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Examines representations of language in traditional texts of India as indicators of gender, ethnicity, class, & power, & compares them to representations of language that served as markers of status in well-known texts of modern Anglo-Indian literature. The sacred vedic texts of ancient India are touched on, but greater attention is given to signifiers of power relations in the epic, classical, & modern periods. It is argued that religious/social thought & practice in premodern India produced a pervasive link between the control of language & control of the world, an association that was quickly assumed by colonial agents, who were also concerned with both social hierarchy & language as a status indicator. An exploration of the complicated connection of this association with gender representations maintains that it spawned an obsession with the mechanisms of language/linguistic performance, including articulation, grammar, & etymology. It is noted that challenges to the power & prestige of Sanskrit during the Mughal & colonial periods led to the use of English as India's other "father tongue.". 16 References. J. Lindroth

Quantitative questionnaires are increasingly applied across different languages and cultures.
They play an important role in research on immigrant communities as well as in
surveys of the general population of which immigrants are a significant part. Because
immigrants have often limited proficiency of the language of the host country, usually
questionnaires in their first language ("mother tongue") are needed. For this purpose, it
is common to use questionnaires developed or adapted for the population of the respective
countries which immigrants originate from. The applicability of these questionnaires,
however, may be limited because of differences between both populations in terms of
language usage, amongst others resulting from language attrition. This, for example, can
be illustrated by means of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) applied to
Turks in Turkey and Turkish immigrants residing in Germany. Questionnaires, therefore,
must be thoroughly tested and often re-adapted to the language style and level of language
proficiency of immigrants to avoid different forms of bias. An analytical framework of
questionnaire equivalence can guide the process of testing and re-adaptation.

This chapter places Oakeshott's criticism of the demarcation in the current debate on the separation of social sciences from the natural sciences & history. Nineteenth century thinking on the epistemological status of historical inquiry resulted in a hermeneutic tradition that purports to generate knowledge detached from values, interests & practical concerns that compose that experience. The deeply rooted error in the hermeneutic tradition is the failure to question the premises of the sciences it seeks to theorize. In "On Human Conduct," Oakeshott identifies the ambiguity of social science attempts at explaining intelligent conduct as the outcome of non-intelligent processes. Human conduct cannot be explained in general categories or social circumstances, or through the pretense of statistical generalizations, but must be understood through open-ended interpretations such as the controlled use of metaphor, exploration of the contextuality of meaning of action, & the evanescent & emergent quality of the relationship to other actions, or a historical explanation proper. 15 References. J. Harwell

Beginning with an overview of the salience of power in the conceptualization of male identities in contemporary Western society, examined is how men use language to construct their identities. Data from an ongoing ethnographic study of a US university fraternity are drawn on, & in-depth analyses offered of the discursive strategies used by 4 members to construct their power & identities in accordance with the "male" qualities valued by the fraternity, eg, competitiveness, control, loyalty, pragmatism, leadership, confidence, & success. Ways that the men use specific language strategies to promote their prescribed identities are illustrated with conversation excerpts, arguing that the fraternity setting constrains men's presentations of self in proscribed ways. 12 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

"Language is a central element of any culture and society. For each
human, it is the main instrument for perceiving and evaluating
the world around himself or herself. Language is, therefore, a
central element of identity: identity implies the perception of one's own
strengths and weaknesses, the evaluation of one's own past, the visions
of one's own future. Identity provides aims, direction and consistency to
the actions of men or women. This self-image or identity is developed
through interaction with other people; one's self-image, at least to some
degree, must be shared and validated by others. Language plays a central
role. To speak a common language per se creates a feeling of communality
(Sapir 1951: 157; Whorf 1956; Weber 1964: 305ff.; Goebl et
al. 1996). Adequate mastery of a language is a decisive determinant of a
satisfactory communication with other people, and also for social recognition,
self-confidence and the feeling of security in the world. Linguistic
problems, from stuttering to dumbness, probably entail the strongest
harm to one's self-image and self-consciousness.
In the first part of this essay, I will elaborate the relationship between
language and identity and propose a central thesis. Subsequently, I
describe five typical, different social constellations in which a change of
language can occur. Here, I will present examples from different linguistic
areas of the world. Finally, I will present some considerations about the
role of language education and politics today." (excerpt)

Reflects on the necessity of developing a viable language through which black female activists in the UK can be heard by their white female compatriots. Alice Walker's (1984) notion of womanism, considered as the root of one such terminology, is seen as the black equivalent to the term feminism, since it captures the specificity of the black woman's experience. An interrogation of the term womanism suggests that it has many advantages over the term feminism; however, womanism has not been embraced by many black feminists, either in North American or in the UK. Indeed, black feminism continues to function as an umbrella term of black women engaged in political & theoretical activism. But, it is concluded that this activity itself encourages the development of a post-black feminism that can develop a terminology that at once expresses the diversity of women's experiences & promotes the idea of an inclusive feminist movement. 46 References. D. Ryfe

Whereas most animals are constrained to reproducing fixed responses in certain situations, language allows human beings to create novel responses when needed. Edward Sapir's (1929) & Benjamin L. Whorf's (1940) respective challenges to the primacy of linguistic freedom are discussed, & contemporary rebuttals to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis are reviewed. Analysis of sociolinguistic literature studying the influence of gender & color on language indicates that individuals perceive the pronoun "he" as gender-specific, & linguistic boundaries affect individuals' color judgment. Contemporary prototype theory is considered, & the power of metaphors to misconstrue freedom acknowledged. 34 References. J. W. Parker

Considers three current interpretations of Karl Marx's theory of social justice, labeled young Hegelian cryptonormativism; scientific antinormativism; & life-liberal cryptonormativism, respectively. In the first interpretation, Marx explicitly repudiates distributive notions of justice, yet appears to retain a belief in some notion of justice. This paradox is explained as a consequence of Marx's faith in a young Hegelian metaphysical philosophy in which justice is defined as the recovery of an unalienated species-being. In the second interpretation, it is argued that Marx rejects notions of distributive justice, not because he is a young Hegelian metaphysic, but because of his scientific analysis of capitalist exploitation. The third interpretation sees in Marx's paradoxical views on justice an ethical vision representative of a liberal-humanist quest for substantive freedom & individual self-realization. It is concluded that, while there is much to recommend in these three interpretations, several issues remain unresolved in their debates: the value of Marx's Hegel, the usefulness of Marx's theory of human nature; & Marx's conception of the relation between labor & freedom. 110 References. D. Ryfe

The author describes major ultra-nationalist movements (fascism & national socialism) in contemporary Russia. These movements have arisen largely in response to the perceived failure of neoliberalist reforms since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia is a "torn country" that is undergoing political & economic Westernization -- an irreversible process that has brought severe economic problems & a declining standard of living for the majority. The new regime is described as a mixture of liberal democracy, authoritarianism, & capitalism. The author concludes that the shift from Russian communism to national patriotism is a key feature of modernization in post-Soviet Russia, & that the nation's current problems are similar to those caused by globalization & Westernization elsewhere. 1 Table, 34 References. J. R. Callahan