Extensive research has been done to identify the conceptual components of intercultural competence (IC), which resulted in a plethora of models and a wide array of differently defined constructs that are in use today to develop and assess IC. However, the majority of IC research comes from relatively similar contexts that are westernised, high on…

The ideological role of English, beyond its instrumental value, is reported to be immense. British colonial rule deployed English as an ideological tool which facilitated colonial subjugation and religious conversion. Connections between English and evangelism have widened in the postcolonial and globalising world, leading to labelling English as…

Xinjiang has witnessed constant state attempts to reinforce the status of Mandarin Chinese as 'the Common Language' and to make local Turkic languages -- mainly Uyghur and Kazak -- more 'suitable' to the modern world. Official efforts to transform the linguistic landscape of Xinjiang have engaged in a complex interplay with Turkic speakers' own…

This paper explores the linguistic landscape (LL) of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and shows how this religious site contains within it different domains, each with their own LL and preferred mediums of display. We illustrate this by exploring the LL of five domains within the mosque: Holiness, Education, Workplace, Local Governance and the Public…

This paper analyses some key historical developments (from early twentieth century to present) in Bangladesh from a socio-historical and language ideological perspective to explore the social injustice faced by the non-dominant and linguistically diverse population. These developments sparked language debates involving questions of identity,…

This study examined responses from a questionnaire administered to 98 second- and third-generation Rohingya refugees living in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Questions concerned participants' self-reported language proficiency levels in the Rohingya heritage language and Arabic and patterns of language use in various domains. Findings demonstrate that the…

This article examines the potential of pedagogical translanguaging in a community/heritage language context. With focus on Arabic as a multidialectal and multiglossic language, the paper primarily examines the function of translanguaging practices in teacher-learner and learner-learner interaction to construct and negotiate linguistic knowledge in…

Fishman's scale for evaluating language vitality proposes a stage in language shift where exclusively the older generation takes part in "rituals", "concerts" and "songfests" in the minority language. Once this generation dies away, according to the scale, these cultural practices disappear with them. Within certain…

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the role of family micro-Language Policies (LP's) in the context of the Moroccan Diaspora in urban and semi-urban areas in Spain by examining and contrasting different cases of language transmission within transnational migrant families of Moroccan origin. The paper answers the following questions: How are…

This paper analyses the controversial discourses around the significance of the Arabic language in Eritrea. It challenges the arguments of the government and some scholars, who claim that the Arabic language is alien to Eritrean society. They argue that it was introduced as an official language under British rule and is only spoken by the Rashaida…

Negotiating their double identity as Mauritians and Muslims in multilingual and in multiethnic Mauritius, Mauritian Muslims have been socialised into reading and writing in Kreol in madrassahs, while they have never been exposed to Kreol literacy in mainstream education. At the point where Kreol is being introduced as an optional school subject,…

Through observation, questionnaires and, particularly, ethnographic interviews with parents, pupils, teachers and community organisers associated with a Yemeni complementary school, this paper develops a portrait of language repertoires, practices and preferences in a Yemeni diasporic community in a northern English city. Also investigated are the…

Much attention has been paid in the literature to matters of script choice vis-a-vis languages. This attention, however, has focused on script choice in a national and political context. By contrast, there has not been any significant attention paid to more local and idiosyncratic instances of script choice operating on an individual and community…

Reports two studies which examined the social identity of Hindu and Muslim subjects under three frames of reference: self, own group, and outgroup evaluations cross-nationally. Findings are examined in relation to the interplay of specific socio-contextual experiences in the differential pattern of social identity processes. (SED)

Presents the findings of an ethnolinguistic study conducted in northeastern England on children's language behavior during their first term in school. The article combines two theoretical perspectives in an analytical description of this behavior presented in three levels of data analysis. (23 references) (Author/CK)