Linguistic identification in the determination of nationality: A preliminary report

Title
Linguistic identification in the determination of nationality: A preliminary report
Publication Date
2003
Author(s)
Eades, D
Fraser, Helen Beatrice
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6143-5265
Email: hfraser@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:hfraser
Siegel, Jeff
McNamara, T
Baker, Brett
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Place of publication
Netherlands
DOI
10.1023/A:1024640612273
UNE publication id
une:1494
Abstract
The authors of this report are five Australian experts in the fields of sociolinguistics, phonetics (analysis of accent or pronunciation) and language testing. Their report raises concerns about the "language analysis" that is being done by overseas agencies and that is being used by the Australian government in determining the nationality of refugee claimants, and concludes that "language analysis", as it is currently used, is not valid or reliable. It appears to be based on "folk views" about the relationship between language and nationality and ethnicity, rather than sound linguistic principles. The report found that: i) a person's nationality cannot always be determined by the language he or she speaks, ii) a few key words and their pronunciation normally cannot reveal a person's nationality or ethnicity, iii) common perceptions about pronunciation differences among groups of people cannot be relied upon, iv) any analysis of pronunciation must be based on thorough knowledge of the language and region in question and must involve detailed phonetic analysis. Furthermore, in a study of 58 Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) decisions in which this "language analysis" was at issue, it was found that there were doubts over its validity. The authors have grave concerns that the use of "language analysis" in the determination of nationality may be preventing Australia from properly discharging its responsibilities under the Refugees Convention and therefore call on the Australian Government to stop using this type of analysis.
Link
Citation
Language Policy, 2(2), p. 179-199
ISSN
1573-1863
1568-4555
Start page
179
End page
199

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