Sign languages present particular challenges to language assessors in relation to variation in signs, weakly defined citation forms, and a general lack of standard-setting work even in long-established measures of productive sign proficiency. The present article addresses and explores these issues via a mixed-methods study of a human-rated…

While substantial research has looked backward at the colonial history of language and forward to the potential of decolonizing English for linguistic justice, there is a lack of investigation looking "inward" at the lived raciolinguistic experiences of multilingual scholars. This edited collection opens a healing space for storytelling…

The scholarly praise for linguistic diversity stands in an interesting contrast to the way diversity in standard and non-standard languages is referred to in language policy discourse. Drawing on recent debates in Switzerland, this article focuses on ideologies on linguistic varieties in the German- and Romansh-speaking areas. The two contexts…

This contribution examines the linguistic perceptions and ideologies of an individual of Latin American origin, Jorge, based in the German-speaking region of Switzerland, through narratives to analyse how pre-existing normative linguistic discourses influence (linguistic) identities. Connecting the micro-level of Jorge's narrative to the macro…

This paper investigates the conditions under which stakeholders in the higher education system in multilingual Switzerland link expectations of students' future economic to the development of human capital. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in a project focusing on mobile students crossing linguistic borders within Switzerland, I examine how…

While the idea of plurilingual competence is widely established theoretically and promoted in European language policies, it is not implemented in educational practice, where separate plurilingualism is still dominant. The idea of languages as autonomous entities is e.g. reflected in the "Common European Framework of Reference for…

This article argues for a "D-A-CH" approach, which stands for Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH), in language classes from the introductory level on. I begin by tracing the emergence and development of distinct Standard Swiss and Austrian German varieties. I then discuss marketing efforts for Swiss and Austrian German, and…

The present study examines the effect of cross-varietal prosodic characteristics of two German varieties, Northern Standard German (NG) and Swiss German (SG), on the production and perception of foreign accent in L2 Belfast English. The analysis of production data revealed differences in the realisation of nuclear pitch accents in L1 German and L2…

Discusses students' cultural reasons for studying a particular language, the use of sociolinguistic studies as a cultural backdrop to language studies in order to view language as a living cultural asset, and the use of the cultural area of language studies as one of the best media to challenge prejudice. (11 references) (CK)

Presents results of a study of the use of the dative with the genitive prepositions "(an)statt,""trotz,""wahrend" and "wegen" based on two corpora. Notes that a comparison of these two computerized corpora shows that no clear trend exists regarding the increased use of the dative with these prepositions in…

Papers on language research in this volume include the following: Pour une comparaison des voyelles nasals du Quebec et du Haut-Jura: observations, methodologie et outils infomatiques (A Comparison of Quebec and Haut-Jura's Nasal Vowels: Observations, Methodologies, and Instrumentation) (Vincent Arnaud and Claude Paradis); Le negociation du sens…

Articles in this issue focus on language evolution, variation, and heterogeneity. The following are English translations of the French article titles appearing in the issue: "Irregular Phonetic Development Due to Frequency; Regional Traits in Proto-Romance"; "Linguistic Evolution and Evolution of Perspective in the Comparative…