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 as 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
The preservation of cultural and linguistic
diversity in today's world is a major concern to many scientists, artists, writers, politicians, and leaders of linguistic communities. Up to one 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.
What follows below is one of many ways in which language policy laws can be categorized.
Assimilation policies
A policy of assimilation is one that uses measures to accelerate the downsizing of one or more linguistic minority group(s). The ultimate goal of such policies is to foster national unity inside a state (based on the idea that a single language in the country will favor that end).
It is based on the belief that every person in a given society should be able to function in the dominant language regardless of which language that person speaks.
Jurisdictions having such a policy:
Afghanistan -
Burma -
Indonesia -
Iran -
Iraq -
Kosovo (''
United Nations protectorate'') -
Pakistan -
Syria -
Thailand -
Vietnam
Non-intervention policies
A policy of non-intervention consists in choosing to allow the normal rapport between the main linguistic group and the minorities evolve on its own. This almost invariably favours the dominant group. Sometimes, such policies are accompanied by administrative measures protecting certain minorities.
Jurisdictions having such a policy:
Angola -
Argentina -
Australia -
Austria -
Bangladesh -
Benin -
Burkina Faso -
Chile -
Congo-Kinshasa -
Côte d'Ivoire -
Cuba -
Czech Republic -
Dominica -
Dominican Republic -
Ecuador -
Gabon -
Ghana -
Germany -
Gibraltar -
Guinea -
Guyana -
Jamaica -
Japan -
Liechtenstein -
Mali -
Nebraska -
Nicaragua -
Saint Kitts and Nevis -
Saint Lucia -
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -
El Salvador -
San Marino -
Saudi Arabia -
Senegal -
Turkey -
United Kingdom -
Uruguay -
Venezuela -
Vermont
Differentiated legal statute policies
A policy that recognizes a different legal statute for a given language usually aims at allowing the coexistence of multiple linguistic groups inside a state. Typically, the majority has all its linguistic rights secured and sometimes promoted while the minority or minorities are given special protection for their language.
Jurisdictions having such a policy:
Albania -
Bosnia and Herzegovina -
Bulgaria -
California -
China -
Croatia -
Estonia -
European Council -
Republic of Macedonia -
Guatemala -
Latvia -
Lithuania -
Manitoba -
Ontario -
Netherlands -
New Mexico -
Paraguay -
the Philippines -
Quebec -
Portugal -
Romania -
Slovakia -
Spain -
Sweden -
Wales -
Yukon
Valorization of the official language policies
A policy favouring the
official language is a policy of
unilingualism. Sometimes, it favours the (or a)
national language, sometime it favours a colonial language with a strong influence internationally. In some cases, such policies are accompanied by measures recognizing and protecting
minority languages or
indigenous languages. This approach may be considered in two broadly different types of situations: where the official language is also the
first language of the majority of the population, and where it is not.
Jurisdictions having such a policy:
Ã…land -
Albania -
Algeria -
Andorra -
Azerbaijan -
Brazil -
California -
Cambodia -
Colombia -
Cyprus -
Croatia -
East Timor -
Egypt -
Estonia -
France -
India -
Iran -
Iceland -
Israel -
Italy -
Japan -
Kuwait -
Latvia -
Lebanon -
Lithuania -
Republic of Macedonia -
Madagascar -
Morocco -
Mexico -
Moldova -
Montenegro -
North Korea -
Nepal -
Peru -
Poland -
Quebec -
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon -
Slovakia -
Slovenia -
Somalia -
South Korea -
Tunisia -
Ukraine -
Uzbekistan -
Vietnam -
Voivodina
Sectorial Policies
Bilingualism or trilingualism policies
A policy favouring the two official languages is a policy of
bilingualism. There are many different ways in which these policies can be applied.
Based on non-territorialized individual rights
A policy of bilingualism based on non-territorialized individual rights recognizes the same rights to all members of a community whatever their location on the national territory.
Belarus -
Burundi -
Canada -
Central African Republic -
Chad -
Djibouti -
Guam -
Hong Kong -
Ireland -
Kenya -
Kiribati -
Malta -
Nauru -
New Brunswick -
New Zealand -
Northwest Territories -
Norway -
Nunavut -
Rwanda -
Samoa -
South Africa -
Tanzania -
Tonga -
Tuvalu
Based on territorialized individual rights
A language policy based on territorialized individual rights recognizes the same rights to all members of a community within a specific region.
Aosta Valley -
Balearic Islands -
Basque Country -
Brandenburg -
Brittany -
Catalonia -
Channel Islands -
Corsica -
Faroe -
Finland -
Friuli Venezia Giulia -
Galicia -
Hawaii -
Isle of Man -
Micronesia -
Navarre -
Northern Ireland -
Nicaragua -
The Philippines -
Sardinia -
Scotland -
Sicily -
Sind -
Slovenia (
Istria and
Prekmurje)-
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol -
Wales
Based on territorial rights
Belgium -
Cameroon -
Fribourg -
Grisons -
Switzerland -
Ticino -
Valais
Strategic multilingualism policies
Based on non-territorialized individual rights
A policy of multilingualism based on non-territorialized individual rights recognizes the same rights to all members of a community whatever their location on the national territory.
Singapore
Linguistic internationalization policies
Mixed linguistic policies
Language boards
★
List of language regulators
★
Bòrd na Gà idhlig
★
Dutch Language Union
★
Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
★
Foras na Gaeilge
★
Office québécois de la langue française
★
Welsh Language Board
See also
★
Language politics
★
Cultural hegemony
★
Language Movement
★
Language planning
★
Language reform
★
Language revival
★
Language tax
★
Linguicide
★
Official script
★
Regional language
★
International Mother Language Day
★ Directions of language policies:
:
★
Linguistic imperialism
:
★
Linguistic protectionism and
Linguistic purism
:
★
Linguistic separatism
★ Some case studies:
:
★ Europe:
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
::
★ Croatia:
Croatian linguistic purism
::
★ Finland:
Finland's language strife
::
★ France:
Language policy in France
::
★ Germany:
Germanization
::
★ Poland:
Polonization
::
★ Spain:
Language politics in Francoist Spain
::
★ Former Soviet Union:
Russification,
Ukrainianization,
Education in the Soviet Union
::
★ Pakistan:
Language Policy of Pakistan
::
★ United Kingdom:
Welsh Not
:
★ Canada:
Bilingualism in Canada,
Official Language Act
:
★ Arab world:
Arabisation
References
★ Leclerc, Jacques. "''Index par politiques linguistiques''" in ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', Québec, TLFQ,
Université Laval, December 2003
[1] (in French).
Further Reading
★ Shohamy, Elana (2006). ''Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches.'' London: Routledge.
★ Crawford, James. ''Language Policy Website.''
[2]
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
