Language Policy

Hidden Agendas and New Approaches

Elana Shohamy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781134333516
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Policies concerning language use are increasingly tested in an age of frequent migration and cultural synthesis. With conflicting factors and changing political climates influencing the policy-makers, Elana Shohamy considers the effects that these policies have on the real people involved. Using examples from the US and UK, she shows how language policies are promoted and imposed, overtly and covertly, across different countries and in different contexts.

Concluding with arguments for a more democratic and open approach to language policy and planning, the final note is one of optimism, suggesting strategies for resistance to language attrition and ways to protect the linguistic rights of groups and individuals.

Part I
Language, manipulations,
policy

Language policy (LP) is viewed in this book in a broad way, beyond statements about policy but rather through a variety of mechanisms that create de facto language policies and practices. Yet, an expanded view of LP requires also a broader view of language itself, from a closed and finite system to a living organism, which is personal, dynamic, open, energetic and creative, spreading beyond fixed boundaries towards freedom of expression. Language is commonly viewed by policy makers as a closed and finite system, as it is often used as a symbolic tool for the manipulation of political, social, educational and economic agendas, especially in the context of political entities such as the nation-state. It is in these contexts that languages are used for categorizing people, creating group memberships, identities, hierarchies and a variety of other forms of imposition.

Chapter 1 expands the notion of language from a narrow and closed entity to one that is open, personal, free, constantly evolving, taking different colours, shapes and forms by its different users, in a variety of situations, locations and points in time. Accordingly, language has no fixed boundaries as “language x” or “language y”, since it spreads beyond words and other linguistic markers. Steiner (1998) notes that “language, any language … has in it these infinite resources of being” (p. 96). “In analogy with the organic, it undergoes incessant change. Languages live and die. They manifest epochs of enrichment, of acquisition, of political-cultural-literary dominance, and epochs of diminution and decay” (p. 96). On the individual level, languages represent forms of open expression, creations and interactions. Language, then, is a living organism that has no fixed or discrete markers, no imposed definitions of correct or incorrect, native or non-native or other artificial categories that are meant to control, limit and impose on people's external rules of interaction and use with regard to fixed notions of how they should act and express themselves. Rather, language is personal and unique and varies from one person to another, so that dictating to people how to use language in terms of accent, grammar and lexicon, etc., can be seen as a form of personal intrusion and manipulation. It is argued here that the imposition of specific linguistic behaviors, criteria and sets of orders, from outside bodies, represents a type of indoctrination of individual freedom by those who attempt to regulate people and their behaviors.

When viewed in general terms, language expands beyond its traditional boundaries towards the legitimacy of infinite mixes, combinations, hybrids and fusions. It embodies infinite devices, modes and codes of expression, which are useful for successful and effective communication and interaction. Such devices include endless forms of creation and expression as well as a variety of modes of representation, such as music, dance, art, images, icons, visuals, clothes, architecture, gestures, silence and a variety of other “non-linguistic” or “non-verbal” markers. The way people use language varies, as language takes different shapes and forms for different people in different contexts and at different points in time. These uses represent broad and open means of expression, which can be free and creative. The term “languaging” is used in Chapter 1 to refer to language as an integral and natural component of interaction, communication and construction of meanings.

Chapter 2 shows how such views of language are in contrast to existing, widespread and commonly accepted views, often supported by linguists, where language is perceived as a closed and limited entity, governed by fixed boundaries and controlled by strict rules of correctness in terms of grammar, lexicon, spelling, syntax, discourse and accent. These views perpetuate the notions of language as “good vs. bad”, “accurate vs. inaccurate”, “acceptable vs. unacceptable”, “native vs. non-native”, “standard vs. non-standard”, “official vs. unofficial”, “grammatical vs. ungrammatical”, “multilingual vs. semi-lingual”, “oral vs. written”. Similarly, terms such as “inter-language” and “fossilizations” represent categories that are socially constructed and create hierarchies of people and groups, i.e, “good” vs. “bad” language. Chapter 2 further argues that by using such notions, language is manipulated for political, social and economic purposes as it is used to dictate, regulate and create set orders of hierarchies in the name of classifying and categorizing those who use the language in “the right way” in relation to those who do not. It will be claimed that such a view only serves as a device to differentiate people, to control their personal freedom and to perpetuate homogenous group memberships, loyalty, patriotism and the differentiation of the “haves” from the “have-nots”. This way of using language has its origins in the notion of the nation-state, and other political bodies, where language is associated with a given political entity and becomes the major tool for defining and legitimizing people as members of “the nation” or “the group” or other forms of belonging. Such language manipulations continue in the current era where language continues to be used as a symbol of integration and belonging to the nation. While most nations nowadays, more than ever before, consist of diverse groups — immigrants, indigenous populations, transnationals and others, it is primarily through language that the battles between homogenous ideologies, hegemony and power vs. diversity, voice, representation and inclusion continue to take place.

Language policy, as argued in Chapter 3, is the major tool through which such battles and manipulations take place. It serves as a device to perpetuate and impose language behaviors in accordance with the national, political, social and economic agendas. It represents the wishes of groups in authority to promote the agendas of protecting collective identities, promoting globalization, stating “who is in charge”, creating “imagined communities” and maintaining social and political orders. Yet, at times, mostly through the use of official and declared documents, language policies are also used to provide a means of expression, recognition and representation. However, it is argued in Chapter 3 and throughout the rest of the book that the “real” “de facto” language policy occurs through a variety of additional devices, or mechanisms, beyond the official policies that are included in language policy statement and language laws. Thus, the true and real language policy needs to be observed, understood and interpreted, not through these declared and official documents, but rather through a variety of these mechanisms, or policy devices, which are used to influence, create and perpetuate the actual policies. It is through these policy devices, discussed in detail in Part II of the book, that policy decisions are made and imposed, and through which ideologies turn into practices. Thus, the term “policy”, referring mostly to declared and conscious statements, needs to include these policy devices in order to capture a fuller picture of language policy. Conscious decisions, surrounded by the different types of mechanisms, overt and covert, explicit and implicit, need to be included in a broader and more valid definition of language policy.

1Expanding language

The universe as regular and ordered cosmo or as a chaotic proliferation. The universe perhaps finite but countless, unstable within its borders, which discloses other universes within itself. The universe, collection of celestial bodies, nebulas, fine dust, force fields, intersections of fields, collection of collections.

(Calvino, 1985, p. 33)

Language as individual, personal and interactive

Language is open, dynamic, energetic, constantly evolving and personal. It has no fixed boundaries, but is rather made of hybrids and endless varieties resulting from language being creative, expressive, interactive, contact- and dialogue-based, debated, mediated and negotiated.

Language is a unique phenomenon as it is personal and individual and varies drastically from one user to another. “Indeed, no two individuals speak exactly the same language” (Dawson, 2001, p. 1). Words are there, yet the choice of words and forms of expression differ among individuals, as they are used in different ways by different individuals at different points in time, in different contexts and domains, and on different topics. Individuals constantly make choices, consciously or not, with regard to how to use language, through the selection of words, grammatical structures and other linguistic features. This is similar to the way that individuals make choices with regard to other things in life, such as what to say and to whom, whom to associate with, what to do, what to wear and where to go.

When it comes to language, people have a large degree of freedom of expression as they can make choices with regard to intonation, speed, space, syntax, grammar, lexicon, length of sentences, repetition and tone, as well as a variety of content and topics. Individuals make decisions about the use of language according to what suits them best in given contexts as language is personal and individual. Some of these choices originate from the individuals themselves; others are influenced by the surrounding environment, especially by what people perceive as appropriate and convenient, as well as by a variety of contextual considerations. Languages portray the diverse personalities of different people.

The uses of language then, express and represent the unique individuality and personality of language users as they attempt to communicate and create meanings in ways that suit them best. Thus, when language is used for mediation as part of a social activity, each person has his or her own personal and unique ways and styles of using language with regard to content, topics and ideas. Even when similar or identical ideas and topics are expressed by two people at the same time, they are likely to express these differently as a result of individual differences and humans being unique individuals; they do it “in their own ways”. The result of using languages in such ways is the infinite varieties and versions of “personal and individual languages”. These languages are so individual that they make outsiders identify and recognize individuals by their “language personalities” which consist of these unique features as they are represented in terms of voice, style, accent, intonation, lexicon, intonation, syntax, discourse and a variety of additional characteristics.

This unique “personal language” of individuals is captured by Steiner in a number of places. In After Babel (1975), he writes: “The fact that tens of thousands of different, mutually incomprehensible languages have been or are being spoken on our small planet is a graphic expression of the deeper-lying enigma of human individuality, of the bio-genetic and bio-social evidence that no two human beings are totally identical” (p. 48). He claims that language is so individual and personal that an act of translation is needed in order to communicate from one person to another. “The affair at Babel confirmed and externalized the never-ending task of the translator — it did not initiate it” (p. 48). Speech was necessary once humans started to use verbal codes rather than other semiotic devices, such as smell, gesture and pure tone. “Speech would be … immensely profitable but also reductive, partially narrowing evolutionary selection from a wider spectrum of semiotic possibilities. Once it was ‘chosen’ translation became inevitable” (p. 48). Accordingly, the “human being performs an act of translation, in the full sense of the word, when receiving a speech-message from any other human being” (p. 47). In his later book Errata (1998), Steiner argues that “No two languages, no two dialects or local idioms within a language, identify, designate, map their words in the same way” (p. 97). “To speak a language is to inhabit, to construct, to record a specific world-setting — a mundanity in the strong, etymological sense of the word. It is to occupy and traverse a singular landscape in time” (p. 97). Finally, he states: “We speak worlds” (p. 99).

Language is thus very personal, unique and uncontrollable as it manifests the diversity of human beings. In the same way that we cannot control other things about people such as appearance, colour of skin, height, behavior and thoughts, we cannot control the language that people use. Lippi-Green (1997) notes that policies attempting to ensure that everyone speaks the same languages and the same varieties are no more realistic than policies attempting to ensure that everyone should be of the same height. There is no difference between the inability to control what and how people use language and attempting to control how they look. The claim, therefore, that there should be strict rules of how languages should be used cannot be substantiated; those who claim it overlook the unique and specific features of individuals and personal languages by trying to force people into narrow and closed boundaries.

It is the unique aspect of people that makes personal languages creative, fluid, dynamic, energetic, changing, fluctuating and varied in terms of functions, places, contexts, personality, age, gender, groups, cultures, history and individuality. If language is viewed as a reflection of the uniqueness of the individual and is a personal choice it also implies that there cannot and should not be “one correct” way of using it. One wonders therefore about the need to monopolize and impose rules on personal choices, personal characteristics and personal expressions and to make decisions about language use for and about people.

While language is personal, the free choice of an individual, it is also used for communication and creation as human beings are social creatures who use language in social contexts. Thus, they strive to maximize the efficiency of communication and are in constant search for common language elements that will facilitate such communication in the most efficient way. These are expressed in approximation, negotiations and accommodations of the languages of “the others” in terms of accents, lexical items, syntax, shared content, comprehension and other features that are instrumental to the process of facilitating communication. Ways of communication were examined by sociolinguists such as Labov with regard to accommodations of accent, pronunciation, lexicon and other features. These are especially noted in situations when language users share biological connections, geographical space, history, close social relations and a variety of other common features that cause their languages to become similar, so that communication is performed most efficiently. Thus, while language is personal, individual and unique, it is also social, dynamic and changing as common features are shared, negotiated and created by individuals as part of the need to maximize the quality of the communication and interaction.

Further, in relation to the socio-cultural theories of Vygotsky, language is also viewed as a tool of mediation, as part of mental functioning; it is language as well as other sign systems that are primary to human behavior, yet they cannot be understood in isolation from the social and physical environment in which they occur. Thus, “context” ranges from the immediate face-to-face setting of the individual person to the wider culture and society. A basic assumption is that an action is mediated and cannot be separated from the social context in which it is carried out. Human actions, on both the social and individual planes, are mediated by tools and signs. Thus, the child learns to speak because of the desire to communicate, and later language is used to represent thoughts. The primary function of language is social, for communication leads to a view of literacy as a communication, a form of using printed signs as the media for sharing meaning. Language also serves to mediate between environmental stimuli and individual response in school situations. Thus, language mediates thoughts and actions (Vygotsky, 1978; 1981).

Language as dynamic and evolving

All languages and cultures are continuously in the process of becoming, in recreating meanings. There are no “finite” and static languages as they constantly evolve as a result of language contact and interaction among people and groups, in relation to historical, political, and economic factors. As part of the effort to make meaningful connections and interactions, new language elements are created, used and exchanged.

Like any other element of our surroundings, languages tend to change over time: they develop, expand, shrink, borrow and mix as part of the dynamic processes of human interaction; they change and evolve and assume different colors, shapes and forms. Oral language is especially colorful as it has fewer restrictions than written documents with regard to how it should be used. Oral language therefore is manifested in terms of freedom of expression with regard to how it is used. Written languages change too, but at a slower rate as they often follow strict rules, restrictions and conventions in terms of how they should be used as there are more official documents that monitor it such as dictionaries, grammars and syllabuses. Thus, spoken languages and their varieties tend to emerge and evolve in more rapid ways with the infinite number of spoken dialects and varieties used by diverse communities. Such groups often share common social, political, biological, geographical and professional backgrounds influenced by fac...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Language Policy
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Dedication to Orlee
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I Language, manipulations, policy
• Part II Mechanisms affecting de facto language policies
• Part III Consequences and reactions
• Epilogue: Language as a free commodity
• Bibliography
• Index