{"title":"Exploring the role of language ideology in disaster contexts: case study of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami","authors":"Shinya Uekusa, Sunhee Lee","doi":"10.1515/ijsl-2022-0061","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract During/after disasters, language communication (or the lack thereof) can be a matter of life or death, particularly for “Indigenous/Tribal, Minority and Minoritized languages and peoples” (ITMs). Disaster and language studies have identified language barriers as critical because some ITMs do not understand basic risk communication, evacuation warnings, and recovery information. There are three major approaches to lowering these barriers in disaster contexts: (1) disseminating warnings and critical information in multilingual formats; (2) using bi/multilingual translators/interpreters and automated translator; and (3) using simplified language(s). However, this top–down approach is insufficient because ITMs need more than just selective information to cope with adversities. The basic communication rights to know, “talk about it,” and express one’s feelings after a traumatic event should not be a taken-for-granted privilege for speakers of the majority languages. The root causes of disaster linguicism, which focuses on the unique social vulnerabilities confronted by ITMs, have not been properly addressed. Drawing from our qualitative research, this article explores the role of Japanese language ideology in relation to the experiences of ITMs in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.","PeriodicalId":52428,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of the Sociology of Language","volume":"39 1","pages":"37 - 57"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of the Sociology of Language","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2022-0061","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract During/after disasters, language communication (or the lack thereof) can be a matter of life or death, particularly for “Indigenous/Tribal, Minority and Minoritized languages and peoples” (ITMs). Disaster and language studies have identified language barriers as critical because some ITMs do not understand basic risk communication, evacuation warnings, and recovery information. There are three major approaches to lowering these barriers in disaster contexts: (1) disseminating warnings and critical information in multilingual formats; (2) using bi/multilingual translators/interpreters and automated translator; and (3) using simplified language(s). However, this top–down approach is insufficient because ITMs need more than just selective information to cope with adversities. The basic communication rights to know, “talk about it,” and express one’s feelings after a traumatic event should not be a taken-for-granted privilege for speakers of the majority languages. The root causes of disaster linguicism, which focuses on the unique social vulnerabilities confronted by ITMs, have not been properly addressed. Drawing from our qualitative research, this article explores the role of Japanese language ideology in relation to the experiences of ITMs in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) is dedicated to the development of the sociology of language as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches – theoretical and empirical – supplement and complement each other, contributing thereby to the growth of language-related knowledge, applications, values and sensitivities. Five of the journal''s annual issues are topically focused, all of the articles in such issues being commissioned in advance, after acceptance of proposals. One annual issue is reserved for single articles on the sociology of language. Selected issues throughout the year also feature a contribution on small languages and small language communities.