Chapter 6: English and other languages Flashcards
Bilingual individuals
Deploy their languages in complementary ways, using one language ofr fome functions and the other for other functions. Selections is made unconsciously based in habitual patterns.
Ambivalence towards a language.
Language comes with economic benefits and upward social mobility but people can dislike it becuase it is the mother tongue of people who oppressed them.
home language(s)
The language(s) habitually used in a home and acquired by its children. Similar to “first language”, but allows for the fact that in some homes it isn’t clear that one language is “first”.
Internet
Eng. most widely used on the internet. People do not need to have command of the language as a whole in order to navigate and participat. Starting with basica vocabulary and grammar, they pick up the style apporopriate to the domains they enter.
Internet
Eng. most widely used on the internet. People do not need to have command of the language as a whole in order to navigate and participat. Starting with basica vocabulary and grammar, they pick up the style apporopriate to the domains they enter.
Unfettered acces to English language programmes
One one hand, language my be welcomed by some poeople as a carrier of a rich range of new ideas and possibilities.
Other hand: This may make other people fear or reject it, seeing it as a bearer of ideas that could erode tradidional knowlegde, practises and vlaues.
language policy*
Is the set of broad goals - political, social, economic, linguistic, - that policy developpers hope to achieve by focusing on aspects of the use of languages in particular countries.
Usually takes place after a major political change (war, independence). Determined by politicians.
Identifies goals, but in practise, goals are not always met.
official language*
Given higher status. They may have this status throughout the country of only in vertrrain regions. Some countries identify indigenous language as a national language.
Main value is symbolic.
status planning*
ascuisiotion planning*
Planning how to give efffect to there decisions is status planning. Usually accompanied by acquisition planning, which is planning for how people will learn the official languages and other languages which government regards as necessary.
Both status and acquisition planning are involved the choice of language(s) for institutitons. Much of the detailed work in acquisition planning is done by people involved in eduction: teacher trainiser, curriculum, educational material.
Corpus planning*
When a language becomes a official language it serves mor functions. Its linguistic body has to be developed: vocabulary has to be expanded (e.g. to teach mathematcs), ne discourses forms need to be developed (formulation of laws).
Involves linuists and educators.
Engl. has a long history of serving as an official language or as language of educaiton. As a result its corpus is highly developed for those functions.
Form of modern colonization.
E.g. in Pakistan which was under Brithish control and Eng. was main language of administration and became known though formal education. Other languages were used as identy symbols for ethno-nationalist and reeligious movements. Because Eng. was not associated with them it was more neutral. This was usefull to the post-independence government of Pakistan which was trying to unifyl a political entity. These factors favourd keeping Eng. as official language. It was however, opposed by religious paries who felt that mainaining the status of English symbolized a new form of colonization.
Urdu is in 2012 the national language, while Engslish and Urdu have official language staturs.
stable bilinugualism
New language may com the be used increasingly alonside ols language in established domains such as schools and later in homes until it is accepted as an additional home language. In such cases is may be used for same functions as O, but is more likely to be used for some kinds of topic and interactions, while O is used for other. If this co-existence persits over a long period, we describe it as stable bilingualism.
Language maintenance*
Stable bilingual communities or families are characterised ba a strong sense of the importance of their heritage and of O. Their beliefs and daily practices promote language maintenance.
Language shift*
language death*
If a commmunity or family begins to associate N exlusively with identities or a way of life that they prefer to their own, it may gradually come to use only N for functions that O used to perform, until over three of more generation, O is abandoned in facour of N.
Individuals or groups seek to halt or reverse the process by maintaining their own use of O, an by teaching it and aspects of heritage to children.
If they are not successful this my result in language death.
code switching*
Bilinguals may switch between their languages within one conversation.
Code refers to a distinct language of variety.
Speaker may switch to one code to another just for one phrase or within a sentence aswell. May be planned or unplanned, cunscious or unconscious.
