This paper aims at examining the reception,(g)localization, and also (re)creation of different forms of “queer” in the Italian context. First, I conduct a semasiological analysis of the diachronic semantic and connotative development of the English-turned-global “queer” in order to provide a detailed insight into its palimpsestic meaning. The offensive qualities of the slur, I argue, provide the aggressive power required for self-definition in queer activism. In a next step, I examine the entry of “queer” into the Italian lexicon from a queer lexicographical and lexicological perspective. Lastly, adopting an onomasiological approach, selected emerging local Italian alternatives to the adopted and adapted English “queers” are presented, specifically frocioand frocia, femminiellə, and ricchione. My analysis focuses on the Italian linguistic and cultural context not as a passive recipient but brings to light its active and productive role in creating (g)localized “queers” by reappropriating and resignifying pre-existing local terms. It shows the interplay between the English and Italian “queers” and their alternatives, outlining their locatedness on a global to local scale, while at the same time unraveling their interconnectedness and their interdependencies.

Talk at the Lavender Languages & Linguistics 24. University of Nottingham (April 30th, 2017) In this paper, I aim to bring together queer approaches and lexicography, i.e. a critical heteronormativity research within the field of theoretical lexicography and practical dictionary making. I will draw the attention to the queering potential of lexicography and focus on dictionaries, which commonly enjoy the status of “objective”, often unquestioned authorities. My analysis will show how heteronormative discourses are reflected in dictionaries and will critically question the lexicographer’s normative work and role. I will shed light on oppositions and contradictions in the field of dictionaries and dictionary making. I will elaborate on how expectations and claims made towards dictionaries, both by dictionary users and by lexicographers, can be mutually dependent but partially also contradict each other. The argumentation will show how these claims and expectations are influenced and determined by norms. These norms can be of lexicographic or linguistic nature, as for example good practices in lexicography, spelling and grammar rules, and many more. Though often neglected and hardly ever explicitly mentioned, social norms also play a highly influential role in the processes of dictionary making. In this sense, I outline the influence of heteronormative power structures and refute the dictionaries’ alleged objectivity. In my analysis, I will pay attention to the role dictionaries play as reference works and as authoritative sources in the production of knowledge and power. Power and authority do not only influence lexicographical decisions but are also produced by the dictionaries themselves. My theoretical reflections are supported by practical examples taken from existing dictionaries.

In this paper I outline verbal humor and irony in LGBTIQ designations, i.e. in name giving among and by LGBTIQ+ persons and also terms about them. My analysis focuses on personal nouns used in a humorous way both for LGBTIQ+ persons and straight/heterosexual persons, both used within LGBTIQ+ communities to refer to other group members or to outgroup persons and also used in heterosexual/heterosexist/homophobic discourse. I examine instances which are structured by heteronormativity as well as cases in which heteronormative thinking is overcome or deconstructed, in which humorous personal nouns are used for exclusion and serve as markers of otherness. Also aiming to identify who is targeted and in what ways humorous designations are used to downplay persons, I outline similarities and differences between humorous personal nouns used in heterosexist/heteronormative discourses and those used within LGBTIQ+ communities. The aim of this paper is to show how the humorous aspect of such personal nouns is constructed and what role it plays in transmitting and understanding certain semantic aspects.

This paper aims at bringing together queer approaches and lexicography, i.e. a critical heteronormativity research within the field of theoretical lexicography and practical dictionary making. The analysis focuses on power and authority in dictionaries. Power and authority do not only influence the process of dictionary making but are also produced by the dictionaries themselves. The author supports these theoretical reflections with practical examples taken from existing dictionaries. Furthermore, she outlines the influence of heteronormative power structures and refutes the dictionaries’ alleged objectivity. - See more at: http://www.gendersexualityitaly.com/potere-e-autorita/#sthash.GvijF8RJ.dpuf

Talk at the Intersections 2017: Queer / Migration / Legality. Saarland University (June 17th, 2017) Relying on the concept of translanguaging (cf. Fuller 2013) I analyze the diverse multilingual strategies employed by Yosimar Reyes, a self-proclaimed “two-spirit gangsta” poet, performance artist, and activist born in Mexico and raised (as undocumented) in California, in his construction of non-Western Queerness. According to García (2010), translanguaging breaks up the strict connection between language and ethnicity and allows for a “more fluid positioning of identity”. It “creates a social space for the multilingual language user by bringing together different dimensions of their personal history, experience and environment, their attitude, belief and ideology, their cognitive and physical capacity into one coordinated and meaningful performance, and making it into a lived experience” (Li 2011: 1223). I examine how, by crossing language barriers between English and Spanish through translanguaging, Reyes deploys multilingual resources in his work to overcome limiting cultural and linguistic monocentricity, to construct contemporaneously non-Western, Global South, and Indigenous Queer identities, and to deconstruct and distinguish himself from global gayness and homonormativity. For my analysis, I carve out important lexical fields and their relation to translanguaging in Yosimar Reyes’ poems “For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly” and “Pride.” References Reyes, Yosimar: “For Colored Boys Who Speak Softly.” https://vimeo.com/3400169; https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtY2xsMjMwMXxneDoxNTc3YmEzZGE4ZTBmNjll (accessed 20/05/2017) Reyes, Yosimar: “Pride.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGFIOVLWgHE; http://yosimarreyes.com/poetry/; (accessed 20/05/2017) Fuller, Janet M. 2013. Spanish Speakers in the USA. Bristol, Tonawanda, Ontario: Multilingual Matters. García, O. 2010. “Languaging and Ethnifying.“ J.A. Fishman and O. García (eds): Language & Ethnic Identity Vol. 1: Disciplinary & Regional Perspectives, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 519-534. Li, Wei. 2011. “Moment Analysis and Translanguaging Space: Discursive Construction of Identity by Multilingual Chinese Youth in Britain.” Multilingual Structures and Agencies 43 (5), 1222-1235.

Before the social turn in applied linguistics, English language teaching (ELT) was a presumably monosexual world. One where all its participants were presumed to be straight until, and even if, proven otherwise. The social turn brought with it a small but growing body of queer applied linguistics literature that has led to the troubling of the notion that sexual identity has no bearing on ELT. Previous examinations have investigated what is risked in classes that reify heteronormative worldviews. There is still considerable work to be done, especially regarding the field's understanding of transgender issues and how to prepare teachers to create inclusive educational spaces. This forum article critically reflects and comments on these developments. It then extends them by highlighting the continued need to advocate for LGBTQ+-inclusive approaches to ELT. It advocates for an increased focus on teacher preparation and curricular materials as central avenues to queer ELT. It concludes by highlighting the various areas of development needed to carry out this work more fully.

As an introduction to the special issue, this paper presents an overview of previous corpus linguistic work in the field of language and sexuality and discusses the compatibility of corpus linguistic methodology with queer linguistics as a central theoretical approach in language and sexuality studies. The discussion is structured around five prototypical aspects of corpus linguistics that may be deemed problematic from a poststructuralist, queer linguistic perspective: quantification and associated notions of objectivity, reliance on linguistic forms and formal presence, concentration on highly frequent features, reliance on categories, and highlighting of differences. It is argued that none of these aspects rules out an application of corpus linguistic techniques within queer theoretically informed linguistic work per se and that it is rather the way these techniques are employed that can be seen as more or less compatible with queer linguistics. To complement the theoretical discussion, a collocation analysis of sexual descriptive adjectives in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) is conducted in an attempt to address some of the issues raised. The concluding section makes suggestions for future research. Keywords: corpus linguistics, language and sexuality, queer linguistics, sexual descriptive adjectives, methodology, collocation

This research report looks empirically and critically at gender and sexuality in a selection of primary and secondary Polish EFL classrooms, in terms of representation in textbooks and classroom discourse overall. The data includes perspectives of teachers, students and Ministry of Education advisors. While the authors find much to be concerned about, they also identify progressive avenues. They conclude with a range of constructive and practicable suggestions for different language education practitioners: teachers, teacher educators, materials writers and illustrators, and policy makers. Authors: Łukasz Pakuła, Joanna Pawelczyk and Jane Sunderland

Gender Domination (and Submission) and the Current Issue of g/s/i- Journal Editorial

In second language teacher education there is a gap in the literature concerning initial teacher preparation on gender and sexuality education. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of a foreign language teaching module with a gender perspective on the education of a group of 30 student–teachers at an online initial English language teacher education programme in Argentina in 2018. Following an ecological approach to teacher research, data were gathered through surveys and student– teachers’ completion of coursework. Overall, the student–teachers found the experience beneficial both regarding their personal development as citizens and future teachers, in terms of their increased awareness of gender matters and their ability to produce motivating language activities anchored in wider social practices which promote gender equality and diversity. The study includes implications for initial teacher education and curriculum development.