Voices in Texts and Contexts

Overview

Voices in Texts and Contexts presents different perspectives of 'voice,' a concept emerging from language choices, social and cultural phenomena, and psychology. In weaving a tapestry of linguistic experiences, from analyses of language phenomena including localised English to explanations of human behaviour, this book offers insights into how we use language, construct discourse, and express ourselves in light of selected texts and specific contexts. Voice is a fundamental instrument to interpret human behaviour and the mind. In this book, readers will learn about uses of language, or perceptions of uses, and a wide range of messages enshrined therein. This book grew out of the 6th and 7th International Conferences on Discourse and Society organised by the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. It contains chapters that give special focus to Malaysia at the macro level—such as the naming of disabled people, mastery of the Malay language by migrants, loanwords of Sanskrit origin in Malaysian—as well contributions by invited scholars whose academic interests intersect with the theme of the volume. It is suitable for scholars, educators, researchers, and the interested general public.

Author Biography

Toshiko Yamaguchi is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, and teaches linguistics to postgraduate students. In her earlier academic career, her research centred on synchronic and diachronic aspects of the Japanese language. She is currently engaged in two book projects, both concerning second language or L2 users/learners: one on Japanese English grammar and the other on Japanese linguistics for L2 learners.Jariah Mohd Jan is an Associate Professor at the Department of English Language and former Dean at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. Her main area of research specialisation is sociolinguistics, and she has published widely on gender and power in relation to language, pragmatics, and discourse. Her recent research interest and publications focus on (im)politeness, speech acts, women and leadership, discourse at the workplace, academic concerns of children in foster care, and language and culture of the Kerinchi community.Sheena Kaur is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, and currently Deputy Dean of Postgraduate Studies. She obtained her doctoral degree in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University. Her research interests include applied linguistics, internationalisation of higher education, sociolinguistics, and the use of corpus methodology. She has presented at several national and international conferences and is a reviewer for several journals. Her most recent publications include a commentary on the coronavirus pandemic in Malaysia in the journal Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.