Journal of Linguistics and Languge Teaching
Volume 7 (2016) Issue 1

English, Fiona / Tim Marr (2015): Why Do Linguistics? Reflective Linguistics and the Study of Language. London, New Delhi, New York, Sydney: Bloomsbury (292 pages) (ISBN 978-1-4411-6609-8)

1   General Impression

Again another introduction to linguistics? No, not at all. What the authors want to show is what one can do with linguistics. They want to convince the reader that knowledge about language is more important even in everyday life than most people think. This is a good intention and an ambitious aim worthy of support.

The book provides good and inspiring reading on various topics concerning language in social life. Nothing new is offered, and this is neither required nor expected in a book like this. Instead, it covers a broad spectrum of generally interesting subjects ranging from linguistic ethnography, correctness, language variety and change, writtenness and spokenness to multilingualism, translanguaging, language myths, language at school and at work – all this with a clear focus on pragmatics and applied linguistics.

Who wants to read all this? Who is being addressed? English & Marr feel it is "an invitation to all those with an interest in language to engage with the discipline of linguistics" (266), and, in their opinion, that should be "everybody" (189). Students may get to know some new aspects, and linguistic colleagues may find some material for their lessons. Both groups, however, have to be initially interested in linguistics; and there is no reason why the rest of the world should spend their time reading 270 pages on this subject.

This is the main problem of the book: it is neither fish nor fowl. For students and professionals, the text does not go into detail, apart from the fact that, over long stretches, it is exemplary and associative rather than systematic. It presents quite different bits and pieces of information like, for example, pages 62 to 67 on multilingual nations: Who is able to keep this potpourri of facts in mind? For laymen, on the other hand, there are quite a few more challenging passages; this is just not a book for everyone. Those readers, however, who look at the book benevolently might find a broader audience generally interested in language(s) and linguistics. This audience, however, does not have to be linguistically educated only, but also highly motivated right from the beginning. The text oscillates between an amateur and an expert level. Besides, some parts are more inductive, starting from examples and inviting the reader to do his individual research. Other chapters approach the subject more deductively, presenting facts, theories and research results.

Apart from the above-mentioned critical point, we may now come to the laudable qualities of the book. English & Marr strive for linguistic awareness, and they passionately plead for awareness raised towards language in everyday communication. Whoever reads this book, is richly rewarded by a variety of information and stimulating discussions.

2     Content

In the following, the content of the present book will be analysed in a more detailed manner. As linguistics is "an extremely wide-ranging field of study" (97), English & Marr concentrate on "language and other communicative modes as can be observed in our day-to-day interactions" (97). Throughout the book, they argue that "language awareness is developed by observing, describing and understanding communicative activity in its natural environments" (97).

This is why in the first, exploratory, part of the book (ch. 1 to 5), the editors start off with different communicative phenomena they find peculiar. They feel that these phenomena, taken from their daily surroundings, permit to raise questions "that often crop up in the media and in day-to-day conversation" (9). These are all about interpersonal relationships, identity and power. The first, and very intriguing, chapter "About noticing: Becoming a linguistic ethnographer" (11-25) presents four small examples of language use: a recorded message in an underground station lift, a graffiti, an email, and a schoolboy’s eight-word remark. In a certain way, each of these cases seems weird or, in other words, inconspicuously conspicuous. The authors precisely identify why these utterances are built as they are and what we can learn from them.

In the second chapter "About correctness" (26-44) the ideology of standardization and what is ‘good’ in language is discussed. In Chapter 3 "About belonging" (45-59), the question of how language enacts community is asked. Chapter 4 "About diversity" (60-78) deals with multilingualism, language and state control, language shift, language prestige, and language attitudes. Chapter 5 "About difference" (79-93) considers similarities and differences among languages themselves.

In Part II (ch. 6 to 10), the authors promise to introduce linguistic tools which allow the reader a more thorough analysis of such phenomena and deeper language awareness. They provide a rough overview of phonetics, phonology, morphosyntax and semantics (ch. 6: "Essential linguistic tools", 99-116), explain key concepts of discourse analysis (ch. 7: "A framework for analysis", 117-129), present features of "Speaking and spokenness" (ch. 8, 130-148) as opposed to "Writing and writtenness" (ch. 9, 149-170), and discuss how people choose their words to promote a particular version of reality (ch. 10: "Choosing our words", 171-186).

Part III is meant to show why linguistics is a useful source of knowledge for everybody. Chapter 11 on "Translanguaging: When the mixed code is the code" (191-207) demonstrates that many commonly held opinions about language arise from too narrow an understanding of how people use language. In Chapter 12 on "Myths and moral panics: Linguistics and the public domain" (208-228), the authors examine how language-related issues are (mis-)represented in public discourse and the media. In Chapter 13 on "The subject that isn’t a subject: Language at school" (229-242), they advocate that language, and not just languages, should be a separate subject in the school curriculum. In Chapter 14 ("Communicating the sharp edge: Linguistics and the workplace", 243-259), they describe useful contributions of linguistic knowledge at the workplace, especially in service-oriented contexts such as police stations and call centres. In Chapter 15, finally resuming the main question "So why do linguistics?" (260-266), they draw a conclusion, mainly claiming that linguistic insights should be taken seriously in all sorts of professional and everyday contexts. They also claim that linguistics should be considered as general knowledge which opens up different ways of thinking and can even be fun (261-264).

Each chapter begins with a short introduction, giving an outlook on what the reader can expect from it, and concludes with a summary plus helpful suggestions for further reading.

3   Concluding Remarks

Throughout the book, English & Marr rightly argue that "linguistic awareness is developed by observing, describing and understanding communicative activity in its natural surroundings" (97). They present a conundrum of examples, facts, and theories. After having read the book the linguistic novice's head may be spinning despite the good readability of most passages. It may still be difficult for him to keep all this heterogeneous information in mind. Perhaps it would have been better if the authors had always started with examples first and then consistently applied suitable linguistic methods to analyze and understand the specific problems.

The authors are very much into the tradition of social semiotics and critical discourse analysis, established and applied by Halliday, Kress, Fairclough, Blommaert, and Paltridge, to quote some important names here. This is not only understandable, but also very useful in this context and with this aim in mind. Unfortunately, the central chapters on the system of language seem to be largely unconnected with the front and the rear sections, which leaves the reader with the impression that the system is opposed to language use. The authors would have done better to treat the traditional core linguistic subjects (such as phonology, morphology, syntax) at their appropriate places within the pragmatically oriented chapters. Then, they could have supported one of their main arguments even more convincingly, namely (and this is true) "that there is very little that is fixed in matters of language, and that prestige, standardness and even correctness itself are often in a state of shift and flux." (26)

The authors concentrate on the Anglo-American academic world. From almost 300 references, not a single one is written in any other language but English, and there are very few non-English or non-American authors. This is remarkable in a book that constantly advocates diversity, global orientation and multilingualism. In this respect, the following statement is revelatory: "A good deal is known about India because Indian intellectuals and academic researchers tend to publish in English" (196). Knowledge not published in English remains unknown – and this is another matter of power and identity.

Colour printing and acoustic examples would enhance the book considerably. Unfortunately, an accompanying website (mentioned only once in passing and without any indication of the URL: ) presents nothing but ten colour photographs printed in the book in black and white. Adding multimodal materials would be possible and helpful instead.

Reviewer:

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schmitz

University of Duisburg-Essen
Universitätsstr. 12
45117 Essen

Germany

E-mail: ulrich.schmitz@uni-due.de

Volume 7 (2016) Issue 1 (PDF) 

Foreword to the Issue

I. Articles

Attapol Khamkhien (Bangkok, Thailand):

Structural Patterns and Linguistic Features of Research Articles on Applied Linguistics: 

Evidence from Introduction Sections to Methods Sections

Abstract

Writing and publishing research articles (RAs) in English is crucial because an RA is considered as one of the channels to communicate among researchers and scholars worldwide. This paper centres on the rhetorical structures and linguistic features commonly used in the Introduction and Methods sections of the RA genre. Inspired by Swales’ analytical framework (1990; 2004)and the contributions of Connor, Upton and Kanoksilapatham (2007) who suggest steps of conducting a move-based genre analysis, this study examined 50 RA Introduction and Methods sections in the field of applied linguistics. These RAs were analysed by genre analysis into ‘moves’ and ‘steps’. Through a comprehensive analysis of 50 systematically selected RAs published in journals listed in the Thai Citation Index (TCI) database, the results revealed that each section displayed a generic pattern, comprising a series of moves and steps. Lexico-grammatical features associated with a communicative function were also identified. The structural patterns and linguistic features found to functionally interact with one another may facilitate the understanding of novice writers and graduates of published RAs in these sections. Pedagogically, the findings generated by this study could be useful for teaching students how to write scholarly publications in EAP classrooms. The structural patterns identified might also be meaningful for teachers in designing relevant reading and writing materials for advanced learners to improve their writing skills to effectively disseminate discoveries in their fields.

Adriano Utenga (Dodoma, Tanzania), Hashim Issa Mohamed (Morogoro, Tanzania), Onesmo Simon Nyinondi (Morogoro, Tanzania) & Abdulkarim Shaban Mhandeni (Morogoro, Tanzania):













The Role of Input Simplification and Interactional  Modification Strategies in the Tanzanian English-Language Classroom 








Abstract (English)

This paper presents a classroom-based research on input simplification and interactional modification strategies used by English language teachers to make their oral input comprehensible to their learners. The main objective was to examine the input simplification and interactional modification strategies used by English language teachers in EFL classrooms, focusing on lexical and syntactical aspects of the language. Data were collected from four English language teachers and 183 students from four selected classrooms and a review of English language syllabi in Tanzania. The study was carried out by means of audio recordings, classroom observations and interviews.The findings show that teachers employ different linguistic simplifications and interactional modification strategies in EFL classrooms to enhance students’ comprehension and interlanguage development. The findings further revealed that the use of input simplification and interactional modification strategies is crucial for students’ comprehension and language development. A combination of factors - personal style of teaching, lesson content, methodology, students’ proficiency level and linguistic background - was found to influence foreigner talk (FT) strategies. In the present paper, it is recommended that linguistic simplifications and interactional modification strategies in EFL classrooms be systematically used and streamlined in the methodology of teaching EFL. The authors also recommend that the knowledge of native speakers' (NS) / non native Speakers' (NNS) discourse for various contexts, tasks and addressees need to be explored to establish triggers of FT, and then discover which discourse modifications, if any, actually facilitate foreign language learning.

Biljana Ivanovska (Štip, Republik Mazedonien),  Marija Kusevska (Štip, Republik Makedonien) & Nina Daskalovska (Štip, Republik Makedonien): 

Zur Bewertung der pragmatischen 
Kompetenz mazedonischer Fremdsprachenstudierender

Abstract (English)

The objective of this article is to present an ongoing research project on the pragmatic competence (and its components) of L2-language students who are studying English and German at the Faculty of Philology, University „Goce Delchev“ in Stip, R. Macedonia. When it comes to L2 students' pragmatic skills, there are two main problems which have to be taken into consideration: the components of their interlanguage that should be measured, and the way that these components should be measured. The purpose of this study is to explore the components that L2 students need to acquire in order to develop their pragmatic abilities. The different views in the communicative and linguistic competencies also include linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic competences. Pragmatic competence involves the students' knowledge about the principles according to which information is organized, structured and arranged (discourse competence), information that can be used to meet various communicative functions (functional competence) as well as the delivery of information according to interactional and transactional schemata (design skills).

Abstract (Deutsch)

Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, die Erforschung der pragmatischen Kompetenz und ihre Bestandteile bei Fremdsprachenstudierenden darzustellen und zu analysieren. Die Beschreibung der Entwicklung der pragmatischen Kompetenz von Fremd- und Zweitsprachenstudierenden wurde in vielen Arbeiten und Veröffentlichungen, die die interkulturelle und interimssprachliche Pragmatik behandeln, erforscht und analysiert (z. B. Bardovi-Harlig 1999, Barron 2003, Blum-Kulka House & Kasper 1989, Cohen & Ishihara 2005, Ishihara & Cohen 2010, Kasper & Blum-Kulka 1993, McConachy & Hata 2013, Trosborg 2010, Wigglesworth & Yates 2007). In dieser Arbeit definieren wir zunächst die interimssprachliche Pragmatik. Dann beziehen wir uns auf die Probleme bezüglich der pagmatischen Kompetenzen und Komponenten, die für ihre Entwicklung relevant sind. Zum Schluss diskutieren wir die Instrumente und Methoden des Testens der interimssprachlichen pragmatischen Kompetenzen.

Shing-lung Chen 陳欣蓉 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan (R.O.C.)):

Modell zur Entwicklung eines Aufsatzmodifizierungssystems am Beispiel des Deutschen

Abstract (English)

Currently, when marking their students' essays, teachers mark each of them individually. Occurring errors must be detected and corrected repeatedly. In the present article, an essay modification system with an Internet platform is designed, on which the native speaker corrects the foreign learners’ essays. The learners’ original essays and their corrected versions are saved so that a correction system is set up. An individual error and its correction model are connected to form a relationship group. If an error is detected in a new article, the corresponding relationship group will be activated and the error will be corrected by the corresponding correction model. The correction work of the essays is thus facilitated.

Abstract (Deutsch)

Zur Zeit korrigieren Deutschlehrer einen Aufsatz ihrer Studierenden separat. Wiederholt vorkommende Fehler müssen jedes Mal erneut erkannt und korrigiert werden. Im vorliegenden Artikel wird ein Aufsatzmodifizierungssystem mittels einer Internetplattform entwickelt, auf der Muttersprachler Aufsätze ausländischer Lerner korrigieren können. Die Originalaufsätze der Lerner sowie die Korrekturversionen werden vom System gespeichert, so dass nach und nach ein Korrektursystem aufgebaut werden kann. Einzelne Fehler und deren Korrekturmodell werden jeweils zu einer Verhältnisgruppe vereinigt. Sobald ein Fehler in einem neuen Aufsatz erkannt wird, wird die entsprechende Verhältnisgruppe aktiviert und der Fehler durch das entsprechende Korrekturmodell korrigiert. Dadurch wird die Korrekturarbeit erleichtert.

Karl-Heinz Eggensperger (Potsdam, Allemagne):

Analyse d'une épreuve de droit civil proposée aux étudiants

d'un cours de français sur objectif universitaire (FOU)

Abstract (Anglais)

In the present paper, the study skills that are required for succeeding at French language courses for specific purposes at UNIcert^® III level are discussed. The aim is to equip students with the linguistic tools they need so as to deal with typical academic situations as encountered in higher education courses for law students in France, the so-called travaux dirigés. In order to be qualified to work as lawyers in the future, students have to be able to solve legal problems. A selected family law case illustrates the necessary foreign language and professional requirements; annotated excerpts from students' examinations demonstrate the need for teaching foreign languages for specific purposes.

Abstract (Allemand)

Im Mittelpunkt des vorliegenden Beitrags stehen die Anforderungen im fachbezogenen Französischunterricht auf der Niveaustufe UNIcert^® III. Studierende sollen befähigt werden, hochschulbezogene Situationen während ihres rechtswissenschaftlichen Studiums in Frankreich in den sogenannten travaux dirigés zu bewältigen. Als künftige Rechtsanwälte müssen sie imstande sein, Rechtsprobleme zu lösen. Ein Fall aus dem französischen Familienrecht illustriert die fremdsprachlichen und fachlichen Anforderungen; Auszüge aus korrigierten Klausuren belegen die Notwendigkeit fachbezogenen Fremdsprachenunterrichts.

II. Book Reviews

Veronica Smith (Klagenfurt, Austria):
Baralt, Melissa / Roger Gilabert / Peter Robinson (eds.): Task Sequencing and Instructed Second Language Learning. London: Bloomsbury 2014 (ix +237 pp.)

Ulrich Schmitz (Duisburg-Essen, Germany):

English, Fiona / Tim Marr (2015): Why Do Linguistics? Reflective Linguistics and the Study of Language. London, New Delhi, New York ,Sydney: Bloomsbury (292 pages) (ISBN 978-1-4411-6609-8)