Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
Today I compose a few words on language management within the context of chapters 4 and 11 of Joshua Fishman’s book “Reversing Language Shift”. Fishman focuses on “status planning” in chapter 4, and on “corpus planning” in chapter 11. “Status planning” focuses on “the societal function or reputation of a particular language”; “Corpus planning” focuses on “the vocabulary, spelling, or any other aspect of a language”.
A good example of the stresses implicit in efforts to preserve a dying language within a community of speakers of a healthy language is how people hope for some idealized situation in which “only one language should be used in a given context” – and that it is even “bad” to mix languages. Such idealism is akin to a Japanese student of English who gets upset when kerm teacher gives kerm a quick explanation in Japanese to save time – for the student wants “only English”. Some situations and attitudes make it hard to see the forest for the trees.
In chapter 4 Fishman talks about a GIDS (Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale), with a GIDS of “8” indicating a great degree of disruption to the “intergenerational continuity and maintenance prospects” of a given language” – and with “7”, “6”, “5”, “4”, “3”, “2”, “1” showing progressively smaller degrees of such continuity and maintenance prospects. Those interested in the details of this type of evaluation are urged to read chapter 4 of “Reversing Language Shift” for themselves.
I am particularly impressed with Fishman’s notion that we can address all 8 degrees of GIDS disruption at one time, making inroads when and where we can, hoping that in the end, a latticework (of what I call the community allophonome -- See installments 25,26,28,53,95,97, 101,159,166.) will coelesce. Once that allophonome has formed, then learners of the beleaugered will have established a jumping off point at which the other aspects (reading, writing, and listening) aspects of the languages can be addressed in a straightforward phonoligically enabled manner
In chapters 5 through 10 of “Reversing Language Shift” Fishman describes what is happening regarding efforts to revitalize and define such varied languages as Irish, Basque, Frisian, Navajo, Spanish, Yiddish, Maori, Australian aboriginal languages, Hebrew, French, and Catalan. In chapter 11 he discusses corpus planning (See the first paragraph of today’s installment.) within the context of “status planning” that has already born fruit to some extent. I hasten to add here that Jingles training for latent prospective learners of beleaguered languages must be included if those languages are to gain anything resembling a foothold within their phonological repertoires -- in other words, within their target language allophonomes.
Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.