Language Policy: Dominant English, Pluralist Challenges

198 Pages·1997·18.129 MB·

by  William Eggington, Helen Wren

LANGUAGE POLICY

LANGUAGE
POLICY
DOMINANT ENGLISH,
PLURALIST CHALLENGES
Edited by
WILLIAM EGGINGTON
HELEN WREN
JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA
LANGUAGE AUSTRALIA LTD
CANBERRA
TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Language policy : dominant English, pluralist challenges / [edited by] William Eggington,
Helen Wren.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Language policy-English-speaking countries. 2. Language and languages-Political
aspects. 3. English language-Political aspects. I. Eggington, William. II. Wren, Helen.
P119.32.E54L365 1997
306.44'9'09175-dc21 96-6513
ISBN 90 272 2163 4 (Eur.) / 1-55619-517-6 (US) CIP
1 875578 62 5 (Australian) (alk. paper)
© Copyright 1997 - John Benjamins B.V. - Language Australia Ltd.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
Language Australia, P.O.Box 31, Belconnen ACT 2614, Australia
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O.Box 75577 · 1070 AN Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O.Box 27519 · Philadelphia PA 19118-0519 · USA

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
FOREWORD: PALMAM QUI MERUIT FERAT xi
Robert B. Kaplan
INTRODUCTION xxv
Helen Wren
PART I
THE DOMINANCE OF ENGLISH AND NATIONAL
LANGUAGE POLICIES:
AN OVERVIEW
CHAPTER 1
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN LANGUAGE POLICY
AGENDAS 3
Helen Wren
CHAPTER 2
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE METAPHORS WE LIVE BY 29
William Eggington
PART II
LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE-IN-EDUCATION POLICIES
IN ENGLISH-DOMINANT NATIONS
CHAPTER 3
THE GROWN-UPS KNOW BEST: LANGUAGE POLICY
MAKING IN BRITAIN IN THE 1990s 49
Jill Bourne
CHAPTER 4
LANGUAGE POLICY IN THE USA: NATIONAL VALUES,
LOCAL LOYALTIES, PRAGMATIC PRESSURES 67
Mary McGroarty
CHAPTER 5
ENGLISH LANGUAGE-IN-EDUCATION POLICIES IN
CANADA 91
Allster Cumming
CHAPTER 6
ENGLISH AND PLURALISTIC POLICIES: THE CASE OF
AUSTRALIA 107
Joseph Lo Bianco
CHAPTER 7
WHY ARE WE WAITING? LANGUAGES POLICY
DEVELOPMENT IN NEW ZEALAND 121
Roger Peddie
PART III
TEACHING WITHIN LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE-IN-
EDUCATION POLICIES
CHAPTER 8
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE WORK OF ESL TEACHERS 149
David Corson
CHAPTER 9
THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ESL TEACHERS
WITHIN NATIONAL LANGUAGE POLICIES 165
William Eggington
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 169
Acknowledgments
In addition to acknowledging the work of the contributors to this vol­
ume, we wish to express our gratitude to the following people and insti­
tutions for making it possible for Language Policy: Dominant English,
Pluralist Challenges to be published:
Joseph Lo Bianco, Pauline Bryant and Chris Holmes at Language
Australia, and Yola de Lusenet and Kees Vaes at Benjamins Publishers
for their patience and enthusiasm for the project
Linda Hunter Adams and her students at Brigham Young University's
Humanities Publication Center for the work they did in preparing the
publication
TESOL International Inc. for giving permission for some of the papers in
this volume to be published and for providing a forum for important
ideas and issues surrounding the English language to be discussed and
disseminated.
We wish also to acknowledge our spouses, Rob and Pam, our children
and our friends for their continuing support and encouragement.
Helen Wren
Bill Eggington