Topic: A reflection on Winners and Losers in Language Planning

Introduction

“Language planning is an attempt to interfere deliberately with a language or one of its varieties: it is human intervention into natural processes of language change, diffusion, and erosion.”  Stated Wardhugh (2006, p. 357). This is to say that Language planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure or acquisition of language or language variety within a speech community.

During the process of planning a language there are winner and losers. And, given that winners and losers are noticed, the present assignment, thus, aims at bringing about a reflection on Winners and Losers in Language Planning. Here, some aspects concerning winners and others concerning losers in Language planning will be pointed out.

We live in a world of more than 6 billion people and by the most generous estimate 6,000 languages. Many of these are endangered or even dying. Dixon estimates that there may be actually as few as 4,000 languages spoken today with that number steadily decreasing. Each language encapsulates the world-view of its speakers: how they think, what they value, what they believe in, how they classify the world around them, how they order their lives. Once a language dies, a part of human culture is lost, forever. These are some of the facts about languages in general.

Additionally, Nettle and Romaine (2000), quoted by (Wardhaugh, 2006), voice a very similar view, say that as many as 60 percent of all languages are already endangered, and go so far as to claim that some of the endangered languages have much to tell us about the natural world, e.g., invaluable information about ecological matters, and even perhaps about the nature of reality. It has already been said that each language is a way of coming to grips with the external world and developing a symbolism to represent it so that it can be talked and thought about. Crystal (2000), quoted by (Wardhaugh, 2006), also deplores the reduction of language diversity brought about by language death.

Introduction

“Language planning is an attempt to interfere deliberately with a language or one of its varieties: it is human intervention into natural processes of language change, diffusion, and erosion.”  Stated Wardhugh (2006, p. 357). This is to say that Language planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure or acquisition of language or language variety within a speech community.

During the process of planning a language there are winner and losers. And, given that winners and losers are noticed, the present assignment, thus, aims at bringing about a reflection on Winners and Losers in Language Planning. Here, some aspects concerning winners and others concerning losers in Language planning will be pointed out.

We live in a world of more than 6 billion people and by the most generous estimate 6,000 languages. Many of these are endangered or even dying. Dixon estimates that there may be actually as few as 4,000 languages spoken today with that number steadily decreasing. Each language encapsulates the world-view of its speakers: how they think, what they value, what they believe in, how they classify the world around them, how they order their lives. Once a language dies, a part of human culture is lost, forever. These are some of the facts about languages in general.

Additionally, Nettle and Romaine (2000), quoted by (Wardhaugh, 2006), voice a very similar view, say that as many as 60 percent of all languages are already endangered, and go so far as to claim that some of the endangered languages have much to tell us about the natural world, e.g., invaluable information about ecological matters, and even perhaps about the nature of reality. It has already been said that each language is a way of coming to grips with the external world and developing a symbolism to represent it so that it can be talked and thought about. Crystal (2000), quoted by (Wardhaugh, 2006), also deplores the reduction of language diversity brought about by language death.