Towards an alternative take on language activism

A South African case study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20406199
AutoresMariana Kriel (University of the Free State, autor de correspondencia)
Año2010
Volumen41
Número2
Páginas278-293
Fecha de publicación2010-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguage Matters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1022-8195 • E-ISSN: 1753-5395
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10228195.2010.515239
OpenAlexW2014488654
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas13

It has been claimed that language activism could serve as a barometer of the general social condition of the (civically defined) South African nation (Du Plessis 2006, 89). The argument in this article is that language activism in the country continues to be what it always has been (here and elsewhere): a barometer of ethno-linguistic vitality/mobilised ethnicity/ethnic nationalism. Proceeding from the premise that activism implies the endorsement of a political philosophy/ideology, I demonstrate how the views held by prominent white Afrikaans language activists are essentially nationalist views. The challenge facing these activists, I argue, is to defend their positions with explicit reference to existing philosophical/ideological paradigms other than liberalism (for their appeals tend to be illiberal). The scholarly focus, in turn, should shift from describing and prescribing language activism to providing an explanation for the phenomenon

Ethnic group · Ideology · Linguistics · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Premise · Sociology · Vitality · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Law · Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy