Global movements for planning language policies

• Post colonial education context of ethnic and lingual diversity

• Perceiving English as a common language thread

•Applying analytical approaches to explore the complex ways colonization

processes are interconnected with globalization

The World’s Top 10 Languages:

The Role of Language Theories in Education In The US: Positive policy,

pedagogical and curriculum alternatives:

• Post Colonial education theories/practices explore the possibility of establishing an educational practice going beyond identity politics, and providing explanatory theories that define and explicate the complexities of what is “local” and/or “global”

• These theories are historical in their approach, and provide productive and critical constructive paradigms for research processes for creating alternative educational practices.

• They expose new forms of inequalities in local education, and manifestations of subjectivities under globalization, while being mindful of traditional categorizations of language, culture and literacy and its top-down policy making.

Education and politics in The US(Continued):

• Theorists and educators find commonalities and tensions in everyday realities of schooling and situate these issues within a political and socioeconomic context.

• Including tensions within policy discourse and identity, and the relation of policy makers intentions, effects, and community's expectations; different orientations to the same policy, and broaden their practices.

• These tensions provide possibilities to address communities and issues that have not been addresses previously.

The Role of English Only Movement:

• The English Only Movement intends to politically return to the designation of English as the official language coupled with restriction-isms on the use of other languages due to an increasing anti-immigrant sentiment in the US.

• There has been a claim by English-only movement advocates that English is the major unifying force among Americans, and that unless it is protected the nation would be facing ‘turmoil’ among different language groups (Former Senator Steve Symms of Idaho, 1983).

The De-emphasizing of Bi-lingual Education in the US (J.W.Tollefson)

• There are “about 175 indigenous” surviving languages in the United States today (Krauss, 1996), which is half the number spoken when Europeans first arrived. Only about 20 of these languages are still being learned by children, and the rest seem doomed to be extinct.

• Meanwhile speakers of immigrant languages are on the increase, due to relatively high levels of immigration. Although still 97% of US residents speak English ‘well’ or ‘very well’. Only 0.8% speak no English at all. Proportionally (4.5 times as many Americans were non-English-speakers in 1890’s), more schooling used to be in languages other than English in the past.

A long-term national study (Ramirez, 1991) has documented “higher student achievement in developmental bilingual classrooms than in transitional bilingual or structured English immersion classrooms”.

US Government/State/Agency• Government/State/Agency Policy Policy Characteristics Implementation for• Orientation toward language Minority• Language Rights Education rights• ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________• Promotion-Oriented Policies The government/state/Agency Examples outside the US • allocates resources to support Include the promotion of • the official use of minority languages. Community languages e.g.

• Welsh in the UK• Expediency A weaker version of promotion laws E.g., Title VII bilingual education• Oriented Laws not intended to expand the use of programs to accommodate perceived • Minority language, but typically used only for English deficiencies of speakers of • Short-term accommodation languages than English•

Tolerance-Oriented Policies Characterized by the noticeable absence of state E.g., language schools, private/religious• Intervention in the linguistic life of the language programs in which heritage/community • Minority community. Languages are maintained by private• Resources• • Restrictive-Oriented Policies Legal prohibitions or curtailments on the use of E.g., Federal restriction on Native • Minority languages; age requirements dictating American languages in bordering schools• When a child may study a minority/foreign• language restriction on foreign language• Instruction, Proposition 227 and similar • Measures such as Arizona’s • Proposition 203• ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________• Null Policies The significant absence of policy recognizing Failure to consider the implication of • language differences in instruction• Minority languages or language varieties mediated only in English• ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________• Repression-oriented Policies Active efforts to eradicate minority languages E.g., outside the US, include equating the • use/instruction in a minority language• as a political crime • ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________• This Table draws from and expands on Kloss Schema from Language Policies in Education by Tollefson J. W. 2002.

Europe and the Politics of Language

• Europe is a continental power experiencing fast rising numbers of Europeans and Non-European immigrant populations

• Language policy advocates offer extensive local, regional, and cross-continental trends , considering language as a political entity.

• And some of these policies intend to defend different language communities and expand linguistic rights and transnational contexts.

Europe (continued):• Europe and the Politics of Language• Languages of Europe are usually cross-bordered, meaning most of

them did not become national languages until the process of nation-state formation. Examples of border- states are Austria and Italy, Germany and Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and France and Spain, all of whom are participating in a transnational mechanism of Assembly of European Border Regions.

• The request for recognition creates a backlash toward other contested languages in Europe. That creates a vacuity and demand for a balance of difference between normalization and self-affirmation of national identities.

• Mostly Semitic language such as Hebrew and Arabic are considered Nomadic since their speakers are representation ally from “Nomadic lands”. And are considered outsider languages and Non-European.

• There is an overt reluctance on the part of European institutions to offer vertical support to languages that appear to be peripheral to the European Union. The status of ‘immigrant’ given to these peoples prevents them from crafting new ways of civic participation in national and transnational contexts.

• Namely citizenship and a sense of Belonging and statehood, territory, culture, and language calls for new approaches to policy that helps overcome the limitations of the European political will

Language Policy Challenges for Europe are:

• Do the procedures followed in conducting (EU) affairs give native speakers of the ‘top’ languages, particularly English and French, unfair privileges, and if so, what can be done to remedy the problem?

• If speakers of Catalan, Welsh, and other minority languages have no right to use their languages in EU institutions, does this mean that only certain languages are being used to create ‘Europe’? If so, does ’Strength in diversity’ (an EU mantra) apply only to the privileged languages? Can European-ness and European citizenship be expressed in any European language? Is European linguistic identity multi-lingual?

• Can English, and other influential foreign languages, be learned and used in ways that do not threaten other languages?

• Are the language policy issues of European integration being seriously addressed at the national and EU levels? Is there constructive dialogue between key constituencies, politicians and bureaucrats, the corporate world, academics in relevant fields, particularly education, political science, international law, economics, languag3e, and minority rights, and grassroots public opinion?

• What can be done to bring about more informed and more inspired language policies?

Germany

• There are attempts to reform German orthography as a historical perspective on nation building. The Stuttgart conference led East Germany to apply new language policies aimed at implementing reunification. Although these efforts were initially rejected by West Germany and Austria and Switzerland, they seem to be taken more seriously after the reformation.

• After the reunification a language explosion and reinvigorating of the German Language in creating people’s own authentic language apart from the Bureaucratic Dead language.

East and West Germany: • Previously known as a divided nation-state between West Germany

and the East Germany while the West Germany was considered as a part of the Pan-European empire, and the East Germany as the non-Germanic half of the Eastern Europe.

• The German peoples are today questioning what makes them a nation, since to Germans the concept of ‘nation’ is of a highest ‘taxon’ (classificatory unit) of human groupings, therefore their views on language is one of essentialism. Germany is the first European vernacular made into a written language, and one of the first to claim its governmental and bureaucratic languages as a lingua franca to a ‘dead language’.

• For that matter there are varied forms of orthography, that have led the present language policy makers to the movement toward reforming the orthography. In practice Berlin and Vienna chose to emphasize their strong links with Western Europe, and much of Austrians and West Germans recognize themselves mostly with West Germany, even to the defiance of actual geography.

Germany

East and West Germany:• There was a desperate move towards linguistic integration and one without

any limitations imposed by institutions and government agencies. Since the interpretation and the use of language was formerly perceived as a bureaucratic means of manipulation, it is presently leading to a greater emphasis given to the role of language as a determiner of identity –i.e. in-group and out.

• Reform of the German orthography is based on a historical perspective on nation building. The emergent East-West relations and unification are better explained by a constructivist approach that links public order to the way language functions to create rules and thus rule. This perspective accords an independent role to ideas and to policymakers as political agents, but it also explores constraints on what it was possible to say, and to think, in Germany (Kraus, P., 2008).

• The emergent East-West linguistic relations and unification are better explained by a constructivist approach that links public order to the way language functions to create rules and thus rule. This perspective accords an independent role to ideas and to policymakers as political agents, but it also explores constraints on what it was possible to say, and to think, in Germany.

Japan

• The hegemony of the English language is tightly connected with the globalization process since it creates tension, intensification, and modification in people’s national identity. Whose government’s goal for the new century is to make English the nation’s official second language.

• For the Japanese establishing world class excellence requires all Japanese to acquire a working knowledge of English, which has led to some linguistic and cultural hegemony and resistance during the period of globalization at the beginning of the 21st century. After Japan is the 2nd largest state economically and militarily, this trading state, which requires obtaining linguistic capital of other great powers. (Zhang, X. 2008).

Japanese: • Japanese vocabulary has been heavily influenced by loanwords from other

languages. A vast number of words were borrowed from Chinese, or created from Chinese models. In the present time, Japanese has borrowed a considerable number of words from Indo-European languages, primarily English. Because of the special trade relationship between Japan and first Portugal, and then mainly the Netherlands , Portuguese, German and Dutch have also been influential.

• Literacy was introduced to Japan in the form of the Chinese writing system. Japan invited scholars from China to learn more of the Chinese writing system. The japans National language Council, with consultations form Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and technology has issued resolutions regarding Japanese writing system with modern kana usage, and a notation of borrowed foreign words as a guideline or standard for everyday life. Their suggestions included:

• the formulation of concrete guidelines concerning honorific expressions, and b) the modality of the Kinji policy that fits the information age” . Measures are being implemented to deepen the entire Japanese public’s interest and understanding of the Japanese language, including the holding of hands-on workshops to think about ‘words’. Any attempt to make Japanese a regional lingua franca would meet stiff resistance. The Japanese people express their national identity through an examination of the opinions posted on a Japanese national newspaper’s website (Kawai, Y. 2007).

• Enhancing Policy Related to the National Language for a new age (Dec. 2000):• The national Council is encouraging the use of

– Honorific expressions in Modern society– Fonts for characters Not Listed in the kanji table– Modalities of the Japanese language corresponding to the Global society

Japanese:

• Council for Cultural Affairs suggests the following steps to be taken for Japanese-language proficiency regarded in future age (in 2004)

• Optimum approach to Japanese-language education

• Optimum approach to reading activities• The Kunji policy is under deliberation with

regard to guidelines for honorific expressions and creating modalities of Kunji policy corresponding and suitable for the information age (Mar, 2005).

Japanese:• Methods in Japanese Language Education:

• To enhance the Japanese language education in local districts which is mainly conducted by volunteers, the agency invites a public participation in the 4 projects and requests for submission of the project planning.

• The implementation of training courses, establishment and management of Japanese language classes, preparation of teaching materials, and holding of workshops by related organizations.

• The Asian Cultural Affairs (ACA) Council implements Japanese language education at non-residence institution for the refugees who were recognized by the treaty and want to reside permanently. ACA carries out follow-ups, such as the support for volunteer organization and consultation on Japanese language education, for the refugees from Indochina and the refugees recognized by the treaty who already left the institutions.

• ACA supports the Japanese language learning of returnees from China by such means as producing and distributing materials for studying Japanese and reference books

• In addition, Japanese Language Subdivision, Council for Cultural Afairs is deliberating the modalities of the Japanese language education in times when foreigners are more inclined to live in Japan permanently and there is growing need for them to participate in society

• ACA Conducts various activities to improve the teaching contents and methods in response to the diversifying needs of Japanese language learning, including fact-finding surveys on Japanese language education and conferences on Japanese-language Education.

Singapore

• A literacy policy affected by tensions between the ideologies associated with English and those attached to Singapore’s mother tongues.

• Several dialects of English contend for the distinction of “standard”.

• Policies intend to safeguard heritage and in keeping themselves open to their ancestral mother tongues.

North & South Korea

• North and South Korea: With the possibility of reunification there are a number of similarities and differences applied to language and orthography, and terminologies used in both North and South Korea. Due to the political divide, there is also differences and similarities in the educational styles in these countries. The use of dialects, with the inclusion of Chinese kanji characters, foreign vs. “native” words, pose a challenge to policy makers and linguists with the eventual prospect of eventual reunification.

India:

• Rise of nationalism, and a demand for Language unity

• Made up of ten regional components with provincial boundaries, each seeking their own regional centralizing power interests.

• The role of Internet and new Industrial and technological spheres and prospects for employment, Intend to become intermediaries between the East and the West, with a strong pull toward English.

Serbo-Croatian

• A linguistically divided nation between Christian Rome and Byzantine Christianity in the last 400 centuries. With Ottoman Turkish rule leaving pockets of Islam in Southeastern Europe.

• Today is written in both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.• Bosnian variants use both alphabets, while Croatian

uses the Latin only.• Serbo-Croatian Latin is standard Latin with 5 extra letters

with diacritical marks, borrowing much from Czech• Serbs related to Slavs from the North settled in the

South. Medieval Serbian Kingdom was dominated by much of the Balkans.

Conclusion• Post globalization is an era of linguistic ambiguity as a

result of shifting and the establishment of new socio-political and socio-economic, and cross-cultural boundaries.

• A time of prodigious loss of identity and lack of substantive collective unity/solidarity for minority groups.

• A Post modern era of elevated status of language, (particularly English) as Cultural Capital and perceiving language itself as a bridging link amongst varied languages/peoples of the world. Leading to Pluralism and Multi-nationalism, and Multi-culturalism.

• The discursive capital theory, offers solidarity defined by voluntary relationships among individuals in different activities in civil society as a societal resource that links citizens and enables them to pursue common objectives more effectively