1. Development and the national language question: a case study.
- Author
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Djit, Paulin G.
- Subjects
AFRICAN languages ,KHMER language ,LAO language ,VIETNAMESE language ,BURMESE language ,LANGUAGE policy - Abstract
Having gone through a colonial history and colonial language policies similar to those of many African countries, Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam have all chosen a different path when it comes to language policy, opting against retaining a European language (i.e., English or French) and choosing instead Khmer, Lao, Myanma and Vietnamese respectively, as their national and official languages. Taking a closer look at the linguistic situations in these countries, this paper asks whether a national language policy makes a difference when it comes to a multilingual context. In other words, is there a perceptible difference in the language policies of these countries and those of most African countries that can be attributed to the choice of the national and/or official language? More importantly, can a national/official language policy resolve the fundamental issues of development in multilingual contexts? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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