Ethnolinguistic Vitality, Identity and Power: Investment in SLA

Abstract

This article concerns the relationship between social context, identity and intergroup relations. It reviews early formulations pertaining to contextual influences and proceeds to examine vitality theory, specifically, ethnolinguistic vitality (EV). The ensuing discussion considers objective aspects of EV such as the demographic representation of a group and delineates multiple influences modulating their impact on intergroup relations. Subjective formulations of EV focusing on how it is perceived are then examined in view of their interaction with intergroup issues such as ideologies, the formation of networks and language loss. While acknowledging the wide conceptual girth of EV, a central intergroup issue remains communication. Following through, issues pertaining to language acquisition are therefore scrutinized as they relate to EV, linguistic identification, and motivation. A parallel is drawn with Bourdeusian approaches, which orient the analysis toward the dynamics of power and investment. Specifically, attention is directed to ideological and identity processes underpinning the learner’s involvement in the learning task. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relevance of the concept of global English as well as the necessity for a framework of contextual factors reaching beyond intrapsychic constructs.

COVID discrimination experience: Chinese Canadians’ social identities moderate the effect of personal and group discrimination on well-being.

“…Based on anecdotes from other members of the ethnic group, news reports of racist events, messages in the linguistic landscape (e.g., graffiti, signage, etc. ), mediated artifacts such as film and advertising, institutional policies, and a myriad of other sources (Bourhis et al, 2019; Clément & Norton, 2021), group members acquire an understanding of how their group is perceived within society and for some this includes a sense of their group as a stigmatized minority. Such beliefs about the relative status of one’s group and the intergroup climate provide a basis for setting expectations about the likelihood of encountering discrimination in future encounters, even when one has had limited personal experience to date.…”

Understanding the cultural identity of EFL learners from the eco-linguistics perspective: evidence from students in arts college before and after the COVID-19 epidemic period

“…However, in a dynamic cultural context, analysis without the perspective of eco-surroundings is insufficient. According to Clément and Norton (2021) , the worldwide dissemination of English has resulted in the disregard of socially derived factors, such as ethnolinguistic vitality and intergroup context, which were not initially relevant to the cultural foundation of English. Therefore, language and identity research must incorporate contextual and intra-psychological processes.…”

Chinese Canadians’ experiences of the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racism: Implications for identity, negative emotion, and anti-racism incident reporting.

“…Ethnic identity formation and development is a dynamic interactive process based in part on one’s intergroup experiences (Clément & Norton, 2020; Hogg, 2016; Noels & Clément, 2015; Phinney, 1989). In other words, intergroup interactions that involve discrimination can influence one’s ethnic identities.…”