De Nederlandse taal als luxe-waar op de Surinaamse markt?

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Hugo W. Campbell

In the multilingual community of Surinam the official language is Dutch. This language has occupied the official status during almost three centuries of colonial government, the intermediate stage of self-government (as part of the kingdom of the Netherlands from 1954 through 1975) and after complete independence in 1975. Though the status of official language did not change, a different language policy had to be adopted with respect to different role components in each of four historical periods. The language policy adopted in each of these periods can be considered the result of social changes which took place, and of attitudinal changes with respect to the functioning of other languages in the community. The changing role of the Dutch language in the four periods is discussed in terms of its changing socio-linguistic profile. The first change was that from an ethnic group specific position (the European population only) to an obligatory position which concerned the whole population. In each of these two periods Dutch was used in relation to all main functions (communication* education., religion and literature). During the period in which Dutch played the ethnic specific role the language Sranan was used as a promoted language to perform the same functions for the slave population of the 17th, 18th and 19th century. This language was also used as language of communication between the Europeans and the slaves. The social change from a slavery society to a society of citizens only had forced the governement to discourage the use of Sranan and to consider Dutch the only language in the country. This obligatory position was eventually disregarded in favor of a partial role of the Dutch language in a multicultural society. The recognition by the government of a multitude of cultural ambitions has led it to accept the possibility of the sharing of functions among languages. Especially with respect to intergroupcoinmunication and literature, the recognition-of the role of Sranan as national language became the main feature of this period. However, the emergency of Surinam-Dutch, as a variety (xized language) of the Dutch language used by the majority of the Dutch speaking community in Surinam, has given the governement of the new republic of Surinam an opportunity to promote cultural integration by means of this language variety. Though this too will have to share functions with Sranan (inter-group communication, literature, etc.), it is suggested that a stan-dardized version might not only change its promoted language status into that of national official language but also give a better criterion to judge and to stimulate performances in education and literature.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152
Author(s):  
Khagan Balayev ◽  

On April 28, 1920, the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan was overthrown as a result of the intrusion of the military forces of Russia and the support of the local communists, the Soviet power was established in Azerbaijan. The Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan and the Council of Peoples Commissars continued the language policy of the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 28, 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan issued an instruction on the application of Russian and Turkish as languages for correspondences in the government offices. On June 27, 1924, the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic executed the resolution of the second session of the Central Executive Committee of Transcaucasia and issued a decree “on the application of the official language, of the language of the majority and minority of the population in the government offices of the republic”. Article 1 of the said decree declared that the official language in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic was Turkish.


Politeja ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4(73)) ◽  
pp. 189-203
Author(s):  
Zhang Jiachen

Dutch society is open and international-oriented. A long standing tradition of world trade has contributed to the English proficiency of Dutch citizens. This, however, brings challenges to the status of Dutch as the national official language in the Netherlands. This paper takes the framework of national language capacity building proposed by Wen Qiufang and inspects the Dutch language policy in official language promotion and standardization. Results of the research show that coming from other languages that undermines the position of Dutch as national official language is gradually increasing. The Dutch solution is to put facilitating measures in place and to develop functional tools to support language users and learners. This solution can be valuable for the building of European multilingual landscape with its facilitating feature.


1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich P. Kelz

SUMMARY Language Planning in the Philippines and the Development of a Philippine National Language The numerous languages spoken in the Philippine archipelago — though all belonging to the same language family — are so different from each other that normally speakers of different languages can only communicate by help of a lingua franca. They may either employ one of the six dominant native languages spoken by more than 80% of the total population: Tagalog (24.5%), Sugbuanon (Cebuano, 24.1%), Iloko (Ilocano, 11.3%), Hiligaynon (10.2%), Bikol (Vicolano, 6.8%), and Waray (Samar-Leyte, 4.8%) or they may use English. With the growing influence of the United States of America since the turn of the century and the building up of a new school system, English has gained predominance in the fields of education and administration, thus frustrating the first attempts at the establishment of Tagalog, the language of Manila, as a common official language. During the past 80 years, English has undergone a development towards what can rightly be called Filipino English, differing from British as well as American English. In 1936, when the Philippines had become a Commonwealth under President Quezon, Tagalog — mainly because of its comparatively wide influence and because it had already been the subject of rather detailed linguistic research — was again chosen to become the future national language. This decision was strongly opposed by the speakers of Sugbuanon and Hiligaynon, and, at the end of the 1950s, the government was forced to change the name of the National Language from Tagalog to Filipino. Since 1936, the national language-planning institution Surian ng Wikang Pambasa has been working on the further improvement of this Tagalog-based language, absorbing elements from various other native and non-native languages. Next to the universities, which are active in the field of language-planning, it is above all the influence of schools, films, newspapers, and the cultural attraction of Manila, the center of the Tagalog area, which helps to strengthen the significance of Pilipino (now called Filipino) as a National Language. The development, however, has by no means been completed, and its political impact has led to the formation of five schools which are at variance about questions of linguistic content and form, but also about the status an official National Language is to have within the framework of society. At present, language-planning institutions in the Philippines still have to solve four major problems which result from the conflicting positions of (a) English vs. the various native languages, (b) the native National Language vs. the other native languages, (c) the "old" national language Pilipino vs. the "new" one, Filipino, and (d) the purist vs. liberal trend in language-planning. The predominance of English has gradually been reduced by a growing tendency towards a "Bilingual Approach," and Tagalog/Filipino has won considerable favor in many parts of the country. But the rivalry between Pilipino as Official Language and Filipino as National Language is the center of a problem which cannot be solved by official planning alone. RESUMO La lingvoplanado en Filipinoj kaj la estiĝo de fïlipina nacia lingvo La multaj lingvoj parolataj en la filipina arhipelago ĉiuj apartenas al la sama lingva familio. Sed ili tiom diferencas unu de la alia, ke parolantoj de apartaj lingvoj kutime povas interkomunikiĝi nur per komuna helplingvo. Ili povas utiligi au unu el la ses ĉefaj indiĝenaj lingvoj, parolataj de pli ol 80 pc. de la enloĝantaro, t.e. la tagala (24,5%), la sugbuana (cebuana, 24,1%), la iloka (11,3%), la hiligajna (10,2%), la bikola (6,8%) kaj la varaja (4,8%), au ili uzas la anglan. Pro la kreskinta influo de Usono ekde la komenco de nia jarcento kaj la kreigo de nova lerneja sistemo, la angla ekregis en la edukado kaj la administrado, tiel malhelpante la unuajn klopodojn starigi la tagalan, la lingvon de Manilo, kiel komunan oficialan lingvon. Dum la pasintaj 80 jaroj, la angla evoluigis gis prave nomebla filipina angla, kiu diferencas disde la brita kaj la usona anglaj lingvoj. Kiam en 1936 Filipinoj igis Komunumaĵo sub la Prezidanto Quezon, la tagala, ĉefe pro sia relative vasta influo kaj car pri gi jam ekzistis iom vasta lingvistika esplorado, estis ankoraǔfoje elektita kiel estonta oficiala nacia lingvo. La parolantoj de la cebuana kaj la hiligajna forte oponis sin al tiu decido, kaj fine de la 1950-aj jaroj, la registaro estis devigata sangi la nomon de la Nacia Lingvo for de la tagala al la pilipina. Ekde 1936 la lingvoplana institute Surian ng Wikang Pambasa plue plibonigadas tiun lingvon, kiu bazigas en la tagala, ensorbante elementojn el pluraj aliaj indiĝenaj kaj neindigenaj lingvoj. Krom la universitatoj, kiuj aktivas en la lingvoplanado, cefe la lernejoj, filmoj, gazetoj kaj la kultura altirpovo de Manilo, la centro de la tagallingva zono, fortigas la gravecon de la pilipina, kiu nun nomiĝas la filipina, kiel Nacia Lingvo. Sed la evoluo certe ne finigis. Gia politika efiko kreis kvin skolojn, kiuj varias inter si pri demandoj de lingva enhavo kaj formo, sed ankaù pri la rolo de oficiala Nacia Lingvo en la kadro de l'socio. La lingvoplanaj institucioj en Filipinoj nuntempe devas solvi kvar cefajn problemojn, kiuj rezultas de la konfliktaj roloj de: a) la angla vid-al-vide al la diversaj indiĝenaj lingvoj; b) la indigena Nacia Lingvo vid-al-vide al la ceteraj indigenaj lingvoj; c) la "malnova" nacia lingvo, la pilipina, vid-al-vide al la "nova," la filipina; kaj c) la purisma vid-al-vide al la liberala tendencoj en la lingvoplanado. La superregado de la angla laùstupe reduktigis gis kreskanta tendenco al "dulingva aliro," kaj la tagala/filipina gajnis konsiderindan favoron multloke. Sed la konkurado inter la pilipina kiel Oficiala Lingvo kaj la filipina kiel Nacia Lingvo estas la koro de problemo, ne solvebla nur per la oficiala planado.


English in Malaysia has undergone several phases since it entered the country during the colonial period in the early nineteenth century. During the colonial period, English was used mainly for communicating between the colonialists and traders. English was the official language together with Malay when the country attained independence in 1957. However, it lost its status as an official language after ten years, in 1967, when Malay was made the sole official language. The medium of instruction which had been English gradually changed to Malay during the 1970s and 1980s with a deliberate reduction of the role of English in schools. In later years, nevertheless, there was official promotion of English arising from Malay being already firmly established as the national language and the need to keep abreast with global and regional changes. The status of English has, thus, shifted several times throughout the country’s post-colonial period. While it became the “second most important language” nationally and politically, there emerged some variation in its status in some domains, in speech vs writing and, of course, among individuals. Dynamic changes in Malaysian English have also taken place. This paper examines the developments in terms of the status of English in Malaysia, including terms like ‘EFL’ and ‘ESL’ which have been used, and discusses if they are still adequate. We will show how the status of English and the contexts of its uses have changed and why a single term, say ‘second language’, is of little use and has been throughout its history. We will conclude with tentative propositions of what might happen in the future.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska

Abstract Switzerland is often referred to as a success story for handling its linguistic and cultural diversity. Traditionally four languages have been spoken in relatively homogeneous territories: German, French, Italian and Rhaeto- Romanic (Romansh). The first three have been national languages since the foundation of the Confederation in 1848; the fourth became a national language in 1938. In effect, The Law on Languages, in effect since 2010, has regulated the use and promotion of languages and enhanced the status of Romansh as one of the official languages since 2010. While Swiss language policy is determined at the federal level, it is in the actual practice a matter for cantonal implementation. Article 70 of the Swiss Federal Constitution, titled “Languages”, enshrines the principle of multilingualism. A recent project to create legislation to implement multilingualism across the cantons, however, has failed. Thus Switzerland remains de jure quadrilingual, but de facto bilingual at best, with only a handful of cantons recognizing more than one official language (Newman, 2006: 2). Cantonal borders are not based on language: the French-German language border runs across cantons during most of its course from north to south, and such is also the case for Italian.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Graham

This essay explores the ways in which Ireland's sacralised national language figures in Beckett's work. Oblique references to Irish in the Beckett oeuvre are read against a history of Anglo-Irish investment in the language as a mode of ‘impatriation’, a means by which to circumscribe anxieties surrounding an identity fraught with socio-political anomalies. In addition, the suspicion of ‘official language’ in Beckett's work is considered in light of his awareness of the ‘language issue’ in his native country, particularly in relation to the powerful role of the Irish language in the reterritorialisation of the civic sphere in post-independence Ireland.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Wagner ◽  
Winifred V. Davies

This paper explores the link between explicit Luxembourgish language policy and the actual practices as well as expressed attitudes of a group of speakers of Luxembourgish, with the aim of studying the role of World War II in the advancement of Luxembourgish as Luxembourg’s national language. The first two sections introduce the theoretical approach of the paper and provide an overview of the history and present situation of Luxembourg and Luxembourgish. The following two sections present the findings of a sociolinguistic study of language choice, language values and identities, and linguistic (in)security among a group of Luxembourgish letter-writers, as well as recent interview data provided by the sole surviving correspondent. The final section brings together these results and the claims made regarding the role of World War II in the changing status of Luxembourgish and points out the complexity of this discussion.


Author(s):  
Iuliya Makarets

The article focuses on the issue of legislative regulation of linguistic relationships in Ukraine. The ability of a national language to function as a means of consolidation and national identification depends to a large extent on state linguistic policy, political support that the language receives. The state legislation on language is indicative in this regard while it establishes the status of languages, the linguistic model and the linguistic regime. In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the Ukrainian language is a state language in Ukraine. The dynamics of the Ukrainian legislation on languages illustrates the inconsistency of the implementation of this constitutional norm. The article analyzes the milestones of its formation. The content of the basic laws in the sphere of linguistic relationships (Law of the USSR ‘On Languages in the Ukrainian SSR’ (1989), the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Principles of the State Language Policy’ (2012), which is invalid now, and the new Law of Ukraine ‘On the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as a State Language’ (2019)), the socio-political tendencies, that preceded their adoption, their evaluation by tpublic and world community as well as their consequences for linguistic situation in Ukraine are described. The possibility of official bilingualism approving is studied. The article analyzes historical, cultural and political preconditions for the adoption of official bi- or multilingualism by other states, acceptability of this linguistic model for Ukraine and possibility to overcome existing linguistic contradictions.


Author(s):  
Janny H.C. Leung

This chapter compares some of the ways official multilingualism has transformed public institutions across jurisdictions, and comments on why these transformations fall short of expectations. This gap is a product of, among other things, the general lack of specificity in constitutional provisions. The status of official or national language does not carry a fixed legal meaning. What does a government have to do to “enforce” an official language status? Polities that have granted official language status diverge in their understanding of the legal implications of such a status, their degree of commitment, and their corresponding institutional adaptation. The chapter goes on to consider the significance of the current state of legal implementation. It is observed that bureaucratic and funding structures of official language offices limit their power and representativeness, and attempts to create linguistic equality may inadvertently enlarge inequalities among speakers of the same language.


Multilingua ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Soler-Carbonell

AbstractThe role of English as a global language and its consequences for the internationalization of higher education are matters that have increasingly drawn the attention of researchers from different fields of language and communication. In this paper, an overview of the situation in Estonia is presented. The Estonian context has not previously been analyzed along these lines. The author suggests looking at Ph.D. dissertations as a site of tension between the need to effectively incorporate English as an academic language and the need to maintain Estonian as the national language. The article views this question in the context of some relevant language policy documents and other macro indicators. It then focuses on the number of Ph.D. dissertations defended at four main public universities in the last few years and the languages they have been written in. It appears that, although the language policy documents seem to correctly capture this tension between English and Estonian, the language most commonly used when writing dissertations is overwhelmingly English, with only the humanities providing some counterbalance to that trend. The current situation is different from that of past decades, when English was absent from Estonia’s scientific production and Estonian was significantly employed in that context, alongside Russian. In the discussion section, some lines for further inquiry are presented, together with a proposal for integrating complexity theory in such analyses.


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