Journal of Studies in Language, Culture, and Society

Deixis and Indexicals As Meaning Making Devices in Selected Spoken and Written Texts

Temitope Abiodun Balogun — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Human beings are social animals and communicate their needs through various linguistic symbols. They use deistic expressions to manipulate meaning based on their different experiences. This paper aims to show how deixis contributes to constructing the meaning and dynamics of utterances in communication. It attempts to foreground and contextualise deixis and indexicals as prominent linguistic components that establish meaning in social interactions or relationships in all communication exchanges. The paper collected data from selected spoken and written expressions in literary texts, daily newspapers, bible excerpts and casual expressions, focusing on how deictic expressions were used in different situations to express locations, time, attitude, positions, status and others. Through the analysis, it was discovered that deixis and indexicals are vitals in social engagements as they help to interpret the meaning and also showed that meaning extends beyond the traditional grammar with context as the core in interpreting grammatical structures. The paper concludes that since deixis and indexicals are daily linguistic items that language users integrate into their communication patterns, their knowledge is essential to understanding human language.

A Linguistic-stylistic Analysis of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq’s Inaugural Speech (2019)

Samuel Akinmusuyi, Hadiza Zakari — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Political speeches are frequently loaded with meanings; people tend to misconstrue as well as give false interpretation to what is said and how it is said. This research aims at examining the linguistic-stylistic elements used in Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq’s inaugural speech with a view to identifying how these elements achieve communicative effects to the audience. Governor AbdulRahman’s inaugural speech serves as the data for this study, and the speech was delivered at his swearing-in ceremony as the 20th governor of Kwara State on 29th May, 2019. Halliday and Matthiessen’s (2014) Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) serves as the theoretical framework. The analysis of this text is carried out along the linguistic levels of analysis, which are syntactic, lexico-semantic and cohesive levels. The study reveals that the governor’s speech is made up of 43 sentences; 21 sentences (48.8%) are simple sentences; 5 sentences (11.6%) are compound sentences; 9 sentences (20.9%) are complex sentences; while 8 (18.6%) are compound-complex sentences. The dominant use of simple sentences in the speech aligns with the simple and determining attitude of politicians in getting what they want. The analysis also reveals that the imposition of synonyms and antonyms in the speech helped in enhancing the cohesive quality of the text. Hence, it is concluded that the language of the governor exhibits some unique language features with the intent of exerting great influence on the masses, and grasping power and consolidating it.

Evaluating Translation in the Algerian English Language Public School Textbooks

Slimane Boukhentache — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

New trends in language teaching recognize the value of translation as a pedagogical tool and as a social skill. New translation activities have been formulated to substantiate translation pedagogies. While most studies focus on code switching, a few studies analyzed the translation activities in the textbooks. This study used content analysis to investigate the extent to which translation activities are used in Algerian English language public school textbooks. The findings indicate that the textbooks are hardly integrating bilingual activities. Additionally, the existing activities are tentative and linguistically-driven; furthermore, they are a way from tapping at the development of communicative competence and bilingual/multilingual competencies. Consequently, it is strongly recommended to integrate more functional activities into the textbooks and standardize this pedagogical practice.

Integrating High-level Questions in Second-Year English Degree Classrooms: Implementation and Challenges

Meriem Kater, Yasmine Boukhedimi — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Asking high-level questions is an effective strategy for developing learners’ thinking. Despite the importance of this strategy in promoting and guiding students' thinking, it is found that a great number of teachers ask lower-level questions more than higher-level questions. This is assumed to be due to several challenges related to teachers, students, and other factors. The present research, therefore, attempts to explore the implementation of high-level questions and the challenges that face teachers in incorporating these types of questions in second-year English degree classrooms at the University of Algiers 2. To this end, a mixed-methods approach was adopted using various research methods namely: a questionnaire, an interview, and an observation checklist. The research findings revealed that lower-level questions were used more frequently than higher-level questions. The data obtained from the research tools showed that for the implementation of higher-level questions, the teacher used some techniques such as increasing wait time, repeating the same question several times, and inviting non-volunteering students. Further, it was found that students’ low proficiency, lack of vocabulary, teachers may not be trained to ask high-level questions, as well as large classrooms and lengthy syllabi were the most common challenges. Based on these findings, several pedagogical implications are given. The study recommends a careful planning of questions; matching questions with their purposes; the need to reduce tuition groups; and the need to develop teachers' questioning skills.

Exploring Strategies Used by Algerian EFL Learners to Develop Their Speaking Skills

Maamar Missoum — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Cognitivist theories have transformed the way educators look at the complex journey of language learning by highlighting new dimensions. The investigation of learners’ mental processes unveiled capacities and strategies learners bring to classes. Learning strategies are used by learners to enhance their learning. For many learners, speaking the language may be the most concrete and rewarding benefit of language learning. Many of them, however, may struggle with developing EFL speaking skills. One determinant factor in language learning is the use of learning strategies. Therefore, the present research is an attempt to explore the language learning strategies used by Algerian learners to develop their EFL speaking skills according to learner variables (gender, speaking proficiency and educational background). Identifying those strategies could help course designers and teachers design teaching in a way that improves learners’ use of learning strategies to develop their speaking skills more efficiently for academic and professional purposes. To achieve this research goal, a mixed quantitative and qualitative research design was implemented. This design rests upon three research tools, a test of speaking proficiency, a learning strategy use questionnaire (N=52) and speaking course syllabi. The data were analysed quantitatively (descriptive statistics) to compare strategy use by each cohort and qualitatively (Thematic analysis). Acknowledging the shortcomings of self-report data and based on descriptive statistics, the main finding of the present study is consistent with many previous studies; students’ speaking proficiency, gender and educational background did not seem to correlate with much difference in strategy use. Besides, the syllabi of speaking courses examined made no reference to specific work on speaking strategies. Based on these findings, the first main suggestion is addressed to Algerian researchers about shifting the research agenda from the role of learner variables in strategy use to pedagogy that could improve the efficiency of speaking strategy training. Other suggestions including guidelines to integrate strategy training in the curriculum as well as methods to identify learners’ current strategies and foster appropriate strategy use are offered to speaking course designers and teachers in order to enhance Algerian EFL students’ strategy use and ultimately develop better speaking skills.

Analysing Modality in Nairalanders’ Discourse on the Non-Passage of the Gender Equality Bill in Nigeria

Adetutu Aragbuwa — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The successive rebuttal of the Gender and Equality Opportunity Bill (henceforth, GEO Bill) by members of the upper chamber of Nigeria’s legislature has become a discourse object of scholarly enquiry in (non)Nigerian academia. Scholars across disciplines have engaged this pertinent issue using diverse theoretical perspectives. However, scant (or no) attention has been accorded the rejection narratives in linguistic scholarship; hence, the justification for this study. Situated within corpus-assisted critical discourse studies, the study explores the modal resources in Nairalanders’ discourse on the Nigerian Senate’s rejection of the GEO Bill in 2016 and 2021, with a view to critically analysing Nairalanders’ attitudes to the Bill and its rejection as well as predominant ideologies embedded in the discourse. The data for the study consist of Nairalanders’ discourse corpora on the non-passage of the Bill in 2016 and 2021 retrieved from www.nairaland.com. A Keyword-in-Context (KWIC) and collocation analysis of the modal resources found in the corpus were also conducted using AntConc corpus analysis tool. The results reveal that Nairalanders use epistemic and deontic modal resources to dominantly express their two-pronged attitude to the GEO Bill rejection: negativism towards the Bill and positivism to its non-passage. These modal choices tacitly serve ethnic, gender and religious ideological biases that culminate in Nairalanders’ resistive engagement towards the Bill. By implication, the feasibility of gender equality in Nigeria must transcend legal measures; culture re-evaluation and national re-orientation on gender equality for sustainable development must be prioritised.

Effective Family Parenting for the Child in the Face of Globalization

Antissar Sahraoui — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Family is considered the first social institution where a child is raised. It is responsible for establishing solid and constructive foundations necessary for the child's adaptation and balance. The mother plays a crucial role in the educational function, followed by the father. This process is not easy, as it relies on skills that depend primarily on the nature of the parents' personalities and the quality of the relationship between them. Furthermore, the difficulty of the educational process is now linked to the manifestations of Western cultural globalization, which has penetrated all families. The widespread dissemination of communication tools has clearly impacted family cohesion and its function, leading to serious negative consequences that affect both the individual and society. This paper is an attempt to outline the most effective child-rearing methods, applicable to all families and societies, as they are derived from operational field studies based on scientific foundations.

Performing Fatherhood: New Father Vs. Old Father in To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee (1960)

Soumaya Bouacida, Hana Chellouk — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Over the past few decades, there was a profound transformation in the role of fathers within families, leading to the emergence of the "new father" concept. This shift marks a departure from the "old father" archetype, characterized by more inflexible performative gender roles and limited involvement in caregiving and household duties. Instead, the "new father" embodies a more equitable and involved approach to parenting as a result of the shifting social norms and family dynamics. Influenced by feminist movements that have fought for equal opportunities and duties for men and women, and that have questioned the conventional paternal responsibilities, fathers are pushed to be more involved in their children's lives during the critical early months and years of their development. This paper, therefore, explores the various roles of fathers in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and examines the concept of fatherhood from a postmodernist perspective, drawing on some psychoanalytic discourses, namely Lacan's Mirror Stage, Freud's Oedipus complex, and Kristeva's semiotics of gender. This paper grapples with the intersection of these psychoanalytic theories with the evolving landscape of fatherhood in contemporary society, emphasizing the importance of self-perception, emotional connections, and redefined paternal identities within this transformative context.Atticus, for instance, serves as a representative model of a positive father-child relationship. He embodies ‘new father’ figure who values emotional expression, open communication, active parenting, and gender equality. However, the narrative also delves into the darker portrayal of vicious paternal figures, like Bob Ewell, who conform to traditional gender roles, exhibit restrained emotions and limit their involvement in childcare and household responsibilities.

The Alchemy of Violence in John Updike’s Novel Terrorist (2006): A Story of A Boy in Between, and A Terrorist at Last.

Mourad Meziani — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The present paper addresses the issue of America’s domestic violence within a context of global concern over terrorism in John Updike’s novel Terrorist (2006). The analysis considers elucidating the problematic dynamics of violence whose alchemy tells much of the uses of violence in American literature with a traditional literary and cultural tendency towards hegemonism. The main objective is to highlight the novel’s tragic story of a boy’s development going wrong whose tragedy is highly expressed through Ahmad’s unfortunate lot, being “a boy in between” understood as the outgrowth of an enduring historical mutual misunderstanding between Christianity and Islam; and between the West as represented by Ahmad’s mother and the Arab Muslim World as represented by Ahmad’s absent father. Ahmad’s fatherlessness and rootlessness along with his American-lessness is an allegory of unwilling compromise between two opposite and conflicting worlds, the West vs. the Orient. It is precisely this unsettling dilemma that ultimately gives full meaning to not simply what Ahmad is meant to be, but also to what the novel aims at: highlighting Ahmad’s relentless commitment towards achieving his personal freedom as an American Muslim whose destiny through violence illustrates his willingness to become a man.

The Quest For ‘sheltering Skies’ in Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in The Sun (1963)

Nadia Naar Gada — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The present paper looks into Ghassan Kanafani's seminal work, Men in the Sun, initially published in Arabic as Rijal fi al-shams (1963), adapted into a film, entitled The Dupes in 1972, and translated into English in 1978, by examining the narrative’s close relationship with the quest theme, the loss of identity and search for belonging, as embodied by the characters in the novella. The study draws mainly on the theoretical framework of Northrop Frye as developed in his Anatomy of Criticism (1957). The theorist’s concept of the “tragic quest” with its main steps will guide our re-reading of Kanafani’s work in order to examine how the main characters embark on a daring journey, which primarily starts with their shift from Basra along their sufferings for survival across the scorching weather, and their downfall and death by perishing in the desert before reaching their destination, Kuwait. The intention is also to show how the characters’ ill- fated quest epitomizes the Palestinians’ collective sense of loss, their torments of living in camps far from Palestine, their poverty, displacement, and identity crisis.

Contemporary Algerian Poetry in Academic Studies: Insights from Mohamed Arous's Thesis

Fatiha Lagder, Saliha Sebgag — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

This research paper examines the current state of contemporary Algerian academic critical studies. It explores contemporary Algerian poetry through modern critical mechanisms and approaches to uncover its aesthetic values. The selected study for analysis concentrates on semantic density and suggestive capacity arising from the overlap of various literary genres, the use of symbols, intertextuality, myth, and other experimental mechanisms employed by contemporary poets, who are noted for challenging the conventions of direct declarative poetry. The paper assesses whether these academic studies are analytical, semiotic, stylistic, or a combination of different critical approaches. It specifically monitors the reception of contemporary Algerian poetic discourse, with a particular focus on doctoral theses due to their scientific significance and their role as a pinnacle in the academic study process. Doctoral theses also represent a critical core in the field of academic criticism. The descriptive-analytical approach was utilized to analyze the academic study, applying mechanisms of criticism of criticism. This approach involves summarizing the content of the thesis, "The Overlap of Literary Genres in Contemporary Algerian Poetry: Its Artistic Aesthetics and Semantic Dimensions," by researcher Mohamed Arous, evaluating its scientific value, presenting the critical issues raised, outlining the study's methodology, and assessing its suitability for the selected poetic texts.

Global Warming's Impacts and the Role of Education in Shaping Social Responsiveness

Abdelkader Makhlouf, Irina V. Andersen, Roy Andersen — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

This paper explores the profound impacts of global warming on geophysical conditions and the resulting disruptions to human lives. Specifically, it investigates the trajectory of global warming throughout the remainder of the century and its implications for global society. A critical concern addressed is the preservation of social order amidst the upheaval in people's living conditions, work environments, and daily survival routines. At the heart of this investigation lies an exploration of how education influences the cognitive and behavioral patterns of future citizens to adeptly maneuver through the changing societal terrain. The paper poses the question of whether it is feasible to cultivate socially responsive individuals with a heightened sense of self-responsibility to mitigate the imposition of restrictions on personal freedoms within an increasingly controlled society precipitated by the social disorder induced by global warming.

Babbar Rug: Cultural Heritage in The Service of Sustainable Development

Brahim Benarfa, Mabrouk Boutagouga — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The Babar rug is an ancient traditional heritage in the Babar region of Khenchela province in Algeria, representing a blend of cultural heritage and sustainable development. This article is the result of ten months of fieldwork as part of an ambitious project to enhance and promote the Babar rug, carried out by a local association with funding and support from the European Union's program for strengthening the capacities of local development actors, Capdel. This essay looks at the history, cultural meaning, and economic importance of the Babar rug. It has deep roots in the region’s nomadic past and plays a key role in preserving the identity of the Shawi people. The rug, woven mainly by women, carries important symbols like fertility, protection, and strength, and it is a practical craft passed down through generations. Women are central to keeping this tradition alive, as weaving is both a way to earn money and a method to pass on cultural values. Today, the Babar rug faces challenges from globalization and the rise of cheaper, mass-produced goods. However, tourism and fair trade initiatives provide new opportunities to protect this craft. By involving younger generations through education, mentorship, and cultural tourism, the tradition can continue. Additionally, using modern technology, such as online marketing and eco-friendly production, offers fresh ways to promote and sustain the craft. This study highlights the Babar rug’s role in cultural preservation and economic development, connecting it to global Sustainable Development Goals. Preserving the Babar rug means balancing respect for traditional techniques with embracing modern ideas, ensuring that this important cultural heritage remains a vibrant part of the region’s identity for future generations.

Eradicating Teenage Pregnancy in Irewole Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria for the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals

Sikiru Adeyemi Ogundokun, Margaret Funke Faremi — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

For the purpose of social transformation, development and sustainability, the call for gender equality across the globe is desirable. There has been a lot of scholarly contributions as regards Sustainable Development Goals. However, less attention is paid to the girls’ education which is often hindered by teenage pregnancy. Girls’ education is one of the major Sustainable Development Goals under Gender equality. This study aims at investigating the causes of teenage pregnancy and its adverse implications on girls in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State. The selection of the said Local Government is informed by the discovery that the area can be associated with the subject-matter. The local government is predominantly an agrarian environment. Participatory observation, descriptive survey, oral interview and focus group discusion are the methods employed to gather data for the study. Both the quantitative and the qualitative research instruments are applied in the study.The study establishes that both social and cultural factors contribute to the menace of teenage pregnancy in the local government investigated. The study suggests among other things that there is an urgent need to reorientate the minds of the young girls in the local government and the need to empower those who are already victims of the ugly age-long trend

Systematic Construction of Semantic Structure Computationally Digital Communication Systems As A Model

Aida Haouchi — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Our study deals with the systematic construction of the structural representation of meaning, as it is based on a basic topic, which is structure, as it goes beyond the representation of meaning for its parts, as logical representations are usually used to perform automatic inferences according to the appropriate theoretical confirmation. Also, the transition from the ordinary level of meaning towards the automatic discovery of knowledge is a closely intertwined designation between the two features. Because resources that were created non-automatically are automatically extended or merged. How is that? This occurs by directing the automated search to semantic information and restricting it to non-automatically specified information. From here, logical representations of data are created at the intersection of non-automated specification and automated tuning; This has generated many questions about the computational structure of semantics and how it works. Do we get better and deeper semantic analysis because we use specific linguistic knowledge in a non-automatic manner, or is the future in powerful communicative digital models that perform a complete task from natural language inputs and outputs alone without pre-defined linguistic knowledge?

The Promise of Emancipation of Digital Technologies And the Risks of Alienation in the Self-Construction: The Case of Instagram Among Algerian Youth Aged 15 To 25

Imen Hanane Benarab — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

This study highlights the ambivalent effects of digital technologies on self-construction providing rich insights into the lived experiences of young Algerian digital users. The findings reveal a strong tendency towards the idealisation of self-image on social media platforms, accompanied by a pervasive sense of exclusion and lack of recognition. A constant pressure is felt to optimise and curate one’s digital identity to align with the standards of beauty, success, and popularity valorised by these environments. By bridging theory and practice, this research offers valuable implications for researchers seeking to foster more reflexive and empowering digital identity practices, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced understanding of self-becoming in the digital age.

New Organizational Forms at Work and Career Representations of Managers in Public Enterprises

Samir Andjouh, Zahir Ahouari — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

The purpose of this study is to provide a thorough examination of the feasibility and potential for adopting remote work in public enterprises within an emerging country, highlighting the contextual factors influencing the acceptance of this new mode of work. Despite the clear advantages of remote work and the availability of necessary resources, its abrupt discontinuation following the COVID-19 pandemic raises significant questions about its future viability. Based on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 165 executives and senior executives at a national organism of technical control of the construction (CTC), the research reveals that the adoption of remote work faces substantial barriers, including cultural resistance, bureaucratic management, and insufficient technological infrastructure. The study finds that although remote work offers potential benefits, it encounters considerable resistance due to rigid management practices, inadequate support mechanisms, and cultural perceptions that view it as a control tool rather than an opportunity for flexibility and autonomy. To address these challenges, the study recommends enhancing technological infrastructure, providing better training, and adopting a more participative management approach. This research enriches the understanding of remote work dynamics in limited infrastructural contexts and offers practical recommendations for successful integration, while also suggesting directions for future research on remote work across diverse cultural and organizational settings.

Contributions of African Researchers to Trends, Trajectory and Development of Priming Theory

Kehinde Abdul-afees Ayantunji — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Priming is a theoretical paradigm that has dominated media effects studies worldwide, with important studies testing and building the theory. There is an arguable age-long discourse of intellectual poverty on theory building and theory testing in Africa, an exposition that follows the arguable domination of the global South by the global North in contributions to research and theory on communication and media studies, especially the priming theory. This study re-examines this discourse by determining the trajectory, trends and development of the theory, showcasing the contributions of scholars from the two divides to priming paradigm. The study adopted desk review and quantitative content-analysis of studies as its methodology. Findings show that most of the studies on priming were conducted between 2011-2020 and 2001-2010 in the USA with Nigeria coming behind Kenya.The studies focused attention on mass media and mostly adopted probability and quantitative methodology. Findings show that studies that adopted priming from Africa lacked the capacity to contribute to theory building and testing, because of gaps in methodology and application. The study recommended capacity building on theory testing and theory building for African communication researchers to bridge the gap.