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Federalism at the Crossroads: Crisis of the Linguistic Minorities in India

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166 views

Pritin Dutta

Assistant Professor in Political Science, Government General Degree College, Tehatta. Nadia, West Bengal, India. ORCID: 0000-0002-8834-1904. Email id: duttapritin11@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                                                 Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s24n2

Abstract

Polyglot federations face a challenge in reconciling between the national identities and regional identities. Demand for a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in India in 2015 by some groups bears testimony to this fact. On the question of political remapping in post-independence period, the constitutional ancestors sought to save India from another religious bigotry and the menace of casteism. The emergence of language as a viable alternative gained momentum in Nagpur session (1920) of the Indian National Congress (INC). But subsequent years encountered with a difficulty in adopting territorial solution for accommodating India’s multilingual identities. Pre-constitutional, extra-constitutional and constitutional arrangements have faced the challenge of linguistic accommodation. Dar Commission warned the risk of federal remapping with existing linguistic pocket corridors in the states. Inter-state migration has proliferated the problem over the years. Even the SRC could not provide adequate safeguards for large number of linguistic minorities living in all states (Kerala becomes exception with 97.03% linguistic majorities). There new minority emerged and accommodated but with limits. Census report of 2011 shows India having 19,569 languages which stood 1369 after linguistic scrutiny. Territorial machinations appear inadequate to satisfy all linguistic groups but only to incur huge expenditure. Indian federalism seems deficient in non-territorial power sharing which has succeeded in countries like Belgium in the form of Consociational representation. With its promise of inclusivity by means of a possible alternative it demands the attention of the policy makers as well as the academia.

 Keywords: Polyglot federations, political remapping, States Reorganisation Commission, linguistic minorities, Consociational Representation

Translation of Intensity in Political Discourse

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226 views

Iroda Siddikova1 & Nadejda Zubareva2

1Professor at the Comparative Linguistics department of the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Email: i.siddiqova@nuu.uz

2PhD Candidate at the Comparative Linguistics department of the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Email: zubarevan@yahoo.com; ORCID 0000-0001-7895-3301 (Corresponding Author)

  Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s24n1

Abstract

The political discourse is one of the most dramatic and emotionally expressed types of discourse where intensity could be considered as the means of implementation of pragmatic potential. The preservation of pragmatics of intensifying units as part political discourse while translating them serves to the adequate transformation of the communicative intention of the author and as a result, leads to the achievement of the corresponding communicative effect in the target language. This paper examines ways of translating intensification in the political discourse. Three types of methods for implementing intensification in translation have been discussed: (1) the explicit expression of intensification, (2) the creation of intensity in translation, and (3) the reduction in the intensity of expressions. The results of the study show that not every equivalent translation is recognized as adequate, but only one that meets, in addition to the norm of equivalence, other regulatory requirements.

 Keywords: Intensification, Political Discourse, Translation, Communication

Problems and Challenges Faced by EFL Students of Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 Pandemic

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490 views

Tawhida Akhter

Assistant Professor, Department of English, College of Sciences and Languages Sajjir, Shaqra University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Email: tawhida@su.edu.sa, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4149-4855

  Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s23n5

Abstract

The teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is very interesting but at the same time is considered difficult particularly for those students who have read most of the subjects of their courses in their mother tongue.  The four skills viz, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are necessary for learning a foreign language and an imbalance in any skill can hamper the whole process. All the skills are important but during present pandemic situation listening skill is considered as a problematic skill particularly in a foreign language context where practice opportunities are limited because of the world pandemic COVID-19 that hampered all our teaching and learning process. This study aimed to explore the problems and challenges faced by EFL students because of the limited resources. An online survey method was followed to collect data from a group of Saudi EFL students (n = 100) using the Listening Comprehension Processing Problems Questionnaire. The results indicated that these students experienced moderate to high levels of difficulty in all the skills particularly in ‘Listening’ because of limited resources. The findings are expected to have useful implications for teachers who intend to address these problems of EFL learners. Analysis of the findings revealed that most of the students encountered problems in listening most of the times during online classes sometimes because of physical and sometimes other barriers. Discussion and implications of these findings are presented.

 Keywords:  EFL language learning, listening, speaking, reading, writing, COVID-19, online teaching problems.

Understanding the robustness of incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading: Qualitative insights from biolinguistics

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256 views

D. R. Rahul1 & R. Joseph Ponniah2

1 Research Scholar, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli. ORCID: 0000-0002-4215-1769. Email: rahuldrnitt@gmail.com

2Professor, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli. ORCID: 0000-0002-0618-6788. Email: joseph@nitt.edu

  Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s23n2

Abstract

Studies have shown the potentials of reading on the development of language. Especially, the literature on second language reading is replete with evidence that unearths the incidental acquisition of vocabulary through reading. Free and pleasurable reading, which has a marked effect on the frequency of reading, contributes significantly to the incidental acquisition of vocabulary. However, only a few studies have explored the interconnection among vocabulary acquisition, free and/or pleasure reading, and the reading frequency. To this end, this study manifests the incidental acquisition of vocabulary through reading and foregrounds the importance of free reading, reading pleasure, and reading frequency for vocabulary development. By confirming the strong correlation between reading frequency and the vocabulary test scores of the participants we attest that the reading frequency is significantly associated with free and/or pleasure reading (in our case, liking towards self-selected reading). We also theoretically contextualize and support the argument of incidental vocabulary learning through reading from a biological perspective. Given that the acquisition of any language subskill is enabled by the amalgamation of nature and environment, insights into the biological system of reading implicates a better understanding of the incidental acquisition of vocabulary through reading.

Keywords: vocabulary, reading, incidental learning, pleasure reading, biolinguistics

Integrating ICT in English Language Teaching in Bangladesh: Teachers’ Perceptions and Challenges

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463 views

Nafis Mahmud Khan1,2 & Khushboo Kuddus2

1Division of Research, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: nafismahmud53@gmail.com

2School of Humanities (English), KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. ORCID id: 0000-0001-8934-8924. Email: khushboo3133@gmail.com

  Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s23n1

Abstract

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education especially, in English Language Teaching (ELT) in secondary schools of Bangladesh has been existing for a decade now. However, the status of actual implementation is quite different from the adoption and initiatives taken to integrate ICT in ELT. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the secondary level English language teachers’ attitude towards integration of ICT in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and the factors inhibiting the use of it. Further, the paper attempts to examine the challenges faced by the secondary level English teachers of Bangladesh in using ICT in language teaching effectively. In an attempt to examine the attitude of teachers in using ICT in ELT, a quantitative research is designed with a close ended questionnaire to collect the data from a sample of 100 secondary English language teachers of various schools of Bangladesh. The data of the responses is quantified and is analyzed by SPSS 20 program. The obtained data from the questionnaire is examined in order to investigate the perceptions of the secondary level English language teachers towards ICT integrated language teaching and the challenges of the implementation of ICT in ELT. In conclusion, the outcome of the research would provide significant information about the attitude of the teachers towards ICT integration in ELT and the challenges faced by them and hence, the study would help the policy makers and the teachers to enhance the effectiveness of using ICT in ELT.

Keywords: Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Communicative Language Teaching, Challenges, Perceptions, English Language Teaching (ELT).

The Postcolonial Bare Life: Reflections on Agamben and the Coronavirus

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224 views

Vincent Pacheco

University of Macau. ORCID id: 0000-0002-1812-5528. Email: vincent.pacheco@connect.um.edu.mo

   Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s21n4

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic has undeniably propagated an atmosphere of paranoia and discontent in both the West and the East, and it is in this context where Giorgio Agamben wrote a brief but controversial article where he argues that this pandemic enables governments to opportunistically decree a state of exception that will lead to tyranny. Critics have generally responded negatively to Agamben’s views, given that this is not the case in the West. It is becoming apparent, however, that the very thing Agamben feared is happening in post-colonial states. In this paper, I look at how the current pandemic enables a postcolonial state like the Philippines to define (or redefine) the notion of life through authoritarian measures as it claims a strong democratic mandate. My reflections on Agamben takes off from Rodrigo Duterte’s national speeches during the pandemic. I aim to show that his manifestly militarized response is a manifestation of the sovereign exception that politicizes and separates zo? (which is mere biological life) from bios (which is livable life that can participate politically), as Agamben might put it. Finally, I offer reflections on how the postcolonial legacy of the Philippines could potentially complicate how we might think about the notion of bare life—a figure that is neither zo? nor bios.

Keywords: Giorgio Agamben, Rodrigo Duterte, Populism, Coronavirus, Bare Life.

Hope Beyond Disappointment: A Reparative Reading of Charlson Ong’s Of That Other Country We Now Speak

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165 views

Miao Chi

University of Macau. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0511-6235. Email: yb97721@um.edu.mo

   Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s21n3

Abstract

The practice of depicting ancestral homeland as a mythical and ideal place where the diasporic subjects will eventually return has been problematized and contested in diasporic studies. Seemingly pioneering, such an approach perpetuates a paranoid reading of homecoming and return as an experience of disappointment, confusion, and conflict, which in turn bolsters the sense of alienation of diasporic subjects. Despite the contentions, the idea of home still has its hold on diasporic subjects. Considering the complexity and significance of the notion of home in diasporic studies, I argue that the homecoming journey could also create positive impacts on healing the wound inflicted by diasporic experience. Employing Eve Sedgwick’s theory of reparative reading, which empowers generative mode of analysis that explores alternatives through textual critique, I offer a reparative reading of the title story in Of that Other Country We Now Speak and Other Stories, a recent collection of short stories by the award-winning Chinese Filipino writer Charlson Ong. I focus especially on the experience of the protagonist Jeffrey and examine how his adversity is complicated by the diasporic experience, the symbolic meaning of his homecoming trip as well as how his narration of a mythological story parallels with and symbolizes his endeavors to heal the misfortune. In doing so, this essay hopes to provide an alternative perspective on the often negatively-perceived homecoming experience.

Keywords: diaspora; homecoming; reparative reading; Chinese Filipino; Charlson Ong

You are Cancelled: Virtual Collective Consciousness and the Emergence of Cancel Culture as Ideological Purging

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6.2K views

Joseph Ching Velasco

De La Salle University. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7098-8216. Email: josephchingvelasco@gmail.com

   Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s21n2

Abstract

Social networking platforms were originally conceived to enable individuals to engage in various forms of online interactions. As social networking sites robustly permeated different facets of society, they have been commonly grouped under the more generic term “social media.” Social media has become a powerful force in contemporary life, paving the way for the rise of digital participatory cultures and social movements. More recently, the culture of cancellation has entered the vernacular of digital culture, primarily targeted at public figures who break the loose norms of social acceptability. Specifically, cancel culture is a form of public shaming initiated on social media to deprive someone of their usual clout or attention with the aim of making public discourse more diffused and less monopolized by those in positions of privilege. Conversely, cancel culture has also been framed as a form of intolerance against opposing views. In this essay, I unpack the nuances and implications of cancel culture through Neil Alperstein’s concept of “virtual collective consciousness.” In Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, cancel culture has become more demonstrable on social media. I will use a case study of a public figure from the Philippines who has been subjected to cancel culture in order to examine the complexity of this social phenomenon.

Keywords: Cancel Culture, Social Media, Public Shaming, Cancelledt, Celebrity, woke, wokeism, influencer

Performing Refugee’s Body and Memory: Poetics of Diaspora in lê thi diem thúy’s Autoperformance

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177 views

Io Chun KONG

Assistant Professor, City University of Macau, E-mail: erickong@cityu.mo/ erickonghome@yahoo.com

   Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s21n1

Abstract

Despite the fact that substantial scholarship in Asian diasporic and refugee narratives has been developed in the post-Cold War era, critical refugee studies related to autoperformance have yet to be examined. Within this context of addressing autoperformance as an aesthetic genre, this paper explores the poetics of Vietnamese refugeehood as mediated in lê thi diem thúy’s ?Red Fiery Summer (1995) and the bodies between us (1996). While the former historicizes the Vietnam War from the diasporic perspective of a refugee, the latter articulates the counter master narratives by performing bodily memories of refugeehood. Informed by Marianne Hirsch’s “post-memory”, the paper demonstrates how body and memory could be inextricably and interdependently rendered as a poetics of diaspora in performance. This paper further argues that autoperforming these two aspects is critical to revisiting the history of the Vietnam War and calling the militarism of the U.S.A. into question.

Keywords: lê thi diem thúy, refugee, postmemory, poetics of diaspora, autoperformance

Effect of Visuo-Motor Behavior Rehearsal on enhancing Mental Toughness of Soccer Players

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167 views

Sorokhaibam Premananda Singh1 & Sanjib Kumar Bhowmik2

Assistant Professor, National Sports University (A Central University), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India, jonaprem@gmail.com

Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, Tripura University (A Central University), Suryamaninagar, 799022, Tripura, India.

   Volume 12, Number 5, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s19n3

 Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of six weeks of Visuomotor Behavior Rehearsal on Enhancing Mental Toughness of Soccer Players. For the purpose of study forty (n=40) soccer players in the age groups of 17 to 21 years belong to Th. Birchandra Singh Football Academy (TBSFA), Imphal West, Manipur were selected. Subjects were divided into Treatment and controlled group (20 players in each group). The data was collected through the administration of the Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI) by James E. Loehr (1996) containing 42 items. To find out the significant effect of the Psychological Skills Training Program on Selected Psychological Variables of Soccer Players, MANOVA for psychological variables was used and the level of significance was set at 0.05. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant effect of soccer players on those who underwent the PST program as compared to the players in the controlled group.

Keywords: Visuo Motor Behavioural Rehearsal, Mental Toughness, self-confidence, negative energy control, attention control, Visual & imagery control, motivational level, positive energy control and attitude control.

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