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Book Details
Abstract
This provocative defense of language diversity works through the strengths and weaknesses of liberal political theory to inform language policy. The book presents the argument that policy must occupy the space between 'linguistics of community' and 'linguistics of contact' in a way that balances individual autonomy and group recognition while not reifying 'language'. Drawing on the importance of the language/identity link, the author distinguishes between language negative liberalism and language positive liberalism, arguing against the former. This distinction orients consideration of increasingly specific language policy issues, such as official languages, language rights, bilingual education, and uses of language varieties within classrooms.
In this provocative book, John Petrovic offers a trenchant critique of current approaches to language policy that tend to be based on a linguistics of community rather than a linguistics of contact. Readers of this book may find plenty to disagree with, but few book-length treatments of language policy are as thorough and probing as this one in dealing with fundamental questions of politics, language, democracy, identity, and education.
Dr. Thomas Ricento, University of Calgary, Canada
What is also striking among many other achievements of the book is its accessibility. If the author’s aim was to reach a wider audience beyond the language policy and education community, he has succeeded. His reader-supportive approach to academic language and writing is indeed commendable. The book deserves to be read by people with an interest in languages, language problems and language and speech communities.
M. Obaidul Hamid, University of Queensland, Australia
Petrovic approaches the issue of language policy in education from a political and philosophical perspective, addressing the relationship between language and identity and well as that of liberalism and language policy. Consequently, it is oriented and interesting to a wide readership.
Haicui Zheng, Inner Mongolia University, Mongolia
John E. Petrovic is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Foundations of Education at The University of Alabama, USA. His research interests include the philosophy of education, education policy, language policy, and issues of diversity in education. He is the series editor of Studies in the Philosophy of Education, by Information Age Publishing.
What is also striking among many other achievements of the book is its accessibility. If the author’s aim was to reach a wider audience beyond the language policy and education community, he has succeeded. His reader-supportive approach to academic language and writing is indeed commendable. The book deserves to be read by people with an interest in languages, language problems and language and speech communities.
Obaidul Hamid, University of Queensland, Australia
This volume provides a measured, philosophical and critical analysis of some of the major themes in the field of language policy today. With emphasis on status and acquisition planning, it offers an important and thoughtful treatment of issues related to linguistics human rights, while considering the problematic relationship between language and identity, as well as issues related to language policy in education. This volume will be of interest to scholars and serious students in the field, but it is clearly written and accessible for those newer to the field.
Prof. Terrence G. Wiley, President, Center for Applied Linguistics and Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University, USA
The author presents an imposing body of carefully crafted critique in favor of a post-liberal politics of language. This volume must become an ultimate reference for anybody wanting to go beyond what liberal thought can offer a political philosophy of language.
Christopher Stroud, University of Western Cape, South Africa
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents | v | ||
| 1\tLanguage Policy, Identity and Liberalism: Some Foundational Connections | 1 | ||
| Introduction: Language Planning1 | 1 | ||
| Corpus, Status and Acquisition Planning3 | 2 | ||
| Language, Identity and Liberalism | 4 | ||
| The Language–Identity Link: Thin and Thick | 5 | ||
| Why Language Should Figure in a Liberal Theory of Language Policy | 14 | ||
| Progression of the Argument | 15 | ||
| 2\tFormalist Liberalism and Language Policy | 24 | ||
| Introduction | 24 | ||
| Formalist Liberalism | 30 | ||
| Why Formalist Liberalism Is Problematic | 33 | ||
| Formalist Liberalism and Language Policy6 | 36 | ||
| Conclusion: A Thicker Conception of Liberalism Is Required | 40 | ||
| 3\tSaving Liberalism: Communities, Language and Schooling | 42 | ||
| Introduction | 42 | ||
| The Communitarian Challenge to Liberalism | 43 | ||
| The Problem with the Communitarian Critique | 45 | ||
| A Communitarianized Liberalism | 46 | ||
| Recasting liberalism to incorporate community | 47 | ||
| (Limited) Community Rights and Language Policy | 50 | ||
| Which Language Protections for Whom? | 53 | ||
| Conclusion: Liberal Democracy Cannot Be Politics as Usual | 56 | ||
| 4\tThe Promise and Problem in Linguistic Human Rights | 61 | ||
| Introduction | 61 | ||
| Why Linguistic Human Rights? | 62 | ||
| What Does LHR Require? | 65 | ||
| The Problem with Inalienable Rights6 | 67 | ||
| Neutrality and the Unavoidability of Language | 69 | ||
| Rights, Goals and Prorated Official Multilingualism | 71 | ||
| Conclusion: Language Requires Protections but Does Not Command Rights | 76 | ||
| 5\tPost Linguistic Human Rights? | 79 | ||
| Introduction | 79 | ||
| Liberalism, Linguistic Anti-Foundationalism and the Problem with LHR | 80 | ||
| Liberalism and the Construction of ‘Language’ | 84 | ||
| Speech Communities: Language Varieties and Transborder Languaging | 87 | ||
| Conclusion: Liberalism and the Need for Both the Post and the Structural | 91 | ||
| 6\tPost-Liberal Language-in-Education Policy | 97 | ||
| Introduction | 97 | ||
| Issues and Approaches | 98 | ||
| The Prescriptivist Lament | 100 | ||
| Language Varieties in the Classroom | 102 | ||
| Academic Language | 104 | ||
| Conclusion: A Post-liberal Education Requires Challenging Linguistic Privilege | 108 | ||
| 7\tA Post-Liberal Approach: Broadening Language and Narrowing Policy | 112 | ||
| Introduction | 112 | ||
| Policy and Language/Language and Policy | 113 | ||
| A Linguistics of Contact or Community for Policy? | 115 | ||
| Conclusion: Anarchism as Policy? | 116 | ||
| References | 119 | ||
| Index | 128 |