To ensure smooth communication and collaboration, here are some troubleshooting tips to address common issues:
Check Internet Connection: Verify that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. Use a wired connection when possible, as it tends to be more stable than Wi-Fi. If using Wi-Fi, make sure you have a strong signal.
Update the Browser or App: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the web browser. Developers frequently release updates to address bugs and improve performance.
Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause conflicts or issues. Clear the browser cache and cookies before joining the meeting.
Test Audio and Video: Before the meeting, check your microphone and camera to ensure they are working correctly. If you are a speaker, you can click on "Start Practice Session" button test to ensure audio and video devices are functioning.
Close Other Applications: Running multiple applications in the background can consume system resources and lead to performance issues. Close unnecessary apps to free up resources for the Dryfta meeting platform.
Restart Your Device: If you encounter persistent issues, try restarting your computer or mobile device. This can help resolve various software-related problems.
Use Supported Browsers: Ensure you are using a browser supported by the meeting platform. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
Allow Necessary Permissions: Make sure the Dryfta meeting platform has the required permissions to access your microphone, camera, and other necessary features.
Disable VPN or Firewall: Sometimes, VPNs or firewalls can interfere with the connection to the meeting platform. Temporarily disable them and see if the issue persists.
Switch Devices: If possible, try joining the meeting from a different device to see if the problem is specific to one device.
Reduce Bandwidth Usage: In cases of slow or unstable internet connections, ask participants to disable video or share video selectively to reduce bandwidth consumption.
Update Drivers and Software: Ensure your operating system, audio drivers, and video drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues with the Dryfta meeting platform.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, reach out to the platform's support team. They can provide personalized assistance and troubleshoot specific problems.
By following these troubleshooting tips, you can tackle many common problems encountered on Dryfta meeting platform and have a more productive and seamless meeting experience.
The politics of identity and ideology in social media discourse: An analysis of debates surrounding diacritic marks in Dhivehi
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages10:15 AM - 10:45 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 08:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 08:45:00 UTC
Language has operated as a vehicle for debate about cultural, national, and individual identity throughout history. Social media and language use in digitised contexts have allowed the study of the intricacies of identity negotiation and community construction to be explored more closely. The discourse study presented here will shed light on the complex dynamics of language politics and ideologies in the context of the Maldives. The Maldives is an independent small island nation in South Asia that has a unique language, Dhivehi, which has its own inimitable script called Thaana. In March 2021 one of the most prestigious newspapers of the country published an article questioning the need to maintain Thaana and the current relevance of the diacritic marks it uses to enhance pronunciation. Based on over 200 newspaper comments and 500 tweets related to the article, this study explores how the backlash played out on social media represent deeply held ideologies and indicate identity affiliation. The findings point to the embodied nature of languages and users' agency in modifying them, as well as the resistance towards what is perceived to be a new form of imperialism as exercised by the spread of globalisation.
Language has operated as a vehicle for debate about cultural, national, and individual identity throughout history. Social media and language use in digitised contexts have allowed the study of the intricacies of identity negotiation and community construction to be explored more closely. The discourse study presented here will shed light on the complex dynamics of language politics and ideologies in the context of the Maldives. The Maldives is an independent small island nation in South Asia that has a unique language, Dhivehi, which has its own inimitable script called Thaana. In March 2021 one of the most prestigious newspapers of the country published an article questioning the need to maintain Thaana and the current relevance of the diacritic marks it uses to enhance pronunciation. This caused an eruption of commentary on social media that revealed language ideologies held by the Maldivian public and a debate on the role of minoritized languages like Dhivehi in a globalised world. Based on over 200 newspaper comments and 500 tweets related to the article, this study explores how the backlash played out on two social media platforms over a two-week period, and how the linguistic and semiotic tools used to express individual views represent deeply held ideologies and indicate identity affiliation. The findings point to the embodied nature of languages and users' agency in modifying them, as well as the resistance towards what is perceived to be a new form of imperialism as exercised by the spread of globalisation. The ideological stances signalled in the data further highlight the centrality of language in sustaining group identity and the creativity of language use in these online interactions.
Key references Blommaert, Jan. 2010. The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coupland, Nikolas (ed.). 2016. Sociolinguistics: Theoretical debates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. De Fina, Anna, Deborah Schiffrin & Michael Bamberg (eds.). 2006. Discourse and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Herring, Susan C. 2013. Discourse in Web 2.0: Familiar, reconfigured, and emergent. In Deborah Tannen & Anna Marie Tester (eds.), Discourse 2.0: Language and new media, 1–25. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press Kytölä, Samu. 2016. Translocality. In Alexandra Georgakopoulou & Tereza Spilioti (eds.), The Routledge handbook of language and digital communication, 371–387. London: Routledge. Lee, Carmen. 2017. Multilingualism online. London: Routledge. Piller, Ingrid. 2016. Linguistic diversity and social justice: An introduction to applied sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Scollon, Ron & LeVine Phillip (eds.). 2004. Discourse and technology: Multimodal discourse analysis. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. Seargeant, Philip & Caroline Tagg. 2014. The language of social media: Identity and community on the internet. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Why do I publish (and not publish) my scientific papers in a minority language? Reflections and beliefs of Basque scholars
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages10:45 AM - 11:15 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 08:45:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 09:15:00 UTC
As a result of the standards for recognizing researchers' publications, English has become the lingua franca for academic dissemination and minority languages have been neglected in the scientific community. One of these languages is Basque, a language spoken in the Basque Country. In the last decade, the presence of Basque in university education has increased, as has the number of scientific publications in this language. Therefore, it is of interest to know researchers' beliefs and attitudes about prioritizing the publication of scientific papers in a minority language. We have analyzed the reasons why 302 Basque researchers in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities do publish their work in Basque language. The analysis of these reflections has been carried out through the Reintert method using the Iramuteq software. This lexical analysis was complemented with a lexical similarity analysis. The results show that researchers are concerned about the survival of this language as a minority language. The reasons why they publish in Basque go beyond academic reasons, and strengthening the curriculum is not the priority when publishing in this language.These results lead us to reflect on the importance of promoting academic recognition of publications in languages other than English.
As a result of the increasingly strict standards for recognizing researchers' work and the importance of publications and citations for scientific prestige, English has become the lingua franca for academic dissemination (López-Navarro et al., 2015). As a consequence, other languages, especially minority languages, have been neglected in the scientific community (Linkov et al., 2021). One of these languages is Basque, a language spoken in the Basque Country in an area covering the north of Spain and the south of France with approximately 750,000 speakers. In the last decade, the presence of Basque in university education has increased, as has the number of scientific publications in this language (Boillos & Bereziartua, 2020). Therefore, it is of interest to know researchers' beliefs and attitudes about prioritizing the publication of scientific papers in a minority language and not in the lingua franca of the scientific field. In order to delve deeper into these beliefs, we have analyzed the reasons why 302 Basque researchers in the area of Social Sciences and Humanities from 3 different universities do publish their work in Basque language. The analysis of these reflections has been carried out through the Reintert method using the Iramuteq software (Reinert, 1990). Specifically, the software identifies the words and text segments with the highest Chi-square values, that is, those words and text segments that best identify each class or idea that the participants have repeatedly mentioned. This lexical analysis was complemented with a lexical similarity analysis. The results show that researchers are concerned about the survival of this language as a minority language. The reasons why they publish in Basque go beyond academic reasons, and strengthening the curriculum is not the priority when publishing in this language. Ideological positioning also plays an important role. These results lead us to reflect on the importance of promoting academic recognition of publications in languages other than English.
Boillos, M. M., & Bereziartua, G. (2020). Basque in the scientific field: quantitative study of the abstract of the Humanities and Social Sciences journals (2010-2019). Fontes Linguae Vasconum, (129), 141-177. https://doi.org/10.35462/FLV129.5 Linkov, V., O'Doherty, K., Choi, E., & Han, G. (2021). Linguistic Diversity Index: A Scientometric Measure to Enhance the Relevance of Small and Minority Group Languages. SAGE Open, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211009191 López-Navarro, I., Moreno, A.I., Quintanilla, M.Á. et al. (2015). Why do I publish research articles in English instead of my own language? Differences in Spanish researchers' motivations across scientific domains. Scientometrics 103, 939–976. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1570-1 Reinert, M. (1990). Alceste, Une méthode d'analyse des données textuelles. Application au texte "Aurélia" de Gérard de Nerval [Alceste, a method for analyzing textual data. Applying to the text "Aurelia" of Gérard de Nerval]. Bull. Methodol. Sociol. 26, 25–54. doi: 10.1177/07591063900260010
French as a Second Language Teacher Candidates and the Construction of a Professional Identity
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages11:15 AM - 11:45 AM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 09:15:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 09:45:00 UTC
The effects of a shortage of French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers are being felt across Canada, bringing the issue of FSL teacher recruitment and retention to the forefront (Masson, Knouzi, & al., 2021). While a greater emphasis is being placed on preparing teacher candidates for FSL teaching, teacher education programs struggle to recruit enough qualified FSL teacher candidates to meet the market demand (Masson, Larson, & al, 2019), especially in the Canadian bilingual province of New Brunswick where the ministry of Education require a high level of proficiency for its teachers (C1-C2). According to Masson, & al., 2021, the unique professional identity of FSL teachers is both linguistic and pedagogical in nature. Sometimes early career FSL teachers experience dissonance between their imagined version of their career and the realities of the working conditions resulting in both pedagogical and identity struggles that can, in turn, impact retention (Wernicke, & al., 2022). Kanno and Stuart (2011) suggested that teacher professional identity construction should occupy a central place in the initial training programs. Language teacher professional identity refers to the mental image that teachers and teacher candidates hold of what it is to be a teacher (Wolff & De Costa, 2017).
To attempt to address this problem, our initial teacher preparation (ITP) program added linguistic support sessions focused on strengthening the linguistic aspects of teacher candidates' identity to complement FSL methods courses and practicum. This paper aims to share the results of a qualitative case study of these language support sessions, focusing on the concept of identity. Thirteen participants, who were enrolled in an intensive 10-month ITP with an FSL specialization, participated in the study, following typical purposeful sampling (Merriam, 2009). At the end of each 8-week block of language support sessions, focus group sessions were conducted (T1 - October 2020; T2 - February 2021 and T3 - June 2021), recorded and transcribed. The data were analyzed using qualitative data analysis procedures (Merriam, 2009). Four themes pertaining to identity emerged and will be presented and discussed in this paper: 1) Language learning experiences and attitudes; 2) beliefs about teaching (in) French; 3) native-speaker standard and linguistic insecurity; and 4) negotiating linguistic and professional identity. Finally, implications will be shared that might inform decision makers with respect to the recruitment and retention of FSL teachers in Canada.
REFERENCES
Kanno, Y., & Stuart, C. (2011). The Development of L2 Teacher Identity: Longitudinal case studies. Modern Language Journal, 95, 236–252.
Masson, M., Knouzi, I., & al.. (2021). A critical interpretive synthesis of post- millennial Canadian French as a second language research across stakeholders and programs. The Canadian Modern Language Review 77(2), 154-187.
Masson, M., Larson, E. J., & al.. (2019). Accessing Opportunity: A study on challenges in French-as-a-second-language education teacher supply and demand in Canada. OCLO
Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. Jossey-Bass.
Wernicke, M., & al.(2022). La pénurie d'enseignantes et d'enseignants de français langue seconde au Canada. Revue Éducation et Francophonie.
Wolff, D. & De Costa, P. (2017). Expanding the Language Teacher Identity Landscape: An investigation of the emotions and strategies of a NNEST. The Modern Language Journal, 101, 76-90.
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages11:45 AM - 12:15 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 09:45:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 10:15:00 UTC
While 'transnationalism" often suggests mobility, modernity, simultaneous and easy access to multiple linguistic and cultural resources, 'diaspora' seems to imply a more negative connotation of displacement, disadvantage, and barrier. In this talk, I present a constructivist perspective whereby linguistic diaspora is viewed as multilingual and intercultural communicative practices across generations and geographies. In this view, diasporas are dynamic and evolving instead of a static or stable entity; diaspora languages (and language use in diaspora) accentuate the contingency, hybridity and indeterminacy against essentialist conceptualizations of identities, communities, race, nation and culture. I will begin with a brief overview of the history of and the diverse perspectives adopted in the study of diaspora languages. I will then share my thoughts on the discursive construction of people (we vs they), places (the land of birth vs the land of necessity/choice), languages (for home vs for society) and lives (lived vs imagined, material vs moral). Drawing narrative-ethnographic data from Chinese American communities for illustrative purposes, I will focus not so much on displacement and disadvantage as given, de-territorialized extension of an ethnic/linguistic group, but on connections and linkages that are open to continuous re-interpretation, re-construction and transformation through creative language use. I argue that it is this intersection of connection and transformation that leads to the reproduction and transformation of diasporic languages, cultures, and identities. I will aim to explore the following questions: What is the role that diaspora languages play in sustaining relations/relatedness and roots/rootedness and in forging new affinities, identities and communities? How is the trajectory of diaspora language use (maintenance, attrition, and/or transformation) shaped by mundane, everyday communicative needs and goals? How can research on diaspora languages and diaspora language speakers contribute to a more just, more equitable, more open society? I will end the talk with a call to action: it is morally and ethically imperative that we not merely describe the challenges facing diaspora languages and their speakers, but create venues and vehicles to remain critically engaged as we tackle the challenges by centering equitable multilingualism in what we do.
Paula Kristmanson
Melissa Garrett
