Rethinking a Theory Spolsky, Bernard
Rethinking Language Policy,
04/2021
Book Chapter
The examples presented earlier help us understand why nation states find forming and implementing a national language policy so difficult. There is commonly a conflict between two major goals: the ...desire to choose a language with maximum economic advantage and the desire to choose the national heritage-identifying language. When the two overlap, as they do in English-speaking nations and to a lesser extent in nations with a developed international language, nations still face the problems of the existence of disparate and varied language goals at each level from the individual to international rights. Implementation is complex, easier in a totalitarian
Introduction Spolsky, Bernard
Rethinking Language Policy,
04/2021
Book Chapter
Language policy does not exist in a vacuum, but in the complex array of environmental conditions that encompass human life. In making this point, I am arguing against what I call linguicentrism, the ...notion that language is independent of its environment. In this introductory chapter, I will sketch a number of relevant non-linguistic features – physical geography including characteristics that encourage human residence such as agricultural and mineral resources and that constrain it such as mountains and seas and climate, demographic forces such as intensity and diversity of ethnic settlement and movement, progress in technology, events such as modernisation and
The theory of language policy that I have proposed distinguishes between language practices (what people do), language beliefs (what they think they should do) and language management (when someone ...tries to change the practices or beliefs of others). Discussing language management, I added that managers – individuals or institutions, internal to the community or outside it – assume that they have authority over members of the community.¹ In this chapter, I will focus on a distinction between managers who do have authority (parents in a family or school boards and education ministries, for instance) and advocates and advocacy groups without
For children not raised in an institutional or collective setting such as an orphanage or a kibbutz children’s house, the family home provides the first linguistic environment and its language policy ...is thus critical. The growing literature on the family, which includes Caldas (2012), Haque and Le Lièvre (2019), Schalley and Eisenchlas (2020), Schwartz (2010) and Spolsky (2012a, 2018a), has been a significant addition to understanding language policy. To appreciate the complexity, it is important to note the diversity and dynamism of the family.
One recent attempt is Walsh (2012), which shows that it is difficult to define a ‘normal’
Even before children go to school, they may be influenced by young friends from the neighbourhood who come to play. Other potential invaders are radio, television, computers and phones. In what was ...acclaimed as a revolutionary study, Harris (1998, 2011) argued that peers had more influence on a child than parents and that choosing a neighbourhood where other immigrants from your homeland have already settled is the easiest way to help your children by providing an environment that will ease integration and growth. The language practices of the neighbourhood and the language policy of the workplace can be major challenges
There are a number of scholars, such as May (2012), Phillipson and Skutnabb-Kangas (1995) and Romaine (2008), who argue for the existence and significance of linguistic or language rights. ...Skutnabb-Kangas and Phillipson (1995) take it as axiomatic that linguistic rights are one kind of universal human right, the absence of which leads to conflict. Kibbee (1998), however, in the introduction to a collection of papers from a 1996 conference on language legislation and linguistic rights, notes that because language is a social construct developed within a speech community and not an inherited characteristic like skin colour or gender, it is
Why do people learn new languages and expand their linguistic repertoires? In their studies of second language learning, Gardner and Lambert (1959, 1972) proposed a contrast between two kinds of ...supportive attitude for learning a language, which they labelled integrative and instrumental motivation. Integrative motivation referred to acquiring a language in order to belong to the group speaking the language, as a result of assigning a high value to the identity with which it was associated. My expansion of language competence by adding Hebrew was at first to establish my identity as a Jew and then as an Israeli. Instrumental
The Bronx high school teacher auditing Max Weinreich’s class in 1944 who defined a language as a dialect with an army and a navy (Weinreich, 1944) not only set off a long dispute as to who said that¹ ...but provided a useful suggestion about the requirements for recognition of a named language. But it also hints at the many intriguing aspects of military language policy and management and of military influences on language policy. In this chapter,² I first sketch language management as resulting from the communication needs of armed forces and in the next chapter look at the effects
The Handbook of Educational Linguistics is a dynamic, scientifically grounded overview revealing the complexity of this growing field while remaining accessible for students, researchers, language ...educators, curriculum developers, and educational policy makers. A single volume overview of educational linguistics, written by leading specialists in its many relevant fields Takes into account the diverse theoretical foundations, core themes, major findings, and practical applications of educational linguistics Highlights the multidisciplinary reach of educational linguistics Reflects the complexity of this growing field, whilst remaining accessible to a wide audience
