, semantics and syntax, especially the pragmatics-semantics interface and the pragmatics-syntax interface including anaphora. Besides a number of articles and reviews in leading international journals of linguistics, Prof. Huang has published six books by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, some of which have been translated into a number of other languages including Arabic, Chinese and Czech. He is on the editorial board of a number of journals and research monograph series including the Journal of Pragmatics and Current Research in the Semantics/Pragmatics Interface. He has been invited to lecture in around 120 universities and research institutes in many countries in Europe, North America, East Asia, Australasia, and North Africa.

Abstract: 

Lexical cloning, formally known as ‘contrastive focus reduplication’, refers to the phenomenon whereby there is a modifier reduplication of a lexical item, e.g., salad-salad. The reduplicated modifier, which receives a contrastive focus accent, is used to single out some privileged sense, in contrast to other senses, of an ambiguous, polysemous, vague or loose lexical expression (Huang 2009, 2015).

Lexical cloning is found in a variety of Englishes including American, Australian, British, Canadian, New Zealand, and South African English, but it is most widely used in American English. It is also a recent phenomenon. Furthermore, the use of lexical clones is largely restricted to a certain, informal conversational register of spoken English. Even the tokens of lexical cloning that are found in written English such as scripts for plays, films and TV programmes are largely representations of spontaneous spoken language (as a mode) in written form (as the medium). In this short paper, improving on Huang (2009), I shall first provide a description of lexical cloning in English. I shall then discuss context-dependency of lexical cloning. Finally, I shall outline a neo-Gricean lexical pragmatic analysis of this novel lexical phenomenon in the language.

Speech 2

The research and debate on semantic 

representation in bilinguals

Jiang Nan, Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the University of Maryland.

Professor Jiang received his Ph. D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Arizona. His research deals with second language processing, particularly in the areas of lexical and semantic representation and processing in adult L2 speakers. He is the author of “Conducting Reaction Time Research in Second Language Studies” (Routledge, 2012) and “Second Language Processing: An Introduction” (Routledge, 2018). He has published in all major SLA journals.

Abstract:

Semantic representation in bilinguals is a long-standing topic in bilingual processing research. Early research investigated whether the two languages of a bilingual are linked to a shared semantic system or to two different semantic systems, one for each language. Research in the 1980s through 1990s created a consensus that bilinguals have a language-independent semantic system shared by two languages. The focus of research shifted since the 1990s to the issue of whether bilinguals are able to access meaning or concept directly from words in a second language to the same extent as they are from the first language. Two competing views have been proposed. These views and research evidence are reviewed in this presentation, which will end with some discussion of future research questions on this topic.

Speech 3

中国传统观念在汉语词汇上的孑遗

周荐，澳门理工学院教授。

周荐教授，南开大学文学学士、硕士，关西大学文学博士。1996-2008年任南开大学教授，2008年后任澳门理工学院教授。兼任全国语标委汉语语汇分会主任委员，中国辞书学会副会长等职。多次承担国家社科基金项目和国家语委项目的研制工作，参加过中国社会科学院、国家语委、国家社科基金重大项目的研制工作。从1983年开始在语言学期刊上发表学术论文，迄今已有论文一百五十余篇发表，学术著作二十多部出版。

Abstract:

中国长期的封建宗法社会培育出的“尊卑”等传统观念在汉语词汇中孑存，造就了大量的相应词语。这些词语，无论在造词上还是表意上都各具特点，这特点也会因时、地的不同而有所不同。时间上看，虽然每个时代都会有各自的特色，但20世纪中叶前后的汉语词汇反映出截然不同的样貌；地域上看，各华人社区也会各有自己的特色，但是拿港澳台和海外华人世界与大陆地区相比较，似乎前后两者在注重传统文化方面存在着一定的差异。

Speech 4

Developing EMI teachers through a

collaborative research model

Tian Lili, Professor of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition, School of Foreign Languages at Renmin University of China.

Prof. Tian Lili, Vice-Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Renmin University of China. She received her Ph. D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching from the University of Oxford. She published widely in linguistic journals of Language Teaching Research, System, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Language Awareness. Her current research focuses on second language writing and on the interaction between teachers and learners in classrooms where English is the Medium of Instruction

Abstract:

English Medium Instruction (EMI) research has mushroomed in response to the rapid increase in EMI courses in higher education (HE) worldwide. Despite concerns about the need for EMI teacher professional development (PD) there are few studies on PD in EMI. We present a study of EMI teacher PD which adopted a model of equal status collaborative research between a language specialist and two EMI teachers whereby the latter were presented with highly detailed analyses of their lessons over a period without evaluative commentary/ feedback from the language specialist. Our findings suggest that the two teachers reacted enthusiastically to the model but one teacher felt a greater need to move towards an interactive pedagogy than the other.

Speech 5

Identity construction in courtroom discourse

from the perspective of DHA

Yang Min, Professor of Linguistics, School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China.

Prof. Yang Min received her PhD. in Linguistics supervised by Prof. Hu Zhuanglin. She went to Reading University as a visiting scholar in 2000 and went to the Graduate School of City University of New York in 2010 as a Fulbright scholar. Her research interests focus on Critical Discourse Studies, Systemic Functional Grammar and Sociolinguistics. She has published many academic papers, 4 monographs and finished almost ten research projects sponsored respectively by the School, Renmin University, Education Ministry and National Social Science Foundation.

Abstract:

There are more and more identity clashes in the context of globalization, informatization and capitalization due to faster interaction among different regions, statuses and ethnics. Courtroom talk is the representative of such identity clashes. The current research has analyzed two different court discourses and try to construct different identities from the perspective of DHA. One is about linguistic studies on doctor and patient identities in Chinese courts and the other is about Sino-American courtroom talk comparisons on the aspect of moral discourse. Findings revealed that doctors and patients constructed identities for different subjects at the levels of story world, narrative interaction, and master narratives. To some extent, different parties in both Chinese and American courts used moral discourse to defend themselves and construct their identity in different ways and with different effects.

Speech 6

The Discourse-Historical Approach in

 Critical Discourse Studies: 

analysing discrimination through 

discourse and narrative

Bernhard Forchtner, Associate professor, the School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester (United Kingdom).

Dr. Forchtner received his PhD in Sociology and Linguistics at the University of Lancaster (United Kingdom). Currently, his research deals with far-right activism, environmental communication and the field of Critical Discourse Studies. Key publications include a Special Issue on ‘Narrative in Critical Discourse Studies’ in the journal Critical Discourse Studies (2021), the edited volume The Far Right and the Environment (Routledge, 2019) and The Routledge Handbook on Language and Politics (with Ruth Wodak, 2017).

Abstract:

Over recent decades, Critical Discourse Studies (CDS, also known as Critical Discourse Analysis) has emerged as a popular framework to analyse the discursive nature of social relations of power, of how various modes (spoken and written language, image and sound, etc.) come together in the construction of social identities, social relations and systems of knowledge. In particular, CDS is interested in how such discursive constructions facilitate discrimination and maintain unjustified power relations.

However, CDS is not a homogenous method. Rather, it is a critical perspective comprised of a number of heterogenous approaches – one of the best-known being the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA). Since its inception, the DHA has been utilised in analyses of a wide range of topics, including the analysis of national identity and the workings of the supranational EU. It provides a comprehensive and flexible analytical framework which includes, for example, its own understanding of ‘context’ and ‘discourse’, as well as ‘discursive strategies’.

Following an introduction to this approach, this presentation ultimately turns to the role of ‘narrative’ in the DHA. I introduce the concept and review current uses of it in the DHA before suggesting a way of integrating it into the analytical architecture of the DHA. More specifically, I argue for the inclusion of the concept of ‘narrative’ as ‘narrative genre’ (for example: romance, comedy, tragedy and irony). I argue that narrative genres pre-configure (but not determine) linguistic realisations of discursive strategies, and I, therefore, suggest to situate the analysis of such genres between DHA’s entry-level analysis of topics and the in-depth analysis of actual meaning making.

Speech 7

Recent developments and challenges

 in Critical Discourse Analysis:

Quantification and Visualization

Dr. Markus Rheindorf, Senior Researcher of Linguistics, University of Vienna (Austria)

Dr. Rheindorf received his PhD in Applied Linguistics and teaches at the University of Vienna and Central European University, specializing in critical discourse studies and academic writing. His research interests include the mediatization of political discourse, the interplay between politics and policy, political advertising and campaigning as well as populist discourse. He has a continuing interest in methodological innovation within critical discourse studies, especially regarding triangulation and mixed methods. He has received fellowships from the International Centre for Cultural Studies and the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna). His recent publications include Revisiting the toolbox of discourse studies. New Trajectories in Methodology, Open Data and Visualization with Palgrave Macmillan.

Abstract: 

This paper will engage with two challenges faced by Critical Discourse Analysis and the specific solutions developed in response to these. Initially based on qualitative methods of analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis was limited to analyzing a comparatively small number of texts; at the same time, the presentation of results was done only in linguistic form, quoting examples while not being able to show comprehensive results for large data. Both limitations invited criticism and led researchers to find solutions for (1) analyzing large data samples by means of quantitative analysis and (2) visualizing results comprehensively. This talk will cover these strategies in terms of (a) Corpus Linguistic methods that have been integrated into CDA and combined with its qualitative methods (such as nomination or argumentation analysis) as well as (b) means and strategies of visualization to provide comprehensive overviews and access to the results of such analyses.

Speech 8

“It’s so rude to swear in 

Chinese dialects (fangyan)!”: 

the perceived emotional force of

swearwords in the speech of multilingual

Chinese university students

Jiang Yan, School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China

Dr Jiang Yan is Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China. Her research interests include emotions and multilingualism, emotions in language learning and teaching, and intercultural communication. Her research has appeared in journals such as Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Language and Intercultural Communication, System, Sociolinguistic Studies and Foreign Language World (Chinese Journal). One paper that she co-authored with Professor Jean-Marc Dewaele, entitled “How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners?”, published in System was awarded Highly Cited Paper by ESI in 2020.

Abstract:

The present study investigated the perceived emotional force of swearwords in the speech of multilingual Chinese university students and their links with a number of sociobiographical and linguistic variables. A sequential explanatory research design was adopted for the study. The statistical analysis of 770 university students who completed a questionnaire showed that participants perceived the emotional force of swearwords in Chinese dialects (fangyan) strongest, followed by that in Putonghua and English. Male participants perceived the emotional force of swearwords in fangyan stronger than female participants. Participants in metropolitan cities perceived the emotional force of swearwords in Putonghua and English stronger than those from rural areas. Participants who learned Putonghua in a naturalistic or a mixed context perceived the emotionality of swearwords in Putonghua stronger than those who learned it in an instructed context. Age of onset of learning was negatively linked to the emotional force of swearwords in Putonghua and English. Self-perceived oral proficiency and frequency of general use were positively linked to the emotional force of swearwords in language. Interview data of 20 participants supported the patterns found in the statistical analysis. The findings suggest that fangyans are more emotionally weighted in Chinese affective interactions like swearing although they are not dominant as Putonghua across the domains.

Speech 9

Predicting the Diachrony of 

the Present Perfect and the Preterite

 in Modern English: 

A Mixed-Effect Regression Analysis

Yao Xinyue, Renmin University of China 

Dr Yao Xinyue is Lecturer at the English Department, Renmin University of China. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, and corpus linguistics, with particular reference to tense-aspect-modality system of English. Her recent work employs multivariate techniques to investigate grammatical variation and change in English world-wide. Her publications appear in internationally peer-reviewed journals such as English Language and Linguistics, Journal of English Linguistics, Linguistics, International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, English World-Wide, and World Englishes.

Abstract:

In this talk I report the findings of a multivariate mixed-effect logistic regression analysis of two past-referring verb forms in Modern English, the present perfect (PP, e.g. have done) and the preterite (PT, e.g. did). Parallel data representing four registers of British and American English were selected from A Representative Corpus of Historical English Registers.  The analysis compares data from two periods, 1750–1799 and 1950–1999, and incorporates a range of and non-linguistic predictors. The results indicate that the Modern English PP underwent functional specialization whereas the PT underwent functional expansion. Both verb forms continued to experience grammaticalization since the 18th century with AmE leading the way. Through adopting a multivariate, multi-register research design, I demonstrate the possibility of teasing apart global, environmental changes of a register from genuine indicators of grammaticalization concerning particular linguistic units in historical linguistic research.

Speech 10

A comparative study of TEEP and IELTS

 for transnational 

education (TNE) students 

and their relationship to subject study

Dr Li Daguo, Professor John Slaght & Professor Elizabeth Wilding University of Reading, UK

Dr Li Daguo is Associate Professor and Vice-Dean of NUIST Reading Academy at the University of Reading, UK. His areas of research interest include second language learning, professional development for second language teachers, international education/transnational education (TNE), and intercultural communication. He has published research articles in these areas in international journals, including System, Language Teaching Research, and Journal of Research in International Education. He has also co-authored chapters on CPD for Chinese teachers of English in Encyclopedia of Education: Second and Foreign Language Education by Springer and capacity building in TNE in a recently published edited volume.

Professor John Slaght is an emeritus Professor in Second Language Testing. From 2000 until his recent retirement, he was the Head of Assessment and Language Testing in the International Study and Language Institute (ISLI), University of Reading. He created and developed the University of Reading flagship Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) for students going on to academic studies at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The TEEP is widely recognised both nationally and internationally. He was also the Testing Officer for BALEAP until March 2021 after a 6-year term, and was a leading member of the BALEAP Can Do project.

Professor Elisabeth (Liz) Wilding is Transnational Education (TNE) Programme Director in the International Study and Language Institute at the University of Reading, UK. Liz has worked in EAP since 2004 and in her current role directs the foundation year at the NUIST Reading Academy in Nanjing. Her academic interests focus on supporting students’ transition into higher education, transnational education, and technology-enhanced learning. She is a co-founder and co-convenor of the BALEAP TNE special interest group and a member of the Editorial Board of InForm, the journal for international foundation programme professionals.

Abstract:

This presentation reports on a comparative study of TEEP (Test of English for Educational Purposes) developed by the Assessment Unit at the University of Reading (UK) and IELTS in a transnational education (TNE) context. All Foundation Year (FY) students across six undergraduate programmes in a joint education institute (JEI) in China were required by the JEI to take both TEEP and IELTS in its transition to EAP. Our study adopted a longitudinal mixed-methods design and data were collected in two phases. In Phase 1, students’ TEEP and IELTS results were collected towards the end of their FY, and six focus groups were conducted on the students’ test-taking (both TEEP and IELTS) and academic experiences to shed light on their test performances. In Phase 2, six focus groups with the same participants were conducted to provide further insights into their experiences of subject study (Part 1 in the UK system), focusing on their reflections of TEEP and IELTS in relation to their subject study.

Quantitative data were subject to statistical analysis and qualitative data to thematic analysis. Quantitative results showed that the students performed significantly better on Speaking and Writing in TEEP while they performed significantly better overall and on Listening and Reading in IELTS. Factor Analysis suggested both TEEP and IELTS tapped into one single underlying construct which we termed English language proficiency. Qualitative results from the focus groups illuminated the quantitative findings as well as the impact on their subject study in Part 1.