(5) International Network for Educational Linguistics as aDiscipline (INFELAD)

[Akira Y. Yamamoto]

Very well said.  Akira

>I think we do ourselves a disservice by thinking in terms of an
>'either-or' distinction.  We should take our cue from Halliday, who has
>stated of applied linguistics that it should be considered
>'transdisciplinary' rather than 'inter- or multidisciplinary'
>"...because the latter terms seem to me to imply that one still retains
>the disciplines as the locus of intellectual activity, while building
>bridges between them, or assembling them into a collection; whereas the
>real alternative is to supercede them, creating new forms of activity
>which are thematic rather than disciplinary in their orientation."  The
>same holds true if we are to find educational linguistic inquiry to be of
>serious value.  To place it within borders will only stifle what we can
>do with it.  While the themes we address are linguistic and educational,
>we should by no means consider ourselves limited by either of these
>domains as disciplines.
>
>By the way, I am sorry if I missed the first exchanges of this debate
>but I am curious, 'educational linguistics,' what your area/context is
>(who are you, where are you working, what is your background, etc.).
>
>Best,
>Francis M. Hult
>Educational Linguistics Doctoral Program
>University of Pennsylvania
>Graduate School of Education
>
>P.S. The above citation is from Halliday, M.A.K. (2001).  New ways of
>meaning: The challenges to applied linguistics.  In A. Fill and P.
>Muhlhausler (eds) The Ecolinguistics Reader: Language Ecology and
>Environment(pp. 175-202).  New York: Continuum.



Akira Y. Yamamoto
The University of Kansas
Department of Anthropology
Fraser Hall 622
1415 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045-7556
Phone: (785) 864-2645
FAX: (785) 864-5224
Anthropology: http://www.cc.ukans.edu/~kuanth/
Linguistics: http://www.linguistics.ukans.edu/