language and politics – Language on the Move

Language and law

Making linguistic diversity visible in parliament

The material and linguistic representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in parliaments can be important against a history of exclusion. Similarly, this new mural at my workplace by…

Alexandra GreyJuly 1, 2025

Chats in Linguistic Diversity

Accents, complex identities, and politics

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Nicole Holliday. Dr. Holliday is a sociophonetician and Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University…

Brynn QuickJune 12, 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

Language and migration

English in the Crossfire of US Immigration

The White House (Image credit: Zach Rudisin, Wikipedia) Editor's note: The Trump administration has recently declared English the official language of the USA while simultaneously cutting the provision of English…

Rosemary SalomoneMarch 19, 2025

Language and law Linguistic landscapes

Making Zhuang language visible

Why do some cities around the world have public signage in multiple languages? Is there a policy behind it, and who does this signage benefit? Is there any multilingual signage…

Alexandra GreyFebruary 28, 2025

Chats in Linguistic Diversity English as a global language

Educational inequality in Fijian higher education

In this episode of the Language-on-the-Move podcast, Dr Hanna Torsh speaks with Dr Prashneel Ravisan Goundar, an academic based in the Graduate Research School at the University of New England,…

Hanna TorshFebruary 25, 2025

Chats in Linguistic Diversity

Politics of Language Oppression in Tibet

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks with Dr. Gerald Roche, Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, Media, and Philosophy at La Trobe…

Tazin AbdullahJanuary 14, 2025

Language politics Next Gen Literacies

Is it ok for linguists to hate new words?

Linguists are famously very cool with words changing their meaning, new words arising, and basically language just doing whatever the hell it wants, irregardless (heh) of what the language pedants…

Dave SayersMay 15, 2024

Language learning Next Gen Literacies

Competing Visions of the Global Promotion of Mandarin

Editor's note: Language learning and teaching is rarely about language alone. Sometimes, it is about making a political statement and taking a soft power approach, as Jeffrey Gil and Minglei…

Jeffrey GilJuly 18, 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

Language and globalization Next Gen Literacies

“Women, life, freedom” – the slogan swimming against the global tide

"Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" banner displayed by Bayern Munich soccer fans (Image credit: Archie Rhind-Tutt) Some recent images from around the globe: protest rally in Rome with a banner featuring the…

Ingrid PillerOctober 4, 2022

Language politics Next Gen Literacies

Minority languages on social media

On this year’s International Mother Language Day, the UN is encouraging us to reflect on the role of technology in multilingual learning. Here, we are looking at the role of…

Gegentuul BaioudFebruary 28, 2022

Language in Australia

English language proficiency and national cohesion

Victorian Multicultural Commission, Melbourne (Image credit: Pramuk Perera, via Unsplash) In August, Australia’s Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, announced the extension of the…

Miriam FaineNovember 24, 2020

Language politics

Brexit and the politics of English

Editor's note: As the world anxiously anticipates the outcome of the US presidential election next week - and the consequences it will have for global politics - we've asked the…

Robert PhillipsonOctober 29, 2020

Covid-19

Covid-19 exposes language and migration tensions in Denmark

Martha Sif Karrebæk and Solvej Helleshøj Sørensen, University of Copenhagen *** Editor’s note: Covid-19 has exposed fractures in the social and linguistic fabric in many contexts internationally, as we have…

Language on the MoveSeptember 9, 2020

Language politics

“I regret having named him Sahil”: Urdu names in India

Akhlaq Ahmad at work on the mural in Shahdara for the ‘Delhi, I Love You’ project. (Image Credit: Delhi, I Love You) On July 8, 2020, The Wire published an…