This thesis is a sociolinguistic examination of the ways in which multilingual children and parents negotiate their language use. Through a critical ethnographic inquiry, it focuses in particular on Japanese-English multilingual parents and their pre- and early-school age children living in the UK, across two fields: a Japanese government approved complementary school (Hoshuko), and the family home where parents employ multilingual family language policies (FLP). My main interest is in exploring the ways in which discourses emerging from the policies (governmental and institutional policies regarding Hoshuko, and FLP) are reproduced and/or challenged by individuals’ situated practices and perceptions. Defining multilingualism as a set of social practices and processes, the thesis explores the following four themes: 1) discourses of Hoshuko policies and of FLP, 2) individuals’ language practices and 3) perceptions in the Hoshuko and in the family home; and 4) the mutual influence of discourses, practices and perceptions. By employing Critical Discourse Analysis to analyse relevant Japanese governmental policy documents, as well as the school prospectuses of all nine Hoshuko in the UK, I disclosed the governmental and institutional discourses (Chapter 4). The discourses were then compared with individuals’ situated practices and perceptions identified at one of those Hoshuko, where I conducted a 16-month ethnographic fieldwork (Chapter 5). The discourse of FLP was also scrutinised by comparing it with family language practices and perceptions in the family home (Chapter 6). As a whole, this thesis reveals discrepancies between the governmental and institutional discourse, as well as individuals’ situated practices and perceptions. On one hand, governmental and institutional discourses are undermined by individuals’ flexible practices in particular situations. On the other hand, multilingual individuals also seem to be influenced by discourses which they reflect in their own perceptions; consequently, some multilingual practices go unacknowledged at the level of perceptions. Overall, this thesis enriches our understanding of the dynamics between macro level ideological influences emerging from policy discourses and micro level practices, and of the complexity of individuals’ perceptions involved in the legitimation of their practices in the context of a complementary school and the family home.

This study investigates sociolinguistic variation and change in the dialect of Ha’il city, a dialect that belongs to the Najdi type of dialects, especially Northern Najdi. Two traditional linguistic features of Ha’ili Arabic (HA) are examined: the realisation of the feminine ending (ah) and realisation of the feminine plural suffix (a:t), in relation to three social factors: age (Younger, Middle-aged, Older), gender (Male, Female) and levels of contact (High, Low) with people from different dialectal backgrounds. Raising of the feminine ending -ah is defined as: fronting and raising of short /a/ to /ɛ/ or /e/. In traditional Ha’ili Arabic, /a/ is raised unconditionally in all environments even after guttural and emphatic sounds (Abboud, 1979). The results, however, show progressive lowering of the (ah) variable, constrained by social and linguistic factors. Younger female speakers especially those with high level of contact lead the change toward the innovative and supra-local variant [a], while older speakers, even those with high level of contact, maintain the use of the traditional variant [e] at a very high rate (96%). Women are slightly ahead of men in using [a]. Such gender patterning can be interpreted in relation to the fact that there is no negative social meaning associated to the use of the two variants. Regarding the second variable (a:t), /t/ in the feminine plural suffix -a:t can be lenited to /h/ or /j/ in HA. According to previous research (Abboud, 1964 and Ingham, 1982, 2009), lenition of /a:t/ is linguistically conditioned by the following environment. It is promoted pre- pausally and when the following word begins with a consonant, but it is precluded when followed by a vowel across word boundary. The results show that the innovative variant [a:t] is highly favoured when it is followed by a vowel across word boundary. Additionally, the number of syllables and the stress on the final syllable appear to have a minimal effect on the realisation of (a:t). All the younger speakers, except low contact female speakers, use the innovative variant categorically, while the older speakers use it at a rate of 52%. Concerning gender, men are found to lead the change in using [a:t] than women. This gender pattern is explained with reference to men’s social interaction, mobility and to the overt stigmatisation associated with the use of the traditional variants [a:j] and [a:h] by male speakers. Overall, a progressive levelling out of local/marked features in HA has been observed in favouring the innovative features found in the emerging supra-local variety in the central region of Saudi Arabia.

This thesis is on the theory and practice of comic sexual euphemism in Renaissance France and England. The term ‘comic sexual euphemism’ means the use of non-literal descriptions for sexual topics for the purposes of comedy, similar to an innuendo or double-entendre. Crucially, instances are often more explicit than straightforward literal statement, so fail to be euphemistic. I use ancient, early modern, and modern theory, as well as my own theoretical insights, and apply this to three types of Renaissance text: texts associated with the court from England and France, medical texts from France and their English translation, and theatre from England and France. Primary authors include Baldesar Castiglione, Pierre de Brantôme, Sir John Harington (who translated Ludovico Ariosto into English – Ariosto is also translated into French by Jean Martin), Laurent Joubert, Jacques Ferrand (translated into English by Edmund Chilmead), Thomas Middleton, Ben Jonson, Edward Sharpham, John Marston, and Pierre de Troterel. At the court of both countries a dangerous line was walked between protecting women and gossiping about them, between proving yourself witty regarding sexual material and going too far. In the world of French medicine, where you might expect professional and clinical language, there is instead a trend towards outrageous sexual humour. As at court, if deemed to have exceeded social norms, this could get writers into trouble. The stage was in some ways a safer environment in which to use comic sexual euphemism, as it was expected more in comic drama. This does not, however, lessen how vibrant and multi-faceted such language could be in early modern drama. Interestingly, similar imagery is found across texts and genres. In this period overall there was a tension between the rhetorical rules which forbid the discussion of the sexually obscene and the clear delight writers took in breaking these.

The Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, often described as an ‘elite minority’, holds a special position in the country. With linguistic rights protected by the constitution of Finland, Swedish-speakers, as a minority of only 5.3%, are often described in public discourse and in academic and statistical studies as happier, healthier and more well off economically than the Finnish-speaking majority. As such, the minority is a unique example of language minorities in Europe. Knowledge derived from qualitatively grounded studies on the topic is however lacking, meaning that there is a gap in understanding of the nature and complexity of the minority. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in four different locations in Finland over a period of 12 months, this thesis provides a theoretically grounded and empirically informed rich account of the identifications and sites of belonging of this diverse minority. The thesis makes a contribution to theoretical, methodological and empirical research on the Swedish-speaking minority, debates around identity and belonging, and ethnographic methodological approaches. Making use of novel methodology in studying Swedish-speaking Finns, this thesis moves beyond generalisations and simplifications on its nature and character. Drawing on rich ethnographic empirical material, the thesis interrogates various aspects of the lived experience of Swedish-speaking Finns by combining the concepts of belonging and identification. Some of the issues explored are the way in which belonging can be regionally specific, how Swedish-speakers create Swedish-spaces, how language use is situational and variable and acts as a marker of identity, and finally how identifications and sites of belonging among the minority are extremely varied and complex. The thesis concludes that there are various sites of belonging and identification available to Swedish-speakers, and these need to be studied and considered in order to gain an accurate picture of the lived experience of the minority. It also argues that while identifications are based on collective imagery, this imagery can vary among Swedish-speakers and identifications are multiple and situational. Finally, while language is a key commonality for the minority, the meanings attached to it are not only concerned with ‘Finland Swedishness’, but connected to various other factors, such as the context a person grew up in and the region one lives in. The complex issues affecting the lived experience of Swedish-speaking Finns cannot be understood without the contribution of findings from qualitative research. This thesis therefore points towards a new kind of understanding of Swedish-speaking Finns, moving away from stereotypes and simplifications, shifting our gaze towards a richer perception of the minority.

The Chinese are the largest ethnic minority in Canada. As a group, they are well-known for not being able to speak fluent English, including those well-educated individuals who immigrated to Canada mainly in the 2000s. There is a rich literature in applied linguistics about immigrants’ second language learning. Nevertheless, studies on second language practice of this particular group of well-educated Chinese immigrants are lacking. This enquiry is aimed at exploring the reasons why well-educated professional Chinese immigrants, who constitute a large portion of the Chinese population in Canada, do not put more effort into improving their English after settling down there, even though a better level of proficiency can bring apparent benefits to their economic and social success in the new host country. Nineteen well-educated professional Chinese immigrants took part in in-depth interviews, the sole method of data collection of this exploratory study which has a conceptual framework capitalizing on such concepts as motivation/demotivation, value, capital, investment, community and identity. The findings reveal that the principal reason for a dearth of efforts is that they do not deem such efforts very necessary and worthwhile. The contribution of this study to knowledge lies in the conceptualization of non-investment, which complements the existing notion of investment by incorporating into it motivational/demotivational factors that the latter dismisses, and which addresses the issue as to what resources an individual depends on when making investment decisions. In addition, this concept is also a contribution to the under-researched area of demotivation. The immigration of well-educated Chinese professionals to Canada is one of the trends in human migration on the global scale which is a part of globalization. Therefore, the comprehension of the rationale behind their second language practice is significant to the applied linguists who work in the realm of globalization.

Cette thèse compare deux situations sociolinguistiques très différentes, celles du picard en France et du mari en Russie. L'un des résultats attendus est la mise au point d'une grille d'analyse valable pour toute situation de coexistence d'idiomes inégaux, quelles que soient leurs relations typologiques ou génétiques. Dans ce but, nous proposons une transposition de la théorie des Principes et Paramètres à la sociolinguistique. La première partie décrit les modalités d'existence des deux langues comme langues minoritaires. Après un historique de leur développement, nous étudions leur inscription dans un paysage linguistique multilingue, notamment du point de vue de leur visibilité et des dynamiques diglossiques à l'œuvre. Les parties suivantes étudient la place du picard et du mari dans les politiques linguistiques nationales et éventuellement régionales. La deuxième partie s'intéresse à l'aménagement du status, à travers l'arsenal juridique des États, la Charte Européenne des Langues Régionales ou Minoritaires, et enfin les dispositifs régionaux. On distingue l'aménagement linguistique « par en haut » (institutionnel) et « par en bas » (à l'initiative des locuteurs eux-mêmes). L'enseignement des deux langues fait l'objet d'un développement particulier.La troisième partie concerne l'aménagement du corpus, en étudiant les questions de standardisation et de modernisation. Dans ces deux parties, nous nous appuyons sur nos enquêtes pour évaluer l'efficacité des politiques telle que la ressentent les locuteurs eux-mêmes. En conclusion, nous rassemblons les différents principes et paramètres sociolinguistiques mis en évidence et tentons leur modélisation / This dissertation compares two very different sociolinguistic situations: the situation of Picard in France and the situation of Mari (Cheremis) in Russia. One of the expected results is to elaborate an evaluation grid that could be applied to any situation of co-existing unequal languages, regardless of their typological or genetic relationships. For this purpose, we suggest to transpose to sociolinguistics the Principles and Parameters Theory. In part I we describe the modes of existence of the two languages as minority languages. We give a brief survey of their historical development, and then describe how they are inserted into multilingual environments, with special consideration given to their visibility and diglossic dynamics.Parts II and III are dedicated to the place of Picard and Mari in the nationwide and eventually regionwide linguistic policies. In part II we focus on status planning, by looking at the French and Russian legal arsenals, the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, and the regional regulatory regimes. We distinguish between two modes of language planning: “top-down” (official) and “bottom-up” (originating from the speakers themselves). We develop a more detailed analysis of the teaching of the two languages.Part III deals with corpus planning, from the point of view of standardization and modernization. In parts II and III we use our sociolinguistic surveys to evaluate the efficiency of language policies as they are perceived by the speakers themselves.In conclusion, we sum up the different sociolinguistic Principles and Parameters we have found and try to model them

Languages evolve, adapting to pressures arising from their learning and use. As these pressures may be different in different sociocultural environments, non-linguistic factors relating to the group structure of the people who speak a language may influence the features of the language itself. Identifying such factors, and the mechanisms by which they operate, would account for some of the diversity seen in the complexity of different languages. This thesis considers two key hypotheses which connect group structure to complex language features and evaluates them experimentally. Firstly, languages spoken by greater numbers of people are thought to be less morphologically complex than those employed by smaller groups. I assess two mechanisms by which group size could have such an effect: different degrees of variability in the linguistic input learners receive, and the effects of adult learning. Four experiments conclude that there is no evidence for different degrees of speaker input variability having any effect on the cross-generational transmission of complex morphology, and so no evidence for it being an explanation for the effect of population size on linguistic complexity. Three more experiments conclude that adult learning is a more likely mechanism, but that linking morphological simplification at the level of the individual to group-level characteristics of a language cannot be simply explained. Idiosyncratic simplifications of adult learners, when mixed with input from native speakers, may result in the linguistic input for subsequent learners being itself complex and variable, preventing simplified features from becoming more widespread. Native speaker accommodation, however, may be a key linking mechanism. Speakers of a more complex variant of a language simplify their language to facilitate communication with speakers of a simpler language. In doing so, they may increase the frequency of particular simplifications in the input of following learners. Secondly, esoteric communication | that carried out by smaller groups in which large amounts of information is shared and in which adult learning is absent | may provide the circumstances necessary for the generation and maintenance of more complex features. I assess this in four experiments. Without a learnability pressure, esoteric communication illustrates how complexity can be maintained, but there is generally no evidence of how smaller groups or those with greater amounts of shared information would develop comparatively more complex features. Any observable differences in the complexity of the languages of different types of groups is eliminated through repeated interaction between group members. There is, however, some indication that the languages used by larger groups may be more transparent, and so easier for adult learners to understand.

This thesis examines phonological awareness and literacy in monolingual and bilingual children. Experiment 1 shows that 5-6 year old Spanish-monolingual, English-monolingual and Spanish-English-bilingual children show the same pattern of development of phonological awareness. However, the degree of awareness of each unit is influenced by linguistic background. Spanish children are more aware of vowels and rimes than English children. English children are more aware of syllables than Spanish children. Bilingual children are more aware of syllables in Spanish than Spanish-monolinguals and more aware of vowels in English than English-monolinguals. Hence they show transfer of phonological awareness across languages. All three groups also show a different relationship between phonological awareness and reading. Experiment 2 shows that bilinguals are more aware than English monolinguals of vowels that exist in both languages (tense-vowels). Moreover, this enhanced awareness extends to vowels that do not exist in Spanish (lax-vowels). It is concluded that exposure to two languages enhances analysis of phonology as well as encouraging transfer of awareness. Experiment 2 also shows that Spanish-speakers read and spell vowels more accurately than English-speakers. Bilingual children read English vowels more accurately than English-monolinguals. This suggests they understand the orthographic representations of English vowels at least as well as monolinguals. However, they spell vowels less accurately. This may be because bilinguals misapply Spanish phoneme-to-graphemecorrespondences when spelling English vowels. The English and Spanish vowel systems differ more than their consonant systems. Experiment 3 shows that sensitivity to the four consonant types (stops, fricatives, nasals and liquids) is similar, and correlates with reading ability, in all groups. This suggests that bilinguals may only transfer awareness between English and Spanish of units that are linguistically dissimilar in each. Experiment 4 compared the awareness of the two consonants in word-medial double-consonants (e.g. the 'c' and 't' in mactan). Although only Spanish-speakers used syllable boundaries to analyse these consonants they made a similar number of errors to English-speakers. However, all groups used syllable boundaries to read and spell wordmedial double-consonants. Collectively, these results suggest that differences in phonological and orthographic structure between languages encourage different approaches to the acquisition of literacy. Future research should investigate how these differences may be exploited to facilitate literacy acquisition in each group.

This thesis examines the language shift, maintenance, and code-switching of three generations of a bilingual family on the Isles of Skye and Harris, Scotland. Based on ten hours of recorded conversations among family members in the home environment, this thesis focuses particularly on the speakers’ alternation between Gaelic and English and uses a microinteractional approach in looking at how code-switching is used in the meaning-making process of this family’s interactions. It concludes that although speakers vary in terms of both ability and use of the minority language, code-switching is nonetheless a powerful communicative tool within this family. Additionally, speakers within the three generations have different ways of code-switching for effect as well as various ways of ‘doing being bilingual’ (cf. Auer, 1984). In looking at the family’s overall use of both languages, the study finds that the first generation proportionally uses more Gaelic than the second and third generations, confirming that language shift is occurring within the family. Analysis of the first generation speakers’ intragenerational language use demonstrates that speakers use code-switching in concert with reifying certain stances and in modulating between different stances in the conversation. It also examines how code-switching is used in congruence with rendering constructed dialogue, and argues that these instances of language alternation are related to the narrator’s indexical and discourse organisational goals. The discussion of the first generation concludes by arguing that these speakers use code-switching primarily as a strategy to mitigate communicative trouble, a theme which is carried forward in focusing on the use of one first generation speaker’s code-switching in two lengthy narratives. This section argues that the use of code-switching is integral to the speaker’s success in the storytelling process, and demonstrates how the speaker uses code-switching in oscillating between the storyworld and the real-world interaction, as well uses code-switching in navigating different temporal frames within the narrative. Although the second generation evidence language shift by their overall low use of Gaelic, they are nonetheless trying to maintain the use of Gaelic with the third generation. An examination of the second generation’s language use focuses primarily on their use of the minority language in creating a child-centred context. It also further looks at how the parents of the third generation speakers use Gaelic when taking up authoritative stances towards their children. Discussion of the third generation’s language use centres on how the children in turn pereceive and use Gaelic as a ‘strategy for gain’ and focuses in particular on their occasional use of Gaelic in constructing argumentative stances vis-à-vis their parents’ displays of authority. The section concludes by examining an interaction where the youngest speaker in the study uses an increased amount of Gaelic on the telephone, arguing that the use of Gaelic in this context is one of the ways this third generation speaker enacts a first generation identity. This study demonstrates that although language shift is occurring, the family is nonetheless trying to maintain their minority language. Code-switching is a powerful communicative strategy within the family and all members, and even family members with only passive bilingual skills ‘do being part of a bilingual family.’

Archwilia’r traethawd hwn rai o’r problemau a wynebir wrth hyrwyddo iaith fechan, gan ddefnyddio’r Gymraeg yn brif enghraifft. Amlinella’r bennod gyntaf effaith negyddol unffurfrwydd monolithig y wladwriaeth-genedl ar amlieithrwydd, gan ei wrthwynebu ar y sail y gall medru sawl iaith wella hyblygrwydd meddwl a pherthnasau rhwng gwahanol grwpiau. Yn yr ail bennod cyflwynir damcaniaeth cymdeithaseg iaith a chynllunio ieithyddol ac amlinellir yr hyn y gallai disgyblaeth marchnata ei wneud i newid agweddau ac ymddygiad o blaid dwyieithrwydd. Ym mhennod 3 cyflwynir canlyniadau ymchwil a wnaed ar 219 o breswylwyr Dyffryn Teifi, ardal a chanddi ddwysedd siaradwyr Cymraeg uchel. Archwilir sawl agwedd ar yr iaith, e.e. defnydd iaith, dyheadau siaradwyr at y dyfodol, mesurau cynllunio ieithyddol a phroblemau a photensial grðp ail iaith cynyddol yr ardal. Ym mhennod 4 cymherir agweddau 324 o unigolion tuag at yr iaith, traean ohonynt yn ddisgyblion chweched dosbarth mewn ysgolion Cymraeg, traean arall yn ddisgyblion uniaith Saesneg a thraean yn ddysgwyr. Cyflwynir eu hatebion i restr gyffredin o gwestiynau parthed defnyddioldeb y Gymraeg, hunaniaeth genedlaethol a mesurau cynllunio ieithyddol. Pwysleisir pa mor bwysig yw siaradwyr ail iaith a’r rhai di-Gymraeg wrth geisio goresgyn y rhwystrau i sefyllfa ieithyddol wedi ei ‘normaleiddio’. Ym mhennod olaf y traethawd dadansoddir rhwystr arall i ddwyieithrwydd, sef y methiant anferth i gynhyrchu siaradwyr newydd, rhugl o oedolion. Cynigir mai methodoleg hen ffasiwn sydd ar fai am hyn a chynigir cyrchddulliau ‘ymennydd gyfeillgar’ i gymryd eu lle. Archwilir un o’r rhain, Suggestopedia, yn fanwl, a chesglir ei fod o leiaf mor effeithiol â chyrchddulliau eraill ac, o bosib, yn fwy effeithiol o dipyn. Cloir y traethawd drwy bwysleisio mai dim ond trwy gynllunio’n strategol wrth ystyried anghenion siaradwyr newydd o oedolion y goresgynnir y rhwystrau ar lwybr dwyieithrwydd