Identifying regional and national origin of English-speaking Africans seeking asylum in Germany

Bobda, Augustin Simo; Wolf, Hans-Georg; Peter, Lothar

doi:10.1558/sll.1999.6.2.300

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…:•;:; officials" (Bobda et al 1999, p. 301); in Switzerland, where the test is imposed on all political ';];~ asylum candidates who are without documents (Singler 2004); and in Sweden, as "an aid" to ? :verifying false claims (Bobda et al 1999).…”

Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…McNamara notes that for the past 15 years, refugee claims have been "determined in part on the basis of a language test" (2005, p. 362), and Reath (2004) engages in a discussion of the ethics and morality of this form of "'testing." The fact that the terms "language analysis" and "language test" are being used synonymously across the globe (Bobda et a!. 1999;Daley 2002a;Erard 2003;McGeough 2005) implies the very nature and entrenched perception of LA being exploited to exclusionary end, in ways similar to the linguistic sites of interception already discussed.…”

Section: : a Review Of The Literature The Historical Function Of Language As A Tool Of Exclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the limited amount of research as ofyet conducted on LA, language professionals have acknowledged the perceived burden of increasing refugee claims in countries like Belgium (Maryns 2004), Switzerland (Singler 2004), Germany (Bobda et al 1999), the Netherlands (Eades and Arends 2004), and Australia (Eades et al 2003). It is widely accepted that countries comprising the West no longer welcome refugee claimants as generously as in the past, and have become skeptical of the genuine nature of individual protection claims.…”

Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…so since then. The has largely situated LA within an exclusionary asylum context because of the link .between using language as a tool, and one of the major issues informing.the current anti-refugee discourse, the fact that many individuals arriving in countries of asylum lack identity documents ;, (:Bobda et al 1999;Eades et al 2003;Maryns 2004;Singler 2004). Such realities have forced 'governments to question whether the lack of documentation is a lived reality and circumstance of tlight, or whether it is due to individual intentions to conceal true place of origin (Bobda et al Demonstrating a widespread preoccupation with trying to identify asylum seekers making false claims about national origin in order to qualify for refugee status, LA has been adopted as a to verify the identity claims of these individuals and to help distinguish the economic migrant from the genuine refugee (Blommaert 2001;Eades et al 2003;Maryns 2004).…”

Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Interrogating the efficiency paradigm : a study of language analysis as evidence in refugee status determination

Pease¹

2021

Preprint

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In 1993, Sweden commenced the unprecedented practice of using Language Analysis (LA) as evidence in refugee status determination. Since that time, Western governments trying to cope with the perceived refugee crisis have similarly adopted the tool to corroborate and undermine the nationality claims of asylum seekers crossing borders without identity documents. During this same period, language professionals, lawyers, various news media, and others across the globe have proceeded to fuel international controversy on the subject, largely challenging the linguistic integrity of the tool, while investing less energy addressing the political context of use, as well as the implications for violations of refugee rights. In 2007, Canada reflected prioritized concerns for efficiency when it made public a pilot project to address the value of this language tool in aiding status decision-making. This paper interrogates the Canadian efficiency paradigm through the Australian lens of LA in practice. In exposing the ethical and legal sites of likely disengagement should Canada proceed with implementation, this paper cautions against LA becoming the most recent assault on a Canadian protection regime already under siege.

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Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: : a Review Of The Literature The Historical Function Of Language As A Tool Of Exclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Situating Language Analysis In the Anti-asylum Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Interrogating the efficiency paradigm : a study of language analysis as evidence in refugee status determination

Pease¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…More specifically, is it possible to differentiate the L2 English of speakers from various parts of Africa, to make the differences between these L2 varieties of English explicit and relate them to the L1's of the speakers? With Simo Bobda et al (1999) …”

Section: Remainder Of the Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Creating and Digitizing Language Corpora

Corrigan¹,

Mearns²

2016

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Recent years have seen an increase in the on--line availability of dialect corpora, databases and search, analysis and visualisation tools (cf. www.dialectsyntax.org). Although primarily intended for linguistic research, this infrastructure provides rich resources for courses on sociolinguistics, dialectology, formal linguistics and linguistic methodology. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of the Dutch linguistic microvariation research tool MIMORE (www.meertens.knaw.nl/mimore) for a course in applied linguistics, more specifically on Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO). LADO is used in asylum procedures as a means to determine whether an asylum seeker originates from the country or area that s/he claims to originate from. It is a task of linguists to make clear if and how LADO can be a valid method, and what kind of linguistic expertise is needed. MIMORE contains three databases with (morpho--)syntactic and (morpho--)phonological data from a large number of locations in the Dutch language area. The paper describes how the MIMORE data and tools have been used in the course as training material, to introduce students to the different levels of language variation, to teach them how to recognize linguistic differences and make these explicit and to show them the complications involved in using linguistic properties to locate speakers.

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Assessment in Asylum‐Related Language Analysis

Eades

2013

The Companion to Language Assessment

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This chapter concerns language assessment in the cases of asylum seekers whose claimed origins are contested by immigration authorities. Known as LADO (language analysis in the determination of origins), this is different from other language assessments, as it involves tests of authenticity of identity rather than tests of proficiency. Further, rather than using proficiency rating scales or standardized tests, LADO involves forensic hypothesis testing. After outlining LADO methods of data collection and analysis, the chapter discusses the controversy over qualifications and expertise required of analysts. It then considers assumptions about language and multilingualism which underlie LADO assessments, and it connects to current sociolinguistic research on multilingualism, globalization, and deterritorialization.

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Identifying regional and national origin of English-speaking Africans seeking asylum in Germany

Cited by 11 publications

References 4 publications

Interrogating the efficiency paradigm : a study of language analysis as evidence in refugee status determination

Interrogating the efficiency paradigm : a study of language analysis as evidence in refugee status determination

Creating and Digitizing Language Corpora

Assessment in Asylum‐Related Language Analysis

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