Language planning & policy

1. Language planning & policy

2. Problems faced by a country in making decisions • How to modernize the language? • How to disseminate the language through population? • How to adjust educational system according to the changes? • How to develop a corpus? • How to use language for science and technology?

3. Factors addressed in the field • What is the language profile of the country? • What are the factors leading to language spread? • What literacy planning and legislation, policy and implementation is currently taking place? • What factors are leading to language shift and maintenance in society? • How are these language planning activities occurring in the field?

4. Language Planning • A body of ideas; laws, regulations, rules, beliefs, and practices intended to achieve a planned change.

5. Language Policy • Includes rules regarding status of language • Refers to laws and policies- traditions and customs • Features: • As old as language • Can be unconscious preferences or conscious implementation of decisions • Can be negative or positive • Can be directed at government level or individual

6. Elements involved in Language planning • Macro level – (Government involved) • Micro level- (Institutions- educational/libraries etc)

7. Stages of Language Planning • Society-( Status Planning) 1. Selection (decision procedures) • Problem identification • Allocation of norms 3. Implementation (educational spread) • Correction procedures • Evaluation • Language-(Corpus Planning) 2. Codification (Standardization procedures) • Grammatication 4. Elaboration (functional development) • Modernization • Development • internationalization

8. Status, Use & Institutional support • Concentric approach to language status and use.

9. Status, Use & Institutional support • Status planning • Provincial communication • Wider communication • International communication • Use in centers of power • Use within certain groups • Medium of education • Educational subjects • Literary use • Religious use

10. Sociolinguistic surveys • Domains of Power • Who speaks what to whom under what conditions and for what purpose? • Intended mainly to provide a picture of the existing language situation in the state.

11. Language-In-Education Planning • Education sector has to take a number of language planning and policy decisions: • Medium of instruction • Supply of teachers • Profile of the students • Methodologies to be employed • Assessment process involved • Economic and physical resources required

12. Language situation in Pakistan • Multilingual/multiethnic country • 6 major and 57 minor languages • Urdu the national language and the language of the mohajirs that make 3% of the entire population • Lost vitality of local languages Source: Census 2001

13. Language policy of Pakistan • Strengthen the state by promoting Urdu as a national language • Modernize the state through English as official language. • The language policy according to the Constitution of Pakistan is: 1. The national language of Pakistan is Urdu, and arrangements shall be made for it being used for official and other purposes within 15 years from the commencing day. 2. The English language may be used for official purposes until arrangements are made for its replacement by Urdu (Article 251 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973)

14. Language & Education in Pakistan • 1947- Urdu medium of instruction for masses and English for elite • 1959- first education policy of Pakistan made but never implemented.-(primary and secondary education in Urdu and higher education in English) • 1973- Urdu as (future) official language policy and provinces free to make individual choices. • 1977- ‘Islamization’ by Zia-ul- Haq- Arabic introduced- English compulsory subject till grade 4 and examinations to be conducted in Urdu by 1989 (emergence of private English medium schools). • 1989- English made a compulsory subject from grade 1 • 1998- Existence of parallel systems of education • 2007- ‘White paper’ issued –English to be taught as a subject from grade 1, while maths and science in English to be taught from grade 6. • 2009- science & maths in english to be taught from grade 4-5.

15. Language & Education in Pakistan Medium of Instruction policy determines which social and linguistic groups have access to political and economic opportunities. • English is an examination subject • English teachers do not use English • Other languages are marginalized • Consequences • Parallel systems of education • Lack of unity • Lack of sense of identity • Neglect of local urdu language

16. Pakistan’s Language policy • Rationale for keeping Urdu as national Language and giving importance to regional languages • National language • Symbol of identity • Maintenance of cultural roots • Additional tools for communication

17. Support for English • English entrenched in domain of power especially civil services and military • English separates elites from masses • Elites have invested in Parallel system of education • Means of wider communication • English Media available • Globalization • English is the international language