Re: SIG theme

From: Martin Owen (mowen@rem.bangor.ac.uk)
Date: Mon Jun 25 2001 - 06:04:47 PDT


Peter writes:
>--estimate that more than half the world's 5-7,000 languages
>are in danger of extinction.

A good starting point is to consider what is a"language". Codification of
a language was an implicit strategy in the growth of modern capitalism and
the modern state. A codified language became an instrument in the
construction of statehood.
There is an interrelation between, statehood, schooling and the state
language.

 There is a regulation in all manner of syntax and semantics: in lexis,
pronunciation, spelling. Straight away this sets barriers and limits on
success and failure in schooling. Kids who clearly have the biological
capability to communicate suddenly become, failures, special needs,
dyslexic and so on.

Clearly we can turn to a lot of sociolinguistics work in the 60's and 70's
from Halliday, Bernstein, Dale, Chall, Labov and many others who one way
or another helped frame an understanding of the issue. This work was
seldom seen in macro political terms of global capitalism. Thinking about
"language" education in schooling in CHAT terms does imply a lot of
attention to the "community" and "rules" issues on the bottom line. As I
have noted in earlier postings I live and work bilingually, which is the
way of most of the non-english speaking world. The relative use worth and
hegemony of each language is deeply embedded in the part that any given
language plays in the life of people. Thus if a language is something only
used in school it has one purpose ( eg LAtin or Irish in many parts of
Ireland), if it is only used for religious purposes (Arabic in some
Islamic communities), or it is used for economic life, or it is only used
to talk to the bossman... or.... determines a lot about the ways that
language becomes sustained/grows/develops ( a static language is already
on its way to being dead!).

You might wish to look at some European research on linguistic diversity
in minority autochthonous languages and factors which sustain the language
in different sectors of life in EuroMosaic
http://www.uoc.es/euromosaic/

and there is a slightly positivist unproblematised view of teaching and
linguistic diversity in:
http://culture.coe.fr/lang/conference/eng/WordDoc/DECSEDULANG(99)11Erev.doc

Martin
Heb iaith, heb bobl



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