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The management of language maintenance and shift in the Czech language community in Chicago
Štěpánová, Marie ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Dittmann, Robert (referee)
The Master's thesis The management of language maintenance and shift in the Czech language community in Chicago examines (based on the analysis of the transcript of more than twenty hours of recordings of testimonies of thirteen speakers from Czech-speaking areas of western peripheries of American Chicago who have been living outside the Czech countries for more than forty years) the issues of language maintenance, transmission to future generations, and language shift in the expatriate community. The work analyses the environment and diverse situations of possible contact with the Czech language, reflected by the speakers, as well as the importance of national institutions (such as expatriate associations, minority schools, Czech parishes, etc.) for language maintenance of individuals. Respondents reflect also the conditions under which they were able to pass the Czech language to succeeding generations." It analyses testimonies of Czech Americans on what reactions they have received on language features showing their origin (such as foreign accent and name) and what assimilation strategies they used to moderate such stigma. The project examines, from the perspective of simple language management, how bilingual skills and the identity of respondents interact in a research interview.
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Linguistic Gratifications
Novotný, Tomáš ; Nekvapil, Jiří (advisor) ; Sherman, Tamah (referee)
This paper aims to provide a basic overall description of the phenomenon called language gratification. In Language Management Theory this phenomenon represents a kind of metalanguage behaviour entailing a positive evaluation. Language Management Theory including language gratifications is presented in this paper extensively. Afterwards, various methodological procedures which can be used for obtaining relevant data are introduced. The use of these methods is then illustrated in the analytical part comprising a series of examples, while other sources of data are mentioned. Next part presents a basic typology of language gratifications, in comparison to the typology of language problems on the one hand, and based on the findings acquired during the work on this paper on the other hand. The problems related with the research on language gratifications and some research perspectives are discussed in the concluding parts.
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Back to our Roots: Language and Sociocultural Management of Young Vietnamese in the Czech Republic
Ngo, Quynh Nga ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Adamovičová, Ana (referee)
A common phenomenon among migrants is called language attrition, or the partial loss of language skills caused by changes in the active use of the language. This phenomenon occurs in the Czech Republic, where numerous young Vietnamese are often praised (especially by teachers) for their quick acquisition of the Czech language in the school environment, but experience shortcomings in their Vietnamese language and socio-cultural competence during early adulthood, on the basis of which they begin to go "back to their roots." The main topics of research in this thesis are 1) the experience of loss of the Vietnamese language and socio-cultural competence by individual Vietnamese and by the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic, 2) adjustment designs to remedy these deficiencies and 3) the (non-)implementation of these adjustment designs by both individuals and organizations in the Czech Republic. The theoretical- methodological framework is a Language Management Theory (Neustupný 2002) and the main methodological approaches are language biography (Nekvapil 2004) and ethnography. The results of the analysis indicate the critical points to be addressed in incentives for Vietnamese language teaching methodology for young Vietnamese, as well as in the experience and reflection of their personal identities.
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The mutual intelligibility of Swedish and Danish in tourist interactions outside of Scandinavia
Kohoutová, Alexandra ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Slouková, Radka (referee)
The continental Scandinavian languages are very closely related and this fact often leads to the presumption that their speakers are able to communicate with each other without using another language (e.g. English); this type of communication is called semicommunication (this term firstly used Haugen in his paper from 1966). Although there are many historical, social and linguistic preconditions which favour semicommunication, interactions between Scandinavians can be characterized by frequent misunderstandings. This thesis focuses on semicommunication between Danish and Swedish and it consists of the author's research on Danish-Swedish conversations outside of Scandinavia with both native and non-native speakers of the languages. The research took place in Prague, in a tourist office with Danish owners and Scandinavian clients. It is based on audio recordings of conversations between non-native Swedish speaking employees of the office and Danish tourists. The aim of the research is to find out in which situations and why semicommunication fails, how the possible misunderstandings are solved and whether they create problems for subsequent communication. The conclusion of the analysis is that the extent of misunderstandings was about the same with Danish tourists and Swedish speaking employees of...
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Forms of address in Finnish in the context of dynamic politeness norms
Štauberová, Markéta ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Fárová, Lenka (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to describe the current state of select politeness phenomena in Finnish which are expressed through language structure, namely the forms of address. My main research questions were: How do Finnish native speakers use T- and V-forms? Has there been any perceived development in the use of address forms in Finnish in the past ten years? Are there any special situations, occasions, places or institutions (...) in which speakers expect particular form of address? Have they experienced any recent changes? How is the possible rise in use of the V-form connected to the use of other politeness expressions in Finnish? The thesis begins with a general description of the most significant theoretical approaches to politeness. It, then, defines a place of forms of address within the linguistic politeness. The main theoretical basis for the thesis is linguistic pragmatics, in which politeness is seen as a dynamic interpersonal activity. Not only is politeness a linguistic phenomenon but it is also a matter of social behaviour. Therefore, it differs culturally but also situationally. In the second chapter, I examine the Finnish forms of address as a linguistic phenomenon. First, I consider nominal and pronominal forms of address, second, I explain the grammatical base for Finnish...
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The language management of Russian-speaking university students and graduates in its socioeconomic context
Petrova, Natallia ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Hrdlička, Milan (referee)
This thesis is devoted to the language management of Russian-speaking university students and graduates in the socioeconomic context of the Czech Republic. The first, theoretical section, is based on the results of previous studies as well as statistical data. It delimits the concepts of language management and Language Management Theory describes the types of language management, and explains its processual character. The second, empirical section of the thesis, is devoted to a qualitative research study based on semi-structured interviews with 10 speakers of Russian as a first or second language who were studying or who had studies at universities in the Czech Republic. The aim of the research was to gain up-to-date information on respondents' subjective understanding of their position on the Czech labor market. The results reveal connections between language, communicative and socio- cultural (including socio-economic) management thus connect issues of language competence and linguistic repertoires and the socio-economic position of Russian-speaking university students and graduates in the Czech Republic.
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On the Discursive Constitution of Language Norm Authorithies in German Schools and Their Influence on the Creation of the Standard Variety
Horbank, Olivia Josephine ; Dovalil, Vít (advisor) ; Sherman, Tamah (referee)
This master thesis analyzes the question, how norm authority constitutes itself in the context of school education. It is based on firsthand data from several adio- and audiovisual recordings of classes in two German schools (trade school and high school). The project provides a description of the mechanism by which the teacher establishes himself as the norm-authority and how he is able to assert this authority towards the student, the norm subject. At the same time, the reaction of the norm subjects towards the intervention of the norm authority into their language production is analyzed. Theoretically, the essay is embedded in the social force field of a standard-variety ("soziales Kräftefeld einer Standardvarietät") by Ulrich Ammon and the language management theory. By following the steps of the language management process, the handling of the language norm is described and an analysis is made of how language norms are actively adopted into the learning process. The analysis and evaluation of the class recordings underline the dynamic character of language norms and show the procedural nature of norm formation and their adoption. Key Words: norm, variety, social force field, language management, macro and micro level, norm authority, norm subject
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Heritage Language Preservation and its Impact on Integration: The Case of the Vietnamese in the Czech Republic.
Chudoba, Barbara ; Sherman, Tamah (advisor) ; Sloboda, Marián (referee) ; Abondolo, David (referee)
Heritage language preservation or conversely, a language shift (a loss or decrease of language proficiency) can directly impact a minority ethnic group's integration into a host society. Multiple theories and studies have demonstrated that students from an ethnic group who are encouraged to celebrate their ethnicity and practice their heritage language have better relationships with parents and peers and overall are more academically and cognitively advanced, less likely to commit crimes and have more economic opportunities available to them. In short, these individuals would seem more likely to successfully integrate into a host country's society. Therefore, looking at the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic I attempted to gauge the standing of Vietnamese as a heritage language within this ethnic community by using qualitative research to better understand the existing sociolinguistic landscape. Ultimately, what I determined from my research is that heritage language preservation can act as a barrier to integration for the first generation if retaining the heritage language comes at the expense of learning the host country's language. However, for the later generations, a language shift is occurring which might actually hinder integration in the long run. Keywords Heritage language,...
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Austrian versus German German. Simple Language Managenent in Interactions between Austrian and German Native Speakers
Grycová, Petra ; Dovalil, Vít (advisor) ; Sherman, Tamah (referee)
Since at least 1986, from the International German Teachers conference in Bern, the German language has been recognized among linguists as a pluricentric language. Therefore, it is possible to speak about more language centres, and also about national and equal varieties of one language. In connection with the decentralization of power and regionalization in the world, as well as the accession of Austria to the European Union, which brought above all the "Protocol Nr. 10" with 23 specific Austrian words, the nineties experienced a boom in the production of pluricentric oriented literature. Many papers were also being focused on the research of the Austrian German. However, despite the declared equality of national varieties, their speakers are often not sure about the existence of more standard varieties, their characteristics or equality. These views, attitudes and evaluations as well as potential problems associated with the national varieties, will be described and analyzed by using the tools of the Language Management Theory. The starting points are authentic interviews of Austrian and German native speakers. An important focus of the research is also the way in which the pluricentric concept works at the micro level and how and what national varieties the speakers themselves are constructing....
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To the Position and Role of the Normative Authority in the Internet Forums. An Analysis of the Corrections in the Context of the Language Management Theory.
Šimčíková, Lucie ; Dovalil, Vít (advisor) ; Sherman, Tamah (referee)
My thesis deals with the status of German language standard and is based on research in the internet discussion sites (internet forums), that deal with the topic of language. The internet forums that I've chosen offer help in learning a foreign language, in our case German. The help is provided either by proofreading or by answering the specific questions. This thesis is based on Ulrich Ammon's model of four social forces and the theory of language management. Next to the instances, which according to Ammon determine the standard, I included the participants of discussion, who decide what is standard too and thereby affect those for whom isn't German the native language. The analysis will be carried out on the basis of the proofreading of model texts. With the help of the language management theory I will discuss with the proofreader in the comments their selected (or not selected) option. The aim of my work is to observe the behavior of normative authority in relation to the codified norm, whether they know and follow it. Furthermore, I am interested in the social background and language abilities of the participants, which I'll find out by using the questionnaires.
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