Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface and acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Multilingualism: The global approach to sign languages
- 3 Bilingualism and language contact
- 4 Sociolinguistic variation
- 5 Discourse analysis
- 6 Language planning and policy
- 7 Language attitudes
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Language planning and policy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface and acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Multilingualism: The global approach to sign languages
- 3 Bilingualism and language contact
- 4 Sociolinguistic variation
- 5 Discourse analysis
- 6 Language planning and policy
- 7 Language attitudes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behavior of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of their language codes.
Cooper (1989: 45)… by analyzing [the sign system] SEE 2 as an instance of language planning, rather than as a more or less effective tool for teaching English to deaf children, we are forced to consider the broader issues that make SEE 2 and other [Manual Codes for English] controversial and problematic in relation to the complex sociolinguistic situation that surrounds deafness and the minority language community so engendered in the United States.
Ramsey (1989: 144)What is the correct spelling for a word? What is its correct pronunciation? What does a word mean? What kind of writing system should one use to write a particular language? For speakers of a language like English, which has been standardized for a relatively long period of time, these questions may seem to be relatively straightforward. With only rare exceptions, there are clear-cut answers to questions of these sorts. For the correct spelling, pronunciation and meaning of a word, we rely on a dictionary, which tells us what the socially accepted norms are. As for the writing system to be used, again, we rely on a socially agreed-upon system. Thus, English is written in the Latin alphabet rather than in the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used, for example, for Russian.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Sociolinguistics of Sign Languages , pp. 145 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001
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