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While research on pluricentricity has traditionally focused on phonological, lexical and grammatical variation across national varieties, pluricentric languages also provide a rich laboratory for the exploration of pragmatic variation, and potentially new insights into the complexities of both pragmatics and pluricentricity. Pluricentric pragmatics remains a developing field and determining appropriate methodologies and strategies for data collection remains open to evaluation and assessment. Methodological considerations pertaining to address research in pluricentric languages are made from a range of perspectives, which are typically interconnected and will depend on the intended research focus. In this contribution we present a critical reflection on methodological aspects of pragmatic research, based on our own experiences investigating address in several pluricentric languages (in particular German and English). After a brief overview of the pluricentric languages considered and their address systems we provide an outline of the research projects reviewed. We then discuss in detail issues regarding data types and data collection (in particular questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and various online data) and consider further methodological aspects such as the choice of research framework, context and type of address investigated, quantitative and/or qualitative approaches taken and whether the research focus is on actual use, reported use and/or perceptions. We conclude with some suggestions for further research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation and late-modernity have brought profound socio-political, economic, cultural as well as linguistic transformations. An intensification of mobility and transnational migration around the globe has added a complexity to linguistic interactions and repertoires that can be better analysed with non-essentialist approaches. With this in mind, the aim of this article is to expand the research agenda on pluricentricity beyond the standard language paradigm, which is based on the western conceptualisation of languages as clearly definable and discrete entities. In this respect, we address pluricentricity from the speaker's perspective as opposed to the traditional perspective focused on standard-setting centres and peripheries. In this article, we adopt a communicative-based perspective on pluricentricity and focus on the potential accommodation behaviour of Spanish speakers from Argentina and Spain in mobility contexts. We conducted 39 semi-structured interviews to access perceptions and attitudes regarding the possible negotiations of short-term convergent norms and the creation of a spontaneous translanguaging space. We assume that awareness of one's own repertoire as well as tolerance towards the perceived markers of the respective interlocutors' repertoire are necessary conditions for successful pluricentric communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the example of the French-speaking world, this article makes the case for the valuable contribution of a systematic ethics-based approach to understanding linguistic pluricentricity. Following a critical review of three key definitional dimensions of the concept - political, linguistic and representational/attitudinal - it argues for the inclusion of a fourth ethical dimension to assess whether there are moral arguments which might also favour the recognition of distinct national standards. It builds on the recent linguistic justice literature in the fields of political theory and political philosophy to propose the notion of "pluricentric linguistic justice" as a framework for evaluating the ethics of local norm-setting and enforcement in pluricentric contexts. To demonstrate how pluricentric linguistic justice might be assessed, it examines a series of valued-based arguments discussed in the linguistic justice literature relating to the instrumental and identity functions of language, considering how they might apply to specific contexts in the French-speaking world. Besides contributing to existing theory, the notion of pluricentric linguistic justice has the potential to help advance social equality, by drawing attention to some of the social and political injustices associated with diatopic variation in spatially diffused languages more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the notion of pluricentricity fails to capture the multitude of sociolinguistic contexts in which a language may have two or more standards, which is due to the fact that it was invented with a particular context in mind (that of emerging nation-states). The notion also suffers from a reliance on an undefined and unclear (perhaps metaphorical) notion of a centre (and a periphery). A more neutral term such as multi-standard language therefore appears more useful. It is also argued that pluriareality is not a notion that can fruitfully replace pluricentricity, as the two presuppose different approaches to standardisation: one usage-based, the other normative. This is demonstrated with reference to the on-going discussion of the Austrian variety of German. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of a concise overview of Ulrich Ammon's oeuvre this article first of all provides a constructive-critical account of some of the key concepts and questions that guided his macrosociolinguistic work on pluricentric languages and variation in German. In what follows, an attempt is made to further develop some of Ammon's thoughts through emphasising the elasticity of the concept of pluricentricity and arguing for a creative use of the concept of "roofing" when describing the intricate interplay of standard and nonstandard varieties especially in language contact zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a practical project to develop a language policy for an English-Medium-Instruction university in Uzbekistan. Although the university is de facto English-only, it presents a complex language ecology, which in turn has led to confusion and disagreement about language use on campus. The project team investigated the experience, views and attitudes of over a thousand people, including faculty, students, administrative and maintenance staff, in order to arrive at a proposed policy which would serve the whole community, based on the principle of tolerance and pragmatism. After outlining the relevant language and educational context and setting out the methods and approach of the underpinning research project, the article goes on to present the key findings. One of the striking findings was an appetite for control and regulation of language behaviours. Language policies in Higher Education invariably fall down at the implementation stage because of a lack of will to follow through on their principles and their specific guidelines. Language policy in international business on the other hand is characterised by a control stage invariably lacking in language planning in education. Uzbekistan is a polity used to control measures following from policy implementation. The article concludes by suggesting that Higher Education in Central Asia may stand a better chance of seeing through language policies around English-Medium Instruction than, for example, in northern Europe, based on the tension between tolerance on the one hand and control on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to trends such as internationalization, migration and the knowledge economy, universities globally are under pressure to open their doors to as many students as possible. In South Africa, massification of higher education has two additional dimensions to the above. Firstly, it has to provide a forum for creating a socially inclusive society. Further to this, it has to compensate for the inferior standard of basic education. Together these factors compound the number of diversity variables that require management, particularly as far as language and academic literacy imperatives are concerned. This chapter examines how massification is unfolding at one institution of higher learning in the country and how it fuels systemic problems in a particular teacher training programme. What distinguishes the students in this undergraduate course from those in other programmes is that they constitute the future educators responsible for literacy development in the first years of schooling, precisely where literacy levels are deplorable and of critical concern. The study considers relevant policies, institutional support and curricula, before scrutinizing student performance. Two main findings emerge: Successful massification of higher education is highly dependent on quality basic education in which language instruction and the development of academic literacies are foregrounded at school level. This in turn requires comprehensive teacher training programmes that are attentive to sociolinguistic realities and theoretical underpinnings of language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question about the role of Language Planning Agencies (LPAs) in higher education is very relevant within the South African context. A range of policy provisions regarding language in higher education are characterised by the use of language policy and planning (LPP) jargon found in the Framework for Language Planning Goals, pointing to the need for a range of LPAs to be involved in this language domain. Since such involvement has been documented in the case of the institutionalisation of Afrikaans as alternative language of higher education during the period 1910-1961, it provides the basis for a comparison with post-1994 initiatives regarding the elevation of the Sintu languages and the extension of their use in this language domain. Such comparison is undertaken on the basis of a Typology of LPAs that is developed from earlier insights that evolved during the International Research Project on Language Planning Processes at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s, essentially distinguishing between LPAs involved in regulatory, productive and promotional language planning functions. Evidence on the work of LPAs involved during the two periods is collected from secondary sources documenting the cases and analysed in terms of this typology. The results of the study provide insights into the role of LPAs in each case and in their relative effectiveness in aiding the institutionalisation of the designated languages. The article concludes by suggesting the "ideal" LPA mix for the realisation of LPP goals in higher education in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on language diversity management in higher education. Topics include the language diversity management in institutions of higher education, the contributions apart from contributions in other volumes and constitutes a leitmotif through a considerable part of the volume, the volume also contains a chapter on sign languages and, as such, clearly distinguishes itself from most of the previous issues of the series, and the attention given to more practical aspects has related to language diversity management in higher education.

The Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS), established in 1997, is the largest research centre in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Limerick and brings together members of faculty, postgraduate students and researchers from the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics as well as from other disciplines across the University. At CALS, we understand Applied Language Studies as being about applying language to real world contexts and issues. CALS provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and the development of research projects in applied language studies across a range of languages within the University as well as serving as a focal point for national and international links in this area. The title 'Applied Language Studies' is deliberate in that the focus and spread is multilingual and this is a very important dimension to the CALS identity. Researchers work in and on French, German, Spanish, Irish, Japanese, Catalan as well as World Englishes, with a strong focus on Irish English. Professor Angela Chambers was the founding Director of CALS (1997-2014). Professor Helen Kelly-Holmes is the current Director, and Dr. Liam Murray is the current Associate Director. CALS has 32 internal members and 26 external associates. There is a very lively postgraduate community made up of 27 PhD students from 10 different countries. Researchers in CALS are organized around three clusters: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on multilingualism in language contact, language use, and language planning. Topics discussed include historical sociolinguistics and language variation in culture; language planning and its phrases for historical linguistics; sociolinguistic identity; and school inspection. It further includes settings in historical multilingualism, language varieties in text fragments for multilingual experience, official announcements for promoting the same, and standards in language ideology.

In this paper, we examine empirically GDP per capita convergence using an approach that explicitly allows for regime switching in the long memory parameter d within the context of a Markov Switching (MS)--ARFIMA framework. As existing methods used in the estimation of standard MS models, such as the EM algorithm are no longer appropriate, we will make use of the Viterbi algorithm to estimate the long memory MS model used by Tsay and Härdle (Tsay, W.-J., and W. K. Härdle. 2009. "A Generalized Arfima Process with Markov- Switching Fractional Differencing Parameter."Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 79: 731-745.). We will classify the output gap series into two regimes, a high d and a low d regime, where a high d close to unity would imply persistence and lack of convergence. By examining the path of d parameter over time which enables us to observe non-convergent behavior in more detail, we find that converging behavior is diminishing over time and divergence is the dominant force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we estimate nonlinear Taylor rules over the 1986-2008 sample time period and augment the traditional Taylor rule by including principal components to better model Federal Reserve policy. Including principal components is useful in that they extract information about the overall economy from multiple economic indicators in a statistically optimal way. Additionally, given that uncertainty may influence Federal Reserve decisions, we incorporate an uncertainty index in the reaction function of the Federal Reserve. We find substantial evidence that the Federal Reserve responded to increases in macroeconomic uncertainty by cutting the Federal Funds rate over the sample period. We also find evidence that the Federal Reserve responded aggressively to increases in capacity utilization, especially when the inflation rate was above 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firstly, the Luxembourgish school system offers its students mostly French, German and English as the languages to be acquired in education. Introduction This paper looks at foreign language provision at secondary level in the educational system of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, one of the smallest European Union (EU) member-states. In Luxembourg, the 1984 language law officially recognizes three languages: Luxembourgish as the national language, and French and German as legislative and/or administrative languages. Otherwise Portuguese and Italian do not play a role in the Luxembourgish school system, except for upper secondary school students specializing in languages and literatures, who can choose Spanish, Italian or Portuguese as their quatrième language vivante (fourth modern language). [Extracted from the article]

The article highlights features that lend the Mobility and inclusion in multilingual Europe (MIME) project a specific profile among other research ventures on multilingualism and diversity. Topics mentioned include European Commission's explicit requirement that a plurality of disciplines be involved, actual language policy questions confronting societies, and the development and implementation of robust language policies.

Abstract: The article discusses a set of Guidelines which result from the work of the Communication of Rights Group comprising linguists, psychologists, lawyers and interpreters. The Guidelines document's primary aim is to inform police, lawyers and judicial officers about linguistic issues which impact non-native speakers of English in police interviews, particularly in the communication of rights. The recommendations address the wording and grammar of the rights as well as their wider communication to non-native speaker suspects, including informing those suspects about access to an interpreter, and evaluation of whether or not a non-native speaker of English has understood the rights. It is not the purpose of the Guidelines to replace the right to a professional interpreter; such right needs to be clearly defined. The role of the interpreter in exercising such right also needs to be considered. The article examines the current relevant legislation and guidelines in England and Wales and compares them with the proposed recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a user perspective, applied both to law as discourse and normative practical reason - law, religion - and to linguistic communication. In multilingual contexts, this perspective requires special adaptation, because the communities of users may use different languages for the creation of new norms, and for their judicial interpretation and application. The possibilities for contesting meaning are enhanced where multilingual normative communication is involved. Important consequences then follow as regards legislative drafting, statutory interpretation and multilingual contexts of conflict-resolution. The EU is the classical multilingual institutional setting where these ideas are tested. Although in the EU only those languages that are official or co-official at the level of the Member State are immediately recognised as official languages, the EU operates as a genuine multilingual system of law, the most impressive official multilingualism in the world. Discourses exploring the EU's political identity tend to see this multilingualism as an obstacle to the development of a demos rather than a salient feature of its multicultural and federal-like Constitution. This paradox is compared to the linguistic identity of the Basque Country, which is analysed in its different territories from the legal and sociolinguistic perspectives, where the legal status of Basque is subordinated to the official language regime of France and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the example of Scotland in order to examine the ways in which issues, arguments and claims that implicate linguistic justice are framed and presented in public discourse and in different kinds of practical contexts. It takes a positive rather than normative approach, identifying and analysing the main issues and lines of argument that have emerged in practice, rather than testing a particular theoretical understanding of linguistic justice. The article examines the key principles and understandings that underpin the current policy regime and the nature of provision for particular languages in Scotland, especially the autochthonous Scottish Gaelic language, which receives particular concern from policy-makers but also attracts controversy. Other important language varieties include Scots; Polish, Urdu, Punjabi and Chinese; and British Sign Language. Anomalies and inconsistencies are identified and analysed in relation to provision for different languages in different fields, disparities that often have political or ideological ramifications and require to be understood in the distinct Scottish socio-political context. In the final section, the article addresses in the position of different languages in the Scottish education system, attempting to discern the extent to which greatly varying levels of provision for different kinds of languages can be understood in terms of linguistic justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay explores an oblique perspective on language via the field of comparative political theory* (*hereafter CPT). The essay sketches briefly some of the conceptual architecture and genealogy of the comparative political theory enterprise and investigates more specifically the uses of the concepts of culture and language within the core arguments. The discussion distinguishes three rough categories of CPT and correlates these with understandings of language. The discussion then turns to certain problematic aspects of CPT concerned with the concepts of political theory, comparison within political studies and the concept of culture itself. The essay concludes on a critical and circumspect note on the status of CPT within contemporary understandings of political theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, inspired by Spolsky (2004), pursues three goals: 1. to demonstrate the terminological shift from "language planning" towards "language management", 2. to point out that this shift is facilitated by the growing influence of a particular theory of language management, which I refer to as Language Management Theory, 3. to present the central features of the theory, arguing that it is well suited not only to the analysis of language macro-planning but also to language micro-planning, the analysis of which is frequently called for during the process of formulating the language policy in various areas of the world including Europe and the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tourism is the leading economy of the 21st century also for Italy. The language could also benefit from it, which statistically performs very well in many areas (on the world stage, on the internet, in foreign language learning, etc.). Unfortunately, the country's tourist-economic importance does not correlate positively with its language value. Here, the Italian state is asked to do more with investment for the 'visibility' of the language in the tourism sector, e.g. with the opening of foreign ENIT headquarters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociolinguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents results of a project studying the codes witching (CS) phenomenon in the Sardic-Italian language. The status of the linguistic minority results from their socio-cultural subordination by a majority. The subordinated status results from the often-limited material and immaterial resources as well as from the conditions of the emergence of the minority, whereby a society based on the concept of nation-state gives rise to the classical context for the differentiation of linguistic minority and the majority. The stratification of the status of language and the languages as well as the asymmetry of the contact situations as a rule leads to the fact that the minority language, which is appropriate at the most as a language spoken only within the confines of a household, is often attached with the social stigma and therefore they are abandoned by its speakers.

Background and aims: Knowledge of pain characteristics among the healthy population or among people with minimal pain-related disability could hold important insights to inform clinical practice and research. This study investigated pain prevalence among healthy individuals and compared psychosocial and physical characteristics between adults with and without pain. Methods: Data were from 1,000 self-reported healthy participants aged 3--101 years (1,000 Norms Project). Singleitem questions assessed recent bodily pain ("none" to "very severe") and chronic pain (pain every day for 3 months in the previous 6 months). Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) instrument, New Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 6-min walk test, 30-s chair stand and timed up-and-down stairs tests were compared between adults with and without pain. Results: Seventy-two percent of adults and 49% of children had experienced recent pain, although most rated their pain as mild (80% and 87%, respectively). Adults with recent pain were more likely to be overweight/obese and report sleep difficulties, and had lower self-efficacy, AQoL mental super dimension scores and sit-to-stand performance, compared to adults with no pain (p < 0.05). Effect sizes were modest (Cohen's d = 0.16--0.39), therefore unlikely clinically significant. Chronic pain was reported by 15% of adults and 3% of children. Adults with chronic pain were older, more likely to be overweight/ obese, and had lower AQoL mental super dimension scores, 6-min walk, sit-to-stand and stair-climbing performance (p < 0.05). Again, effect sizes were modest (Cohen's d = 0.25--0.40). Conclusions: Mild pain is common among healthy individuals. Adults who consider themselves healthy but experience pain (recent/chronic) display slightly lower mental health and physical performance, although these differences are unlikely clinically significant. Implications: These findings emphasise the importance of assessing pain-related disability in addition to prevalence when considering the disease burden of pain. Early assessment of broader health and lifestyle risk factors in clinical practice is emphasised. Avenues for future research include examination of whether lower mental health and physical performance represent risk factors for future pain and whether physical activity levels, sleep and self-efficacy are protective against chronic pain-related disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented on the topic of linguistic justice in an interdisciplinary context, which includes a report on a research centre or project, book reviews, and the European sociolinguistic bibliography.

The article explores the language standardisation process in Castilian or Spanish language in Spain. Discussed is the acceptance of the standard Spanish language in various cultures. Noted is the significance of the bottom-up decision-making on language planning by large numbers of the community as well as the impact of economic and political factors on language policy. Also mentioned is the enactment of the Royal Charter by Charles III in 1768, noting that it initiates the consolidation of the Spanish language.

The article discusses topics related to language management and standardization processes. Explored is the impact of democratic legitimacy on language management, revision of an oral or written standard for a language and the significance of a democratic political system on language planning and management. Tackled is the idea of legitimacy on political discourse as well as its dependency on particular set of facts. Investigated are challenges of democratic legitimacy for language standardization processes.

The article focuses on topics surrounding the revision of the standard for Nynorsk, a Norwegian language. Explored are developments of language policy and planning in Norway, approaches to language standardisation, the use of deliberative decision-making for user-acceptance and legitimacy and a historical account of the written language situation. Suggested is the significance of the actual representation of different dialect forms in Norwegian dialect diversity. Also discussed is the policy of unification for language reform.

The world is connecting in many complex ways, driven by the globally integrated nature of technological innovation and human mobility across continents. Never before have so many different speakers and languages existed side by side in the OECD countries as they do today. This reality has placed multilingualism in the spotlight. Increased migration and transcultural flows across borders in Europe have highlighted the urgency for research on multilingualism in the individual and society. Academic institutions have recognized the necessity for such knowledge and research centers have evolved to meet this challenge (cf. Obermayer et al. 2014). MultiLing - the Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan is a research center aimed at academic excellence and financed by the Research Council of Norway through its Center of Excellence scheme. MultiLing is hosted by the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Oslo in Norway. It opened in June of 2013 and is currently in its first five-year period of operation. The main goal of the Center is to generate state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on individual and societal multilingualism across the lifespan that will address the challenges and potentials multilingualism poses for the individual in the family, school, other institutions, and society in general. Moreover, the Center aims at providing research-based knowledge on multilingualism to central policymakers and stakeholders. Language planning and the standardization of languages are some of the Center's key research foci and are indeed vital issues today at the top of the agenda for policymakers. The Center's vision is to contribute to how society can deal with the challenges of multilingualism through increased knowledge, promoting agency for individuals in society, and a better quality of life, no matter what linguistic and social background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research concerning the standardization of Galician as a Romance language intermediated between Portuguese and Spanish. It highlights the strict oral language from the late Middle Ages in the 20th century. Information about the description of the intense process of standardization in the 1970s as well as the summary of key issues in the normative debate, is provided. Documentation of standardization includes selection, codification, implementation and elaboration. An overview on the historical background of Galician in the Roman languages, is also mentioned.

The article discusses the increasing language policy and planning activities for European autochthonous minority languages in the 20th century. An overview on the estimated living languages as well as aspects of individual and societal multilingualism in the European political and academic agenda, is provided. It highlights the international and supranational entities such as the Council of Europe and the European Union. Also mentioned is the macrosociolinguistic characteristics of minority language communities in Europe despite a long-standing European tradition.

The article focuses on the language standards and perceptions of an authoritative target variety in contemporary Manx Gaelic language which is native to the Isle of Man, a quasi-independent island polity in the Irish Sea. Information about the classical descriptive linguistic of the late native speaker Ned Maddrell in December 1974, is provided. It highlights the opportunities of and remarkable level of institutionalisation along with the expansion of adult learning. An overview on the Haugen's fourfold language planning model including processes of selection, codification, elaboration and implementation, is provided.

The article focuses on the association between the standardisation and language maintenance of two Finnic varieties in Sweden, the Meänkieli and Sweden Finnish. Information about the opportunities and challenges of Finnic varieties as well as the issue of language maintenance associated summarization the variety, is given. It highlights the aspects of formal language use, language cultivation, and the teaching targets of instruction in school adopt Standard Finnish norms. An overview on the geographic, demographic and language policy of Meänkieli, is also emphasized.

The article discusses research concerning the processes and challenges of standardization of Mirandese, an indigenous regional minority language spoken by rural communities in Miranda do Douro district and Vimioso district in the Northeastern Portuguese-Spanish border. It highlights the complementary and uncompetitive relationship between the various languages depicting the social domain pairings. Information about the major role of public administration, church, and school officials in choosing Spanish in social interactions with Spanish nationals, is also mentioned.

The article discusses the prominence of the use of English in Latvia. Topics covered include the use of English language by media people, politicians, scientists and humanitarian and social scientists in the country as well as the global popularization of plurilingualism and societal multilingualism. Also mentioned are the uniqueness of eery nation in relation to their language situations and the impact of historical experience and economic situations on the popular use of English in every European country.