Doctoral Dissertation Research: Hippo Family Club Language Learners in Japan and the USA

本论文研究项目的目标是通过研究河马家庭俱乐部，一个国际语言研究小组，在日本和美国的成员的多语言实践和意识形态，扩大语言和全球化的社会语言学的理解。河马家庭俱乐部是一个国际组织，致力于“任何人都可以说七种语言”的座右铭。它的成员，主要是种族，经济和语言上占多数的成员，将自己描述为多语言学习者跨国“家庭”的一部分。本研究结合了日本和美国的参与观察和对成员话语实践的深入分析，以描述他们的单语和多语意识形态，研究主要采用了两种方法：参与观察和话语分析。研究者以河马家庭俱乐部成员的身份参与，将观察结果记录在现场笔记中，然后进行定性分析，以描述和解释俱乐部的做法。河马家庭俱乐部的会议也将被录像，个别成员将接受采访，他们与俱乐部的经验。该项目旨在完善和扩大对主体间性策略的理解（Bucholtz和Hall 2004）。主体间性的策略将个人视为他们自己身份地位的代理人，并作为他们无法控制的社会结构的主体。个人通过行为和习惯性的实践来主张一种社会地位，但这些主张要受到他人的认证。本研究在一个跨国群体中考察这些做法，这个群体的成员可能从未见过彼此。日本和美国都被刻板地视为单语国家，尽管每个地区都存在相当大的语言多样性。然而，与此同时，每个国家的中产阶级主体都重视多语言。本研究探讨俱乐部成员如何调和看似矛盾的价值观单语和多语。

The goal of this dissertation research project is to expand sociolinguistic understandings of language and globalization by studying the multilingual practices and ideologies of members of Hippo Family Club, an international language-study group, in Japan and the United States. Hippo Family Club is an international organization dedicated to the motto "Anyone can speak seven languages." Its affiliates, primarily ethnic, economic, and linguistic majority members, describe themselves as part of a transnational "family" of multilingual learners. This study combines participant observation in Japan and the US with close analysis of members' discourse practices in order to describe their ideologies of monolingualism and multilingualism.The study utilizes two primary methods: participant observation, and close analysis of discourse. The researcher participates as a member of Hippo Family Club, recording observations in field notes, which are then qualitatively analyzed to describe and explain club practices. Hippo Family Club meetings will also be video-recorded, and individual members will be interviewed regarding their experiences with the club. The project aims to refine and expand understanding of the tactics of intersubjectivity (Bucholtz and Hall 2004). The tactics of intersubjectivity view individuals both as agent of their own identity positions, and as subject to social structures beyond their control. Individuals claim a social position through performance and habitual practice, but these claims are subject to authentication by others. This study examines these practices in a transnational group whose members may never meet one another in person.Both Japan and the United States are stereotypically viewed as monolingual nation-states, despite the presence of considerable linguistic diversity in each area. At the same time, however, middle class subjects in each country value multilingualism. This study examines how club members reconcile seemingly contradictory values on monolingualism and multilingualism.