Susan Sontag,battle language and the Hong Kong SARS outbreak of 2003

Abstract

The widespread use of military language to describe modern epidemics is often attributed to the popularization of the germ theory of disease. Whatever its origins, critics regularly deplore martial imagery in the medical context finding it by turns dangerous, humiliating, and offensive. This article examines the most famous of these critiques, Susan Sontag's rebuttal of disease-as-war language, and finds it problematic in a number of respects. Mass emergency response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003 offers a cross-cultural case study in the use of representations of war. Key to the argument is the proposition that disease-as-war language expresses something ‘real’ not illusory, vital not frivolous, about the community which employs it. The language is a vehicle for articulating social emotions of collective fear, patriotism, homage, and exculpation in conditions that presage collective death     

Indigenous Peoples in Southern Africa

Abstract

This article considers the complex cases of indigenous peoples in three Commonwealth countries in southern Africa: Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In terms of national-level policy, the governments of these countries do not differentiate indigenous peoples from the rest of their populations. They do, however, have programmes aimed at assisting ‘marginalised’ or ‘disadvantaged’ communities. In this article, three main dimensions related to indigenous peoples’ rights in southern Africa are discussed: national policies, indigenous peoples’ rights, and rights to representation; land and resource rights, including rights to water; and language and gender rights. The paper concludes with an assessment of where indigenous peoples stand today in southern Africa.     

Mental Health Intervention with Hispanic Immigrants

Abstract

The underutilization of mental health services by Hispanic immigrants has been well documented in the literature. Hispanic immigrants encounter numerous obstacles which prevent them from successfully navigating through the mental health system. This reality is further compounded by the fact that research appears to suggest an increased rate of mental health disorders among Hispanics. This article underscores the importance of understanding the influence of a Hispanic client's worldview, language, and religion on the provision of mental health services. A case vignette is presented as a means of illustrating key conceptual points. Practice principles or conclusions drawn from this article should be used as a general guide by mental health practitioners.     

In the name of king,country, and people on the Westminster model and Bhutan's constitutional transition

In 2008 Bhutan inaugurated a written constitution thereby instituting the state as a constitutional monarchy. The constitution is almost unanimously described as democratic by international media and academics. The ease with which this apparent consensus on its democratic character has been achieved, however, raises the important question of how best to approach the theory of constitutional democratization. In approaching the issue of democratization as a move towards popular control, this article discusses the ambivalence of the Bhutanese constitution towards this principle in a cultural context where social order is seen as constituted within the unity of king, country, and people. Curiously, this language is not as unique to Bhutan as one might expect, but influenced by the Westminster legacy in its emphasis on the principle of “Crown in Parliament”, its ritualization, and ideas of political inequality. It raises the question whether this model is suitable as a blueprint model for countries with different historic and cultural trajectories from the European ones? The article advocates a novel approach to the analysis of constitutional transition that transgresses the dichotomy between an institutional and linguistic approach, thus opening up interesting new insights on the waxing and waning of processes of expanding popular control.     

Ideology after the end of ideology. China and the quest for autocratic legitimation

In political science literature on contemporary China, ideology is mostly regarded as a dogmatic straitjacket to market reforms that has been worn out over the years of economic success, an obsolete legacy of the past waiting to be cast off in the course of the country's transition toward capitalism. This article posits, however, that ideology still plays an indispensable role in the quest to legitimize authoritarian rule in contemporary China, and that it does so precisely due to its high degree of adaptability. Based on David Beetham's theoretical model of political legitimacy, three legitimating functions of ideology that demand the constant adaptation of party theory and official language are introduced. Presenting various examples of reformulations of party theory and official language from the beginning of the reform period up to the present, the article demonstrates how the party regime relies on ideology to constantly reproduce its legitimacy, as well as the pitfalls of this reliance. It argues that ideology in contemporary China should be analysed not as a matter of belief but of playing by the rules of the official language game, and it shows how ideology is deployed as a set of practices and incentives for the proper performance of the political elite.     

泰国华文教育的现状与前瞻

本文论述泰国华文教育发展的历史和社会背景,分析了泰国华文教育的现状以及各种类型的华文教育,指出当前泰国华文教育所存在的问题,并提出解决这些问题的方法。     

公安院校微型警务英语口语语料库的构建与应用

微型警务英语口语语料库的构建对公安院校警务英语教学研究、我国行业英语语料库的建设以及培养懂外语的复合型人才,服务于涉外警务工作具有重要的现实意义。从整体设计、语料搜集、分类标注三个步骤加强微型警务英语口语语料库的构建,并根据微型警务英语口语语料库的特点和外语教学中的现实情况,尝试将其应用于公安院校的警务英语教学是一条可行的途径。     

试论英汉思维的互相影响

随着全球化的发展,英语学习已成为热潮。汉语对英语学习的影响也越来越受到关注。迁移理论、中介语理论以及中式英语的出现都说明母语对外语学习的重要影响,其本质则为思维的影响,而外语学习对母语的影响则很少被人关注。熟知英汉思维的相互影响,有助于学习者更好地交替使用这两种语言。     

《刑法修正案（八）》的批判性审视——基于刑事立法的语言学视角

刑法用语的明确性、严谨性和周延性,是刑事立法在语言上的要求。作为历次刑法修正中变动幅度、力度最大,也是最为全面的一次,《刑法修正案（八）》的颁布和实施必将成为我国刑事法治建设过程中的一件大事,对今后的刑事司法活动产生深远影响。但是也应当看到,《刑法修正案（八）》在刑法语言的规范性方面还存在某些不足。其中,总则部分的管制刑修改、累犯修正和免除未成年人前科报告义务的刑法用语存在一定的问题,分则部分的危险驾驶罪、持有伪造的发票罪、组织出卖人体器官罪和盗窃罪之立法语言也存在可商榷之处。基于刑事立法的语言学视角对《刑法修正案（八）》中的具体条文进行批判性分析,有助于我国刑事立法的科学化和刑事立法的进一步完善。