Language on the Move

Exploring the global dominance of English and its economic and political effects, the podcast delves into how English can both provide economic opportunities and sideline others. It also discusses the contested dominance of English post-Covid-19, particularly in higher education. The conversation emphasizes the importance of multilingual ecologies worldwide and challenges posed by the spread of fake news in English. Addressing the decline of language learning programs and the future impact of advancing language technology on English dominance.

Today we talked to Joseph Lo Bianco about the edited volume Community and Heritage Languages Schools Transforming Education (Routledge, 2023). The conversation addresses community and heritage language schooling research and practice, and our guest’s long history of important language policy research and activism, as well as the interconnections between the two.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yixi (Isabella) Qiu speaks with Professor Yongyan Zheng about The Shanghai Alliance of Multilingual Researchers.The interview explores the Alliance’s origins, research themes, and future directions. The episode not only highlights the significant contributions of this dynamic research group but also provides a glimpse into the personal and professional journeys that have shaped this academic endeavor.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Michael Chesnut, Professor in the Department of English for International Conferences and Communication at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, Korea.Brynn and Michael chat about an area of study in linguistics known as "the linguistic landscape," and in particular about a 2022 paper that Michael co-authored with Nate Ming Curran and Sungwoo Kim entitled From garbage to COVID-19: theorizing ‘Multilingual Commanding Urgency’ in the linguistic landscape.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Elizabeth Peterson about language ideologies and what we think when we hear different varieties of English. The conversation centers around Dr Peterson’s 2020 book Making Sense of 'Bad English': An Introduction to Language Attitudes and Ideologies (Routledge, 2019). The book discusses how the notions of “good” versus “bad” English came about, and some of the consequences of these views of language.The book is a must-use for teachers and professors who introduce their students to sociolinguistics as it contains discussion questions at the end of each chapter as well as recommendations for further reading. However, you don’t have to be a Linguistics student to enjoy this book. Making Sense of “Bad English” is for anyone who has ever wondered how it’s possible to have so many different varieties of one language, what the Standard Language Ideology has to do with Santa Clause, and why English spelling is so chaotic.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ingrid Piller speaks with James McElvenny about his new book A History of Modern Linguistics: From the Beginnings to World War II (Edinburgh UP, 2024).This book offers a concise history of modern linguistics from its emergence in the early nineteenth century up to the end of World War II. Written as a collective biography of the field, it concentrates on the interaction between the leading figures of linguistics, their controversies, and the role of the social and political context in shaping their ideas and methods.In the conversation we focus on the national aspects of the story of modern linguistics: the emergence of the discipline in 19th century Germany and passing of the baton to make it an American science in the 20th century.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ingrid Piller speaks with Jasna Novak Milić, the director of the Croatian Studies Center at Macquarie University.The Croatian Studies Center at Macquarie University hosts one of a very small number of Croatian Studies programs at university level outside Croatia. We talk about Croatian Studies in the diaspora, small languages in higher education, and why the availability of languages programs in higher education is critical for heritage language maintenance.For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Mulpur discusses reducing barriers to language assistance in hospitals, focusing on Houston Methodist Hospital's use of language assistance technologies during Covid-19. Topics include challenges faced by linguistic minority patients, innovative communication solutions, navigating cultural biases, and strategies for providing language assistance in healthcare.

Ingrid Piller speaks with Jim Hlavac about interpreting to bridge language barriers.About 5% of the Australian population do not speak English or do not speak it well. In this conversation, Dr Jim Hlavac, an experienced interpreter and interpreting trainer, explains how professional interpreters, language mediators, and language brokers help to support fair and equitable access to healthcare and other forms of social participation.We explore how interpreting works in practice in a hospital setting: who gets to interpret? How is the need for an interpreter identified? Who pays? What is the role of policy vis-à-vis bottom-up practice? Is the process the same for all languages?The conversation closes with the million-dollar question: will AI take interpreters’ jobs?For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hanna Torsh and Alexandra Grey discuss good governance in linguistically diverse cities, emphasizing the importance of recognizing linguistic diversity positively. They address questions on the significance of governance in multilingual urban environments, investigate effective governance, and criticize public health communication during the Covid-19 pandemic for failing linguistic communities.