Language and Linguistics

Language planning examples/definition/formal planning

Language planning

The term language planning refers to the measures taken by official agencies to influence the use of one or more languages in a particular speaking community . Language planning examples

American linguist Joshua Fishman has defined language planning as “the authoritative allocation of resources for the achievement of language status and corpus goals, either in relation to new aspirational functions or in relation to older functions that require be performed more adequately “(1987).

The four main types of language planning are state planning (about the social position of a language), corpus planning (the structure of a language), language planning in education (learning), and prestige planning (image).

Language planning can occur at the macro level (the state) or the micro level (the community).

See examples and observations below.

Examples and observations

  • ” Language and policy planning arise from socio-political situations in which, for example, speakers of various languages ​​compete for resources or where a particular linguistic minority is denied access to basic rights. An example is the Law of Court Interpreters of 1978, which provides an interpreter to any victim, witness, or accused whose mother tongue is not English . Another is the Voting Rights Act of 1975, which establishes bilingual ballots in areas where more than 5 percent of the population speaks a language other than English … ” Language planning examples
  • The French Academy
    “The classic example of language planning in the context of state-to-nationality processes is that of the French Academy. Founded in 1635, that is, at a time before the great impact of industrialization and urbanization, the The academy, however, came after the political borders of France had long ago approached their present limits.However, sociocultural integration was still far from being achieved at that time, as evidenced by the facts that in 1644 the Ladies of the Marseille Society were unable to communicate with Mlle. de Scudéry in French; that in 1660 Racine had to use Spanish and Italian to make himself understood in Uzès; and that even in 1789, half of the southern population did not understand French “. Language planning examples
  • Contemporary Language Planning
    “A Good Language Planning Dealafter World War II was waged by emerging nations that emerged from the end of colonial empires. These nations faced decisions about which language (s) to designate as an official for use in the political and social arena. Such language planning was often closely aligned with the desire of new nations to symbolize their newfound identity by granting official status to indigenous languages ​​(Kaplan, 1990, p. 4). Today, however, language planning has a somewhat different function. A global economy, increasing poverty in some nations of the world, and wars with its resulting refugee population have resulted in great linguistic diversity in many countries. Therefore,
  • Language planning and linguistic imperialism
    “British policies in Africa and Asia have aimed to strengthen English rather than promote multilingualism, which is the social reality. The underlying British ELT has been a key principle: monolingualism, native speaker as an ideal teacher, the sooner the better, etc., which [are] fundamentally false. They underpin linguistic imperialism. ” Language planning examples

Formal Language Planning

The formal planner of the language designs structures destined to fulfill functions in a determined social, cultural, political and historical context and is governed by an aesthetic theory, always responding to a linguistic policy that is supported by a group (elite).

Some planners consider that this form should reflect an indigenous tradition while others think that it should reflect values of modernity and efficiency . Language planning examples

The planner’s design may not appeal to the public but this planning will have a greater chance of success if it is oriented pro-elites or against elites since formal planning is the response to the creation of popular sentiment as well as an exercise in creation of That feeling.

We can say that in the formal planning of language, function precedes form in two senses:

  1. Select structures to benefit a specific linguistic function. This can be overt or covert. Eg: formal planning is required when a language is chosen for a role that it has not previously fulfilled (eg, official language, Irish for Ireland). If we start from the basis that linguistic planning is much more than that since it pursues non-linguistic ends, these ends will influence the desired way. We will take the example of Palestine at the end of the 19th century when the need for a daily vocabulary in Hebrew was raised, the Council of the Hebrew Language decided to use old Hebrew words, if it did not find any suitable one it would resort to old Aramaic words and thirdly words from other languages Semitic. The Council wanted to use Hebrew roots, which underscores the antiquity of the Jewish presence in Palestine and legitimizes claims for Jewish self-determination.
  2. The form is influenced by non-linguistic (non-communicative) purposes; Example: when activists in the United States of America promoted the replacement of words such as black by black and homosexual by gay in the 1970s , the use of non-androcentric generics was made to give more power to blacks and gays and their leaders . In this case, the official dictionary was operated on for discrimination Language planning examples

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