language planning and policy covers many issues – orthography, education, administration,...
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Language Planning and PolicyLanguage Planning and Policy
Covers many issues – orthography, education, administration, international communication, language rights
Mainly concerned with national government policy but not always – churches, universities, local govts.
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General – language planning is the deliberate attempt to change linguistic behaviour (deliberate language change)
Or to stop it changingLanguage policy – general principles
behind such attempts
General QuestionsGeneral Questions
Is language planning possible? Is planning in general possible? – record of
planned economies is very poorWhat about planned languages?Yes, sometimes – but often at a high cost –
money, minority/majority rights, bureaucracy Quebec’s “language police”
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Is language planning desirable? – many sociolinguists would say no
Compare fate of English vs French
Corpus PlanningCorpus Planning
Internal structure and features of languages –pronunciation, spelling, syntax
Changes in Malay – compare place names
In English – no central control – Oxbridge and the Times, BBC – regional accents of news readers
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Writing systems sometimes a problem –which system? Political implications
Central Asia/Azerbeijan – shift from Cyrillic to Roman (but not Arabic) – each script linked with political ideology
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Spelling reforms – modest American reforms in English, reforms in Malay/Indonesian, proposals for German
New words – often a political or religious issue – divergence of Hindustani – “native” words in Icelandic and French
Codifying and teaching grammar
Example: IcelandicExample: Icelandic
Language Institute – 36 terminology committees -- keeping English out by inventing new Icelandic words
Computer – tolva – combines words for number and prophetess
frioD jofur -- thief of peace (pager)TV screen – sk jar cow’s amniotic sac
StandardisationStandardisation
Standard linguistic rules – local, national, regional, national
Range of standardisationOral languages without writing systems –
not used in education or for “high” purposes, lot of variation –Aslian languages
Partial standardisation – written language, used in primary education – Yoruba, Tamil
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Restricted standardisation – language is not used in law or higher education or is used for religion but not for science – Arabic? Hebrew?
Mature standardisation – language is used in all types of communication – how many?
Status planningStatus planning
Relationship between languages – often reflects political conflict and status of those who speak (or granparents) spoke the language
Northern Ireland – demands for official recognition of Irish (and then Ulster Scots)
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Allocation of functionsNational or official – symbolic or
ceremonial Malay in Singapore (national anthem) Irish (political parties – a chara (Oh friend)
in letters Welsh, Maori, African languages in South
Africa
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Provincial – French in Quebec, Welsh, Catalan, Iban in Sarawak
Lingua franca – Swahili, LingalaGroup – Roma, YiddishEducational – Latin, Sanskrit, Pali ,
Classical Arabic
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Literary – Hebrew, LatinReligious – Sanskrit etcMass media Industrial, servicesAlso prestige and acquisition planning –
cintai bahasa
Language planning Language planning processes: selectionprocesses: selection
Choice of language or variety for certain functions
originally gradual and unplanned – East Midlands dialect – standard English
Parisian French, Kano Hausa
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Deliberate creation of standard language from a specific dilaect, Basque, Indonesian, Bahasa Melayu from Johore-Riau, Pilipino from Tagalog
Most powerful or numerous dialect becomes the standard
Not always – Tuscan – standard Italian
CodificationCodification
Creation of linguistic standards or normsGraphisation – writing systemGrammatication – syntax and morphologyLexicalisation – new wordsDone by language academies, government
bodies, individuals
ImplementationImplementation
Production of written materialsExtension of domainsMarketingEnforcement – official or unofficial,
occasionally violent
Case studiesCase studies
Indonesia – many different languages – Javanese largest numbers of speakers but many varieties – admin language Dutch – Malay a trade language
National language before independence – Malay
Dutch – no international value, fear of Javanese domination
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Singapore – dominant Chinese population – but spoke stigmatised dialects – no natural resources
Multilingual policy – some free choice – encouragement of 2 H varieties
Linguistic variety reduced – English/Mandarin bilinguals dominant group
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Malaysia – dominant Malay groupNo role for minority vernaculars – spoke
stigmatised varietiesMalay national and official language Modified in recent years
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Timor LesteLocal language Tetum – a L varietyOfficial language Portuguese1975 occupied by Indonesia – then
independent – Portuguese became the national language
ModernisationModernisation
Lexical enrichmentBorrowing (often politically motivated)Extension of existing wordsneologisms
conclusionconclusion
Language planning – successful when supported by social or economic forces or political interests – French, Catalan, Mandarin in Singapore
Less successful if opposed by economic or political forces – Irish, Welsh, anti-Singlish, anti-rojak
Often unsuccessful – preserve Aboriginal or Amerindian languages