Bilingualism or Multilingualism and Diglossia
1 Language in Asia and the Pacific ASIA2001 / ASIA2103 Week 5 Tutorial: Finding and using sources Readings relating to this tutorial: Roche, Gerald. 2021. The language of trust. In Jane Golley, Linda Jarvin & Sharon Strange (eds) China story yearbook: crisis. Canberra: ANU Press, 96-99. Zhang, Jie & Yuqin Wu. 2020. providing multilingual logistics communication in COVID-19 disaster relief. Multilingua 39(5):517-528. Tutorial Preparation Task: This tutorial focuses on the task of finding and using sources to begin researching for an essay. In preparation for the tutorial you should have read Roche (2021) and Zhang & Wu (2020), and participated in the Week 5 Seminar. In addition, prepare notes in response to the question below; your responses will be a starting point for the tutorial class exercises. 1. Using one quote from Roche (2021) and one from Zhang & Wu (2020), develop two research questions appropriate for a short research essay. Your response to this question should take one short quote from each article and use the topic and/or idea presented in the quote to develop one research question connected with each quote. Your research questions should have a clear connection to the topic of the quote but may extend from it in different ways. For example, your question may aim to explore in more detail some aspect of the article’s argument, to investigate a general theme that is raised in the article, or to explore a similar topic or theme in another part of the Asia-Pacific region. For example: Quote: “There were no official translations of even vital public health information available in minority languages” (Roche 2021:95) Research question: What are the challenges of accessing vital public information among Asian diaspora communities in Australia, and how have they been mitigated? Quote: “[…] volunteer translators … formed an important joint force in China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic” (Zhang & Wu 2020:521) Research question: What roles do volunteer translators play in national emergencies in China? Quote: Zhang & Wu (2020:517) “call for the inclusion of multilingual logistics in national emergency preparation, response and recovery plans.” Research question: How can patterns of multilingualism be incorporated into national and international emergency response plans? You may choose to submit written preparation for this tutorial; do this using the tutorial submission link on the relevant weekly topic block on the course Wattle site. Submitted tutorial preparation is due by Wednesday 12pm (midday) in the relevant ASIA2001 / ASIA2103 Week 5 Tutorial Task 2 week. Your submitted preparation should consist of a written response to the task question(s). Remember to bring a copy (printed or electronic) of your tutorial preparation to your tutorial class.
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In research on diglossia, one if the question to explore the concept is How do preferences and context influence multilingualism or bilingualism and diglossic patterns and the high language used in a country? The language of learning is often the H language, and in a multicultural landscape, it is possible to use all languages across all social domains. Using the local language or varieties is essential for self-preservation but adopting the H language. In multilingual landscapes, can differentiated social prestige be associated with diglossia?
Do challenges acquiring standard written languages or varieties explain diglossia being more common than multilingual?
Snow (2010, p. 160) pointed out that in Hong Kong, the “H variety was Classical Chinese, a classic written language that was learned in school by those fortunate enough to have the chance for education.” The author singled out Hong Kong and Switzerland as peculiar cases where the H (High) language represents modern diglossia, and the high language...