Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches

209 Pages·2006·1.2 MB·English

by  Elana Shohamy

Language Policy
Although we may not be aware of it, the way we use language in our daily
lives is regulated by both overt and covert means. Language Policy delves
into the hidden agendas which operate behind language policy, examining
the decisions surrounding language use and emphasizing the effects of these
decisions and potential constraints on different groups within society.
Drawing on examples from language policies in the United States, Israel,
and United Kingdom, Elana Shohamy introduces a broad view of language
policy, from explicit use by governments, educational bodies and the media,
to implicit and covert uses. The book reveals and examines the specific
mechanisms used to create language policy such as language laws,
educational policies, language tests, citizenship requirements, propaganda
and even educational material.
This critical exploration of language policy concludes with arguments for
a more democratic and open approach to language policy and planning,
suggesting strategies for resistance, activism and ways to protect the lin-
guistic rights of individuals and groups.
Language Policy will be of interest to students from a variety of disciplines
including linguistics, education, sociology, political science, philosophy and
communication studies.
Elana Shohamy is a professor of Language Education, Tel Aviv University.
Her previous publications include The Power of Tests, 2001.

Language Policy
Hidden agendas and new approaches
Elana Shohamy
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2006 Elana Shohamy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Shohamy, Elana Goldberg.
Language policy : hidden agendas and new approaches / Elana
Shohamy.
p. cm.
1. Language policy. 2. Language and education. 3. Language
awareness. I. Title.
P119.3.S5 2005
306.44'9—dc22 2005007298
ISBN10:0–415–32864–0 (hbk)
ISBN10:0–415–32865–9 (pbk)
ISBN13:9–78–0–415–32864–7 (hbk)
ISBN13:9–78–0–415–32865–4 (pbk)
...so Ima, why don’t you just call it the hidden agendas of language
policy?
(Orlee Shohamy, September 3, 2000)
Orlee, this book is for you.
It is through “languaging”,
in all its forms, that you live.
It is through “languaging”
that our deep connection and profound love continue,
beyond time, space and even death.
(March 2005)

Contents
List of figures and tables ix
Dedication to Orlee x
Preface xii
Introduction xv
PART I
Language, manipulations, policy 1
1 Expanding language 5
2 Manipulating languages 22
3 Expanding language policy 45
PART II
Mechanisms affecting de facto
language policies 57
4 Rules and regulations 59
5 Language education policies 76
6 Language tests 93
7 Language in the public space 110
PART III
Consequences and reactions 135
8 Consequences 137
9 Reactions 149
viii Contents
Epilogue: Language as a free commodity 167
Bibliography 174
Index 181
Figures and tables
Figures
1 A model of language policy 53
2 Ideology–mechanism–practice 54
3 List of mechanisms between ideology and practice 58
4 Bilingual construction of a recipe 83
5 Research on academic achievements of immigrants in
schools. 87
Graph 1: 5th grade mathematics standard grades
according to years of residence 87
6 Graph 4: 5th grade Hebrew standard grades according
to years of residence 87
7 Graph 5: 9th grade Hebrew standard grades according
to years of residence 88
8 Bilingual test accommodations as enhancing
achievement 108
9 Patterns of plurilinguistic landscape 120
Tables
1 LL items in “top-down” vs. “bottom-up” in the Jewish
population 121
2 LL items in “top-down” vs. “bottom-up” in the Israeli
Palestinian areas 121
3 LL items in “top-down” vs. “bottom-up” in the Arab
population in East Jerusalem 121