Research Mieke Vandenbroucke

Abstract

In recent decades, access and accessibility have emerged as pivotal forces reshaping a wide spectrum of human endeavours, from innovative practices through social discourse to regulatory frameworks. This transformation has propelled accessibility into the forefront of diverse research fields, catalysing a wealth of novel methodologies and conceptual frameworks that have revolutionised the foundations of these disciplines. These developments have coalesced into what Greco (2018 and 2022) identifies as Accessibility Studies—an interdisciplinary field of research dedicated to investigating accessibility processes and phenomena. Despite its promising growth, Accessibility Studies remains fragmented, with accessibility often addressed disparately within distinct academic and professional domains, including Translation Studies, Architecture, Disability Studies, Design, Information Technologies, Law, Philosophy, and others (Greco 2022). This fragmentation has resulted in a disconnected and detached landscape within the field. The objective of the present project is to lay the foundation for an EU-level consolidation of the burgeoning field of Accessibility Studies in Europe by critically mapping the current state of the art in accessibility processes and phenomena. Our project seeks to bridge the gaps and enhance cohesion by fostering a deeper understanding of accessibility within and across these diverse domains. To accomplish this, we will create an international interdisciplinary team that will collaboratively investigate accessibility from various angles in order to get a better view of its complex identity and to uncover disparities that have to be overcome to achieve a more unified and integrated perspective. This research endeavour will explore the design, implementation, and evaluation of accessibility-based and accessibility-oriented methodologies, ultimately advancing our comprehension of access and accessibility in contemporary society.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vercauteren Gert
• Co-promoter: Jankowska Anna
• Co-promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke

Research team(s)

• Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies (TricS)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In this project, we focus on the use of English, in both same-language or interpreted communication, as a linguistic mediation strategy between an institutional officer and a non-Belgian applicant in high-stakes institutional procedure: the marriage fraud investigation. In doing so, we topicalise not only the impact of hybridity and variation in (interpreted) spoken language use and its written reflection as evidence in the case report on the multi-phased investigation, but also the degree of (meta-)linguistic and language ideological awareness by the institution and its officers of the complexities inherently at play when adopting English as a(n) (interpreted) language in Belgian institutional casework.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Co-promoter: Brisard Frank
• Fellow: Bergen Sara

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines the linguistic construction of elite multilingualism in an IB international school. International schools are exclusive educational institutions which typically provide transnational education for expat children. To address the lack of knowledge on how language-based elitism manifests itself and how it is legitimized in an educational institutional context, this project specifically looks at (i) how teachers and students hierarchize linguistic forms in and through observable linguistic practices; and (ii) how they legitimize such a hierarchization of language use as a valuable, respectable and justifiable educational asset. To investigate these processes on the basis of real-life data this project proposes a linguistic-ethnographic case study which allows to analyze small-scale linguistic interaction processes as well as their social-ideological contextualization in adequate detail. In this way, the project sets out to generate (i) innovative descriptions of everyday linguistic hierarchization and legitimation at an international school; (ii) a more tangible, concrete understanding of elite multilingualism as an observable, on-going practice; and (iii) increased awareness among stakeholders of these subtle linguistic processes.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Fellow: Bafort Anne-Sophie

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

English version: The aim of this FWO Scientific Research Network application is threefold: (1) to consolidate the Historical Sociolinguistics Network (HiSoN) and firmly secure the position of Flemish expertise in the research network internationally; (2) to initiate a range of new activities as part of a broader Historical Sociolinguistics Research and Training Program, with a distinct focus on postgraduate training and joint research initiatives; (3) to expand the existing network interdisciplinarily and attract young and established scholars from neighboring disciplines. The research unit Grammar and Pragmatics (GaP, https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/research-groups/grammar-and-pragmatics/) will contribute with its unique expertise on the interaction of sociolinguistic and cognitive factors in language use, variation and change. To this purpose GaP makes use of state-of-the-art methods from computational and corpus linguistics and linguistic ethnography, including data-driven identification of social networks and communities of practice.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Gras Pedro
• Co-promoter: Petré Peter
• Co-promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines interpreting practices in marriage fraud investigations conducted by Belgian authorities, in which a complex chain of interviews and reports results in the decision whether a transnational couple's marriage application is genuine or fake. Both professional and non-professional interpreters are relied on to interpret the statements and answers given by the applicants not proficient enough in Dutch or French during an interview with a municipal officer and later on with a police officer. During the interpreter-mediated interaction, a written statement and interview report is noted down by the interviewer. The project incorporates two analytical foci, each of which entailing a PhD project: one about the spoken interpreting practice and one about the role of the interpreter in the entextualised codification of spoken evidence. The descriptive objectives pertain to the role of the interpreter in their spoken interpreting practice and the cross-sectional differentiation in entextualisation involvement. The theoretical objective of the project aims to further our understanding of how the context and function of an interpreter-mediated encounter influences the behaviour of the interpreter, irrespective of his/her professional status. The project's final, applied objective is to increase awareness of the significant role and complexities involved in interpreter selection and entextualisation in marriage fraud investigations by Belgian authorities.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research agenda topicalises the institutional management of superdiverse multilingualism in urban contexts in Belgium with an empirical focus on the pragmatics of categorisation processes. This over-arching topic will be examined in several concrete research projects which zoom in on one particular type of institution, interaction or context. Methodologically, linguistic ethnography will be combined with research methods for interactional and pragmatic analysis.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Fellow: Vandenbroucke Mieke

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The proposed project is a six month ethnographic study on the linguistic landscapes (LLs) of Hawaii poke bowl restaurants in Belgium. The suggested dates of the project are from August 2022 to January 2023. The LL is an accumulation of all written language features and semiotic references in public space. For a restaurant, this can include (but is not limited to) menus, signs, receipts, advertisements, murals, and flyers. Poke, a traditional Hawaii dish with Japanese influences, is usually served as sliced raw fish in a bowl with rice and toppings. These poke shops are of interest due to the commodification of poke worldwide, and the use of English in their promotion. The project will be based at the University of Antwerp, but will involve several other sites as poke restaurants are becoming increasingly popular in Belgium. To conduct the research, I will travel to the identified sites and document the LL features, such as those mentioned above. Additionally, I will conduct brief semi-structured interviews with restaurant owners to gain insight to the decisions behind the design of their shop's LL. Finally, I will observe the language use of these spaces through ethnographic observation during peak hours at two restaurants throughout the duration of the project. This research will contribute to the LL literature by examining the language use surrounding the transfer of a local Hawaii practice into a globalized commodity. Additional practical applications may be revealed by the project, such as how participants establish the "authenticity" of these shops. Furthermore, this project will help us understand how Hawaii is used in Belgium food culture, and will be the foundation for the prospectus of my PhD dissertation.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines the linguistic construction of elite multilingualism in the international school. International schools are expensive and exclusive educational institutions which typically provide transnational education for expat children. In answer to the lack of academic knowledge on how language-based elitism manifests itself in/through concrete language use and on the legitimation of elite multilingualism, this project specifically looks at (i) how language-centered elitism is produced in observable linguistic practices in the school and in its policy-making; and (ii) how a hierarchization of language use is meta-pragmatically legitimized by social actors as a valuable, respectable and justifiable educational asset, in spite of its contributions to social stratification processes and the wider inequities it perpetuates in society at large. For this case study, a linguistic ethnographic and interactional sociolinguistic approach is adopted, which implies the triangulated analysis of a comprehensive dataset including but not limited to interviews, recordings of classroom interaction, policy documents, school signs, pupils' diaries on language use and language portraits. In this way, this project sets out to generate (i) empirically innovative insights on the linguistic construction and legitimation of language-based elitism and, as a result, (ii) a conceptually refined and enriched understanding of language-centered elitism in education.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Fellow: Bafort Anne-Sophie

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The interdisciplinary project subsidized by Sciensano aims to develop an effective strategy for more inclusive (digital) crisis communication, which takes account of the socio-linguistic diversity of Belgium and actively battles information inequality. The focus lies on how government communication about Covid-19 information during the pandemic can be improved through bespoke (re)translations and accessible media and language tailored to linguistic minorities' needs and specific needs groups. These needs include the information's linguistic/multimodal form, the communicative channels and dissemination measures.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Co-promoter: Jankowska Anna
• Co-promoter: Reviers Nina
• Co-promoter: Vercauteren Gert

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Responding to a number of urgent problems noted in the area of Covid-19 contact tracing (reluctance to give information, lack of care orientation, script-dominated talk), this project analyses and seeks to optimize the interactional functioning of the contact tracing phone call services coordinated by the Flemish Agency for Health & Care. It combines 4 objectives: (i) diagnosis of interactional practice in 3 cycles of data collection and analysis (incl. 1 cycle on encounters in other languages than Dutch); (ii) recommendations for practice, the development of training materials and a recruitment package; (iii) a pilot implementation followed by an efficacy measurement; and (iv) societal impact on the general public's support for contact tracing. The project inserts itself in an applied, interactional sociolinguistic and conversation analytic research tradition on medical encounters and institutional interviewing on sensitive topics. It addresses a current gap in (i) fundamental knowledge about the linguistic interactional dynamics of contact tracing calls as a specific type of institutional encounter and (ii) applied knowledge on how to improve task-oriented efficiency and enhance pragmatic awareness of practitioners as a dimension of professional reflexivity in a currently, important domain of combatting and containing the Covid-19 pandemic. The project benefits from close collaboration between relevant linguistic, medical and ethical expertise.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Co-promoter: Bastiaens Hilde
• Co-promoter: Colebunders Robert

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project examines the historical development of a corporate language policy, the interactional dynamics of workplace encounters and specific categorisation processes in internationalised, multilingual business contexts in Belgium.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Vandenbroucke Mieke
• Fellow: De Malsche Fien

Research team(s)

• Grammar and Pragmatics

Project type(s)

• Research Project