International Journal of New Trends in Social Sciences, Dec 31, 2021
With the present pandemic, a sudden shift away from classrooms has changed the focus of language ... more With the present pandemic, a sudden shift away from classrooms has changed the focus of language teaching. New sources, methods, and techniques had to be employed, generating unanticipated changes both for language teachers and language learners. This paper aims to describe the future of language education with the presentation of possible scenarios embedded into the course of paradigm shifts in language teaching. The study analyzes those events, processes, and tendencies which may carry predictive value for the future of language teaching. Those changes which have emerged due to online education, using focus groups and interview-based qualitative research methods for data collection are defined. According to the research results, the future of language teaching and learning is going to be based on four pillars and increased autonomy, which refers to individually tailored methods and contents during online education.
Football has been related to various fields of linguistics, and linguistic landscape (LL) researc... more Football has been related to various fields of linguistics, and linguistic landscape (LL) research is no exception . The study examines how football fans in a linguistically, culturally, and ethnically diverse region claim the club and the stadium as their own space in the process of reterritorialization (Monaghan 2020), due to numerous linguistic and semiotic resources . The research site is a Hungarian minority context in the public space of a football stadium in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania . The linguistic landscape of football in Sfântu Gheorghe has never been explored in depth before . The study draws on a corpus based on photographs, videos taken inside and outside of the stadium, and data collected from the social media . The analysis shows that the presence of Hungarian in this particular LL indexes collective identity and describes the positioning strategies of the Hungarian minority speakers . The study also explores the processes of identity negotiation in which they are engaged .
Landscape can be seen as a set of signs, landscape is foreground rather than background, and sign... more Landscape can be seen as a set of signs, landscape is foreground rather than background, and signs are semiotic items rather than just forms of public signage (Pennycook 2021), therefore the present research moves away from the traditional, text-centred approach of landscape analysis in order to examine not only the linguistic signs but the non-linguistic elements as artefacts, which take place in the brand identity construction of a local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The article argues that these elements as assembling artefacts become parts of semiotic assemblages inhabiting the space and represent a key feature of brand identity construction with a focus on the commodification of languages, cultures, and identities. The data consist of observation notes, photographs, and interviews obtained from an ethnographic fieldwork in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. The analysis presents a case study based on the concept of semiotic assemblages. The assemblage of linguistic and other ...
A tanulmány bemutatja az interkulturális kompetencia elméleti és gyakorlati fejlesztésének lehető... more A tanulmány bemutatja az interkulturális kompetencia elméleti és gyakorlati fejlesztésének lehetőségeit. Kitér azokra a kérdésekre, problémákra, amelyekkel a nyelvtanárok szembesülhetnek a kulturális kompetencia iskolai tanítása során. Végül ismerteti egy konkrét példán – a Babes-Bolyai Tudományegyetem sepsiszentgyörgyi tagozatán folyó üzleti angol oktatásában – az interkulturális kompetencia fejlesztésének működő gyakorlatát
This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open n... more This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media), based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.
Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual We... more Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual Web and enabled local and global participation that assert new identities (Lenihan and Kelly-Holmes 2017). For multilingual people, language choice and code-switching serves as a means for users to perform a specific image of cultural or personal identity and signal their affiliation with a particular community. The paper analyses digital multilingual practices of bilingual (Hungarian-Romanian) university students in Romania. The data consists of students’ public Facebook profiles, examining language choice, code-switching, and hybrid practices. My research question refers to how their linguistic identity is constructed in their online communicative practices. Multilingual practices in the social media are not necessarily connected to language competences in a traditional sense and may serve as a space for resolving conflicting linguistic identities. In my data, students use their diverse ...
The COVID-19 epidemic caused not only an unprecedented crisis in our lives but also changes in ou... more The COVID-19 epidemic caused not only an unprecedented crisis in our lives but also changes in our language use and word formation habits: this new disease and its cures have naturally led to the emergence of new concepts and names. In 2020, more and more words or phrases related to the COVID-19 epidemic appeared in the public sphere as a result of COVID-related publications issued by the World Health Organization, regulations issued by the authorities of the countries, news in the press, and endless debates in the social media. This study examines the lexicalization processes and semantic shifts generated by the COVID epidemic, as we aim to examine professional and colloquial developments in pandemic-inspired terminology. We analyse the changes that have taken place in the Hungarian and Romanian language environment, while also taking into account the English language elements as a background reference. Among the most notable lexico-semantic phenomena, we have identified word coina...
This paper focuses on the online presence of languages and linguistic patterns of local small bus... more This paper focuses on the online presence of languages and linguistic patterns of local small businesses in a bilingual, Hungarian-Romanian ethnic community in Romania. By capturing linguistic diversity and creativity via netnographic research, patterns of linguistic landscape elements in the social media, such as marketing strategy of local small businesses, can be analysed. The findings suggest that despite the need to advertise by using the state language, Romanian, in order to maximize the target audience, the concentration of Hungarian landscape elements is the highest. Businesses construct their linguistic identity by their language choices and practices, aligned with the collective linguistic identity of a bilingual community and the need for a global representation, in order to secure a place in the local market.
The study starts with the definition of local, translocal, and global linguistic context in the d... more The study starts with the definition of local, translocal, and global linguistic context in the digital space. Facebook as a social media platform provides opportunities for everyday digital literacy practices such as code play. Code play allows mixing codes and repertoires usually with a humorous reference. We argue that creative interaction among languages creates the methodological need for a translingual approach besides the traditional code-switching theory to explain online linguistic phenomena. Adopting a netnographic approach, this paper presents two participants’ linguistic history, online linguistic practices, and perceptions of their own digital literacy, exploring their portrayal of (multi)linguistic identity which has local, translocal, and global resonance. The paper exploits possibilities of code play to accomplish communicative goals through code-switching and translingualism with a linguistically diverse audience.
The paper presents a qualitative approach to language learning beliefs while analysing case studi... more The paper presents a qualitative approach to language learning beliefs while analysing case studies in detail to offer significant insight into these beliefs and language learning as well. A number of studies have shown that the belief system of language learners plays a decisive role in their success and failure in language learning (Bernat & Gvozdenko 2005; Horwitz 2008). The research presents the content analysis of interviews with bilingual participants. Interviews were carried out with migrant workers, other interviews with bilingual students in Romania, as well as online interviews with immigrant workers in the EU. The paper explores different beliefs learners hold regarding learning languages. By comparing migrant workers’ and students’ beliefs the complexity of positive and negative beliefs are presented. These may change due to previous and current language learning experiences, cultural-, social-, and educational background, personality traits, etc. The result of the quali...
In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in... more In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. These landscapes are called schoolscapes as they represent the material environment where texts and images “constitute, reproduce and transform language ideologies” (
A két- és többnyelvűség-kutatások egyik területét a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek vizsgálata képezi, az... more A két- és többnyelvűség-kutatások egyik területét a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek vizsgálata képezi, azoknak a személyes „mítoszoknak” a kutatása, amelyek segítségével megismerhetjük a „motivációs átalakulási epizódusokat” (Dörnyei 2006, 52). A nyelvtanulási hiedelmek meghatározó szerepet játszanak a nyelvtanulás sikerességében vagy kudarcában. Jelen kutatás két romániai egyetem hallgatóival készített tizenkét interjú tartalmi elemzésének útján a román nyelv és az angol nyelv tanulása során megnyilvánuló nyelvtanulási hiedelmek struktúráit vázolja. A narratívák azokat a különbségeket, folyamatos változásokat szemléltetik a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek és motivációk komplex rendszerében, amelyek nemcsak a két egyén közötti különbségeket jellemzik, hanem egyazon beszélő nyelvtanulási folyamatai közötti eltéréseket is. A hiedelmek és motivációk a társadalmi-kulturális dimenzióban elhelyezett nyelvhez/nyelvekhez kötődnek, viszonylag függetlenek egymástól. A kutatás célja, hogy eldöntse, vajon hied...
In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in... more In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. These landscapes are called schoolscapes as they represent the material environment where texts and images “constitute, reproduce and transform language ideologies” (
Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual We... more Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual Web and enabled local and global participation that assert new identities (Lenihan and Kelly-Holmes 2017). For multilingual people, language choice and code-switching serves as a means for users to perform a specific image of cultural or personal identity and signal their affiliation with a particular community. The paper analyses digital multilingual practices of bilingual (Hungarian-Romanian) university students in Romania. The data consists of students' public Facebook profiles, examining language choice, code-switching, and hybrid practices. My research question refers to how their linguistic identity is constructed in their online communicative practices. Multilingual practices in the social media are not necessarily connected to language competences in a traditional sense and may serve as a space for resolving conflicting linguistic identities. In my data, students use their diverse linguistic and semiotic resources in varying ways to express and build their online identity, relying on the multimodal affordances of the digital world. Online multilingual practices rely on the speaker's complete language repertoire, but they do not necessarily depend on language proficiency.
This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider
linguistic landscape (LL) and open n... more This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media), based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.
International Journal of New Trends in Social Sciences, Dec 31, 2021
With the present pandemic, a sudden shift away from classrooms has changed the focus of language ... more With the present pandemic, a sudden shift away from classrooms has changed the focus of language teaching. New sources, methods, and techniques had to be employed, generating unanticipated changes both for language teachers and language learners. This paper aims to describe the future of language education with the presentation of possible scenarios embedded into the course of paradigm shifts in language teaching. The study analyzes those events, processes, and tendencies which may carry predictive value for the future of language teaching. Those changes which have emerged due to online education, using focus groups and interview-based qualitative research methods for data collection are defined. According to the research results, the future of language teaching and learning is going to be based on four pillars and increased autonomy, which refers to individually tailored methods and contents during online education.
Football has been related to various fields of linguistics, and linguistic landscape (LL) researc... more Football has been related to various fields of linguistics, and linguistic landscape (LL) research is no exception . The study examines how football fans in a linguistically, culturally, and ethnically diverse region claim the club and the stadium as their own space in the process of reterritorialization (Monaghan 2020), due to numerous linguistic and semiotic resources . The research site is a Hungarian minority context in the public space of a football stadium in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania . The linguistic landscape of football in Sfântu Gheorghe has never been explored in depth before . The study draws on a corpus based on photographs, videos taken inside and outside of the stadium, and data collected from the social media . The analysis shows that the presence of Hungarian in this particular LL indexes collective identity and describes the positioning strategies of the Hungarian minority speakers . The study also explores the processes of identity negotiation in which they are engaged .
Landscape can be seen as a set of signs, landscape is foreground rather than background, and sign... more Landscape can be seen as a set of signs, landscape is foreground rather than background, and signs are semiotic items rather than just forms of public signage (Pennycook 2021), therefore the present research moves away from the traditional, text-centred approach of landscape analysis in order to examine not only the linguistic signs but the non-linguistic elements as artefacts, which take place in the brand identity construction of a local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The article argues that these elements as assembling artefacts become parts of semiotic assemblages inhabiting the space and represent a key feature of brand identity construction with a focus on the commodification of languages, cultures, and identities. The data consist of observation notes, photographs, and interviews obtained from an ethnographic fieldwork in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. The analysis presents a case study based on the concept of semiotic assemblages. The assemblage of linguistic and other ...
A tanulmány bemutatja az interkulturális kompetencia elméleti és gyakorlati fejlesztésének lehető... more A tanulmány bemutatja az interkulturális kompetencia elméleti és gyakorlati fejlesztésének lehetőségeit. Kitér azokra a kérdésekre, problémákra, amelyekkel a nyelvtanárok szembesülhetnek a kulturális kompetencia iskolai tanítása során. Végül ismerteti egy konkrét példán – a Babes-Bolyai Tudományegyetem sepsiszentgyörgyi tagozatán folyó üzleti angol oktatásában – az interkulturális kompetencia fejlesztésének működő gyakorlatát
This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open n... more This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media), based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.
Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual We... more Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual Web and enabled local and global participation that assert new identities (Lenihan and Kelly-Holmes 2017). For multilingual people, language choice and code-switching serves as a means for users to perform a specific image of cultural or personal identity and signal their affiliation with a particular community. The paper analyses digital multilingual practices of bilingual (Hungarian-Romanian) university students in Romania. The data consists of students’ public Facebook profiles, examining language choice, code-switching, and hybrid practices. My research question refers to how their linguistic identity is constructed in their online communicative practices. Multilingual practices in the social media are not necessarily connected to language competences in a traditional sense and may serve as a space for resolving conflicting linguistic identities. In my data, students use their diverse ...
The COVID-19 epidemic caused not only an unprecedented crisis in our lives but also changes in ou... more The COVID-19 epidemic caused not only an unprecedented crisis in our lives but also changes in our language use and word formation habits: this new disease and its cures have naturally led to the emergence of new concepts and names. In 2020, more and more words or phrases related to the COVID-19 epidemic appeared in the public sphere as a result of COVID-related publications issued by the World Health Organization, regulations issued by the authorities of the countries, news in the press, and endless debates in the social media. This study examines the lexicalization processes and semantic shifts generated by the COVID epidemic, as we aim to examine professional and colloquial developments in pandemic-inspired terminology. We analyse the changes that have taken place in the Hungarian and Romanian language environment, while also taking into account the English language elements as a background reference. Among the most notable lexico-semantic phenomena, we have identified word coina...
This paper focuses on the online presence of languages and linguistic patterns of local small bus... more This paper focuses on the online presence of languages and linguistic patterns of local small businesses in a bilingual, Hungarian-Romanian ethnic community in Romania. By capturing linguistic diversity and creativity via netnographic research, patterns of linguistic landscape elements in the social media, such as marketing strategy of local small businesses, can be analysed. The findings suggest that despite the need to advertise by using the state language, Romanian, in order to maximize the target audience, the concentration of Hungarian landscape elements is the highest. Businesses construct their linguistic identity by their language choices and practices, aligned with the collective linguistic identity of a bilingual community and the need for a global representation, in order to secure a place in the local market.
The study starts with the definition of local, translocal, and global linguistic context in the d... more The study starts with the definition of local, translocal, and global linguistic context in the digital space. Facebook as a social media platform provides opportunities for everyday digital literacy practices such as code play. Code play allows mixing codes and repertoires usually with a humorous reference. We argue that creative interaction among languages creates the methodological need for a translingual approach besides the traditional code-switching theory to explain online linguistic phenomena. Adopting a netnographic approach, this paper presents two participants’ linguistic history, online linguistic practices, and perceptions of their own digital literacy, exploring their portrayal of (multi)linguistic identity which has local, translocal, and global resonance. The paper exploits possibilities of code play to accomplish communicative goals through code-switching and translingualism with a linguistically diverse audience.
The paper presents a qualitative approach to language learning beliefs while analysing case studi... more The paper presents a qualitative approach to language learning beliefs while analysing case studies in detail to offer significant insight into these beliefs and language learning as well. A number of studies have shown that the belief system of language learners plays a decisive role in their success and failure in language learning (Bernat & Gvozdenko 2005; Horwitz 2008). The research presents the content analysis of interviews with bilingual participants. Interviews were carried out with migrant workers, other interviews with bilingual students in Romania, as well as online interviews with immigrant workers in the EU. The paper explores different beliefs learners hold regarding learning languages. By comparing migrant workers’ and students’ beliefs the complexity of positive and negative beliefs are presented. These may change due to previous and current language learning experiences, cultural-, social-, and educational background, personality traits, etc. The result of the quali...
In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in... more In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. These landscapes are called schoolscapes as they represent the material environment where texts and images “constitute, reproduce and transform language ideologies” (
A két- és többnyelvűség-kutatások egyik területét a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek vizsgálata képezi, az... more A két- és többnyelvűség-kutatások egyik területét a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek vizsgálata képezi, azoknak a személyes „mítoszoknak” a kutatása, amelyek segítségével megismerhetjük a „motivációs átalakulási epizódusokat” (Dörnyei 2006, 52). A nyelvtanulási hiedelmek meghatározó szerepet játszanak a nyelvtanulás sikerességében vagy kudarcában. Jelen kutatás két romániai egyetem hallgatóival készített tizenkét interjú tartalmi elemzésének útján a román nyelv és az angol nyelv tanulása során megnyilvánuló nyelvtanulási hiedelmek struktúráit vázolja. A narratívák azokat a különbségeket, folyamatos változásokat szemléltetik a nyelvtanulási hiedelmek és motivációk komplex rendszerében, amelyek nemcsak a két egyén közötti különbségeket jellemzik, hanem egyazon beszélő nyelvtanulási folyamatai közötti eltéréseket is. A hiedelmek és motivációk a társadalmi-kulturális dimenzióban elhelyezett nyelvhez/nyelvekhez kötődnek, viszonylag függetlenek egymástól. A kutatás célja, hogy eldöntse, vajon hied...
In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in... more In my paper, I present a qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape of Hungarian schools in Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. These landscapes are called schoolscapes as they represent the material environment where texts and images “constitute, reproduce and transform language ideologies” (
Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual We... more Within the digital world, new multilingual contacts appeared, which led to a more multilingual Web and enabled local and global participation that assert new identities (Lenihan and Kelly-Holmes 2017). For multilingual people, language choice and code-switching serves as a means for users to perform a specific image of cultural or personal identity and signal their affiliation with a particular community. The paper analyses digital multilingual practices of bilingual (Hungarian-Romanian) university students in Romania. The data consists of students' public Facebook profiles, examining language choice, code-switching, and hybrid practices. My research question refers to how their linguistic identity is constructed in their online communicative practices. Multilingual practices in the social media are not necessarily connected to language competences in a traditional sense and may serve as a space for resolving conflicting linguistic identities. In my data, students use their diverse linguistic and semiotic resources in varying ways to express and build their online identity, relying on the multimodal affordances of the digital world. Online multilingual practices rely on the speaker's complete language repertoire, but they do not necessarily depend on language proficiency.
This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider
linguistic landscape (LL) and open n... more This paper seeks to cross the boundaries of what we consider linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media), based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.
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Papers by Enikő Biró
linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet
as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result
of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides
opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This
study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the
periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media),
based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students
at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further
research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.
linguistic landscape (LL) and open new spaces, thus examining the Internet
as a complex set of linguistic landscapes. The present study is the result
of an exploratory research. Virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) provides
opportunities for language display that are rare in the geographical LL. This
study investigates multilingualism and language practices present on the
periphery of cyberscapes analysed in this research (namely the social media),
based on questionnaires carried out among bilingual university students
at Sapientia University. The conclusion will offer suggestions for further
research on how to extend the boundaries of LL studies to the digital domain.