multilingualism in progress? a diachronic study of language policy in the virtual public space
TRANSCRIPT
Multilingualism in progress?
A diachronic study of language policy in the virtual public
space
Maimu Berezkina
LL7, 08.05.2015
Overview
Online multilingual state communication in Norway
• Digital public services
• Inclusion of multilingualism in state communication in the virtual linguistic
landscapes (VLL)
• The historical dimensions and development of VLL
– communication with the indigenous minority (Sami)
– communication with the immigrant population
• Reasons for prioritizing certain languages online
Online multilingualism in progress
• Increasing linguistic diversity on the Internet
– Multilingual Internet (Danet & Herring 2007)
– Language Online (Barton & Lee 2013)
• “Paraphrasing the famous words of Umberto Eco, for whom “Translation is the
language of Europe”, we can say that the internet’s lingua franca is multilingualism
and, consequently, translation. We are seeing the rebabelisation of the world, a
trend reconfirmed by the internet. … Behind the question of the lingua franca
loom major economic, cultural and geopolitical questions; cyberspace is one of
their most striking manifestations”. (Oustinoff 2012: 55-56)
MAAYA network, supported by UNESCO
Cyberspace is becoming increasingly
multilingual
Internet started out as a predominantly
monolingual medium with English
essentially the only language used online.
The percentage of English on the internet is
falling: 1995 above 90%, 2013 – 28,6%.
Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese,
German, Arabic, French, Russian and
Korean
Multilingualism in digital state communication
• Increased use of different languages on the micro-level in Web 2.0 environment
• Is online multilingualism growing also in other domains?
• Online services are replacing what was once provided by a public utility or customer
service agency with a physical person at the other end.
• The fact that online communication is replacing the physical, can be a challenge for
those who lack knowledge of the majority language.
• State websites providing access to a social good
Norway
Population – 5,1 million
15% with immigrant background
31% in Oslo
Poland, Sweden, Somalia, Lithuania,
Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam and many
more
Official languages: Bokmål & Nynorsk
Sami, Kven, Romanes and Romany
Internet penetration rate – 95%
Virtual public sector
• Technologically mediated communication between the state and the people
• Space and prominence of languages on state websites - Symbolic construction of
the virtual public space
• The emplacement of linguistic signs in this virtual space can be regarded as a
representation of linguistic ideologies that “overlay, more or less explicitly, all
language use with value, be it social, cultural, political, moral, economic or
otherwise” (Jaworski and Thurlow 2010, 11).
Language policy in the virtual public sector
• Organizations with regulative power in cyberspace: network operators, software
producers and national governments (Bortzmeyer 2012).
• Interpretation and appropriation of macro-level language policy texts
• In the absence of explicit policy statements, specific language practices may in fact
be what constitutes policy (Shohamy 2006)
• Overt and covert language policy (Schiffman 1995)
– Language Act (Målloven): 25% Nynorsk in written state communication
– Sámi Act (Sameloven): Linguistic presence of Sami
– Each institution decides which languages to add for communication with the
immigrant population.
Data and method
• Qualitative and diachronic analysis of state websites in Norway
• In-depth interviews with people responsible for communication policies in
Norwegian state institutions
– Norwegian Tax Administration
– Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service
– Norwegian Directorate of Immigration
• Language policy documents, language laws, state communication policies
Digital Agenda for Norway
• The public sector is to be accessible
online to the extent possible.
• Web-based services are to be the
general rule for the public sector’s
communication with citizens and
organizations.
• Genuine digital participation by
everyone: services must be designed
such that most people can use them.
• Everyone who wishes to use digital tools
and services should be able to do so.
Multilingualism and the virtual public sector
A well-functioning multilingual website as an essential communication strategy
Prioritization of some linguistic groups over others in the virtual public sector
Linguistic representation online as a reflection of power relations in the Norwegian society
- Language and symbolic power (Bourdieu 1991)
“LLs describe the languages that define public spaces. Analogous to the physical LL, the
virtual LL serves … to mark language status in expressed power relations among the
coexisting linguistic choices in the cyberspace community” (Ivkovic & Lotherington 2009)
Multilingualism and the virtual public sector (2)
“Linguistic landscape items are mechanisms of language policy that can perpetuate
ideologies and the status of certain languages and not others” (Gorter 2013: 197)
• Which languages are granted visibility in the Norwegian virtual public sector and
why?
• How has this situation developed over time?
Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine (2)
Norwegian Tax Administration
1997
Norwegian Norwegian
English
1999
Norwegian
English
Polish
2009 2014
Bokmål
Nynorsk
English
Sami
Norwegian Tax Administration
1997
Norwegian Norwegian
English
1999
Norwegian
English
Polish
2009 2014
Bokmål
Nynorsk
English
Sami
NAV – Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service
2006
Norwegian
English
Norwegian
English
Sami
Polish
2010
Norwegian
English
Sami
Polish
German
Arabic
Somali
Urdu
2011 2014
Norwegian
English
Sami
UDI – Norwegian Directorate of Immigration
1998
Norwegian
Norwegian
English
French
2000 Norwegian
English
French
Amharic
Bosnian
Croatian
Serbian
German
Spanish
Kirundi
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Albanian
Somali
Tigrinya …..(25)
2010 2014
Bokmål
Nynorsk
English
• More information in fewer languages
• Increasing linguistic presence of Sami and English
Sami on state websites
Central Government Communication Policy (2009): Government agencies must pay
special attention to users of the Sami languages.
• But Sami websites are not really used – at least not yet
Sami on state websites
Central Government Communication Policy (2009): Government agencies must pay
special attention to users of the Sami languages.
• But Sami websites are not really used – at least not yet
Why?
• Preference to communicate with the state in Norwegian
• Not used to refer to certain concepts in Sami
• Don’t make online searches in Sami
• A transitional phase?
English and immigrant languages
In order to reach the immigrant population with government information, every single
agency shall consider whether it is sufficient to translate into English, or whether
translations into other languages are needed as well.
(Central Government Communication Policy 3.4.)
English as a nonnational language (Piller 2003)
Discourses about English as ”neutral”:
«It is assumed that once English has in some sense become detached from its original
cultural contexts (particularly England and America), it is now a neutral and transparent
medium of communication» (Pennycook 2001: 9)
English as the hypercentral language (de Swaan 2001)
Reasons for prioritizing languages in the virtual
public sector
Mandated by law
For ex. Sami, Nynorsk
Economic
For ex. Many immigrant languages
Technical
For ex. Sami (diacritics),
Arabic
Pragmatic
For ex. Polish
Logistics
Challenges with
managing large portals
Other channels
For ex. Refugees, (computer)
illiterate, “the digital divide”
Conclusions
• The virtual linguistic landscape of Norway’s public sector has in recent years
become less multilingual: linguistic homogenization of the virtual public sector.
• There is a growing inclusion of Sami in the digitalized public space, but websites in
Sami are still very little used.
• In order to communicate with the authorities online, immigrants are expected to
know Norwegian or English.
