by Professor Jenny Phillimore, Director of Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) Boosting English language is one of the policy proposals outlined in DHCLG’s Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper. There is no doubt that being able to speak, read and write fluently the language of the country in which you reside is important for integration. ... Continue Reading →
TLANG team
Like many around the country, the TLANG team have been shocked by the upsurge of xenophobia and racist hate crime which the police believe have been triggered by the BREXIT vote https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/11/police-blame-worst-rise-in-recorded-hate-on-eu-referendum . The outcome of the vote seems to have been interpreted by some as permission to hate, or rather to express that hatred through abuse and violence. As part of the TLANG Project (website) we are working with the East European Advice Centre, housed in the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) building in Hammersmith, London. As widely reported in the media, POSK came under racist attack with graffiti smeared over its front door the day after the EU Referendum.
Aspects of the BREXIT campaign, designed to raise fear and anxiety over migration, have encouraged this response, as has the campaign of disinformation on migration conducted by some sectors of the press. As concerned citizens we…
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This video is part of the Translation and Translanguaging (TLANG) research project funded by the AHRC. The aim of the project is to understand how people communicate multilingually across diverse languages and cultures. It defines 'translation' as the negotiation of meaning using different modes (spoken/written/ visual/gestural) where speakers have different proficiencies in a range of... Continue Reading →
Drawing on an ethnographic study in the London Borough of Hackney, Susanne Wessendorf explains how language differences are skilfully bridged in public-space social interactions, for example at markets or in shops. This new IRiS Working Paper (n.9) shows how language differentially influences the kinds of social relations people form when it comes to more intimate social... Continue Reading →
