This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2010)

Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to protect and promote regional and ethnic languages whose viability is threatened.

Language Policy is what a government does either officially through legislation, court decisions or policy to determine how languages are used, cultivate language skills needed to meet national priorities or to establish the rights of individuals or groups to use and maintain languages.

Overview[edit]

The preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity in today's world is a major concern to many scientists, artists, writers, politicians, leaders of linguistic communities, and defenders of linguistic human rights. More than half of the 6000 languages currently spoken in the world are estimated to be in danger of disappearing during the 21st century. Many factors affect the existence and usage of any given human language, including the size of the native speaking population, its use in formal communication, and the geographical dispersion and the socio-economic weight of its speakers. National language policies can either mitigate or exacerbate the effects of some of these factors.

For example, according to Ghil'ad Zuckermann, "Native tongue title and language rights should be promoted. The government ought to define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vernaculars as official languages of Australia. We must change the linguistic landscape of Whyalla and elsewhere. Signs should be in both English and the local indigenous language. We ought to acknowledge intellectual property of indigenous knowledge including language, music and dance."^[1]

There are many ways in which language policies can be categorized. It was elaborated by Université Laval sociolinguist Jacques Leclerc for the French-language Web site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde put on line by the CIRAL in 1999. The collecting, translating and classifying of language policies started in 1988 and culminated in the publishing of Recueil des législations linguistiques dans le monde (vol. I to VI) at Presses de l'Université Laval in 1994. The work, containing some 470 language laws, and the research leading to publication, were subsidised by the Office québécois de la langue française.^[2] In April 2008, the Web site presented the linguistic portrait and language policies in 354 States or autonomous territories in 194 recognised countries.^[3]

Language regulators[edit]

• List of language regulators
• Académie française
• Bòrd na Gàidhlig
• Dutch Language Union
• Foras na Gaeilge
• Språkrådet (Norway)
• Språkrådet (Sweden)
• Office québécois de la langue française
• Pan South African Language Board
• Welsh Language Board

See also[edit]

• Linguistic rights
• Cultural hegemony
• Economics of language
• Grimm's law
• Language change
• Language Movement
• Language planning
• Language politics
• Language reform
• Language revival
• Language tax
• Linguicide
• Official script
• Regional language
• International Mother Language Day
• International Year of Languages (2008)

• Directions of language policies:

• Linguistic imperialism
• Linguistic protectionism and Linguistic purism
• Linguistic separatism

• Some case studies:

• Europe: European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

• Belgium: Language legislation in Belgium
• Croatia: Croatian linguistic purism
• Finland: Finland's language strife
• France: Language policy in France
• Germany: Germanization
• Hungary: Magyarization
• Latvia: Language policy in Latvia
• Poland: Polonization
• Slovakia: Language law of Slovakia, Slovakization
• Spain: Language politics in Francoist Spain
• Former Soviet Union: Russification, Ukrainianization, Education in the Soviet Union
• United Kingdom: Welsh Not

• Canada: Bilingualism in Canada, Official Languages Act (Canada)
• Pakistan: Bengali Language Movement
• Arab world: Arabisation
• India : Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu - Very Interesting case study

Bangladesh : Bengali Language Movement

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Zuckermann, Ghil'ad, "Stop, revive and survive", The Australian Higher Education, June 6, 2012.
2. ^ Leclerc, Jacques. "Historique du site du CIRAL au TLFQ" in L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Québec, TLFQ, Université Laval, August 16, 2007 (in French).
3. ^ Leclerc, Jacques. "Page d'accueil" in L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Québec, TLFQ, Université Laval, 2007 (in French).

References[edit]

• Leclerc, Jacques. "Index par politiques linguistiques" in L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, Québec, TLFQ, Université Laval, December 2003 (in French).

Further reading[edit]

• Shohamy, Elana (2006). Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches. London: Routledge.
• Crawford, James. Language Policy Website.
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2002). "Biological and Linguistic Diversity: Transdisciplinary explorations for a Socioecology of Languages", Diverscité langues (Montréal).
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2002). "World language policy in the era of globalization: Diversity and intercommunication from the 'complexity' perspective", Noves SL. Revista de sociolingüística (Barcelona)
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2007). "Linguistic sustainability for a multilingual humanity" Glossa. An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 2 N. 2.
• Kenan Malik "Let them die". Prospect, 2000.
• Kordić, Snježana (2010). Jezik i nacionalizam [Language and Nationalism]. Rotulus Universitas (in Serbo-Croatian). Zagreb: Durieux. p. 430. ISBN 978-953-188-311-5. LCCN 2011520778. OCLC 729837512. OL 15270636W. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012. 
• Plonka Arkadiusz, L’idée de langue libanaise d’après Sa‘īd ‘Aql, Paris, Geuthner, 2004 (French), ISBN 2-7053-3739-3.
• Plonka Arkadiusz, "Le nationalisme linguistique au Liban autour de Sa‘īd ‘Aql et l’idée de langue libanaise dans la revue «Lebnaan» en nouvel alphabet", Arabica, 53 (4), 2006, pp. 423-471.(French)
• Spolsky, Bernard, ed. 2012. The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy. Cambridge University Press. (in press, but expected out by January 2012)
• Zuckermann, Ghil'ad and Walsh, Michael 2011. 'Stop, Revive, Survive: Lessons from the Hebrew Revival Applicable to the Reclamation, Maintenance and Empowerment of Aboriginal Languages and Cultures', Australian Journal of Linguistics 31.</ref>

External links[edit]

• Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe