INTRODUCTION TO

LANGUAGE POLICY AND

PLANNING
MARILYN S. LUZANO, PhD.
1. Define language.
2. Differentiate language
planning from language policy.
3. Why is language planning
needed?
4. The stages of language
planning.
5.Two dimensions of language
planning.
6.Language planning goals.
What is a language?
Language is an asset and a
primary instrument of human
communication. It gives a sense
of identity to an individual as
well as a social group.
However, language can also
become a problem and a
barrier to communication,
which necessitates language
planning.
What is language
planning?
Language Planning all
conscious efforts that aim
at changing the linguistic
behavior of a speech
community.
3.
Language planning occurs in
most countries by their
relevant governments wherein
they have more than one
language within the community.
What is languge policy?
Language Policy Language
policy is sometimes used as a
synonym to a language
planning.
However, Language policy
refers to the more general
linguistic, political and social
goals underlying the actual
language planning process.
Inshort, "language
policy" is the expression
of the ideological
orientations and views
"languageplanning" is the
actual proposal that
makes up their
implementation.
Language Planning A
deliberate language
change. (Ruben and
Jernudd, 1971b: xvi)
Organized activity in order
to solve language problems
within a community. (Jahr,
1992, cf McKay &
Hornberger, 1996)
The proposal to express
language ideologies within
the community. (Bakmand,
2000)
Decisions around
language policy and
planning are made around
the globe every day.
Who are making decisions
on language policy and
planning?
formally by governments
informally by scholars
and community leaders
These decisions influence
the right to use and maintain
languages, affect language
status, and determine which
languages are nurtured.
Language policy and
planning decisions have a
major impact on language
vitality and, ultimately, on
the rights of the individual.
Language vitality is demonstrated by the
extent that the language is used as a means of
communication in various social contexts for
specific purposes. The most significant
indicator of a languages vitality is its daily use
in the home. A language with high vitality
would be one that is used extensively both
inside and outside the home, by all
generations, and for most, if not all, topics.
Decisions about language
policies, requirements, and
practices have important
consequences in all social
contexts.
What do you think are these
important consequences in
social contexts?
Language planning refers to
deliberate efforts to influence the
behavior of others with respect to the
acquisition, structure, or functional
allocation of their language codes
(Cooper, 1989, p. 45).
It may be undertaken with
formal, official governmental
sanction or reflected in
unofficial and informal
practices.
Language planning is
frequently undertaken for
the expressed purpose of
solving communication
problems.
Nevertheless, ill conceived,
poorly informed policies can
result in negative impacts on
those affected by them.
Language planning is official,
government-level activity
concerning the selection and
promotion of a unified
administrative language or
languages.
It represents a coherent
effort by individuals, groups,
or organizations to influence
language use or
development.
WHYIS LANGUAGE
PLANNING NEEDED?
Language policy and
planning decisions arise in
response to sociopolitical
needs.
Language planning decisions may be
required, for example, where a
number of linguistic groups compete
for access to the mechanisms of day-
to-day life, or where a particular
linguistic minority is denied access to
such mechanisms.
Two examples of such decisions
are the Court Interpreters Act,
which provides an interpreter
to any victim, witness, or
defendant whose native
language is not English,
and the Voting Rights Act of
1975, which provides for
bilingual ballots in areas where
over 5% of the population speak
a language other than English.
Both governmental and social
institutions must effectively and
equitably meet the needs of the
population so that groups varied in
linguistic repertoire have an equal
opportunity to participate in their
government and to receive services
from their government.
Language planning decisions
typically attempt to meet
these needs by reducing
linguistic diversity.
where a single language is
declared a national language
in a multilingual country
(such as Bahasa Indonesia in
Indonesia)
where a single variety of a
language is declared "standard"
to promote linguistic unity in a
country where divergent
dialects exist.
For example, although many
dialects of Chinese exist, the
promotion of a single variety as
the national language
contributes to a sense of
national unity.
WHAT ARE THE STAGES
OF LANGUAGE
PLANNING?
1. Needs analysis
involving a sociopolitical
analysis of
communication patterns
within the society
2.selection of a
language or language
variety for planning
purposes.
These stages are
sometimes referred to as
"status planning" and
include:
oCodification.
Characteristics or criteria
of a "good" language are
established.
oStandardization. A
unified variety of the
language is established, if
necessary.
"Fine-tuning" the selected
language or language variety
is referred to as "corpus
planning.
two dimensions of
language planning:
1.Corpus planning
deals with norm selection
and codification, as in the
writing of grammars and
the standardization of
spelling;
2. status planning
deals with initial choice of
language, including attitudes
toward alternative languages
and the political implications
of various choices (Bright,
1992, p. 311).
3.language acquisition
planning (Cooper, 1989)
Choosing which languages will be
used as mediums for instruction is
particularly important in
acquisition planning as one must
not only learn the language but
use it to learn.
4Stages of Language
Planning (Haugen, 1966)
1. Selection
Selection is the term used
to refer to the choice of a
language variety to fulfill
certain functions in a given
society.
2. Codification
2.Codification The
creation of a linguistic
standard or norm for a
selected linguistic code.
It is divided up into three
stages:
1)Graphization
developing a writing
system.
2) Grammaticalization
deciding on rules/norms
of grammar.
3)Lexicalization
identifying the
vocabulary.
3.Implementation
(acceptance)
3.Implementation (acceptance)
Promoting of the decisions made in the
stages of selection and codification which
can include marketing strategy, production
of books, pamphlets, newspapers, and
textbooks using the new codified standard.
4. Elaboration
4.Elaboration Refers to the terminology
and stylistic development of a codified
language to meet the communicative
demands of modern life and technology. Its
main area is the production and
dissemination of new terms.
Language planning goals
Eleven language planning
goals have been
recognized (Nahir 2003)
1.Language Purification prescription
of usage in order to preserve the
linguistic purity of language, protect
language from foreign influences, and
guard against language deviation from
within.
2.Language Revival the
attempt to restore to common
use a language that has few or
no surviving native speakers
3.Language Reform deliberate
change in specific aspects of
language, such
as orthography, spelling,
or grammar, in order to facilitate
use
4.Language Standardization the
attempt to garner prestige for a
regional language or dialect,
developing it as the chosen major
language, or standard language, of
a region
5.Language Spread the
attempt to increase the
number of speakers of one
language at the expense of
another
6.LexicalModernization
word creation or adaptation
7.Terminology Unification
development of
unified terminologies,
primarily in technical
domains
8.StylisticSimplification
simplification of language usage
in lexicon, grammar, and style.
That includes modifying the use of
language in social and formal
contexts.
9.Interlingual
Communication facilitation
of linguistic communication
between members of distinct
speech communities
10.Language Maintenance
preservation of the use of a groups
native language as a first or second
language where pressures threaten or
cause a decline in the status of the
language.
11.Auxiliary-Code Standardization
standardization of marginal, auxiliary
aspects of language, such as signs for
the deaf, place names, or rules
of transliteration and transcription.