1. Intentionality, convention and fashion
in researching multilingually
Juup Stelma
School of Education
University of Manchester
Juup.Stelma@manchester.ac.uk
Second Researching Multilingually Seminar
University of the West of England, Bristol
25 April 2012

2. Structure of the presentation
Ecological theory
Intentionality, convention and fashion …
… and relate this to researching multilingually
Conclude

3. One (not uncommon) definition of ecology is…
… the interrelationship of an organism and the environment
static animal nature
dynamic people nature
researcher research
community
… the activity of a researcher in a research community

4. Intentionality, Convention and Fashion
Convention
Fashion
Interrelationship
Intentional?
Revenge
Love
Duty Power
Survival Materialism
Religion Autokinesis

5. Focus on activity
… as in research-ING multilingually
Why are you doing that?
Because it is what is expected of me CONVENTION
Because everyone seems to be doing it FASHION
Because < it achieves something I value > INTENTIONAL
________________________

6. An ecological model of intentional activity
Resources and Expectations in
the Research Environment
Developing Intentional Activity
Developing Awareness

7. Convention, Fashion
Resources and Expectations in
the Research Environment
Following Convention or
Fashion
Habit of Mind ??

8. Intentionality on different levels of research activity
Improving practice/curriculum (Action Research)
Planning Acting Observing Reflecting
Recording Analysing
Transcribing
Why transcribe
Why transcribe
at all?
like this?

9. Intentionalities in Researching Multilingually Activity
Intentionalities in researching multilingually may include:
a) directly or indirectly exploring multilingual phenomena;
b) enhancing research quality;
c) responding to resource considerations;
d) furthering lingua-political agendas.
Clearly not comprehensive;
May include both apples and oranges;
…
Gets us thinking about intentionality, convention and fasion
in researching multilingually.

10. directly or indirectly exploring
multilingual phenomena;
enhancing research quality;
responding to resource considerations;
furthering lingua-political agendas.

11. Exploring multilingual phenomena
Directly when research aim is overtly about multi-lingual phenomena
Leeming, P. (2011). Japanese high school students’ use of L1 during
pair-work. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21(3):
360-382.
Developing Intentionality during MA research education:
When transcribing Japanese I used the original Japanese
script … In terms of a final copy I was thinking of writing
phonetic reading underneath (Roman alphabet) and then a
translation under that. Is this going to make my transcription
messy? Would it be okay to omit the phonetic transcription or
would it be better to get rid of the original Japanese script as it
is unreadable by most? (BB, 17/12, Paul).

12. Maya: in my picture … the … nani yaro? onegai shimasu//
(what is it? please go on)
Kaori: in my picture … it’s five o’clock//
Maya: tokei {[shakes head]nai} … in my picture nothing.. tokei watch?
(there is no clock) (clock)
Kaori: clock//
“When Maya is unable to proceed she makes a request in line 22 for
Kaori to take over, using the Japanese phrase omegai shimasu.
Although translated as “please go on”, there is no direct equivalent of
this phrase in English. This is the only example in the data where
polite Japanese is used … Between friends overly polite language is
often used as a joke and eases the tension here as Maya struggles
with the task” (Leeming 2011, p.370).

13. Indirectly by exploring multi-lingual phenomena embedded in data
Sahar Abdulelah – PhD student at Manchester
Focus on intertextuality in Arab postgraduate students’ writing
Source (http://www.aleqt.com/2007/12/08/article_120490.html):
Student:
<Student text removed from this published version for confidentiality
reasons >

14. “… she used a short paragraph from an Arabic newspaper
where she basically translated what was written word by
word … close word by word translation but only structural
alterations for the sake of style. Since I have done
translation projects, this is the kind of translation I would
do in order to closely mirror the target source of the
translation”
(Personal Communication, Sahar Abdulelah).

15. directly or indirectly exploring multilingual
phenomena;
enhancing research quality;
responding to resource considerations;
furthering lingua-political agendas.

16. Enhancing Research Quality
reliability / validity / credibility / other
Fashion /
Include both languages alongside each other at all
Convention stages of the research process.
Nikander’s (2008) suggestion for a set of guidelines
for the presentation of translation in qualitative
research transcripts …
… to “guarantee the publicly verifiable nature of
qualitative research” (p. 229).
… to ensure that “the acceptability of the translation
constructed remains, at least potentially open to
challenge and suggestions of alternative improved
Intention versions” (p. 229).

17. Critique
Intentionality = Enhance research quality
multilingual
transcription? multilingual
coding?
multilingual
interpretation? multilingual
dissemination?
Does intentionality on one level mean that
associated activity on another level is intentional?

18. Exploring Intentionality on Different Levels
Chafe’s (2003) three stages of remembering:
Everyday Researching Multilingually
1. awareness of ideas and Data generation in
evaluations, plus how these were one language
verbalised (categorisation,
orientation and combination)
how to
transition ?
3. retaining ideas and evaluations
Interpretations in
5. retaining evaluations only another language

19. Intentional Translation (metaphoric expressions)
Example from Woojoo Lee (PhD Thesis 2010):
YM
Translation: Public school is “acting with eyes closed” on English
education
This means that “public schools do not have a carefully considered plan for
English education”.
YM Public school does not seem to plan for English education
with much care.

20. Intentional Translation (anaphoric references)
Extract from Hamid Rahmani Sangani (PhD Thesis 2009):
“In Farsi, my mother tongue, we usually use pronouns and we refer
to previous events without caring about the immediate nouns which
precede them. The pronouns may refer to events or nouns having
been discussed some time back. This differs from English in which
any pronoun refers to the immediate preceding or following noun.”

21. directly or indirectly exploring multilingual
phenomena;
enhancing research quality;
responding to resource considerations;
furthering lingua-political agendas.

22. Resource considerations – Linguistic Competence
“I conducted the interviews in Turkish ... I transcribed … and then
translated them into English so that I could discuss them with my
supervisors in Leeds” (Zeynep Onat-Stelma PhD Thesis 2005).
“The reason I used the translation … for analysis was to share the
process of analysis with my supervisor, allowing him to understand
the interview data” (Woojoo Lee PhD Thesis 2010).
Resource considerations – Technology
“The TDS sessions were run in Farsi and their transcriptions were
also in Farsi, so for data analysis and writing-up I needed to translate
the transcriptions into English (I had to write my thesis in English and
I used ATLAS. ti for manipulating the data)” (Hamid Rahmani
Sangani, PhD Thesis 2011).

23. Resource considerations – Dissemination
Jarvis, Jennifer (1999). Aktiv læring i engelsk - oppfølging av prosjekt i
nordland [Active learning in English - follow-up of project in Nordland].
Bedre Skole, (1): 16-22.

24. directly or indirectly exploring multilingual
phenomena;
enhancing research quality;
responding to resource considerations ;
furthering lingua-political agendas.
This may include:
b) Developing Identity
c) Developing Diversity
d) Balancing Power Relationships

25. Developing Identity

26. Developing Identity
Lada Smirnova (MA TESOL course unit assignment – 2011):
“doing research multilingually is my reality”

27. Three linguistic codes – Lada’s own translations!
“I followed Richard’s advice, as it was my first experience of this kind … there
were quotes in Russian, translated in English in the body of my draft followed by
Russian and English author’s surname … but I had to remove them and replace
by the indirect references in English due to the word limit. I decided to leave the
author’s surname in Cyrillic for ‘reader-friendliness’ anyway, as the Russian
sources were stored in the reference section separately and with Cyrillic coming
first” (Personal Communication, Lada Smirnova).

28. Why do
we need
Diversity?
A species of African freshwater fish called mormyrids (elephant fish),
generate and perceive electrical signals. They use this to navigate, hunt
(sometimes in groups), and communicate.
http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio/hopkins/video.htm

29. There are two sub-families of mormyrids. The one called mormyrins has a
more developed ability to generate and perceive electrical signals, and the
other called petrocephalins has a less developed ability to generate and
perceive electrical signals.
There are 178 species of mormyrins / 30 species of petrocephalins.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/04/28/in-african-
rivers-an-electric-tower-of-babel/

30. Loss of Diversity - Futurama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbSnTMnTFY

31. Conclusion
Researcher Environment
Knowledge and Expectations
Awareness and Resources
Linguistic Fashion Participants
knowledge
Technology
(Multi)cultural Intentionality
knowledge Supervisor /
other Colleagues
Awareness of Convention
possibilities Academia

32. Thank you!

33. References (not already detailed)
Chafe, Wallace. 2003. The Translation Paradox. In N. Baumgarten, C. Böttger,
M. Motz and J. Probst (Eds). Übersetzen, Interkulturelle Kommunikation,
Spracherwerb und Sprachvermittlung: das Leben mit mehreren Sprachen.
Festschrift für Juliane House zum 60. Geburtstag. (pp. 57–66). Available from:
zif.spz.tu-darmstadt.de/jg-08-2-3/docs/Chafe.pdf
Lee, W-J. (2010). Views and experience of English language education for
young learners in South Korea. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of
Manchester, United Kingdom.
Nikander, P. (2008). Working with transcripts and translated data. Qualitative
Research in Psychology, 5: 225-231.
Onat-Stelma, Z. (2005). Moving from Teaching Older Learners to Young
Learners: Cases of English Language Teachers in Turkey. Unpublished PhD
Thesis, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Sangani, A-H. (2009). How reflective practice impacts on English writing
teachers in a particular context in Iran. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of
Manchester, United Kingdom.