Tracking identity in minority language policy: a reflexive approach to hybrid concepts in the language sciences

IF 1.7 2区 文学 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Scarlett Mannish
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article presents a conceptual history of identity in Swedish minority language policy, exploring how “develop[ing] a cultural identity” became integral to the minority language curriculum. Following the methodology of Wacquant (2022), which combines Bourdieu's sociology with the conceptual history of Koselleck, the study tracks identity through archived documents from the political, media and academic fields of the 1968–74 immigration inquiry in Sweden and subsequent actualisation of the so-called Home Language Reform in 1977. This reform continues to entitle children who are raised speaking a language other than Swedish to state-mandated tuition in this language via mother tongue instruction (MTI). As a space for non-hegemonic language practice, MTI struggles for political and societal legitimacy and existing research has yet to explore how identity is entangled in its (de)legitimation. Following debate in the 1960s about the unsuitability of “adjustment”, the IC aimed to construct a new conceptual framework for migrant discourse. Analysis of bills, publications, minutes and media op-eds show that agents acted as brokers to jointly construct identity as a flexible framework to cover diverse needs within and across their respective fields. Within the media field, pundits argued either for the right of the individual to choose their level of engagement with established groups, or for the autonomy of migrant groups to establish their own schools and communities. Within the political field, inspiration came from the perceived successes of Canadian immigration reform, while key academics took interest in North American social psychology research. The focal point of this cross-field negotiation was a hybrid concept, a necessarily flexible frame of reference whose meaning differed slightly within each field. Given the lack of semantic precision of hybrid concepts, reflexive language science ought to consider and problematise their application in MTI research and in further academic enquiry.

少数民族语言政策中的身份追踪:语言科学中混合概念的反思方法
本文介绍了瑞典少数民族语言政策中的身份概念史,探讨了 "发展文化身份 "如何成为少数民族语言课程的组成部分。本研究采用瓦夸特(Wacquant,2022 年)的研究方法,将布迪厄(Bourdieu)的社会学与科塞勒克(Koselleck)的概念史相结合,通过 1968-74 年瑞典移民调查的政治、媒体和学术领域的档案文件以及随后于 1977 年实施的所谓 "家庭语言改革 "来追踪身份认同。这项改革使那些在成长过程中使用瑞典语以外的语言的儿童有权通过母语教学(MTI)接受国家规定的母语教育。作为一个非霸权语言实践的空间,母语教学努力争取政治和社会的合法性,现有的研究尚未探讨身份认同如何与其(去)合法性纠缠在一起。继 20 世纪 60 年代关于 "调整 "是否合适的争论之后,国际会议旨在为移民话语构建一个新的概念框架。对法案、出版物、会议记录和媒体专栏文章的分析表明,相关人员充当中间人,共同构建身份认同这一灵活框架,以满足各自领域内和领域间的不同需求。在媒体领域,学者们要么主张个人有权选择与既定群体的接触程度,要么主张移民群体自主建立自己的学校和社区。在政治领域,人们从加拿大移民改革的成功中得到启发,而主要学者则对北美社会心理学研究产生了兴趣。这种跨领域谈判的焦点是一个混合概念,一个必然具有灵活性的参考框架,其含义在每个领域都略有不同。鉴于混合概念的语义不够精确,反思性语言科学应该考虑在 MTI 研究和进一步的学术探讨中应用混合概念并提出问题。
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来源期刊
Language Sciences
Language Sciences Multiple-
CiteScore
2.90
自引率
0.00%
发文量
38
期刊介绍: Language Sciences is a forum for debate, conducted so as to be of interest to the widest possible audience, on conceptual and theoretical issues in the various branches of general linguistics. The journal is also concerned with bringing to linguists attention current thinking about language within disciplines other than linguistics itself; relevant contributions from anthropologists, philosophers, psychologists and sociologists, among others, will be warmly received. In addition, the Editor is particularly keen to encourage the submission of essays on topics in the history and philosophy of language studies, and review articles discussing the import of significant recent works on language and linguistics.
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