Language shit
Language shitThe Present Situation.
At the present moment the island of Krivalia is linguistically divided into two halves, due to its history. In East Krivalia, because of French colonial rule, the official language used in administration, in issues of law, and in education, is French. West Krivalia, however, once was annexed to the ‘Crown’ of Britain, and so with the exception of primary education, (up until the final year) and evangelical work by the missionaries, English is the dominant language. For the previously mentioned times, Krivalian is used.
The object of this essay is to act as language planners and discuss the possibilities open to the Krivalian Government in issues of language to be used in areas of public life.
There are many options open to the government. The first would be to create a monolingual society. The main problem, which arises now, is which of the three languages should become the national one; French, English, or Krivalian? According to Holmes, a successful national language needs to serve a variety of functions. The first is to be of a unifying nature. The chosen language ideally should unite the nationals as well as offer advantages to the speaker over their native dialects. It should distinguish the nation from other surrounding nations, and be a symbol of a separate national identity. It needs to be recognised as a ‘real’ language, and have a higher status than local dialects. Finally the standard variety must serve as a yardstick for correctness and therefore other varieties will be regarded as nonstandard.
The primary functions of the language, (to unify and unite) are surely the most important for the masses. The situation faced by Norway is a good illustration for this. In 1814 Norway gained independence from Denmark after being ruled by them for almost four centuries. This left the government with a diglossia situation. Danish was the H language and a range of Norwegian dialects as L varieties, but there was no standard Norwegian language. What then should be the official language of Norway? The choice was between Danish and the standardisation of one of the local dialects. Danish would have been the most logical choice due it already having been codified in dictionaries and grammars, but it was the H language that represented the oppressors, from whom Norway had just gained independence. While it would present less linguistic problems for the planners it would mean that they had no independent language to that of their recently departed rulers. In Krivalia either French or English would be linguistically easier to implement but they would have no real unifying qualities and may not linguistically distinguish Krivalia from its neighbours. Finally, either language would serve as a constant reminder of the oppressors with whom they had fought so valiantly for their independence. Just as Danish was to the Norwegians. This leaves the more palpable choice of Krivalian. A language which has survived for over three centuries. It is unique; no...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.