Language Planning Issues Research Articles

Language planning issues of Hungarian legal language and the clear writing programme as a possible solution

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the ‘fuzziness’ of Hungarian legal language as an issue of language planning addressed in the Hungarian language strategy to be published by the Hungarian Research Centre for Language Planning. First, we give a concise historical overview on the status of Hungarian language in Hungary, only to make it evident how its status had a direct effect on its legal language variant, and how the characteristics of Hungarian legal language are determined by these diachronic changes even today. Second, we cannot ignore the theoretical background of legal language(s), for there are some universal traits that are present regardless of language and as such they are the fundamentals for clear writing incentives. Third, we treat clear writing incentives as language planning programmes aimed at solving issues of legal language or legal language use. These movements receive much criticism (many times rightfully so) because they lack a clear-cut theoretical basis – something we were keen to avoid. Fourth, we introduce the sources of our clear writing practices in a comparative manner, thus comparing our current clear writing programmes to that of the European Union’s Clear Writing and the United States’ Federal Plain Language Guidelines of the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN). We conclude our paper by outlining further research, monitoring necessities, and opportunities for international cooperation.

Values behind Metaphors

This study is a values-driven approach to figures of speech, depicting language and its standardisation. We explore a discourse about the modernisation of linguistic norms that took place in Estonian public media in 2020–2022 and reached the point of being labelled a crisis. The debate took place mostly in the form of opinion-writing texts, expressing the writers’ subjective perspectives. During the discussions, two parties with different outlooks on language and language planning issues emerged, representing the dichotomy of liberal and conservative value models. The focus of the study is on the interplay between values and patterns of figurative thought, as metaphors were extensively used to strengthen the arguments of both sides. The analysis, based on the theoretical-methodological means of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Figurative Framing, Metaphor Scenario Analysis, Systemic Functional Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis, revealed that the opposing parties favoured certain metaphors when depicting language. As a side issue, we also address the dynamics of power relations through the language crisis discourse.

Hungarian as a minority and majority language in different language policy contexts

ABSTRACT This study primarily focuses on the situation of Hungarians in minority situations in relation to language varieties, i.e. it interprets the various language policy issues primarily in the context of the Hungarian-speaking community, rather than in the context of Hungary, where the place, role and relationship between standard and non-standard language dialects play a prominent role. In most cases, the preservation of Hungarian identity is equivalent to the preservation of non-standard language varieties, in relation to which several language policy and language planning issues arise. The aim of the study is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the language policy situation of the Hungarian language and the Hungarian language community, especially with regard to the Hungarian autochthonous minority of about 3 million people who live in the countries neighbouring Hungary. On the other hand, the study describes the language policy role of dialects and the related attitudes from the perspective of the entire Hungarian language community, addressing the macro-, meso- and micro-level language planning possibilities.

Ideological Dimensions of English Language Policy in South Korea

South Korea’s English language policies have addressed the acquisition of English as a foreign or additional language. This kind of language planning, known as acquisition planning, concerns how the language users will acquire the language (Cooper, 1989). Understanding language planning issues provides insights into language ideologies related to English, the discursive construction of English, and the assumptions about language education, namely how those in authority perceive English and manage the language behaviors of students and teachers. Specifically, this paper examines the Seventh National Curriculum, the Teaching English in English (TEE) policy, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s implementation of TEE. A discourse analysis of these policy documents uncovers the ideologies underlying this kind of acquisition planning. The analysis is also complemented by participant observations and interviews with Korean English teachers at an English-training facility to gain their perspectives on TEE and the certification process. The findings shed light on the discourses of globalization and neoliberalism that fuel the study and teaching of English, serving both the state and the public’s perceived needs. Teachers also reveal their support of the TEE policy but suspect the policy and certificate serve to support economic and political agendas rather than improved English education.

A Study on the Types and Issues of Croatian Language Planning in the 20th Century

유고슬라비아 사회주의 연방 공화국의 붕괴 이후, 신생 크로아티아 공화국은 연방의 국가 언어였던 세르보크로아티아어의 한 축을 이루었던 크로아티아어가 세르비아어와는 완전히 별개의 언어임을 선언하며, 언어 문제를 정치화하기 시작한다. 이 연구는 우선, 언어를 정치화하는 실제 정책과 계획인, 언어 정책과 언어 계획의 개념과 유형을 일반적인 논의를 통해 정리하고 실제 이것들이 20세기 크로아티아에서 어떤 방식으로 전개되고, 어떤 결과를 가져왔는지를 연구하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 1991년 이후 국가주도로 진행되어온 크로아티아 언어 계획을 ‘지위 계획(status planning)’, ‘자료계획(corpus planning)’, ‘습득 계획(acquisition planning)’으로 분류하여 크로아티아어의 변화 과정, 새로운 크로아티아어 규범화 과정과 쟁점, 현재의 언어상황을 크로아티아 민족 정체성과 연계하여 분석하였다. 크로아티아 언어 계획 연구는 시대적으로 1991년 크로아티아 독립 국가 설립 이후의 기간에 초점을 맞추었지만, 그 결과로 나타나는 현재의 언어 상황을 이해할 수 있는 포괄적인 발전과정을 포함하여 설명하고자 하였다. ‘민족 = 언어 = 영토 = 국가’를 동일시하는 유고슬라비아 지역의 언어와 민족 정체성에 대한 복잡한 역사와 크로아티아 언어 계획 사례는 언어 정체성, 언어 정책 및 언어 계획 문제 전반에 대한 광범위한 부분에 대한 이해를 제공할 수 있을 것이다.Following the collapse of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatian administration was declared to be a separate language, distinct from Serbian, and linguistic issues became highly politicized. This study first summarizes the concepts and types of ‘language policy’ and ‘language planning’, which are the actual policies and plans for language politics, and discusses how these develop in the 20th century in Croatia. Then, the Croatian language plan, which has been led by the state since 1991, is divided into ‘status planning’, ‘corpus planning’ and ‘acquisition planning’. According to this classification, the process of change of Croatian, the process of new normatization of Croatian language and issues, and current language situation are analyzed in connection with Croatian ‘national identity’. It focuses on the period following the creation of an independent Croatian state in 1991, but encompasses broader historical developments to provide a context for understanding the contemporary linguistic situation. The complex history of language standardization in the Yugoslav lands and the emphasis on language planning in Croatia make this an especially interesting case study that offers insight into wider debates about linguistic identity, language policy, and language planning issues in general.

Primary English language education policy in Vietnam: insights from implementation

The introduction of English in primary education curricula is a phenomenon occurring in many non-English-speaking countries in Asia, including Vietnam. Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in Vietnam issued guidelines for the piloting of an English as a foreign language (EFL) primary curriculum in which English is taught as a compulsory subject from Grade 3; however, there is limited research on the practices required to successfully implement this policy. This paper reports on a study that looked at the implementation of the primary English language policy in terms of the policy goals in two primary schools, one private and the other public, in Hanoi to shed light on the practice of EFL teaching at the primary level in Vietnam. The research was conducted as an exploratory case study with data collected from multiple sources, including classroom observations and interviews with different stakeholders. The results revealed variation in the implementation of primary English education between the two schools, with the private school providing better outcomes. The language planning issues discussed in this study, including teacher supply, training and professional development, resourcing, teaching methods, and materials, have been raised in previous educational research in Vietnam. However, despite being a new start to primary English, the 2010 programme seems to have done little to improve policy implementation in these areas, hindering the effectiveness of teaching English in schools. This study suggests a number of ways the current situation might be improved.

Language Evaluation Policies and the Use of Support Resources in Assessments of Language Proficiency

This paper reviews the arguments for and against the inclusion of support resources in high-stakes assessments of L2 language proficiency. It explores how these arguments have shaped centralised language-in-education planning and policy decisions and looks at what has happened at the local level as a consequence of these decisions. Regardless of whether support resources are included in or excluded from the assessment the paper proposes some of the language planning issues that need to be borne in mind both centrally and locally, seen in the light of the important requirement to develop students’ communicative language ability.

Maeve Conrick and Vera Regan: French in Canada: Language Issues, Modern French Identities, vol. 28

According to the 2006 census, French is the mother tongue of approximately 22% of all Canadians. Given the prevalence of English, not only in demographic terms, but also in terms of prestige, French Canadians not surprisingly have felt the need to protect and promote the use of their language. In this volume, Maeve Conrick and Vera Regan address a number of language planning issues related to the French fact in Canada. Chapter 1 provides a historical overview of the presence of French in Canada, which goes back to the beginning of the 17th century as the French established two separate colonies in North America, New France and Acadia. The loss of these establishments to the English during the 18th century resulted in frequent tensions between the English and the French, despite the recognition of some language rights for the latter. Moreover, as Canada gradually took its actual form, the percentage of native French speakers diminished progressively, thus explaining the rise of French Canadian nationalism and, more recently, of Quebec nationalism. Unfortunately, the authors do not explain the presence of some important French minorities in the western provinces, who joined the Canadian Confederation more recently. From the 1960s onwards, rising tensions between English and French Canadians have encouraged both federal and provincial governments to implement measures in order to correct certain inequalities between the use of both languages. Chapter 2 deals with language policy at the federal level and examines how Canada seeks to reinforce the status of French by adopting official bilingualism (Official Languages Act 1969). The authors fail to point that, unlike other multilingual countries (e.g. Belgium or Switzerland), Canada does not recognize separate linguistic areas within its boundaries. In theory, this means that citizens have the right to claim

The Future of French in Nigeria's Language Policies

In a surprise announcement in December 1996 in a speech at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, the late Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha said ‘Nigeria is resolutely launching a programme of national language training that will in a short order, permit our country to become thoroughly bilingual’.1 General Abacha's pronouncements and decisions finally led to the recognition of French as a second official language and made it compulsory in schools (see section 1, No. 10 of the National Policy on Education 1998). Following the officialisation of French in the country, several developments have taken place with regard to the promotion of the language. The present study undertakes a quantitative investigation of the attitudes of 300 educated Nigerians towards the policy. It measures their level of awareness about this policy and critically examines the implications of the policy for some language planning issues in the country. It also assesses the extent of the impact of the policy on the French language promotion in Nigeria and goes ahead to predict the future of the language in the country. Results of the questionnaire survey show that the respondents are favourably disposed towards the policy on French and have positive attitudes towards the language.

Rob Amery, ‘Warrabarna Kaurna!’ Reclaiming an Australian language. (Multilingualism and Linguistic Diversity, 1.) Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, 2000. Pp. xx, 289. Hb $63.00.

Many linguists believe that the revitalization of moribund languages, where there may only be a handful of elderly fluent speakers left, is a noble (if not also nearly impossible) ideal for those native communities involved in such work; and this is not to mention the reintroduction of a long-dead language, such as the South Australian language Kaurna (pronounced [ga:na]), spoken on the Adelaide Plains until the last native speaker, Ivaritji (a.k.a. Amelia Taylor), died in 1929. Rob Amery challenges the standards by which language revitalization programs are judged as successful, while giving us a step-by-step method for the reintroduction and revalorization of an extinct native tongue, which he calls the Formulaic Method. This detailed case study of the beginning stages of Kaurna language revival will be of interest not just to linguists involved in the field, but especially to community members and other nonspecialists who are somehow connected with lesser-used languages and language revival efforts. Amery's work is also an important contribution to the emerging field of ecological linguistics and its application to language planning issues.

Language: A Right and a Resource: Approaching Linguistic Human Rights (review)

Reviewed by: Language: A right and a resource: Approaching linguistic human rights ed. by Miklós Kontra, et al. Daniel O. Jackson Language: A right and a resource: Approaching linguistic human rights. Ed. by Miklós Kontra, Robert Phillipson, Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, and Tibor Várady. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1999. Pp. xi, 346. Paper $23.95. This volume of surveys and case studies by fifteen contributors originated in the Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs) Conference and Workshop held in Budapest in October 1997. The editors’ introductory chapter (1–21) clarifies the task of approaching LHRs from multiple disciplines and describes common principles underlying the volume. The book’s chapters appear under five headings beginning with ‘General issues’, which contains a chapter by Robert Phillipson (25–46). Phillipson discusses the dominance of English and other international languages in organizations like the United Nations and identifies the relationship of the diffusion of English versus the ecology of local languages to LHRs as an area for language policy to reconcile. Next, Angéline Martel (47–80) addresses the role of litigation and language rights activism in the context of Canadian Francophone environments, concluding that conditions exist under which the legal system can be a very powerful language planning tool (79). Miklós Kontra (81–97) studies beliefs about linguistic rights in six Central European countries, describing the context and reasons behind the prohibition of Hungarian in order to illustrate the linguistic roots of interethnic conflict in the region. Mart Rannut (99–114) then offers insight into three different language planning models, focusing on the interaction between and implementation strategies among these models, defining LHRs (110), and distinguishing them as both individual and collective. Rannut concludes that a multiple language planning model based on LHRs is needed. In the next section, ‘Legal issues’, Fernand de Varennes (117–46) [End Page 640] specifies the existing rights affecting language preferences of minorities and nations under international law as these relate to public and private use, discussing the extension of these rights to groups beyond citizens and national minorities. Bart Driessen (147–65) outlines the implications of international trade obligations and guidelines for EU admission in the treatment of linguistic minorities in Slovakia. Under ‘Market issues’, François Grin (169–86) discusses the macro-level implications of the relationship between language and economics, especially the role of labor market dynamics in language spread, concluding that market forces can serve to support linguistic diversity. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (187–222) focuses on LHRs in the free market and in education, analyzing how rights are formulated in official documents and examining the gap between such documents and the acceptance of education through the medium of the mother tongue as a human right. Amir Hassanpour (223–41) demonstrates the interplay between state and market regulators of LHRs, reporting on Turkish opposition to the Kurdish media. ‘Language planning issues’ includes a chapter by Uldis Ozolins (245–62), who examines in detail oft-criticized language policies in the Baltic states. Ina Druviete (263–76) extends this focus solely to the Latvian case. Under the final heading, ‘Education and ethnicity issues’, chapters by István Muzsnai (279–96) and Andrea Szalai (297–315) investigate the fulfillment of LHRs among Deaf and Gypsy minorities in Hungary, respectively. A concluding chapter by Klára Sandor (317–31) discusses the promotion of involuntary language shift among Rumania’s Csángós by the Catholic Church. Graduate students, sociolinguists, lawyers, and legislators engaged in discussions of linguistic rights will find the broad range of the volume and its focus on key issues in the advancement of LHRs informative and noteworthy. Daniel O. Jackson University of Pennsylvania Copyright © 2001 Linguistic Society of America

Implementing political agreement in Northern Ireland: planning issues for Irish language policy

This paper examines the place of the Irish language in the context of the political agreement recently reached in Northern Ireland. Language planning issues are seen to turn on critical relationships between the emergent legislative framework and local Irish-speaking communities in the region. A model for community-based language planning initiatives is proposed as a means of ensuring the effective engagement of language policy with Irish-speakers. It is suggested that the issue of language rights is likely to become much more pressing as the new institutions of state seek to reflect the socio-political diversity of the region.

Implementing political agreement in Northern Ireland: Planning issues for Irish language policy

This paper examines the place of the Irish language in the context of the political agreement recently reached in Northern Ireland. Language planning issues are seen to turn on critical relationships between the emergent legislative framework and local Irish-speaking communities in the region. A model for community-based language planning initiatives is proposed as a means of ensuring the effective engagement of language policy with Irish-speakers. It is suggested that the issue of language rights is likely to become much more pressing as the new institutions of state seek to reflect the socio-political diversity of the region.

Language Planning and Language Ecology: A Current Issue in Language Planning

Current Issues in Language Planning approaches issues from two broad perspectives. One perspective involves examining how language planning is carried out in particular polities and allows use to consider how each polity responds to the complexities of the language planning issues it faces. The second is to examine how particular theoretical issues in language planning are addressed in a range of different contexts. This volume is the first addressing this second perspective. In this volume, as in future volumes, the examination of a particular issue is launched by a focus paper of some length which examines the issue in some detail. The remainder of the volume is made up of contributions which respond to, and enlarge on, issues raised in the focus paper.

Indigenous Education and Grassroots Language Planning in the USA

What if the children "forget" the heritage language? This testimony by Dorothy Begay, a grandmother and long-time resident of the Navajo community of Rough Rock, Arizona cuts to the heart of language planning issues in Native American communities. Her statement also captures the enormity of the task at hand: With the penetration of English into public and private domains so seemingly complete, can a stable balance between the heritage language and English be achieved?

Language Planning and Social Change

Language Planning and Social Change by Robert L. Cooper. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, 187 pp. Reviewed by Leah Wingard University of California, Los Angeles In Language Planning and Social Change, Robert Cooper engages the reader and adds to the field is as he describes the field of language planning literature by synthesizing a thorough and and building a theory of language planning. His work readable account of language planning complete with a variety of concrete, inter- esting examples that span both geography and history. In less than 200 pages. Cooper's book is a methodical step-by-step approach for the beginner to under- chapter by describing the histories of four separate standing the diverse and complex issues in language planning. Cooper starts in the first In colorful and textured detail Cooper recounts Academie fran^ais, the revitalization of Hebrew in Palestine, the American feminist campaign for non-sexist language use, and the Ethiopian mass literacy campaign. These short but interesting histories provide the reader instances of language planning. the formation of the with a sense of the diversity of instances of language planning and chapters, these examples of language planning allow how the goals of each of these campaigns constitute instances of social change. In the subsequent Cooper to consider the com- ponents of a good definition for language planning. These four examples addition- ally provide a shared basis of knowledge for discussion of language planning In throughout the book. Chapter Two, Cooper considers previous work on language planning, as One as he builds a current definition for lan- He examines 12 previous definitions by well-known scholars and shows how many definitions miss crucial components. Cooper constructs his own definition as a synthesis of previous definitions based on the question: Who plans what for whom and howl In considering the question of what. Cooper reviews well as the examples from Chapter guage planning. three central types of planning which include corpus planning, status planning acquisition planning. His own definition concludes the chapter: and Language plan- ning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behavior of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes. (p. 45) The strength of his definition is that it does not limit planning to authoritative is further- agencies or restrict the target or form of planning. Language planning more considered language. to be a type is of influence as opposed to outright change since concerned with maintenance and preservation of much of language planning Issues in Applied Linguistics ISSN 1050-4273 Vol. 9 No. 1998, Regents of the University of California

Concluding Thoughts: Language Planning Issues for the Coming Decade

As the review articles commissioned for this volume clearly indicate, the past two years (1992 and 1993) have been particularly rich ones for scholars concerned with language policy and language planning issues. As I reviewed these contributions, I was struck by the salience of five cross-cutting themes which seemed to underpin many of the articles-and indeed much of the current work by the profession. I propose to identify and comment briefly on each of these themes, and then to conclude by alluding to two relatively neglected areas of potential future concern. The five somewhat interrelated themes include: the role(s) of language policy or planning activities in foreshadowing or marking major world (political) events; the growing concern with ethnic revitalization; the correlates and consequences of continuing migration and mobility; the differential perceptions of the role of the mother tongue in primary education; and the potential contributions of language planning to educational and national development.

Language Policy and Planning in South America*

South America, widely known as a “Spanish-speaking” part of the world, is in fact a region of great linguistic diversity and complexity (see Table 1). The history and hegemony of the colonial languages, Spanish and Portuguese; the elusiveness and elitism of immigrant languages such as German, Italian, Japanese, and English; and the variety and vitality of the indigenous languages have combined to pose continuing challenges to language planners and policy makers. For the colonial languages, which have long enjoyed official status, the pressing language planning issues are those concerning standardization vis-a-vis national and international varieties. Immigrant language concerns maintain a relatively low profile in the policy and planning arena.

Language Planning and Education in Australasia and the South Pacific

Part 1 An overview on language planning issues and change: language planning and education, Richard B.Baldauf on the limits of language planning - class, state and power, Allan Luke et al. Part 2 Language planning and use in Australia: making language policy - Australia's experience, Joseph Lo Bianco some competing goals in aboriginal language planning, Paul Black towards evaluating the aboriginal bilingual education program in the Northern Territory, Bill Eggington and Richard B. Baldauf controllers or victims - language and education in the Torres Strait, Joan Kale an annotated bibliography on Australian languages, Joan Kale and Allan Luke. Part 3 Language planning and use in Melanesia and Polynesia: Solomons pijin - colonial ideologies, Roger M. Keesing Solomons pijin - an unrecognized national language, Christine Jourdan language planning in Papua New Guinea, Joan Kale Creolized Tok Pisin - uniformity and variation, Geoff P. Smith Tok Pisin at university - an educational and language planning dilemma in Papua New Guinea?, John Swan and Don Lewis language planning in Vanuata, Andrew Thomas education and language planning in the Samoas, Richard B.Baldauf language planning in Melanesia and Polynesia, Vicki Teleni. Part 4 Language planning and use in South East Asia: how bilingualism is being integrated in Negara Brunei Darussalam, Gary Jones the English language in Malaysia and its relationship with the national language, A.Conrad and K.Ozog evaluating bilingual education in the Philippines - towards a multidimensional model of evaluation in language planning, Andrew Gonzalez an annotated bibliography on language planning and education in South East Asia, Bo Yin language planning and education - a critical rereading, Allan Luke and Richard B. Baldauf.

The Use of Vernacular Languages in Education.

Previous articleNext article No AccessNotes and ReviewsThe Use of Vernacular Languages in Education.William E. BullWilliam E. Bull Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by International Journal of American Linguistics Volume 21, Number 3Jul., 1955 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/464342 Views: 16Total views on this site Citations: 9Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Priscilla Bretuo Using language to improve learning: teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the implementation of bilingual education in Ghana, Language, Culture and Curriculum 34, no.33 (Sep 2020): 257–272.https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1825470 References, (Nov 2020): 207–221.https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-210X20200000014009Jane Freeland The Global, the National and the Local: forces in the development of education for indigenous peoples ‐‐ the case of Peru, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 26, no.22 (Jun 1996): 167–195.https://doi.org/10.1080/0305792960260204G. Richard Tucker Concluding Thoughts: Language Planning Issues for the Coming Decade, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 14 (Nov 2008): 277–283.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190500002932Anita K. Foeman, Gary Pressley Ethnic culture and corporate culture: Using black styles in organizations, Communication Quarterly 35, no.44 (Sep 1987): 293–307.https://doi.org/10.1080/01463378709369695Dayle Barnes The language of instruction in Chinese communities, International Review of Education 24, no.33 (Jan 1978): 371–374.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00598052Patricia Lee Engle The Language Debate: Education in First or Second Language?, (Jan 1976): 247–272.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-617650-6.50021-3Patricia Lee Engle Language Medium in Early School Years for Minority Language Groups, Review of Educational Research 45, no.22 (Jul 2016): 283–325.https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543045002283Evan Keislar, Carolyn Stern Effects of Dialect and Instructional Procedures On Children's Oral Language Production and Concept Acquisition, Urban Education 3, no.33 (Aug 2016): 169–176.https://doi.org/10.1177/004208596800300306