Tshotsho university of fort hare private bag x 14, alice, south africa abstract this paper evaluates the current mother tongue debates and the south african language policy. Language education policies in algeria changed according to the different historical and political periods algeria went through. Language policy contributes to the growth of the field by publishing highquality studies that help build a sound theoretical understanding of the subject area. This musthave handbook offers a comprehensive survey of the field. Language policy and planning in algeria, cote divoire, nigeria and tunisia. Fishman and ofelia garcia consider it as part of sociolinguistics.
Language policy and language planning in postcolonial. The first section of the paper focuses on the recent changes in government language policy return to arabic french bilingualism in schools and reactions to them following the recommendations made by the national commission for the reform of the educational system in march 2001. The language planning situation in algeria request pdf. Mother tongue debate and language policy in south africa. Although an integral part of the maghreb and the larger arab world, algeria also has a sizable amazigh berber population. Language policy and planning decisions arise in response to sociopolitical needs.
Most of the population resides along the mediterranean coast, while the sahara and its extreme climate dominate the country. The authors are indigenous andor have been participants in the language planning context. The final part of the monograph focuses on future prospects against the background of past practices and algerias new language policy. Languageineducation planning in algeria univtebessa. Please contact us directly by email using the links below or, if you dont know who to contact, email our general enquiries account. For many languages there are special organisations, that look after the language. Language of instruction policy and practice in africa ayo bamgbose preliminary information and comments this text is intended to accompany the map entitled african community languages and their use in education. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctorate in education.
Comments by responsible african writers support this original intention. The report outlines major objectives of algeria s development strategy projecting them on the background of the physical and human potential of the country and past economic and social achievements. This monograph describes the language planning situation in algeria. It uses a historical perspective to understand the processes involved in language change, language policies and languageineducation practices of the polity. Download citation language planning and policy attitudes in algeria the goal of this paper is to lay the crucial questions upon the table and expose briefl y.
It presents different theories and findings related to the present study. The language in education policy documents which follow have been the subject of discussions and debate with a wide range of education stakeholders and roleplayers. Language ideologies and the politics of language in post. The routledge international handbook of language education. Using indigenous languages for teaching and learning in. May 2016 language planning and education issues in algerian. The paper presents the language policy arabisation pursued in algeria since independence in 1962. This study, based on a questionnaire written in modern standard arabic msa and french f, aimed at investigating the participants attitudes towards the policy of arabization in algeria. The language situation in algeria mohamed benrabah 3. Town planning itself focuses on spatial arrangement of urban and rural land uses for the purpose of creating orderly, economical. As of 2015, algeria has 92 postsecondary institutions, which includes 48 universities. Language planning decisions may be required, for example, where a number of linguistic groups compete for access to the mechanisms of daytoday life, or where a particular linguistic minority is denied access to such mechanisms. The politics of language planning in postapartheid south.
As the policy of arabization had witnessed antagonistic. The book also discusses the implications this language policy will have on language ineducation planning in algeria, namely from the perspective of teacher education. On the other hand, other scholars such as bernard spolsky, robert b. In february, 2016, a constitutional resolution was passed making berber an official language alongside arabic.
However, only half of algerian students are enrolled in secondary schools. Language policy is an interdisciplinary academic field. Its inhabit ants spoke algerian arabic and berber or tamazight in several local varieties and french. Algeria is a pertinent example of language contact and planning between a former colonial language french, a language of national identity standard arabic and native languages algerian arabic and berber. An exploration of foreign language teachers beliefs about. Since that time, the mozambican government has faced numerous problems such as a sixteen. Mother tongue debate and language policy in south africa dr. Algeria the fiveyear development plan and the mediumterm prospects for 198084. Education in algeria is free and compulsory for algerians from the ages of 6 to 15. The evolution of rwandas language policies since 1996 has played and continues to play a critical role in social reconstruction following war and genocide. Berber has been recognized as a national language by constitutional amendment since 8 may 2002. The politics of language planning 115 indeed exist, as well as the socioeconomic, political and cultural implications that they carry with them. A sociolinguistic study of language policy in algeria. The official languages of algeria are arabic and tamazight berber, as specified in its constitution since 1963 for the former and since 2016 for the latter.
Language planning simple english wikipedia, the free. Kaplan and joseph lo bianco argue that language policy is a branch of applied linguistics as a field, language policy used to be known as language planning and. After lengthy discussions the agreed policy was issued in the document education and culture in namibia. The second policy concerns the educational reform since 2000.
The arabisation policy overlooked the countrys linguistic. In former colonial countries, it is a question that has occupied the agendas of many governments since they attained independence. The first section of the paper focuses on the recent changes in government language policy return to arabic french bilingualism in schools and reactions to them following the recommendations made by the national commission for the reform of the. Mozambique, located on the southeast african coast, gained its independence from portugal in 1975. Language planning and policy attitudes in algeria researchgate. It also discusses problems that have arisen from the arabisation. Using indigenous languages for teaching and learning in zimbabwe juliet thondhlana the question of which language s to use for teaching and learning is a crucial one in bilingual and multilingual contexts. Hence, the housing policy is a tool that is used in town planning for solving housing problems, and consequently for the achievement of sustainable housing. An exploration of foreign language teachers beliefs about curriculum innovation in algeria. One of these processes is the language policy known as arabization. These decisions influence the right to use and maintain languages, affect language status, and determine which languages are nurtured.
In order to develop a national policy, discussions were held in all regions of the country and a draft policy was developed. Decisions around language policy and planning are made around the globe every day, both formally by governments and informally by scholars and community leaders. Language ineducation policy and planning volume 14 christina bratt paulston, susanne mclaughlin skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. It presents papers that deal with the widest range of cases, situations and regions. Language policy and language planning in postcolonial mozambique. Arabic, tamazight and french are all building a multilingual algeria,but this reality is ignored by a language policy called arabisation which gives priority to standard arabic, the sole offi cial. The first one is the policy of arabisation between 1962 and 1999. Educational language policy in the country is largely the result of widely held beliefs and values about immigrants and patriotism. Algeria makes an interesting object for study on language policy and language planning lplp thanks to its almost unique history in the arabic. Algeria the fiveyear development plan and the medium. Goals, objectives and strategies are made to change the way a language is used. While much of the research cited in lpp has as its focus polity or macro level language policy and planning, there is an increasing interest in micro planning.
Now that ailing president abdelaziz bouteflika, in power since 1999, has stepped down, algerians and people around the world wonder if. Language policies of algeria we distinguish two main language policies in algeria. It is suggested that algeria is in need of a new transitional teacher training and development system as an essential requirement for the appropriate implementation of this policy. Since july 2015, a heated ideological debate on language and its relation to national identity has occupied algeria, sparked by the ministry of educations decision to use dialect or colloquial arabic language in teaching during the early stages of primary school. This language policy reflected the worldview of muslim leaders, who hoped to break. It was also recommended that consultation be done with the speakers of the languages and that a constitution be drafted enshrining the languages used by the people in individual countries. For algerians, language is inextricably bound up with their countrys identity, be it arab, islamic or. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, our office in bristol is closed and staff are working from home. This language policy reflected the worldview of muslim leaders, who hoped to break from the colonial past and start afresh while forging alliances with arab islamic states.
Upon decolonisation, nationalist leaders in two north african countries, algeria and sudan, promoted a policy called arabisation tarib, which sought to impose standard literary arabic at the expense of english in sudan, french in algeria, and other local languages in both places. Algeria proved to be a relevant example to language planning between the former colonial language french, and the native languages tamazight and algerian. This journal covers both language policy and educational policy. Pdf language and politics in algeria mohamed benrabah. Language policy, multilingual education, and power in rwanda. Arabic, tamazight and french are all building a multilingual algeria,but this reality is ignored by a language policy called. Along this route, the importance of language planning for public policy studies becomes almost selfevident. Applied african sociolinguistics, language ideologies, language policies and. Language policy and planning, described in the fourth part, considers, first, the unilingual demand of the nationalist period in favour of arabisation, then, the new language policy which. The third one mentions the methods that are used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. The present research examines the language education policy in algeria with focus on. Language policies, implicit or explicit, are used to influence and control social behavior, and the u. This is usually done to make it possible to use the language for more subjects. Rwandas new english language policy aims to drop french and install english as the only language of instruction.