Abstract
This volume comprising research articles that investigate language policies continues its commitment from its first publication (Tollefson, 2002) to critical language policy analysis. It includes case studies from the United States, Japan, India, the Andes region, Rwanda, Lesotho, Swaziland, Nicaragua, and the Solomon Islands. The volume covers issues such as nationalism, globalization and indigenous language rights in the post-colonial period; the roles of global capitalism and social conflicts in language policies; and the roles of the mass media and new social media in the revitalization of the endangered languages.
This volume is divided into six parts. The first part ‘Language policy in education’ consists of three chapters, examining factors that influence language policies and discussing methodologies for current language policy studies. In chapter 1, Tollefson gives an overview of how this anthology is organized and in chapter 2, he discusses how the notion of language becomes so central to a nation’s collective political identity, and how language policies in education have been used by nation-state dominant groups to impose their authority. He concludes by examining two perspectives in language policy research, both of which focus on power, inequality and the coercive policies’ impact on language learning and behaviour. These include a top-down, historical-structural research approach to language policy; and a bottom-up, public sphere research approach with a focus on the power and agency of individuals and communities. In chapter 3, McGroarty discusses the roles of different actors and arenas such as family, school, religious organization, government at different levels, ideologies, and language practices in language planning and policy.
The second part ‘Competing agenda’ examines the state authorities’ use of language policies and its consequences on language education and the rights of minority communities. In chapter 4, Wiley explains how formal and informal language policies since the colonial period have influenced the right to language in education of the minorities in the United States. In chapter 5, Freeland discusses the complexity of language policy and practice in Nicaragua. In chapter 6, Johnson uses the school district of Philadelphia to examine the power of structures and agencies in the creation, interpretation, and appropriation of language policy. These three chapters offer insights into the tension and competition among various stakeholders with regard to language policies.
The third part, ‘Indigenous languages in postcolonial education’, consists of two chapters. In chapter 7, Mazrui discusses Kenya’s language policy and education by focusing on the spread of English as the colonial legacy and the struggle of a local language, Kiswahili, in demanding its educational and social status. He concludes that English is predominantly used in the formal sector of the economy and still has advantages over Kiswahili, whose domain of use is limited to low-level economic activities. In chapter 8, Kamwangamalu examines the language status planning in Africa’s monolingual kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland. He uses the game theory to explain why English, the colonial language, is enjoying a much better status than its local counterparts: seSotho in Lesotho and siSwati in Swaziland. He offers two reasons to explain this: the interest of the elite in using the language of rule and the lack of materialization in the use of local languages in the market place.
The fourth part ‘Language and global capitalism’ contains 2 chapters analysing the effects of global capitalism on language planning in Japan and India. In chapter 9, Hashimoto uses a critical discourse method to analyse language policy documents and curriculum reform in Japanese schools to identify varying interpretations of the Japanese version of the policies as well as the English translation. In chapter 10, Annamalai examines the costs and benefits of a shifting language policy with regard to the English language in India since its independence. He discusses how choices of language in Indian higher education are influenced by its economic policy. He concludes that English is playing an increasingly significant role in Indian language policy today.
The fifth part, ‘Language and social conflict’, contains two chapters discussing the role of language-in-education policy in Rwanda and the Solomon Islands. In chapter 11, Samuelson investigates the competing language status and language-in-education policy in Rwanda after its civil war and genocide. She explains how the result of the civil war led to the trilingual language-in-education policy and the Anglicization of this Francophone country. In chapter 12, Gegeo and Watson-Gegeo investigate the evolving knowledge of language and education of villagers in the Solomon Islands in the post-ethnic conflict period. The authors examine the causes of tension among different ethnic groups and the roles of villagers in the restructuring of schools and their cultural projects in response to the crisis.
The last part ‘Language policy and social change’ with its 3 chapters examines threats from powerful social, ethno-linguistic groups on minority communities, the role of minority youths and the opportunities created by the mass media and new social media in language revitalization and cultural maintenance. In chapter 13, McCarty presents her findings on the roles of Native American youths in language planning and cultural continuance. In chapter 14, Caronel-Molina discusses the roles of the mass media and new social media in language planning and revitalization of Quechua and Aymara, languages in the Andean region. He analyses the potential revitalization opportunities for these two languages by examining their uses in the mass media and new social media.
In the final chapter, Tollefson summarizes all the research and their approaches to language policy studies presented in this volume, and examines them in relation to democratic pluralism. Generally, he sees policy making as a top-down process motivated by nationalism, globalization, interests of corporate capitalism and a tiny group of wealthy individuals, which leads to discrimination against and restriction on the less privileged, immigrants and ethnic minorities. These restrictive policies, he argues, are evidence of the failure of the political systems of the world leading democracies. He concludes with a recommendation for an alternative to the repressive language policies – a bottom-up movement with the widest participation by all social, economic, cultural and linguistic groups in policy making.
This volume is a major contribution to the increased knowledge in the field of language planning and policies. It moves beyond classrooms and schools to larger social, political and economic spheres, focuses on power relations behind the making of language laws, and contrasts the top-down approach with the bottom-up movement in policy studies. Although the scope of studies presented in this volume is limited, the suggestions and recommendations they offer can potentially inform language policy decision making and the design and focus of future research in the field.
This volume is well-organized into different parts with specific themes in language planning and policy. The book or parts of it can be used as a textbook or assigned reading in language policy-related courses at a graduate or post-graduate level.
Armed with such rich content, this book could also be of interest to language policy makers and community leaders. It may help policy makers and community leaders to become more conscious of their decisions and their potential impacts on the narrowing or widening of social inequality, and help them to be more concerned about the threats of globalization, global capitalism, and standardization on democratic pluralism.