The Sociolinguistics of Iranâ#x80 ; #x99 ; s Languages at Home and Abroad : the Case of Persian, Azerbaijani, and Kurdish

This book examines the sociolinguistics of some of Iran's languages at home and in the diaspora. The first part of the book examines the politics of minority languages and the presence of hegemonic discourses which favour Persian (Farsi) in Iran, exploring issues such as language maintenance and shift, linguistic ideologies and practices among Azerbaijani and Kurdish-speaking communities. The authors then go on to examine Iranians' linguistic ideologies, practices and (trans)national identity construction in the diaspora, investigating both the challenges of maintaining a home language and the strategies and linguistic repertoires employed when constructing a diasporic identity away from home. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of minority languages and communities, diaspora and migration studies, and language policy and planning. Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prior to taking up his fellowship at Nanyang Technological University, he completed his PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.-- Provided by publisher Acknowledgements 5 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 14 List of Tables 15 1 Nationalism, Modernity, and the Issue of Linguistic Diversity in Iran 16 The Qajar Dynasty (1796–1925): Introducing Modernization 18 The Pahlavi Dynasty: Institutionalization of Persian, Suppression of Minority Languages 22 The Islamic Revolution and the Issue of Ethnolinguistic Diversity (1979–Present) 24 Structure of the Book 28 References 33 Part I The Politics of Ethnolinguistic Diversity in Iran 37 2 Exploring Azerbaijani Speaking Parents’ Linguistic Practices and Ideologies in Ardebil, Iran 38 Introduction 38 Language Maintenance and Shift 39 Context of Study 43 Methodology 44 Participants 44 Interview Sessions 44 Researcher’s Positionality 46 Data Analysis 47 Results and Discussion 48 Knowledge of Azeri 48 Attitudes Toward Azeri 51 Azeri and Farsi Practice Patterns 53 The Home Domain 53 Transactional Domains 55 Concluding Remarks 56 References 59 3 Linguistic Landscaping in Tabriz, Iran: A Discursive Transformation of a Bilingual Space into a Monolingual Place 64 Introduction 64 Iranian Azerbaijanis 65 Discursive Construction of Spaces into Places 67 Data Collection 69 Top-Down Signs in Tabriz 70 Bottom-Up Signs in Tabriz: An Indicator of Language Change 78 Discussion and Conclusion 82 References 84 4 Attitudes toward Kurdish in the City of Ilam in Iran 89 Introduction 89 Kurdish in Iran and Diaspora 93 The Study 96 Researchers’ Positionality 96 Participants 97 Data Collection Context: Ilam 98 Data Collection Methods 98 Questionnaire 98 Interview 100 Ethnography 101 Data Analysis 101 Results and Discussion 102 Questionnaire and Interview Results 102 Research Question One 102 Research Question Two 104 Research Question Three 105 Research Question Four 108 Qualitative Results 110 Language Attitude 111 Kurdish or Persian? 112 Conclusion 115 References 116 Part II Heritage Language Use and Maintenance: The Case of Persian in the Diaspora 119 5 Family Language Policy towards Heritage Language Literacy Acquisition and Maintenance: Iranians in New Zealand 120 Introduction 120 Family Language Policy 122 Method of the Study 124 Participants 124 Instrument 125 Positionality of the Researchers 127 Data Analysis 127 Findings 128 Language Beliefs 128 Lack of Community-Based Heritage Language Schools 128 Perceived Inability in Heritage Language Literacy Teaching 129 Becoming Home Heritage Language Teachers 130 The Need for Community-Based Heritage Language Schools 131 Heritage Language Literacy Maintenance 132 The Need to Develop Heritage Language Literacy 133 The Perception of Bilingualism and Biliteracy 137 Language Practices 138 Language Management 140 Overcoming the Challenges of Heritage Language Literacy Development 140 Resources for Persian Literacy 141 Incentives for Heritage Speakers to Develop Persian Literacy 142 Conclusion 144 References 146 6 Mother Tongue Matters: An Ethnographic Study of Cross-Generational Voices in Negotiation in Persian Mother Tongue Classes 151 Introduction 151 MT and MTE in Denmark 153 Theoretical Framework 154 Methodology 157 Data and Participants 157 Data Analysis 160 Researcher’s Positionality 161 Results 161 Negotiations in Voices 162 Introduction to the Setting 162 I waste my Saturdays 163 Consequences Are There 166 If you don’t speak Persian, you won’t speak to many in the family 166 Confrontation 171 You should say it in Iranian 171 Concluding Remarks 175 Transcription Conventions 176 References 176 7 ‘Are These Ones to Taste?’: Critical Moments in Persian Shops in Sydney 179 Setting the Scene: Service Interaction as a Social Practice 179 Critical Moments: Definitions 181 My Role as a Researcher and as a Shop-Assistant 184 Ethnographic Background and Methods 186 Strategies for Conflict Resolution: Interdiscursivity 188 Mediational Means as a Source of Conflicts 194 Conclusion 200 Transcription Conventions 202 References 203 Part III Transnational Identities and Mobility: The Role of Persian, Ethnic Languages, and English 207 8 Language Barrier and Internal Conflict among Iranian Migrants in Australia: A Case of Unsettling Tension 208 Introduction 208 Literature Review 209 Iranian Identity and Their Socio-Cultural Practices 211 Methodology and Conceptual Framing 214 Participants 214 Positionality of the Researchers 215 Findings and Discussion 215 Linguistic Capital: The Impact of English 216 Internal Conflict Between Asylum Seekers and Other Visa Holders 221 Conclusion 229 References 230 9 Investigating Multilingual Identities and Ideologies among Iranian Communities in Contexts of Mobility 233 Introduction 233 Mobility, Transnationalism, and Shifting Indexicalities 235 Researcher Positionality 238 Ideologies and Practices of Farsi-English Bilinguals in Iran and in Diaspora 238 CS and Acts of Differentiation: Indexing Power in Iran 239 Excerpt 9.1: She Says /iniestɑgrɑm/! It’s Embarrassing! 240 CS and Acts of Solidarity: Indexing Solidarity in Diaspora 244 Excerpt 9.2: See! I Just Said ‘Conscious’! 245 Excerpt 9.3: ‘You Are Here! You Have to Learn to Use It Correctly!’ 250 Conclusion 254 Appendix: Transcription Conventions 255 References 256 10 Mobility, Identity, and Complexity: Iranian Azerbaijanis in the U.S. 258 Introduction 258 Globalization, Identity, and the Chronotope 260 Positionality of the Researcher 261 Polycentric Identification Practices Among Iranian Azerbaijani Migrants 263 ‘But Now, Things Have Changed!’ 263 ‘Turkish Is a Separate, Beautiful Language!’ 270 ‘We’ve Always Been in Minority’ 275 Conclusion 279 Appendix: Transcription Conventions 281 References 281 11 Iranians at Home and Abroad: Current Sociolinguistic Issues, Possible Solutions, and Future Trajectories 285 The Sociolinguistics of Iran’s Languages at Home 285 The Sociolinguistics of Iran’s Languages in the Diaspora 290 References 295 Index 297 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Nationalism, Modernity, and the Issue of Linguistic Diversity in Iran (Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi)....Pages 1-21 Front Matter ....Pages 23-23 Exploring Azerbaijani Speaking Parents’ Linguistic Practices and Ideologies in Ardebil, Iran (Rasoul Jafari)....Pages 25-50 Linguistic Landscaping in Tabriz, Iran: A Discursive Transformation of a Bilingual Space into a Monolingual Place (Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi)....Pages 51-75 Attitudes toward Kurdish in the City of Ilam in Iran (Saeed Rezaei, Ava Bahrami)....Pages 77-106 Front Matter ....Pages 107-107 Family Language Policy towards Heritage Language Literacy Acquisition and Maintenance: Iranians in New Zealand (Khadij Gharibi, Corinne Seals)....Pages 109-139 Mother Tongue Matters: An Ethnographic Study of Cross-Generational Voices in Negotiation in Persian Mother Tongue Classes (Narges Ghandchi)....Pages 141-168 ‘Are These Ones to Taste?’: Critical Moments in Persian Shops in Sydney (Dariush Izadi)....Pages 169-196 Front Matter ....Pages 197-197 Language Barrier and Internal Conflict among Iranian Migrants in Australia: A Case of Unsettling Tension (Hossein Shokouhi, Alireza Fard Kashani)....Pages 199-223 Investigating Multilingual Identities and Ideologies among Iranian Communities in Contexts of Mobility (Taraneh Sanei)....Pages 225-249 Mobility, Identity, and Complexity: Iranian Azerbaijanis in the U.S. (Farzad Karimzad)....Pages 251-277 Iranians at Home and Abroad: Current Sociolinguistic Issues, Possible Solutions, and Future Trajectories (Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi)....Pages 279-290 Back Matter ....Pages 291-294 This book examines the sociolinguistics of some of Iranâ#x80;#x99;s languages at home and in the diaspora. The first part of the book examines the politics of minority languages and the presence of hegemonic discourses which favour Persian (Farsi) in Iran, exploring issues such as language maintenance and shift, linguistic ideologies and practices among Azerbaijani and Kurdish-speaking communities. The authors then go on to examine Iraniansâ#x80;#x99; linguistic ideologies, practices and (trans)national identity construction in the diaspora, investigating both the challenges of maintaining a home language and the strategies and linguistic repertoires employed when constructing a diasporic identity away from home. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of minority languages and communities, diaspora and migration studies, and language policy and planning. Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Prior to taking up his fellowship at Nanyang Technological University, he completed his PhD at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand