Rwanda and the question of Commonwealth relevance

Rwanda’s accession to the Commonwealth is often cited as a reason for the organisation’s continued relevance. And yet, in spite of this positioning as poster child for a more cosmopolitan Commonwealth, there is very little evidence, in the corpus of Commonwealth literature, to show how accession of states such as Rwanda boost the argument for relevance. In 2015, I travelled to Rwanda to gain an understanding of the effect that Commonwealth membership has had on the country and vice versa. Using this evidence, I draw conclusions about the effect that Rwanda and the Commonwealth have had on each other.     

On MMK 24.18

The paper explores the extent to which one of the most cited passages in the Western literature on Madhyamaka furnishes a solid basis for particular interpretations regarding the author of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikās. On the one hand it is attempted to show that MMK 24.18 harmonizes well with an exegesis according to which the creator of the concerned work propagated a view that could be labelled by the designation ‘Metaphysical Illusionism’. On the other hand particular features pertaining to natural language and linguistic communication in general are explored in order to a) account for methodological principles as well as limitations to which exegetical undertakings in the pertinent matter are subject and b) to provide an explanation for certain characteristics of Nāgārjuna’s philosophy.     

论民国时期书画润例语言形式的广告价值

民国时期,书画润例是众多广告中较为特殊的一种,其制定者及消费者在对传统书画文化认同方面的默契,使处于语言大变革时期的润例的语言形式依然保持着“古雅”的韵味。这一现象表明,作为书画广告的润例因书画这一特殊商品与传统文化之间天然的、紧密的联系,从而能够保持古色古香的韵味而少受时代变迁的影响。研究民国时期润例的语言形式,对于现今广告制作的语言运用亦有一定的参考价值。     

法律的道德论证——一个语言哲学的视角

对法律进行道德论证会遇到“明希豪森困境”和“休谟问题”的干扰,语言学规则为法律论证提供了一种新的可能,虽然语言学论证中也会有诸如概念含义过于复杂等困难,但是,作为一种不同于传统法律论证理论,其所提供的解释视角和评判标准则是很有价值的。     

法律语言中“可以”语意特征分析——兼论语言规范和法律语言规范

日常语体中常见词"可以"词义特征并非单一,而法律语体中"可以"的语意特征更趋复杂。本文通过对该词《刑法》用例的全面归纳与分析,探求《刑法》中"可以"的各种不同的语意特征。一般法律人士认为,《刑法》中"可以"主要表示授权性规范,给司法机关以自由裁量权,即表示"可能"意,而实际情况则不然,所以引起了一些不必要的争议。     

第二语言习得研究与中国俄语教学

随着中俄两国政治、经济、文化、教育、科技等领域的不断发展,我国对俄语人才的需求不断增加。近几十年来,我国不断引进国外先进的俄语教学方法,如听说法、视听法、认知法、交际教学法等。但在我国的俄语教学课堂上,这些教学法或者经过了修改,或者根本不是原来的方法,教学效果并不是很理想。结合我国俄语教学的这种现状,依据第二语言习得研究理论,探讨和分析适合我国国情的新的俄语教学方法,即任务型俄语教学,目的是为了更好地提高俄语教学质量,培养适合社会发展需要的应用型俄语人才。     

Two principles of equal language recognition

Within the umbrella of equal recognition, several principles of linguistic justice can be distinguished. A first, the per-capita principle, mandates prorating language recognition based on a per-capita distribution. A second, the equal-services principle, prescribes upholding the official languages as the languages in which the state speaks and in which public services are provided, irrespective of changing numbers of speakers. Alan Patten defends the prorated per-capita principle. I argue for the equal-services principle, which practically will often amount to a form of linguistic maximin: the more vulnerable the language, the more numerous the resources.     

Transforming (but not transcending) the state system? On statist cosmopolitanism

Can states become committed and competent agents of cosmopolitan justice? The theory of ‘statist cosmopolitanism’ argues that they can: their citizens can be turned towards a commitment to cosmopolitan principles and actions by moral entrepreneurs constituting a ‘cosmopolitan avant-garde’, and can be sustained in their commitment to those principles by their pre-existing attachment to the state as a political community. Taking cosmopolitan principles as axiomatic, this paper subjects statist cosmopolitanism to critique. First, I question the scale of the transformation that a cosmopolitan avant-garde can engender given the complexity of the causal chains the avant-garde seek to elucidate, as well as the countervailing potency of the state itself which reinforces particularistic attitudes in its citizens. Second, I argue that even if, contra my preceding argument, the cosmopolitan avant-garde were to be successful, states would find it desirable to federally integrate in order to be better able to realise their cosmopolitan commitments. Such integration is compatible with statist cosmopolitanism’s motivational theory, even if not its institutional vision. Finally, I re-characterise the cosmopolitan avant-garde as agitators for the transcendence, rather than just transformation, of the state system.     

中外法律语言研究侧重点的差异及启示

法律与语言的关系问题是法律语言学的研究范围。司法领域中的语言问题是法律语言学研究的核心问题。一般来讲,法律语言研究分为书面语和口语两个范畴。中外法律语言研究侧重点存在着较大不同。中国法律语言研究重书面语研究而轻法律口语研究,范围多局限于语言本身,很少涉及到语言学在司法领域中的应用等方面。国外法律语言研究对国内法律语言的未来研究与发展有重要的启示意义。     

Cosmopolitan belonging and diaspora: second-generation British Muslim women travelling to South Asia

This paper traces the ways in which British born Muslim women self-identify with Britain and South Asia. More specifically, the article explores the ways in which the young women express their sense of belonging and convey cosmopolitan identities while they self-reflect upon their travels to their parents' homeland. The paper argues that the women do not view Britain and South Asian nations in discrete terms along religious and cultural dimensions but with frequent visits in different stages in their lives come to understand these nation-states in porous ways. For example, they self-identify with South Asia because of South Asian culture's emphasis on the family and express openness and tolerance towards their parents' homeland. On occasions they express tourist-like appreciation of their parents' homelands. Yet in other instances, they reflect upon the ways in which they negotiate foreign and challenging circumstances. At the same time they consider Britain to be their home because they find that women have relatively greater independence and rights here. Some of the women also find it easier in Britain to express their religious rights. For example, they find that in Pakistan, although a Muslim nation, it is not customary to wear a headscarf but rather the traditional dress. Much of the literature that has explored diasporic young people's experience has focused on questions of identity through the lens of their country of residence. However, given the age of global interconnectedness and the decreasing salience of nation as an overarching feature of identity, it becomes significant to explore in greater detail questions of belonging, cosmopolitanism, and nation. Examining the narratives of British born Muslim Asian women, this study conceptualizes identity around ‘belonging’ and ‘cosmopolitanism’. Data are based on in-depth interviews of 25 second-generation British Asian Muslim women meeting regularly at Islamic study circles. Respondents ranged from ages of 19 to 28 years old who were mainly middle class professionals and university students.