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    LPPMC 1

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    Rea Salise
    This document discusses language programs and policies in multilingual countries. It begins by defining language planning and explaining that it involves government efforts to modify linguistic behavior and solve social problems. It then discusses language planning at both the macro level, involving government policies, and the micro level, involving specific organizations and institutions. The rest of the document discusses the various contexts of language planning, the different agencies and organizations involved, and some of the terminological difficulties around defining key language-related terms for political, social, and educational purposes.

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    LPPMC 1

    Uploaded by

    Rea Salise
    39 views32 pages
    This document discusses language programs and policies in multilingual countries. It begins by defining language planning and explaining that it involves government efforts to modify linguistic behavior and solve social problems. It then discusses language planning at both the macro level, involving government policies, and the micro level, involving specific organizations and institutions. The rest of the document discusses the various contexts of language planning, the different agencies and organizations involved, and some of the terminological difficulties around defining key language-related terms for political, social, and educational purposes.

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    This document discusses language programs and policies in multilingual countries. It begins by defining language planning and explaining that it involves government efforts to modify linguistic behavior and solve social problems. It then discusses language planning at both the macro level, involving government policies, and the micro level, involving specific organizations and institutions. The rest of the document discusses the various contexts of language planning, the different agencies and organizations involved, and some of the terminological difficulties around defining key language-related terms for political, social, and educational purposes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    39 views32 pages

    LPPMC 1

    Uploaded by

    Rea Salise
    This document discusses language programs and policies in multilingual countries. It begins by defining language planning and explaining that it involves government efforts to modify linguistic behavior and solve social problems. It then discusses language planning at both the macro level, involving government policies, and the micro level, involving specific organizations and institutions. The rest of the document discusses the various contexts of language planning, the different agencies and organizations involved, and some of the terminological difficulties around defining key language-related terms for political, social, and educational purposes.

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    Language Programs and Policies

    in Multilingual Countries

    Engl 3158
    Josyl M. Hey – Aquilam, LPT, PhD
    CONCEPTS FOR LANGUAGE PLANNING

    A. Definition
    B. Context of Language Planning

    C. Terminological Difficulties
    Language Planning
     a body of ideas, laws and
    regulations (language policy),
    change rules, beliefs, and
    practices intended to achieve
    a planned change (or to stop
    change from happening) in
    the language use in one or
    more communities.

     undertaken by government
    and it is intended to solve
    complex social problems
    Language Planning
     an attempt to modify the linguistic
    behavior of some community for some
    reason.

    Macro Level: Government


     to 'modernize' a language
     to 'standardize' a language
     to achieve 'unification'
    Micro Level:
     Library: to stock foreign language
    newspapers
     School: language(s) to be taught

     Market/Public: signage to attract


    customers
     Overseas: language for importation
    of goods
    Categories
    1. The development and increasingly
    the conservation of natural
    resources: mineral resources, water
    power, fisheries, forest policies, etc.
    2. The development, and increasingly
    the conservation, of human
    Context resources.
    of
    Language  They are significantly different in terms
    Planning of planning time and in terms of the
    type of outcomes that can be
    expected.
    (1) governmental agencies
    involved at the highest level

    (2) education agencies,


    sometimes acting under the
    impetus of higher level
    structure or acting in lieu of
    higher level structure

    (3) other quasi-governmental or


    non-governmental 1 2 3 4
    organizations acting according
    to their own beliefs

    (4) all sorts of other groups or


    in some cases influential
    individuals creating language
    policy as an accidental (or
    sometimes purposeful) part of
    their normal activity
    - power to legislate
    - ability to foster incentive structures (and disincentive
    structures)
    - select a language or languages that could serve the
    needs of national unification
    Agencies: commerce ministry
    military ministry
    foreign affairs ministry
    communications ministry
    labour ministry
    Tertiary educational academy
    - is concerned with achieving access to the world's
    great scientific and technical information storage
    and retrieval networks.

    Similar planning activities in every region of the globe:


    Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines,
    Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Israel,
    Canada, and in a whole range of smaller states in
    the South Pacific.
    - influence children, roughly between the ages of 5 or 6
    and the ages of 15 or 16
    - influence through such specialized segments of the
    education structure
    technical education
    adult education
    distance education

    'special' education
    Language policy and planning decisions:
    1. to determine which language(s) will be taught within the
    curriculum
    2. to define who will teach the language included in the
    curriculum
    3. to determine the students’ population to be exposed to
    language(s) education
    4. to determine the methodology(ies)
    5. to define assessment processes
    6. to determine the support for all activities and the
    maintenance across contexts
    Quasi/Non-  engaged in the dissemination of English
    governmental  concerned with the dissemination of
    Organizations other languages, e.g. Spanish
     place national language academies
     movement to make English the official
    language in the US
     Protestant churches facilitated the
    spread of languages like English and
    accelerated the orthographic
    development of indigenous languages
     Catholic and Orthodox churches
    preserve various languages (e.g. Church
    Latin, Church Greek, etc.)
    Quasi/Non-  religious bodies as the sole dispensers
    governmental of education
    Organizations
     Multinational corporations establish
    clear language policies
     Business in general and government
    at the local level often also play key
    roles in language policy formulation.

     This list of examples illustrates the


    range of levels involved in language
    policy making.
    Other  language planning is an accidental
    Organizations/ outcome of the primary function.
    Individuals  Postal Service uses Roman script.
     Immigration and Naturalization
    Service published all of its
    innumerable and inordinately
    complex forms exclusively in
    English

     International Olympic Commission


    determines the languages that may
    be used in international athletic
    competition.
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    Political Definitions
     terms largely to be found in government documents
     characteristically defined by legislation and not by
    linguists
    A. Languages of wider communication
    • widely used for official purposes across communities
    which speak primarily some other language(s)
    • pan-regional language: Swahili ; Melanesian pidgin
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    B. National languages
    • recognized in official political constitutions
     the 1976 Constitution of the Philippines
     a substantial effort has been made to
    promulgate a dialect of Tagalog (called Pilipino)
    for nation-wide communication
     the state would recognize Pilipino and English as
    its national languages
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    C. Official languages
     occur in extremely linguistically heterogeneous
    polities—states which include within their borders
    speakers of a large number of languages
    Ex. Cameroon, India, Indonesia, South Africa,
    the Philippines
     Official languages are also specified in the constitution
    and frequently mandated to be taught through the
    educational system.
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    D. Literary languages
     occur in situations where several varieties of a given
    language have wide acceptability
     Classical Arabic
     'Modern Newspaper Arabic'
     written educated English
     standard Chinese
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    E. Regional languages
     occur in extremely linguistically heterogeneous societies
     dominant languages in geographic sub-areas of a polity
     receive official sanction through the educational system
    in some polities which employ three- or four-language
    educational systems
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    F. Religious languages
     may be given official political status in polities in
    which there is no viable separation between
    church and state
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    Social Definitions
     tend to reflect the broader value system of the
    community
    A. Educational languages
     the responsibility of the educational system
     majority language (mother tongue)
     a first language or as a second language
     'pidgin‘ and ‘creole’
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    B. Vernacular (or indigenous or aboriginal) languages


     have been recognized as having legitimacy and may be
    taught in the educational system to individuals who are
    participants in those cultures
     dealt with as oral languages
     community languages, minority languages, ethnic
    languages, heritage languages
     religious languages (e.g. Hebrew, Koranic Arabic,
    Church Greek, etc.)
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    C. Classical/Historical languages
     recognized and sanctioned for inclusion in the
    educational system
    • Classical Latin • Anglo Saxon
    • Classical Greek • Middle English
    • Sanskrit
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    Educational Definitions
     developed a set of professional definitions that govern
    language pedagogy
    A. Foreign Languages Latin Greek Hebrew Sanskrit
     The objective of language teaching was to provide access
    to the thought and art of dead civilizations.
     The objective of language learning was to access the
    thought and art of former civilizations
    Terminological
    Difficulties

     modern languages (i.e. French, German, Spanish)


     Foreign language teaching is teaching in an
    environment in which there is no vital speech
    community to support learning, in which even written
    sources are limited, and in which grammatical rather
    than communicative competence is central.
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    B. Second Language Teaching


     English in Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the
    United States
     Japanese in Japan
     Communicative competence is central to this activity

    C. Mother-tongue Education
     to produce functional literates in the majority language
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    (a) the educational base has broadened substantially


    (education for all for longer)
    (b) the meaning of literacy has changed (the range of skills
    has increased);
    (c) the system persists in maintaining a disease metaphor
    with respect to literacy
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    D. Variety of Community Languages


     languages immigrant populations—Armenians, Chinese,
    Germans, Greeks, Italians, Japanese, Koreans, etc.
     languages of Native Americans and the languages of
    other linguistic populations —Chamorros (Guamanians),
    Samoans, (Spanish-speaking) Puerto Ricans.
     languages of long-established immigrant groups from
    eastern and northern Europe speaking languages like
    Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Yiddish, etc.
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    E. Heritage Languages
     languages like Classical Latin and Classical Greek
     languages like Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Welsh,
    Irish Gaelic, and Scots Gaelic (and possibly Sanskrit,
    Old Norse, Old High German, Old Church Slavonic,
    etc.)
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    Popular Definitions
    A. Foreign languages - any language(s) not normally
    spoken within the polity.
    B. The native language - the language of the majority
    population, often on historical grounds.
    C. Foreigner languages - languages and varieties spoken
    by foreigners.
    D. ‘Pidgin' - designates a non-standard variety of an
    established language.
    Terminological
    Difficulties

    More to go…

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