ERIC Number: EJ1264466
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-0718
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Available Date: N/A
Trans-Scripting as a Multilingual Practice: The Case of Hellenised English
Androutsopoulos, Jannis
International Journal of Multilingualism, v17 n3 p286-308 2020
This paper introduces the term 'trans-scripting' to examine fleeting, socially unstable practices of writing a language in a non-canonical script. As a theoretical notion, trans-scripting conceives of script as a semiotic resource whose situated choice and sequential alternation can create discursive meaning. The case study is on 'Hellenized English', a recent and overall quite rare practice of representing English in the Greek script. The analysis focuses on three YouTube videos which display a former Greek Prime Minister speaking English and use Hellenised English in subtitles. Graphemic microanalysis of these subtitles shows how trans-scripting draws on various techniques to scorn the politician's English language skills and, by extension, his adequacy for office. This case study shows that in a digital era, the choice of a non-canonical script is enabled by digital communication technologies, embedded in a complex semiotic environment, and oriented to a networked audience. Trans-scripting practices capitalise on the poetic dimension of language by inviting viewers to gaze on linguistic forms and reflect on their difference to other potential representations of speech, as a basis on which to draw socio-political and moral conclusions about the represented speaker.
Descriptors: Multilingualism, Semiotics, Written Language, Case Studies, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Variation, Visual Aids, Language Usage, Public Officials, Language Skills, Information Technology, Discourse Analysis, Video Technology, Code Switching (Language), Social Networks, Audience Awareness, Moral Values, Greek, Foreign Countries, Social Media
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
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Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
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