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Surveying languages: the art of governing speakers with numbers

  • Alexandre Duchêne EMAIL logo and Philippe N. Humbert
Published/Copyright: June 22, 2018

Abstract

In this article, we propose a historical, political, and critical framework that situates language surveys and censuses as an object of sociolinguistic inquiry. First, we provide a brief history of the production of language statistics that aims to understand why authoritative bodies “need” language statistics, and what political agendas they help fulfil. Second, we highlight the epistemological and methodological challenges that emerge from the creation of language statistics. Third, we focus on the socio-political consequences of language statistics in society, including a focus on the actors and institutions that use or contest numbers in various contexts, and how language statistics impact the (un)equal distribution of resources. We argue that censuses and surveys are always embedded in political projects and constitute a complex combination of scientific and socio-political arguments that shape the way language and speakers are conceived of. As such, we emphasize the importance of recognizing censuses and surveys as a site for sociolinguistic inquiry, while anchoring our understanding of this instrument’s inner workings within the particularities of the historical and political conditions in which they emerge.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ofelia Garcia, General Editor of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language, for providing the space to publish this special issue. We are also grateful to the ten anonymous reviewers who have provided insightful remarks on the articles. Christopher Huguenin has been a fabulous editorial assistant; we thank him immensely for his patience and his exact and rigorous editing of the articles. Renata Coray is a precious sparring partner for us and was part of the larger project on language censuses which led to this special issue from the very beginning. Finally, Alexandre Duchêne expresses his gratitude to the Graduate Center of the City University of New York for providing the perfect condition for the realization of this special issue through an ARC Distinguished Fellowship.

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Published Online: 2018-06-22
Published in Print: 2018-06-26

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