LANGUAGE IDEOLOGY: SOCIOLINGUISTIC MEANING OF THE CONCEPT

Abstract

The article discusses the sociolinguistic concept of language ideology against the background of the international and Ukrainian research of the subject. Language ideology is usually treated a set of widely held beliefs about the language articulated by users as a rationalization or justification of perceived language structure and language practice. Language ideologies are not always clearly articulated and often include all kinds of assumptions about the nature of language and its use. Language ideology is shaped in the public discourse that involves a wide range of participants and it plays a significant role in the processes of language standardisation and in the formulation of language policy. Also discussed is the standard language ideology which refers to the belief that the variety that has its roots in the speech of the most powerful group in society is superior to other ways of speaking the language. Language ideology may be quite influential at the grassroots level and in the absence of formal law it can work as «policy with the manager left out». The article also addresses the issue of the structure of language ideology as a complex multidimensional construction consisting of a set of ideologemes. It is assumed that the influence of individual ideologemes may increase or go down, depending on a variety of socio-political, economical, demographic and other variables. Presumably language ideology has a core part and a periphery where new ideologemes are generated some of which gain influence and some decline. Top-down language ideology is determined by the government policy while bottom-up ideology is generated by the civil society institutions, scientific and academic community, language activists, the media etc. Ukrainian and international experience demonstrate that top-down and bottom-up language ideologies may alternate or combine simultaneously or at different times.