WORKSHOP: ASYLUM & THE ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE

[David Boromisza-Habashi]

ASYLUM & THE ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE

Saturday 15 November 2008, 10.30-17.00
King's College London


Language and discourse have become increasingly important in asylum
application procedures in many western countries.  Cases get decided on the
basis of the languages that the applicant speaks (ethno-linguistic
identification) and/or on the coherence, clarity or detail of the
story they tell
(their discourse).  The critical role that language and discourse play in asylum
application procedures is central to a growing body of research that combines
linguistics with ethnography.  In this workshop, we present some of this work,
address its validity, and consider the wider implications of the use of language
analysis in immigration and asylum cases.

The presenters:
*       Professor Jan Blommaert (Finland Distinguished Professor of Linguistic
Anthropology at Jyväskylä University) specializes in migration, discourse and
African languages.
*       Dr Katryn Maryns (Antwerp Center for Pragmatics) recently
published 'The Asylum Speaker', a book based on close-up first-hand
observation of the Belgian asylum procedure.

Fee: £30 (including lunch), £15 for PhD students.  Spaces are limited, so early
registration is advised.  For more information, see http://www.rdi-elc.org.uk
or contact Melissa de Graaff (rdi-elc at kcl.ac.uk)

The workshop is part of the ESRC Researcher Development Initiative Course
Ethnography, Language and Communication www.rdi-elc.org.uk



-- 
David Boromisza-Habashi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Colorado
270 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0270, USA

office location: Hellems 78
work phone: +1 (303) 735 5076
work fax: +1 (303) 492 8411

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