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book: Paradigm Shift in Language Planning and Policy
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Paradigm Shift in Language Planning and Policy

Game-Theoretic Solutions
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2012
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About this book

The book proposes a paradigm shift in language planning and language policy in Africa. For the past fifty years, the dominant model has been the hegemonic model whereby a language of wider communication (LWC) is imposed on minority languages. It is now time for a paradigm shift in favor of a more egalitarian model in which all the languages spoken in the same country, irrespective of their size, are planned. The paradigm shift concerns four critical areas: status planning, cost-benefit planning, acquisition planning, and corpus planning.
Such a shift is justified for the following reasons: First, the hegemonic model has a dismal track record of success in Africa and elsewhere. Second, the hegemonic model exacerbates linguistic conflicts in many countries. Consequently, policy makers shun it for fear of jeopardizing the fragile social fabric in their respective countries. Last, a shift away from the hegemonic model is recommended because it is too costly to implement. The "democratic model" is undergirded by the Strategic Game Theory proposed by David Laitin. It forecasts a 3±1 language outcome for most African countries. This outcome supports the "three language formula" now called for by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Author / Editor information

Ettien Koffi, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA.

Supplementary Materials

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Acknowledgments

    vii
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    Preface

    ix
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    Contents

    xiii
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    Abbreviations

    xix
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    Chapter 1. Ten deadly impediments to language planning in Africa

    1
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    Chapter 2. The strategic Game theory and 3±1 language outcome

    35
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    Chapter 3. A Game-theoretic assessment of language of education policies in French and Portuguese colonies

    75
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    Chapter 4. A Game-theoretic assessment of language of education policies in Belgian, British, and German colonies

    109
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    Chapter 5. Case study: Rethinking mother-tongue education in Côte d’Ivoire

    147
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    Chapter 6. Game-theoretic assessment of language of education policies in African megacities

    181
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    Chapter 7. Framework and rationale for literacy planning in rural Africa

    211
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    Chapter 8. Planning multiple languages on a shoestring budget for profit

    251
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    Chapter 9. Individual efforts in language planning

    285
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    References

    311
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    Index

    325
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 27, 2012
eBook ISBN:
9781934078112
Hardcover published on:
January 16, 2012
Hardcover ISBN:
9781934078105
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
19
Main content:
328
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781934078112
eBook ISBN: 9781934078112
Hardcover ISBN: 9781934078105
Keywords for this book
Language planning; Language policy; Endangered languages; African studies; Sociolinguistics; Anthropological linguistics; Emerging literacies; Multilingualism
Audience(s) for this book
For academics in the field of language planning and policy, non-governmental organizations involved in literacy work, policy makers in charge of language planning and policy, students taking an introductory course in language planning and policy
Safety & product resources
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