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DUAL seminar series
This talk is a part of Dalarna University Applied Linguistics (DUAL) seminar series. DUAL is a seminar series for those interested in Applied Linguistics. Experts in different areas of the field are invited to present their research. We target prominent researchers from different parts of the world to present on current topics.
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Presenter
Eric Friginal from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Abstract
In this presentation, I argue for the important role of applied corpus linguistics as a methodological approach in language and social research in contributing linguistics-based explications of workplace discourse. Applied corpus linguistics is understood to include the use of corpus resources, techniques, and tools in order to, for example, examine patterning in public discourses so as to obtain novel understandings of how language is used and construed in specific contexts (Thompson & Friginal, 2020). I analyze frequency-based distributions and their various macro and micro societal and policy implications from specialized corpora of (primarily) English discourses in the workplace.
I have been exploring real-world recorded and transcribed texts from domains such as outsourced customer service call centers, healthcare, tourism and hospitality, global aviation, international maritime industry, and talk in multi-cultural and multimodal workplaces. My theoretical and analytical framework emphasizesthe identification of discursive practices across socio-cultural structures and task dimensions of talk in these domains, focusing especially upon speakers' understanding of role-relationships, discoursal goals and objectives, cultural and racial identities, and power dynamics at work. An iterative cycle which combines computational approaches to data extraction and a progression of stages (that also emphasizes qualitative and functional analyses) shows how the structure and meaning of professional cross-talk can be successfully described, interpreted, and explained using patterns and evidence from corpora (Baker, 2018; Friginal, 2020; Gentil, 2013). Specifically, as a focal study in the presentation, I highlight my current research in international aviation communications, exploring the language of pilots and air traffic controllers across various stages of flight. Implications for language policy and the development of dedicated training materials on aviation phraseology will be presented and discussed.
Biography
Eric Friginalis Professor of Applied Linguistics and (incoming) Head of Department of English and Communication at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before moving to Hong Kong, he was Professor and Director of International Programs at the Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL at Georgia State University. He specializes in applied corpus linguistics, quantitative research, language policy and planning, technology and language teaching, sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, discipline-specific writing, and the analysis of spoken professional discourse in the workplace. His recent publications include The Routledge Handbook of Corpus Approaches to Discourse Analysis(2020), co-edited with Jack Hardy; Advances in Corpus-based Research on Academic Writing: Effects ofDiscipline, Register, and Writer Expertise, co-edited with Ute Römer and Viviana Cortes (2020); English in Global Aviation: Context, Research, and Pedagogy, with Elizabeth Mathews and Jennifer Roberts (2019); and Corpus Linguistics for English Teachers: New Tools, Online Resources, and Classroom Activities(2018). He is the founding co-editor-in-chief of Applied Corpus Linguistics (ACORP) Journal (with Paul Thompson).
