{"title":"Language Making of Creoles in multilingual postcolonial societies","authors":"P. Krämer, Eric N. Mijts, A. Bartens","doi":"10.1515/ijsl-2021-0018","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where Creole languages are spoken. It raises the question whether or not Language Making in these settings differs from other contexts given the historical preconditions and social, economic, or political inequalities which persist after the colonial period. The paper discusses the potentials of Language Making to support or impede efforts of decolonization. With the help of examples from several Creole-speaking societies, it shows different approaches to conceptualizing Creole languages as linguistic entities with the creation or emergence of norms, different naming strategies or through language policy and planning. It examines the potential contribution of different agents of Language Making and illustrates cases in which Language Making is countered or languages are un-made. As a conclusion, the article shows that the concept of Language Making may need further expansion or nuancing in order to avoid a “Northern” or “Western” bias.","PeriodicalId":52428,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of the Sociology of Language","volume":"2022 1","pages":"51 - 82"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of the Sociology of Language","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2021-0018","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract This article investigates Language Making processes in multilingual postcolonial societies where Creole languages are spoken. It raises the question whether or not Language Making in these settings differs from other contexts given the historical preconditions and social, economic, or political inequalities which persist after the colonial period. The paper discusses the potentials of Language Making to support or impede efforts of decolonization. With the help of examples from several Creole-speaking societies, it shows different approaches to conceptualizing Creole languages as linguistic entities with the creation or emergence of norms, different naming strategies or through language policy and planning. It examines the potential contribution of different agents of Language Making and illustrates cases in which Language Making is countered or languages are un-made. As a conclusion, the article shows that the concept of Language Making may need further expansion or nuancing in order to avoid a “Northern” or “Western” bias.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of the Sociology of Language (IJSL) is dedicated to the development of the sociology of language as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches – theoretical and empirical – supplement and complement each other, contributing thereby to the growth of language-related knowledge, applications, values and sensitivities. Five of the journal''s annual issues are topically focused, all of the articles in such issues being commissioned in advance, after acceptance of proposals. One annual issue is reserved for single articles on the sociology of language. Selected issues throughout the year also feature a contribution on small languages and small language communities.