[lg policy] Military language policy

bspolsky bspolsky at gmail.com
Sat Feb 21 16:28:44 UTC 2015


Chapter 8 of my book deals with the topic

Spolsky, Bernard. (2009). *Language management*. Cambridge UK: Cambridge
University Press.

On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 7:01 PM, <lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> wrote:

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>    1. Fwd: Commentary on Language Deficit (Harold Schiffman)
>    2. Re: Language policies of world militaries? (Dave Sayers)
>    3. CFP: TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant (with LPP   priority)
>       (Francis Hult)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 14:41:09 -0500
> From: Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com>
> Subject: [lg policy] Fwd: Commentary on Language Deficit
> To: lp <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAB7VSRB2heehy-AT6a9gWyaQjuz+wkPKnfynZgPTekahDfKokw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Forwarded From: Rosemary Salomone <salomonr at stjohns.edu>
> Date: Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 12:32 PM
>
> Commentary on Language Deficit
>
>
>
> Members of this list might be interested in this commentary  recently
> published in University World News.
>
>
> http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150128065508699&mode=print
> .
>
>
>
> Rosemary Salomone
> Kenneth Wang Professor of Law
> St. John's University
> School of Law
> 8000 Utopia Parkway
> Queens, N.Y. 11439
> Tel: (718) 990-6622
> E-mail: rosemary.salomone at stjohns.edu
> Website:
> http://stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/faculty/profiles/Salomone
> SSRN Author Page: http://ssrn.com/author=213312
>
>
>
> --
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 20:06:15 +0000
> From: Dave Sayers <dave.sayers at cantab.net>
> Subject: Re: [lg policy] Language policies of world militaries?
> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> Message-ID: <54E64237.7060707 at cantab.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> I recently linked an article about UK military language policy on this
> list.
>
> "Army officers are being told they will not rise above the rank of Captain
> without
> learning a foreign language".
>
> Article here: http://goo.gl/gFDATy
>
> Dave
>
> --
> Dr. Dave Sayers
> Senior Lecturer, Dept Humanities, Sheffield Hallam University
> Honorary Research Fellow, Arts & Humanities, Swansea University (2009-2015)
> dave.sayers at cantab.net | http://shu.academia.edu/DaveSayers
>
>
>
> On 19/02/2015 17:01, lgpolicy-list-request at groups.sas.upenn.edu wrote:
> > Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 09:04:39 -0800
> > From: dzo at bisharat.net
> > Subject: [lg policy] Language policies of world militaries?
> > To: Language Policy List <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> > Cc: dzosborn at gmail.com
> > Message-ID: <6dcd23d05af76acffb1c521d0c361813 at bisharat.net>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
> >
> > Is anyone aware of any compilation of information on language policies
> > of militaries of the world? Particularly interested in multilingual
> > countries in general, and in Africa, but broader information is always
> > useful for comparisons.
> >
> > One might assume that militaries follow the official language policies
> > of their respective states, but is this always so? One would also assume
> > that some standard language policy would be necessary to avoid the babel
> > effect at inopportune moments.
> >
> > However, in many countries, language skills down the ranks may vary. So
> > are there cases where more than one language is officially used? De
> > facto usage of other languages that is tolerated to facilitate
> > communication in special circumstances, or training in order to
> > facilitate optimal learning? Problems with diverse language use within
> > militaries (case studies)?
> >
> > For example, when in Uganda a few years ago I heard specifically that
> > only English and Swahili (both official in the country) were permitted
> > in their armed forces (UPDF) and on their military facilities. On the
> > other hand, US Army language policy is framed with a focus on operations
> > in this way:
> >
> > "English is the operational language of the Army. Soldiers must maintain
> > sufficient proficiency in English to perform their military duties.
> > Their operational communications must be understood by everyone who has
> > an official need to know their content, and, therefore, must normally be
> > in English. However, commanders may not require Soldiers to use English
> > unless such use is clearly necessary and proper for the performance of
> > military functions. Accordingly, commanders may not require the use of
> > English for personal communications that are unrelated to military
> > functions."
> > US Army Regulation 600–20 (2014) "Army Command Policy"
> > http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_20.pdf
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any info.
> >
> > Don Osborn
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 11:23:00 -0500
> > From: Harold Schiffman <haroldfs at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [lg policy] Language policies of world militaries?
> > To: Language Policy List <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> > Message-ID:
> >       <CACqQ=
> kLa_YJOzx+P9p9k4cVKA4OR_Yje1JsXXyi3Zez4uXmeWQ at mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> >
> > Dear Don,
> >
> > Regarding your question about language policies in military units, I did
> a
> > quick googlesearch for India, and came up with the following:
> >
> >
> > Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India  ... By Thomas
> Benedikter
> >
> > What he says in the book is that the Indian military uses a simplified
> > version
> > of Hindi and Urdu, with some English mixed in.  I think this is probably
> a
> > continuation of what the policy was under the British.
> >
> > Another example is that of Czarist Russia, where the language policy of
> the
> > military was Russian only, and I think this also continued to be the
> case in
> > the Soviet period, and of course today as well.
> >
> > HS
> >
> > On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 12:04 PM, <dzo at bisharat.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Is anyone aware of any compilation of information on language policies
> of
> >> militaries of the world? Particularly interested in multilingual
> countries
> >> in general, and in Africa, but broader information is always useful for
> >> comparisons.
> >>
> >> One might assume that militaries follow the official language policies
> of
> >> their respective states, but is this always so? One would also assume
> that
> >> some standard language policy would be necessary to avoid the babel
> effect
> >> at inopportune moments.
> >>
> >> However, in many countries, language skills down the ranks may vary. So
> >> are there cases where more than one language is officially used? De
> facto
> >> usage of other languages that is tolerated to facilitate communication
> in
> >> special circumstances, or training in order to facilitate optimal
> learning?
> >> Problems with diverse language use within militaries (case studies)?
> >>
> >> For example, when in Uganda a few years ago I heard specifically that
> only
> >> English and Swahili (both official in the country) were permitted in
> their
> >> armed forces (UPDF) and on their military facilities. On the other
> hand, US
> >> Army language policy is framed with a focus on operations in this way:
> >>
> >> "English is the operational language of the Army. Soldiers must maintain
> >> sufficient proficiency in English to perform their military duties.
> Their
> >> operational communications must be understood by everyone who has an
> >> official need to know their content, and, therefore, must normally be in
> >> English. However, commanders may not require Soldiers to use English
> unless
> >> such use is clearly necessary and proper for the performance of military
> >> functions. Accordingly, commanders may not require the use of English
> for
> >> personal communications that are unrelated to military functions."
> >> US Army Regulation 600–20 (2014) "Army Command Policy"
> >> http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_20.pdf
> >>
> >> Thanks in advance for any info.
> >>
> >> Don Osborn
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
> >> lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> >> To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format:
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> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2015 07:35:34 +0000
> From: Francis Hult <francis.hult at englund.lu.se>
> Subject: [lg policy] CFP: TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant (with LPP
>         priority)
> To: "lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu"
>         <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>         <11E8DB9B84AFED40AA11BE609088B771C0EBB80A at UWMBX02.uw.lu.se>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> The International Research Foundation for English Language Education
>
>
>
> Since 2002, TIRF has supported students completing their doctoral research
> on topics related to the foundation’s priorities. Each year applicants who
> have been advanced to candidacy in legitimate PhD or EdD programs are
> invited to submit proposals for Doctoral Dissertation Grants (DDGs). (By
> “advanced to candidacy” we mean [a] having completed all required course
> work, if any, and [b] having had a research plan approved by the
> candidate’s university committee.) Proposals are reviewed by a TIRF
> committee of established international researchers. DDGs are provided in
> the amount of up to US $5000 per awardee.
>
>
>
> The 2015 Doctoral Dissertation Grants competition is now open. The
> application deadline is Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 11:59pm Pacific Time
> (United States & Canada).
>
>
>
> More information and the call for proposals is available here:
> http://www.tirfonline.org/research-grants/doctoral-dissertation-grants/
>
>
>
> It is also noteworthy that language policy and planning is one of the
> identified research priorities:
>
>
> http://www.tirfonline.org/research-grants/tirfs-research-priorities/language-planning-and-policy/
>
>
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-- 
Bernard Spolsky bspolsky at gmail.com  Professor emeritus, Bar-Ilan University
URL: http://english.biu.ac.il/faculty/spolsky-bernard
<http://www.biu.ac.il/faculty/spolsb/>
Home address for all mail : 4 Nili Street, Apt 7, 9254803 Jerusalem ISRAEL
Phone and Fax: +972-2-628-2044  Cell phone: +972-52-421-8146
*The Languages of the Jews*, Bernard Spolsky (Cambridge UP, 2014)
*Challenges for language education and policy: Making space for people*,
Bernard Spolsky, Ofra Inbar-Lourie, Michal Tannenbaum, Editors (Routledge.
2014)
*Conditions for English language teaching and learning in Asia *Kiwan Sung
and Bernard Spolsky, Editors (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2015)
*Secondary School English Education in Asia, * Kiwan Sung and Bernard
Spolsky, Editors (Routledge, 2015)
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