Brook Bolander

Language and power in blogs : interaction, disagreements and agreements

Language and Power in Blogs systematically analyses the discursive practices of bloggers and their readers in eight English-language personal/diary blogs. The main focus is thereby placed on ties between these practices and power. The book demonstrates that the exercise of power in this mode can be studied via the analysis of conversational control (turn-taking, speakership and topic control), coupled with research on agreements and disagreements. In this vein, it reveals that control of the floor is strongly tied not solely to rates of participation, but more strikingly to the types of contributions interlocutors make. With its detailed linguistic analyses and comprehensive theoretical and methodological treatment of language use and power, the book is interesting for researchers and students working within the domains of pragmatics, discourse analysis, text linguistics and corpus linguistics, in both offline and online settings.

English and the transnational Ismaili Muslim community: Identity, the Aga Khan, and infrastructure

The adoption of English as the official language of the transnational Ismaili Muslim community has its roots in the British Raj, which provides the backdrop for recent Ismaili history. Yet it is the Aga Khan IV, spiritual leader of the community since 1957, who has most avidly pushed English as part of a ‘language policy’. Drawing on Ismaili discourse published online, historical sources, secondary literature, and data collected during ethnographic fieldwork in Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan, this article addresses how English emerged as the communitys official language, how and why it was made integral to the communitys transnational infrastructure, and what English means to Ismailis living in a village in Hunza, Northern Pakistan and the city of Khorog, Eastern Tajikistan. It thereby underscores that identity and infrastructure emerge as entangled, and it reflects upon the implications of this relationship for research on English and Islam, and language and transnationalism. (Transnationalism, English, Ismaili, Pakistan, Tajikistan, identity, infrastructure, Islam) *

Re-Reading and Rehabilitating Basil Bernstein.

Abstract This article constitutes a re-reading of and an attempt to rehabilitate Basil Bernstein, both of which are important in light of the interpretation of Bernstein as a proponent of the verbal deficit view, and the general discrediting of his work on social class differences in the British educational system, as related to what he later called ‘codes’, by scholars like Jensen (Social class and verbal learning, Holt, 1968) and Labov (The logic of non-standard English, Georgetown University Press, 1970), in particular. Exploring whether the international criticism of Bernstein was justified entails both an analysis of articles written by Jensen (Social class and verbal learning, Holt, 1968) and Labov (The logic of non-standard English, Georgetown University Press, 1970) and by Bernstein, notably ‘Language and social class’ and ‘A critique of the concept of compensatory education’, both published in the first volume of Class, codes and control (Bernstein, Class, codes and control, Volume 1. Theoretical studies towards a sociology of language, Schocken Books, 1971). The article argues for the importance of contextualising Bernsteins thoughts on language and society within the socio-political climate framing his scholarship and the development of his ideas as a whole. We show that much of the interpretation of Bernstein is, in fact, a misinterpretation, for which Bernstein was only partly at fault. By rehabilitating some of Bernsteins ideas, it is possible to argue for their relevance today, especially with reference to salient connections between socio-cultural background and performance at school. Furthermore, Labov and Bernstein may not have been so far apart in their thinking as has previously been assumed.

On the relevance of Bernstein for German-speaking Switzerland

Abstract This article assesses the relevance of Basil Bernstein for German-speaking Switzerland. It argues that Bernstein is potentially relevant for German-speaking Switzerland in light of contemporary studies which highlight a connection between social background and differential school achievement. After contextualising Bernsteins theoretical outlook and critically reflecting upon his use of a static concept of social class, it explores past and present applications of Bernstein. The paper thereby shows that the uptake of Bernsteins outlook was and continues to be minimal for the Swiss German context and reasons for this conclusion are explored. In the final sections of the article connections between social background and differential school achievement are explored for contemporary German-speaking Switzerland. On the basis of this analysis, the paper concludes by arguing that while aspects of Basil Bernsteins theoretical outlook are potentially relevant for the Swiss German context, they need to be reassessed in light of the awareness of the variety of interdependent factors which can and do influence the performance of children and adolescents at school.

English, motility and Ismaili transnationalism

Abstract The transnational Ismaili community is made up of local communities of Ismailis living in over 25 countries around the world. Despite diversity within and between these communities, the 2.5–12 million Ismailis worldwide share a common identity as Ismaili. Various structures and resources are used to construct and maintain the community. These include an official language – English. In this article, I aim to explore the role of English in connection with Ismaili transnationalism. Drawing on ethnographic data collected during fieldwork in Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan, and on data taken from digital spaces, I will focus on the movement of local Ismailis away from Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan, and on the movement of people and ideas to Northern Pakistan and Eastern Tajikistan. I will thereby argue for the importance of including non-mobile individuals in conceptualizations of Ismaili transnationalism. In doing so, I will apply the concept of “motility”, which points to interconnections between social and spatial mobility, and highlights the potential for mobility; and I will underline the role local settings play for transnational processes. In the course of the article, I also demonstrate that Ismaili transnationalism is not homogeneous. Instead, certain people, places and spaces emerge as more relevant to its construction and maintenance. This becomes coupled with access to English and has implications for this issue’s focus on the relationship between South and Central Asian spaces.

English Language Policy as Ideology in Multilingual Khorog, Tajikistan

This chapter explores English language policy as ideology in multilingual Khorog, Tajikistan. English has steadily grown in importance in Khorog since the late 1990s, and particularly as a result of efforts by the spiritual leader of the transnational Ismaili community, the Aga Khan IV, to promote English among his local followers, who form a majority in Khorog. Ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Khorog shows that ideologies of English closely interact with ideologies of Tajik, Russian, and Shughni. In this chapter, I will analyse the discursive construction and coconstruction of ideologies of English, Tajik, Russian, and Shughni by drawing on transcriptions of interviews and particularly a group discussion in which I asked my interlocutors to take on the role of language policy-makers for Tajikistan. I will thereby show that issues of language policy and ideology in Khorog need to be explored against the backdrop of both national and transnational policy-making efforts, notably attempts on the part of President Emomali Rahmon to forge a closer union between the official language Tajik and the nation-state of Tajikistan, and of the Aga Khan to promote English.

Consensual and conflictual disagreement

This chapter explores a series of foci which have emerged in the study of disagreement in social media, notably in Web 2.0 environments. These include comparisons between disagreement online and offline; the role played by social and medium factors for the linguistic realisation and emergent meanings of disagreement; the recent upsurge in work on sociable disagreement and play; a focus on disagreement, language and gender; the exploration of disagreement in connection with polylogues and participation frameworks; increased interest in disagreement in educational contexts; and a progressive move towards inclusion of data from language varieties other than English. To account for the fact that disagreement is a move which can have various manifestations and meanings, we also include discussion of “conflictual disagreement”, “consensual disagreement” and “sociable disagreement”. In the course of the chapter, we further highlight the close relationship between changes in the study of disagreement online and changes in the study of language use online more generally; and we address further current issues pertinent for the study of disagreement online.

Introduction: Language and globalization in South and Central Asian spaces

Abstract In this introduction, we outline our approach to the two main themes this interdisciplinary special issue brings together – language and globalization, and South and Central Asian spaces. Arguing for the importance of exploring these topics from multiple, complementary disciplinary angles (sociolinguistic, anthropological and historical), we delineate a conceptualization of language and globalization which both acknowledges the inextricable relationship between language (use and ideology) and processes of globalization (past and present); as well as the challenges this relationship poses for linguistic research. We thereby adopt a viewpoint which underscores the importance of not a priori assuming that any one layer or scale – local, national, transnational, transregional – will be central to the ways language is used to perform or index globalization. To address questions of language and globalization in connection with South and Central Asian spaces, we further underscore our approach to regions as “process geographies”, an outlook which is suggestive of the importance of critically reflecting on the notion of “areas” as potentially unfixed, unstable and oscillating entities.