English – Language on the Move

Language and law Next Gen Literacies

Learning to speak like a lawyer

(Image credit: Australian Government, Study Australia) In her 2007 ethnographic study of eight US law schools, Elizabeth Mertz traces the process through which law students learn to “think like a…

Laura Smith-KhanApril 3, 2025

Language and migration

Language access rights are vital

Editor’s note: The Trump administration has recently declared English the official language of the USA while simultaneously cutting the provision of English language education services. This politicization of language and migration in the USA is…

Gerald RocheMarch 26, 2025

Linguistic landscapes

Visit to Abrahamic Family House

*** Anna Dillon and Sarah Hopkyns *** Figure 1: Sarah (in black) and Anna (in purple) at Abrahamic Family House As friends and fellow sociolinguists, we, Anna and Sarah, have…

Sarah HopkynsJanuary 17, 2025

English as a global language Next Gen Literacies

How do universities decide whose English needs to be tested for admission?

(Image credit: Mana Akbarzadegan via Unsplash) When Muhammad* applied for admission to a postgraduate degree at an Australian university, he was asked to show evidence of his English language proficiency.…

Ingrid PillerJanuary 6, 2023

Intercultural communication Next Gen Literacies

“Baraye” – preposition of the year

Prepositions are the unnoticed and underappreciated workhorses of language. They are "grammar words" that indicate relationships. Essentially, their job is to connect other words with bigger and more important meanings.…

Ingrid PillerDecember 12, 2022

English as a global language Language and globalization

What’s next for the Queen’s English?

Official coronation portrait (Image credit: Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2015) The Queen and the English language are both unique within their categories. The Queen enjoyed special…

Ingrid PillerSeptember 12, 2022

Covid-19

From language barriers to linguistic resources in COVID safe business registration

Editor’s note: The language challenges of the COVID-19 crisis have held much of our attention this year. Here on Language on the Move, we have been running a series devoted to language…

Monica NeveDecember 14, 2020

Language in Australia

Decolonising sociolinguistic research

Celeste Rodriguez Louro and Glenys Collard, University of Western Australia *** The histories and everyday experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are etched in the landscape,…

Language on the MoveSeptember 14, 2020

Multilingual histories

Is English spelling an insult to human intelligence?

One of countless internet memes about crazy English spelling (Source: angmohdan.com) During a dreary German winter in the 1980s, I would get up early each Friday morning, wrap myself up…

Ingrid PillerAugust 10, 2020

Covid-19

COVID-19 health information campaigns in the Philippines

Image 1: Infographic in Tagalog on ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection Editor’s note: Timely and equitable access to information for linguistically diverse populations continues to be a…

Loy LisingJuly 13, 2020

Intercultural communication

Eating, othering and bonding

Yucky worms or yummy treats? When I arrived in the UK from Poland in 2004, I did not know that prawns even existed. During our first dubious encounter, I categorized…

Marta Wilczek-WatsonFebruary 6, 2019

Multilingual families

Hoping to raise bub bilingually?

New Zealand's PM wants to raise her newborn daughter bilingually (Source: radionz) New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, plans to raise her newborn daughter bilingually in Māori and English. Her…

Ingrid PillerSeptember 3, 2018

Next Gen Literacies

?4U: Is Twitter killing the English language?

This story was authored by Antra Kalnins and first published at Macquarie University's The Lighthouse. It is reproduced here with permission. *** If the question in the headline makes you…

Language on the MoveAugust 4, 2018

Language learning

How can we change language habits?

Language choice in bilingual couples as habit (excerpt from Piller, 2002, p. 137) In my research with bilingual couples, habit emerged as one of the main reasons for a couple’s…

Ingrid PillerAugust 1, 2018

Multilingual histories

In search of myself

This week is Library and Information week (#LIW2018). Library and Information Week aims to raise the profile of libraries and information service professionals in Australia. What better way to celebrate…

Ingrid PillerMay 21, 2018