American linguist Edward Sapir (26 January 1884 – 4 February 1939) said that societies live in distinct worlds, not simply ‘the same world with different labels attached.’
Continue reading “Language Is a Guide To Social Reality”
An Australian social science website catalogued over 1,000 local languages from Papua New Guinea. Continue reading Mapping Language
The Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University says the social sciences have an important role to play in society, especially through multidisciplinary research.
Continue reading “Social Science in Multidisciplinary Research” Noam Chomsky on Language Use and Design: conflicts and their significance.
Continue reading Noam Chomsky on Language Use and Design
Common law does not require people are given access to an interpreter but legal cases show that use of interpreters does not always lead to an accurate and fair presentation of evidence in court. This is especially problematic for Indigenous Australians who speak diverse languages that don’t necessarily translate well through the mouths of a poorly trained interpreter.
Continue reading “Indigenous Australians, Justice & Language Translation”
What happens when White people appropriate Black slang? Commodification without stigma.
Continue reading “Linguistics and Cultural Appropriation”
A linguistics study from University of Manchester finds that: “most people modify their accent not because they lack pride in it, quite the opposite in fact. It’s actually because they fear the negative perceptions others might have of them if they don’t, especially in work-related contexts.”
Continue reading “Managing Accents at Work”
What can you do with a social science degree? Carrie Brownstein has been a rockstar with Sleater Kinney and has found further success as a comedy writer and star on Portlandia. Here’s how she sees the link between her degree in sociolinguistics and her comedy TV show.
Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke speaks about film censorship in China at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Speaking in his native Chinese language here Zhang-ke says his thought-provoking film, A Touch of Sin, made its debut in Cannes in May and that the version we are seeing at the Melbourne International Film Festival will be released in his homeland in October.
Continue reading “Film Censorship in China”