Ideology and Image: Britain and Language

[ronkinm at georgetown.edu]

>>From the Linguist List

   Date:  Sat, 6 Dec 2003 21:15:15 -0500 (EST)
   From:  Shelley Tulloch <shelley.tulloch at smu.ca>
   Subject:  Ideology and Image: Britain and Language

   Ager, Dennis (2003) Ideology and Image: Britain and Language,
   Multilingual Matters.

   Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/14/14-1586.html

   Shelley Tulloch, Department of Anthropology,
   Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

   SYNOPSIS

   In Ideology and Image: Britain and Language, Dennis Ager presents an
   overview of the motivations in language policy and planning in Great
   Britain. This book complements Ager's previous work on motivations in
   language policy and planning in two important ways. First, it
   illustrates the applications of the theoretical model developed in
   Ager (2001). Secondly, this book expands understanding of the scope
   of language policy and planning by shedding light on such processes
   in a country which may be popularly viewed as having no need or no
   interest to plan language.

   Ager's thesis, as evident in the title and indeed obvious throughout
   the book, is that approaches to language issues in Britain are
   primarily motivated by ideology and image concerns. In the
   introduction, Ager challenges the popular view that 'we', as
   English-speakers, implicitly control the development of English
   through 'our' exercise of liberty and innovation in 'our' use of the
   language: ''There has long been a naïve and romantic belief that in
   Britain language, like culture, is, or ought to be, a simple
   reflection of mysterious social consensus'' (p.1). He suggests, on
   the contrary, that in fact language has been managed and controlled
   in Great Britain as it has been elsewhere (France being the prime
   example). Data relevant to this position are presented and discussed
   in the book's nine chapters, each chapter presenting one aspect of
   language policy and planning in Britain, and representing the how and
   the why of the interventions.

   The first chapter introduces the reader to the linguistic communities
   and sociopolitical make-up of Britain and shows how such an
   understanding of linguistic communities is an essential starting
   point for analysis of the evolution of the linguistic situation in
   Britain. Variation within British English is discussed based on
   regional and class distinctions. England, Scotland, Northern Ireland
   and Wales emerge as unique communities within Britain for reasons
   including but not limited to linguistic differences. The
contributions of other, non-indigenous languages to the linguistic
composition of Britain are also discussed.

   Chapter Two discusses speakers' attitudes toward varieties of British
   English, ''territorial'' languages (i.e. Welsh, Irish and Scottish
   Gaelic), as well as ''non-territorial'' languages (i.e. Hindi). This
   chapter focuses on the concept of a standard British English, and
   examines the evolution of the definition of such a standard. Ager
   suggests that attitudes of archaism, elitism, xenophobia, and
   especially purism, have motivated attempts to define ''good'' English
   and to manage languages other than English in Britain.

   Having established this background of linguistic communities and
   prevailing language attitudes, Ager contextualizes the current
   linguistic situation in Britain in Chapter Three, giving a history of
   language in Britain from 880 to the 1950s. He shows how an attitude
   linking morality to 'proper' speech emerged early in Britain's
   history. The motivations behind language policy and planning
 according to Ager were mainly political until 1800, then increasingly
  social and economic, targeting the 'civilization' and material
  advancement of British citizens.

   In Chapter Four, ''Non-Political Language Planning'', Ager argues
   that language planning has continued in recent years as
non-political, effected by individuals (including Members of
Parliament and authors), private societies (including publishers) and
 the media, driven by purist motivations. The focus remains the
 perpetuation of 'good' English, as modeled by the 'best' speakers.
 Motivations in ''non-political'' language planning, as discussed in
 Chapter Four, include resistance to American influence, elitism,
 reform (simplification), altruism and snobbism.

   In Chapter Five, Ager turns to discuss issues of language rights. He
   shows how the promotion of non-discriminatory language, as well as
   recent laws facilitating communication within the justice system for
   individuals who do not speak English, have protected human
   rights. Ager suggests that, in these cases, official intervention
   preceded popular attitudinal changes in Great Britain.

   Chapters Six and Seven focus on English as a resource both for
   individual citizens and for the State. Recent attempts to empower
   individuals through increased access to English include adult
  literacy movements, ''Plain English'' and ''Better English''
   campaigns. According to Ager, such efforts are motivated, once again,
   by purist attitudes and the desire to maintain a high standard of the
   English language. Chapter Seven shows how Great Britain has also
   exploited English as a resource for the State, promoting and teaching
   English internationally in connection with the promotion of the
   United Kingdom abroad.

   In contrast to the preceding discussions of English as a resource,
   Chapter Eight suggests that language has also been a political
   problem in Great Britain. Language-related challenges discussed
   include how to teach and evaluate standard English in the schools,
   how to manage multiculturalism, as well as language issues emerging
   from the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
   Ager suggests here that multiculturalism is an Anglo-Saxon ideal (p.
   151), and the discussion suggests a tension between a willingness to
   maintain minority languages and the desire to increase access to
   Standard English as the language of socioeconomic advancement.

   Finally, in Chapter Nine, Ager broadens his discussion, showing how
   language policy and planning in Great Britain fits into a broader
   international context. The linguistic climates of France, India,
   Canada, Australia and the United States are discussed as points of
   comparison.

   EVALUATION

   Ideology and Image: Britain and Language is a fascinating and
  thorough book. An advantage of Ideology and Image is that it is
  widely accessible, and will interest readers with little previous
  knowledge of linguistics or British politics and history, as well as
  students and researchers in the field of language planning. In an era
   of globalization and the threat to minority languages due, in part,
   to the spread of English, it is pertinent to consider how the country
   which initiated this spread of English has dealt with language issues
   internally. The book is short (208 + x pp.) and easy to read. Ager
   avoids extensive use of jargon, and provides the historical,
   political, and linguistic background necessary for understanding his
   examples.

   The disadvantage of accessibility, however, is that some issues are
   over-simplified. Two examples that come to mind are the treatment of
   ''territorial languages'', i.e. Welsh, Irish and Gaelic (Cornish is
   given only brief mention), and the comparisons made between language
   policy and planning in the United Kingdom and the countries which
   were former British colonies. The comparisons with Canada, for
   example, emphasize language laws in Quebec (promoting the French
   language), and the official policy of bilingualism in Canada.
  However, Canadian language planning with regard to other minority
  languages (i.e. the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, Canada 1988),
  which would be directly comparable to planning in Great Britain, is
  not discussed.

   Overall, Ideology and Image is convincing in its stated intention to
   debunk the myth that Anglophones are indifferent, or have a
   laissez-faire attitude toward their native tongue. It is of interest
   to specialists of language planning and policy as it paints a broad
   picture of the consistent evolution of language planning and policy
   in Great Britain. Undergraduate and graduate students will also find
   this book useful, whether it is used as a case study to introduce
   students to principles in language policy and planning or as a
resource for more in-depth research on language planning and policy
in Great Britain, particularly with regard to English. At the same
time, the book offers the general public an accessible, entertaining
and intriguing resource for understanding language issues in Great
   Britain; issues, which, as demonstrated by Ager, seem to interest the
   British public more than the myth of English linguistic
   disinterestedness may suggest.

   REFERENCES

   Ager, Dennis (2001) Motivation in Language Planning. Clevedon:
   Multilingual Matters. Reviewed in
   http://linguistlist.org/issues/12/12-1754.html

   Canada. House of Commons (1988) Canadian Multiculturalism Act. LR
   1985, chap. C-18.7.

   ABOUT THE REVIEWER

   Shelley Tulloch teaches linguistic anthropology at Saint Mary's
   University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her research focuses on
   language issues and language planning in Canada, particularly with
   regard to Aboriginal languages. Her current research examines needs
   and possibilities for language planning among Inuit youth in Nunavut.