Papers by Jaffer Sheyholislami
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Sep 1, 2018
TESOL Quarterly, Nov 12, 2022
We are grateful to Isabel Guerrero for the translation of some parts of this chapter.
The Cambridge History of the Kurds
The Journal of Mesopotamian Studies, 2021
Ev xebat statûya du guhertoyên zimanî yên Kurdistana Iraqê dide ber hev: Behdînî û Hewramî. Hikum... more Ev xebat statûya du guhertoyên zimanî yên Kurdistana Iraqê dide ber hev: Behdînî û Hewramî. Hikumeta Heremî ya Kurdistanê (HHK) herdu guhertoyan wekî guhertoyên Kurdî dibîne. Lê, herçiqas herdu guhertoyan ji bo perwerdeya bi zimanê zikmakî û naskirina resmî hewl dabin jî, tenê Behdînî karîye mafên zimên bi dest bixe. Ji bo lêkolîna sedemêm muhtemel yên newekhevîya statûya van herdu guhertoyan, vê xebatê polîtîkaya krîtîk ya zimên (critical language policy) û nêrîna dîrokî ya sazûmanî (historical construction approach) bi kar anîne. Vê gotarê ev herdu guherto ji çend alîyan ve dane ber hev: wekî zimannasî, pêvajoya pêşketina dîrokî, kevneşopîya nivîskî, têgihîştin û tevger, mobîlîzasyona etnozimanî, demografî û rewşa sosyo-ekonomîk, û wekî dawî sîyaset û hêza sîyasî ya civatan.
Journal of Language and Politics, 2020
In 2013, Richmond city council was presented with a petition calling for the regulation of all la... more In 2013, Richmond city council was presented with a petition calling for the regulation of all language signs, drawing national attention to the amount of Chinese-only signage. The signage debate has become well-known in Canada as a result of the media, which has provided a platform for debate through online reader commentary. By applying concepts from linguistic landscapes, language ideologies and nationalism in addition to analytical tools from SFL, we employ critical discourse studies to examine how representations of and responses to language signage in online news commentary contribute to the construction of in-groups and out-groups in the Canadian context. Findings show that stereotypical representations of ethnicity and culture are represented as a threat to the Canadian status quo. Also, contradictory ideologies of Canadian official bilingualism are employed to justify discrimination against Chinese language speakers. Findings suggest that language ideologies remain deeply t...
Discourse & Society, 2010
The French language has traditionally been understood as a key symbol of Quebec identity; however... more The French language has traditionally been understood as a key symbol of Quebec identity; however, with rapidly changing demographics, new ways of identifying with Quebec have begun to emerge. Drawing on a bilingual corpus of English and French briefs submitted to the Bouchard Taylor Commission on religious and cultural accommodation, this corpus-assisted discourse study (CADS) investigates the extent to which language plays a continuing role as both a symbol and medium in the construction of nationhood and belonging in Quebec popular discourse. Language was found to remain both a central concern and a demarcating line within and between English, French, and minority language speakers’ discourses. This study breaks new ground by adapting the CADS methodology to a bilingual corpus. We discuss the advantages of using CADS in two languages and point to remaining challenges such as keyness and corpus comparability.
Acta Archaeologica, 2011
This report summarises the results from the work undertaken in the international collaborative pr... more This report summarises the results from the work undertaken in the international collaborative project 'TRANS-USERS-transforming the construction sector through user-driven innovation'. TRANS-USERS was carried out in 2007-2009. The project was executed in collaboration between CSTB (Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment) and SBi/AAU (the Danish Building Research Institute/Aalborg University). The editors wish to thank the contributors to the project as well as our interview persons in the industry. In particular, the editors wish to thank the funding agencies that sponsored the project as part of the ERABUILD collaborative research funding scheme: the Danish Agency for Enterprise and Construction (Erhvervs-og Byggestyrelsen) in Denmark and PUCA (Plan, Urbanisme, Construction et Architecture) in France.
The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis
University of Bamberg Press eBooks, 2019
Kordestan is one of four provinces in Iran where Kurdish is the main spoken language. A small num... more Kordestan is one of four provinces in Iran where Kurdish is the main spoken language. A small number of studies of specific language varieties in Kordestan Province have appeared, and the province is featured as part of several general regional or country-wide maps of language distribution. Until now, however, no systematic study on the language situation in this province has been published. The present paper, which seeks to address this gap, provides an account of the research currently being carried out on Kordestan Province of Iran in the context of the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) research programme. After introducing the Atlas project and the research team for Kordestan, we look at the role of existing data sources in the Atlas, including the production of a background map and an online bibliography of language-related resources. The main portion of the paper deals with the collection of new data, consisting of local place names and language distribution data, combined with existing data sets and mapped out to the level of each settlement. The results of our study show that the language situation in Kordestan Province is more diverse than often assumed, with six important high-level varieties represented: Central Kurdish, Southern Kurdish, Hawrami, Turkic, Persian and Aramaic. Most of these varieties also show significant internal variation, as shown by our inventory and initial classification of all major subvarieties. The study concludes with reflections on the importance of a fine-grained and systematic approach to investigating the language situation, the limitations of this type of large-scale study, and possibilities for further research that refines and builds on the findings presented here.
The Handbook of Linguistic Human Rights, Nov 18, 2022
Current Issues in Kurdish Linguistics contains ten contributions which span the field of Kurdish ... more Current Issues in Kurdish Linguistics contains ten contributions which span the field of Kurdish linguistics, both in terms of geography and in terms of the range of topics. Along with several works on Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) and Sorani (Central Kurdish), two chapters shed light on the lesser-known Southern Kurdish language area. Other studies are comparative, and treat the Kurdish language area in its entirety. The linguistic approaches of the authors are a mix of formal and typological perspectives, and cover topics ranging from geographical distribution and variation to phonology, morphosyntax, discourse structure, historical morphology, and sociolinguistics. The present volume is the first of its kind in bringing together contributions from a relatively large number of linguists, working in a diverse range of frameworks and on different aspects and varieties of Kurdish. As such, it attests to the increasing breadth and sophistication now evident in Kurdish linguistics, and is a worthy launch for the new series Bamberg Studies in Kurdish Linguistics (BSKL).
Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2022
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) has increasingly served to examine the content of textbooks. Gi... more Critical discourse analysis (CDA) has increasingly served to examine the content of textbooks. Given momentum by critical social inquiry pertaining to textbook content, this study looks at peer-reviewed literature drawn from three scholarly databases (JSTOR, ERIC, and SAGE; cross-referenced with searches on Google Scholar) that use critical discourse analysis for those investigations. Reviewing the selected literature, this study asks: What are the most represented approaches of CDA used for examining textbooks? What contextual themes appear to draw the most attention? In what fields of study are the examined textbooks situated? How do these emergent themes appear to be connected? What areas of research appear lacking in the collected literature? The findings illustrate that, while the methods of CDA and types of textbooks examined are diverse, the lion’s share of contextual attention and critical utility appear to be given to foundational approaches to CDA and textbooks used for En...
Research Methods for Classroom Discourse, 2019
According to van Dijk (1998a) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a field that is concerned with... more According to van Dijk (1998a) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a field that is concerned with studying and analyzing written and spoken texts to reveal the discursive sources of power, dominance, inequality and bias. It examines how these discursive sources are maintained and reproduced within specific social, political and historical contexts. In a similar vein, Fairclough (1993) defines CDA as discourse analysis which aims to systematically explore often opaque relationships of causality and determination between (a) discursive practices, events and texts, and (b) wider social and cultural structures, relations and processes; to investigate how such practices, events and texts arise out of and are ideologically shaped by relations of power and struggles over power; and to explore how the opacity of these relationships between discourse and society is itself a factor securing power and hegemony. (p. 135)
Canadian Journal of Communication, 2009
Minority languages have been oppressed, denied, and neglected for a long time, and their decline ... more Minority languages have been oppressed, denied, and neglected for a long time, and their decline is accelerating. Whereas estimates show that half of the world's languages disappeared from 1450 to 1950, half of the remaining 6000 to 7000 languages could disappear in this century alone. Some observers include globalization and new media technologies among the factors contributing to this extinction. Some others, however, see new media, such as satellite television and the Internet, as the salvation of minority languages. This book is a solid and major contribution to our understanding of the complex relationship between media, language maintenance, and language development. Although the book mainly focuses on Western Europe, its eclectic range of topics could resonate with minority language situations around the world. The book serves the editors' ambitious project: to establish minority language media as a discrete field of study connected to, but independent of, media studies, and applied linguistics or sociolinguistics. Initially developed out of the First Mercator International Symposium on Minority Languages and Research, a 2003 symposium sponsored by the European Commission, the book consists of fourteen chapters. In addition to the excellent introductory and concluding chapters by editors Mike Cormack and Niamh Hourigan, there are twelve chapters organized into two sections. The first section sets the context, describing key terms (e.g., minority language), presenting a rich literature review of the field, and mapping the theoretical and methodological issues. This section also furnishes an insightful analysis of networks of campaigns for minority television, the "knowledge economy" of digital media and its implications for minority language media, and recording the history of minority language broadcasting. The second section contains incisive case studies featuring more specific issues: the empowering affordances of the Internet for minority cultures, the crucial role of local television in the Basque Country and Catalonia in language normalization ("the recovery of public use of [the minority] language in all fields") (p. 171), the representational affordances of local television in Wales, emphasizing the linguistic aspects of minority media production (e.g. translation, dubbing and subtitling), and finally, the struggle for putting sign language on British television. A common thread that connects these chapters is the belief that it is important to maintain and develop minority languages and the stance that the media have a crucial role to play in maintaining and developing minority languages. Minority language media are deemed
Critical Discourse Studies, 2016
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Papers by Jaffer Sheyholislami