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Common notions about language policy that are often shared among non-specialists are that (1) language policies exist, (2) they are necessary, and (3) they are neutral. This course challenges the underlying assumptions behind these common notions and more. Specifically, the class introduces several larger issues related language policy and language planning: language rights; the provenance of policy; notions of official languages and national languages; the role of language planning in indigenous, marginalized, 'developing', or otherwise minoritized communities. Data and case studies will feature Timor-Leste, Singapore, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Rwanda, Greenland, Germany, Brazil, and the USA.
This course considers how each of the notions above are rooted in ideologies about language by investigating specific language policies using the Ruiz (1984) framework of 'language as right, resource, or problem' and will further expand this framework by considering a fourth orientation, 'language as duty'. Data and case studies will feature the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Belgium, The Philippines, New Zealand, Mauritius, Ireland, Malawi, and Timor-Leste. A previous version of this course focused on the top-down interactions of language ideologies, language policies, and how these are mediated between the State and the citizenry via global practices in census-taking. This course will either (a) pick up and expand upon this existing research are or (b) pivot to case studies in global similarities involving the acquisition of a passport (especially within the Anglophone/Anglosphere world). This will be decided in Week 1 via discussion. |
