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Bilingualism in Society and School Multilingual Matters (Series) ; 43 Jørgensen, J. Normann. Multilingual Matters 1853590169 9781853590160 9780585171562 English Bilingualism--Congresses, Linguistic minorities--Congresses, Language planning--Congresses, Education, Bilingual-Congresses. 1988 P115.B548 1988eb 404/.2 Bilingualism--Congresses, Linguistic minorities--Congresses, Language planning--Congresses, Education, Bilingual-Congresses.
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Bilingualism in Society and School Copenhagen Studies in Bilingualism, Vol. 5 Edited by J. N. Jørgensen, E. Hansen, A. Holmen and J. Gimbel MULTILINGUAL MATTERS 43 Series Editor: Derrick Sharp MULTILINGUAL MATTERS LTD Clevedon Philadelphia
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Disclaimer: This book contains characters with diacritics. When the characters can be represented using the ISO 8859-1 character set (http://www.w3.org/TR/images/latin1.gif), netLibrary will represent them as they appear in the original text, and most computers will be able to show the full characters correctly. In order to keep the text searchable and readable on most computers, characters with diacritics that are not part of the ISO 8859-1 list will be represented without their diacritical marks. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bilingualism in society and schoool. (Copenhagen studies in bilingualism; vol. 5) (Multilingual matters; 43) English and Danish. Proceedings from the 5th Nordic Conference on Bilingualism held on the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies at Copenhagen, June 22-25, 1987. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. BilingualismCongresses. 2. Linguistic minoritiesCongresses. 3. Language planningCongresses. 4. Education, BilingualCongresses. I. Jørgensen, J. Normann. II. Nordiska tvåpråkighetssymposiet (5th: 1987: Royal School of Educational Studies) III. Series: Københavnerstudier i tosprogethed; bd. 5. IV. Series: Multilingual matters; 43. P115.B548 1988 404'.2 88-12460 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Bilingualism in society and school (Copenhagen studies in bilingualism; V.5) (Multilingual Matters; 43). 1. Bilingualism. Social aspects I. Jorgensen, J.N. (J Normann), 1951II. Series 306'.4 ISBN 1-85359-016-9 Multilingual Matters Ltd, Bank House, 8a Hill Road, Clevedon, Avon BS21 7HH, England. and 242 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19106-1906 USA Copyright © 1988 J. N. Jørgensen, E. Hansen, A. Holmen, J. Gimbel and the authors of individual chapters All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Typeset by Photo-Graphics, Honiton, Devon Printed and bound in Great Britain by Short Run Press, Exeter
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Foreword This volume is one of three publications of proceedings from the Fifth Nordic Conference on Bilingualism. The remainder of the papers are published in a special double issue of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development and in Volume Four of the Copenhagen Studies in Bilingualism. The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development contains papers dealing with two sub-themes of the conference which have particular relevance in the Scandinavian context. One is the schools' relationship to bilingualism, discussed on the national level. The other group of papers in that volume deals with learning and development processes going on in the individual. Volume Four of the Copenhagen Studies comprises the papers on bilingualism and the individual speaker. There are papers on interactional analysis, on linguistic structure and variation in bilinguals, on different backgrounds and second language learning. The volume also indicates the papers on bilingualism and literature (fiction). Some of the exhibits from the conference shows and exhibitions are used to illustrate the Copenhagen Studies in Bilingualism volumes. The artists are Milton Blanch, Mario di Lucci, and Ilona Ösz. At this time we as organisers wish to express our gratitude to: ¾ our co-organisers, especially Marie Hald and Inger Nørgaard, our colleague Bent Søndergaard of the Pedagogische Hochschule Flensburg, and, from our own institution, Gerd Gabrielsen, Erik Larsen, Jørn Lund and Marie-Alice Séférian; ¾ the participants in the conference; ¾ the publishers of the proceedings of the conference (not least for kindly agreeing to go against the house policy of not accepting manuscripts that are written in languages other than English). It was one of the provisions of the conference, however, that all papers submitted before the deadline were to be published with the proceedings; ¾ UFE's Jette Reentz-Petersen, Ulla Varming, Kirsten Schalburg and Irene Hansen, the organisers of the workshop for teachers; ¾ and our sponsors: King Frederik and Queen Ingrid's Foundation, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik's Foundation, The TUBORG Foundation,
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Knud Højgaard's Foundation, Rosalie Petersen's Foundation, Julius Skrike's Foundation, SAS Travel Grants, The Rockwool Foundation, The Foundation for Danish-Swedish Co-operation, The Cultural Foundation for Denmark and Finland, Denmark's Teachers' Union, The Danish Masons, The Letterstedt Society, The Ministry of Education, The City of Copenhagen, The County of Copenhagen, The Research Council for the Humanities, The Greenland Foundation of the Danish Parliament, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies Emdrup, November 1987 NORMANN JøRGENSEN, ELISABETH HANSEN, ANNE HOLMEN, JøRGEN GIMBEL
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Introductory Note J. Normann Jørgensen, Elisabeth Hansen, Anne Holmen And Jørgen Gimbel Department of Danish Language and Literature, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, 101 Emdrupborg, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark The Fifth Nordic Conference on Bilingualism was held at the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies at Copenhagen, 22-25 June, 1987. The main theme of the conference was Two Languages and Two Cultures in Education. This theme was dealt with in many ways by the contributions offered during the conference, and no less in the more than 1,300 pages of manuscripts turned in for publication in the proceedings. Many of the papers, however, deal with certain aspects of bilingualism currently attracting interest from many students of the discipline. These aspects include, on the macro-level, the planning of language education in multilingual societies; on the micro-level, second language learning strategies; on the linguistic level, analyses of interactional data involving bilinguals; and, on the cultural level, bilingual writers. As our editorial principle we have chosen to group the papers according to their relation to the main theme of the conference. The papers in this volume deal mainly with bilingualism at the supra-individual levels, i.e. group, institution, society, etc. The papers discuss such fields as language planning, status differences between languages, the schools' role in bilingual societies and, most notably, the importance of the schools in promoting minority languages. Pyee-Cohen's paper is devoted to this very issue. She presents a comparison between three quite different Canadian school systems, and evaluates their role in the maintenance of individual and societal bilingualism. Hoffman, in her paper, describes the development of the status of Catalan in Catalonia over the past century. She explains its present status as a result of political and social development. Nevertheless, in her judgement the schools are highly important for the maintenance of the status of Catalan. It is, of course, important to educators worldwide whether the schools are central or peripheral vehicles for societal linguistic development. As far as the factors can be distinguished from each other, the non-educational factors of
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politics, economy, social status, etc. may or may not have a greater direct impact on the maintenance or decline of minority languages than education has. Lucas & Nercissians, maintaining that language planning has attracted only little interest from political scientists, present a game-theoretical model covering also the involvement of different institutions with possibly conflicting goals. This could be a rewarding approach to several problems, e.g. the explanation of how certain languages survive in spite of sometimes determined attempts to annihilate them. This volume is not without its descriptions of attempts to weaken languages by means of the educational system. Timm's account of the French government's handling of Breton is a prime example. In this case the minority language has managed to survive, and it now has certain modest hopes for the future, not the least because the educational system has in fact recognised the minority tongue. The opposite is the case for Malecite, a language now (in young speakers) heavily influenced at all linguistic levels by English, as described in Szabó's paper. He illustrates his point with examples from three Malecite speakers of different generations, the youngest being able to speak Malecite only with considerable English influence. C. Lauren presents a model of language planning based on the following three dichotomies for structuring speech communities: majority language versus minority language, so-called 'outside standard language' versus indigenous standard language, and 'official implementation' versus 'non-official implementation'. Saleem discusses the relationship between Faroese and Danish in the Faroe Islands. A millenium-old oral tradition has ensured the survival of the Faroese language in spite of the schools' being monolingually Danish. The creation of a Faroese orthography further strengthened Faroese. Today the language is the medium of instruction in Faroese schools, and Danish is the first foreign language. Henriksen shares his subject, and to a certain extent also his attitude, with Saleem. He describes the factors which characterise the development of the status of the Faroese language over the past hundred years. His paper is a detailed historical account of language politics and language policies in the Faroe Islands. Gerbault describes how a similar process is taking place now in the Central African Republic. Sango, today an undisputed lingua franca and national language, is on the rise - at least numerically, but perhaps also in status at the cost of French, but mainly at the cost of a number of other African languages. French is the language of the administration - and the schools. The status of Sango, however, has reached a point where its introduction as a medium of instruction is under consideration. Gerbault discusses the problems
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in this, partly against the background of an extensive questionnaire investigation among Sango speakers in Bangui. The historical and political factors are important in Nercissians' paper about the Armenian minority in Iran. She discusses the relationship between the Armenian language and Farsi in a model of role distribution among languages. This model takes into account not only the status dimension, i.e. the force of the 'stronger' language, but also the 'solidarity dimension', i.e. the force of the 'weaker' language. Several papers directly discuss the role of schools in bilingual societies. Møller describes the problems of promoting (Western) Greenlandic in Greenland related to a shortage of teachers and materials in that language. The Danish language is still an important, and to some, a burdensome factor in the daily activities of Greenland's schools. Møller furthermore specifically deals with the problems of the so-called 'third group', i.e. the children of mixed marriages. Ulrich's paper deals with the same situation, and presents some very practical aspects of the problems. The French language in Canada, however, is an altogether different matter, and the contrast between, on the one hand, the situation described by Møller and Ulrich, and, on the other hand, the one described by de Vries and Mougeon & Beniak, is striking. In the case of Canada the effects of teaching the majority through the minority language are discussed. Mougeon & Beniak question the wisdom, as seen from the point of view of the Francophone population, of admitting Anglo-Saxon children into French-medium schools designed for the Francophones. They hypothesise that too large a proportion of English speakers may turn out to be a threat to the daily use, and the quality, of French in the schools, and therefore in the long run to the Francophone population. De Vries, on the other hand, presents the results of an investigation of the use and perceived usefulness of French among Anglo-Saxon graduates of immersion schools. He finds that French is indeed used a lot by former students, thereby in fact contradicting the fears of Mougeon & Beniak. Most of the languages mentioned so far have been so-called indigenous minority languages (Breton, Catalan, Sango, Malecite), some of which are in fact majority languages (Faroese, Western Greenlandic). This is the area in which language planning has been discussed longest, but the issue is also becoming more urgent in industrialised Europe, with its new immigrants speaking a multitude of languages hitherto unknown in that part of the world. Both Andenæs and Källström look at the languages of immigrants in Scandinavia. Andenæs describes the Norwegian scene, discussing the role of the schools, and of linguists, in this connection. Källström presents two investigations that have tried to determine the chances of the minority languages' survival in Sweden, Boyd's (1985) study, and one from Källström's
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own SPRINS project. He discusses the surprisingly different conclusions reached by these projects. The difference in conclusions may be explained by the different material used by the two projects, most notably the informants. Brunell also deals with a Scandinavian language, but as a minority tongue, namely (standard) Swedish in Finland. He describes its role in Finnish schools. A further group of papers deals with bilingualism as a group phenomenon (i.e. at a sub-societal, but supra-individual level). Both Northover and Hermann discuss the importance of certain group factors, language and attitude, for the identity of the individual minority member. Hawkesworth takes us into the classroom and shows us how these factors influence everyday life in the multilingual classroom. Knubb-Manninen takes a different, but nonetheless salient, approach to cultural differences and second language classrooms. She describes the importance of gender and social status group differences. These factors have different effects on second language learning, not unlike that which we find for different ethnic groups. Some of the papers focus on children younger than school age. This is the case of Olesen's paper, which presents the pedagogical work done in the Danish Refugee Aid as an offer to refugee children under school age. Chylinski's contribution also deals with refugee children, who attend day-care institutions at a younger age and after a shorter stay in the host country than do children of migrant workers. Chylinski discusses the ways and means of bilingual socialisation in such institutions. Kragh presents a bilingual project in a daycare institution for pre-school children in Århus. He describes the elements of this project, which is centred on Danish and Turkish. Stockfelt-Hoatson gives an overview of current Swedish pedagogical development projects involving immigrant and refugee children, aiming at improving the day-care institutions to meet the needs of linguistic minority children. Her perspective is national, but at the same time very practical, and therefore has general interest. The final group of papers at long last brings us to the discussion of teaching practice. Glebe-Møller criticises, in particular, the Danish adult language-teaching system for being insensitive to the background of third world learners of Danish. Pinholt & Sand, on the other hand, describe how the language teaching at the Danish Refugee Aid tries to takes the characteristics of the learners into consideration. In both cases the question of activationand how the teacher and the school handle the immediate motivation of the beginneris highly important. Kragesteen & Skovbjerg discuss the right time for the introduction of the Danish language in Faroese schools. They describe three different so-called 'teacher profiles' which determine the attitude of the children. Again, the question of motivation is important, not least because the political aspects of the problem may very well be the strongest.
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Tomasevic discusses several aspects of the practice of so-called 'home language' teaching in Sweden, emphasising the linguistic ones. He illustrates his description of the development of Swedish practice with Serbo-Croatian home language teaching. He furthermore presents some results from the JUBA project in Lund. He stresses the need for individualised teaching, the students being so different in background, length of stay, first languge competence, etc. The final paper is Varming's account of the workshop arranged by the Danish organisation of teachers of linguistic minority students (UFE). Different opinions and attitudes were presented during the workshop, but there seemed to be almost unanimous agreement on the need for bilingual school personnel, on the introduction of minority languages into school curricula, and on bicultural approaches to teaching practice. This is, in fact, the best conference conclusion the organisers could hope for. References Boyd, Sally (1985) Language Survival: A Study of Language Contact, Language Shift and Language Choice in Sweden. Gothenburg: University of Gøteborg. Ejerhed, Eva & Inger Henrysson (eds) (1981) Tvåspråkighet. Foredrag från tredje Nordiske Tvåspråkighetssymposiet 4-5 juni 1980, Umeå universitet. Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå Studies in the Humanities, 36. Umeå: Umeå universitet. Wande, E., Anward, J., Nordberg, B., Steensland, L. & Thelander, M. (eds) (1987) Aspects of Multilingualism. Proceedings from the Fourth Scandinavian Symposium on Bilingualism, 1984. Acta Universitatis: Upsaliensia 2. Uppsala: Uppsala Universiteit.
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Contents Introductory Note J. Normann Jørgensen, Elisabeth Hansen, Anne Holmen & Jørgen Gimbel
vii
Bilingualism in Society & School 1. A Game-Theoretical Approach to Language Planning Caro Lucas & Emilia Nercissians
1
2. Societal Bilingualism and Language Planning Christer Laurén
11
3. Against All Odds: Language Promotion Efforts in Brittany Christer Laurén
19
4. Linguistic Normalisation in Catalonia: Catalan for the Catalans or Catalan for Catalonia? Charlotte Hoffmann
33
5. On the Planification of Language Acquisition Doris Pyee-Cohen
45
Status of Languages 6. Bilingualism with Diglossia: Status and Solidarity Dimensions Emilia Nercissians
55
7. Language Use and Attitudes: The Rise of Sango Jeannine Gerbault
69
8. Tosprogethed på FærøerneI historisk perspektiv Malan Saleem
87
9. Faktorer, der fremmer eller truer det færøske sprog Jeffrei Henriksen
93
10. Malecite Bilingualism Lászó Szabó
105
Language Ecology and the School 11. Sprogpolitik og sprogplanlægning efter hjemmestyrets indførelse Aqigssiaq Møller
111
12. Børn, teenagers og de to sprog i Grønland Grete Ulrich
119
13. Tvåspråkighet och skola i svenskfinland Viking Brunell
135
14. Language Use by French Immersion Graduates John De Vries
147
15. Should the French-Canadian Minorities Open Their Schools to the Children of the Anglophone Majority? 167 Raymond Mougeon & Édouard Beniak 16. Bilingual Education or Education for Bilingualism? Some Notes from Norway Ellen Andenæs
179
17. Bilingual Education and Bilingualism in the Swedish Comprehensive School Roger Källström
189
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Page xii Group Bilingualism 18. Bilinguals and Linguistic Identities Mehroo Northover
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19. Incongruity of Sexual Norms and Behaviour in the Danish Schools: Notes for Discussion Dorrit Poulsen Hawkesworth
221
20. Bilingualism Versus Identity Jesper Hermann
227
21. Andraspråksinlärning iolika subkulturer Gunnel Knubb-Manninen
233
Pre-school Children 22. Flygtningeførskolebørnmål og midler i tosproglig opdragelse Ewa A. Chylinski:
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23. Tokulturelt forsøgsprojekt i børnehaven Svalen Ole Kragh
255
24. Om de 0-6 årige flygtningebørns person-lighedsudvikling og integration Søren C. Olesen
265
25. Olika metoder att förbattra förskolan för barn med annat hemspråk än svenska 275 Britt-Ingrid Stockfelt-Hoatson Classroom and Practice 26. Om hensynet til voksne indvandreres kulturelle og uddannelsesmæssige forudsætninger i undervisningen Lis Glebe-Møller
285
27. Overvejelser over introduktion af andetsprog i den færøske skole 295 Heri Kragesteen & Karen Skovbjerg 28. Indvandrerundervisningsens behov Per Pinholt & Leif Sand
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29. Lingvistiska aspekter på hemspråksundervisningen i den Svenska skolen 315 Mijo Tomasevic 30. Workshop om tosproget undervisning Ulla Varming
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Appendix
335
Index
339
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1 A Game-Theoretical Approach to Language Planning Caro Lucas and Emilia Nercissians Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. Abstract. In many modern societies, the language problem has become one of the most important social and political questions. The increased importance of communication, the interrelation between language and identity, the reflection of social structure in language structure, and the role of language in nation-building and state-building are among the factors giving language a central role in contemporary social and cultural processes. However, although language planning has been recognised by scholars as a separate field of specialisation drawing upon the results obtained in sociology and linguistics, it has so far attracted the attention of few political scientists. The language-planning literature has mainly studied the attempts by governments to change a language and its functions for some specific purpose. The purpose of this paper is to invite attention to the modelling of conflicts in language planning due to the involvement of several institutions, existence of different goals, and multiplicity of underlying processes, especially in bilingual settings. Game theory has been used as a tool for analysing different language-planning problems and modelling different situations of conflict. It is shown that since in most cases of interest the decision-makers have common interests, several social dilemmas can be explained by simple gametheoretical models. Introduction The importance of language in all human societies, and particularly in modern societies, has been recognised for a long time. Language plays such a central role in human life that no branch of social sciences can afford to ignore it. In recent times, the advent of modern sociolinguistics has facilitated the study of language from a broader, multidisciplinary point of view. The
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methodologies and theoretical results obtained and used in the fields of sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc., have been applied in the linguistic field with great success. One of the aspects of this is the concept of human control over linguistic change. This control is of interest because language is so closely related to several important factors of our individual and social lives. For example, language has been the basic tool for communication in all historical and contemporary societies and no social scientist can analsye the communication problem without using the results obtained by modern sociolinguistic theory. The role of language in the nation-building process has long been recognised by historians and sociologists (Fishman, 1972; Weinstein, 1979; Gellner, 1983; Grillo, 1980). The different schools of psychology agree on the centrality of language in the identity formation process (Mead, 1962; Lacan, 1968; Tajfel, 1982). It is even conjectured that language can condition our thoughts (Miller & Johnson-Laird, 1976). By controlling language change one can at the same time influence all these associated variables. It follows that the interest in language planning can stem from several different considerations. The term 'language planning' has been used here to mean any decision-making process the aim of which is to influence the structure or the usage of a language or a number of languages (or language varieties). So far, language planning has been established as a subbranch of the sociology of language. However, very little attention has been paid to the scientific modelling of conflict in the language-planning process. Language planning is an act involving different social interests and so it usually cannot be conceived free from any conflicts. An obvious example is provided by bilingual communities, with each linguistic group trying to promote its own language. Conflict can also arise from the fact that language influences various social and psychological variables in different ways. For example, it has been argued that a language-planning strategy may have contradictory effects from the viewpoints of status and solidarity (Lucas & Nercissians, 1986). Thus a solidarity-stressing language-planning strategy may be in conflict with a status-enhancing strategy. More generally, language planning may be carried out for different goals, such as language purification, language reform, language revival, language standardisation, and policies designed to achieve one of these goals usually also affect the other goals. For instance, language standardisation programmes also involve some language purification and language reform (Bourhis, 1984). More importantly, language planning is usually not as simple as the conscious and sustained effort by a government to change the structure or functions of a language that has so far been discussed in the language-planning literature (see, e.g. Weinstein, 1983; Fishman, 1974). In most cases language planning involves several institutions whose strategies are unco-ordinated and contradictory (Nercissians & Lucas, 1986). Even within a government, the language policies pursued by the legislative, executive and judiciary branches, by the
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different ministries and organs or by the federal (or national) and regional levels of administration are often in conflict, and if we also include the civic society, and the pressure groups, then it is difficult to see how a language policy can be designed and implemented without any conflict. The mathematical tool for modelling decision-making processes in the presence of conflicts is game theory. In recent years, this theory has been applied in a number of works to language-planning problems (e.g. Nercissians & Lucas, 1986; Lucas & Nercissians, 1986, 1987; Eastman & Laitin, 1986; Laitin & Sole, 1986). However, these works have presented only some very simple models of language-planning situations. It is the purpose of this paper to invite the attention of researchers to the necessity for modelling conflicts in language planning by applying game theory. In the next section, several game-theoretical models that have been presented in previous literature will be discussed, and in the concluding section, some theoretical questions associated with the game-theoretical approach to language planning will be examined. Building Models As the first example, let us consider the conflict between the majority and minority groups in determining the language to be used at a regional level. Let us assume that the minority group, which speaks a different language, is concentrated in a region of the country, and the majority group controls the government and can decide the language of regional administration. The minority group can decide whether to learn and switch to the majority language or continue to use its own language. If we show the majority and minority languages by LM and Lm respectively, then the language-planning game discussed above can be represented in its normal form by the model shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
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The majority preferences are O4>O3>O2>O1>. For the minority group, however, the dilemma is whether to press for the preservation of the regional language or to learn the language of the centre as useful cultural capital. Depending on the relative weight of these two considerations their preferences will vary. If their main concern is to ensure the preservation of their regional language in local administrative matters, then their preferences will be O1>O2>O4>O3. However, if learning the language of the centre is associated with sociopolitical and economic success then these preferences will become O4>O2>O1>O3. The second case is less interesting, for there is almost no conflict and the outcome O4 has the maximum utility for both parties. But even in the first case, O4 is the equilibrium point and, although the minority would prefer the use of its own language, it has other choices than to settle for O4. The majority group has the advantage of having a dominant strategy. The minority, however, does not have a dominant strategy (not to learn LM), because if LM is the language of regional administration, it prefers to learn it (therefore, O4>O3). This preference is especially strong among the minority élites, who are influential in making language strategy decisions, and know that by knowing LM they can become their group's leaders by assuming middlemen's role between the state and their group. (Their preferences can be represented as O2>O1> O4>O3 and here again, there is a dominant strategy which is to learn LM.) Even if the majority group, while still trying to promote their own language, realise that this can be done better by encouraging the minority élites to learn it rather than by enforcing it through its use as the administrative code of the region, and change their preferences to O4>O2>O3>O1, this will not change the fact that the use of their language for regional adminsitration is their dominant strategy, and O4 is still the equilibrium point of the game. The above model, presented by Laitin & Sole (1986), aims to demonstrate the robustness of the final outcome with respect to different assumptions. In the authors' view, the final outcome, O4, i.e. the minority's switch to the majority language, which is used as the administrative code in both regional and national levels, is a sort of 'rationalisation' in Max Weber's sense, which they call 'linguistic rationalisation'. As long as refusing to learn the majority language constitutes a dominant strategy for the minority, the majority can always assure that O4 is the final outcome. This explains why the formations of modern nation-states are often associated with the suppression of minority and regional languages. In their next model, Laitin & Sole show why it is so difficult for the individual minority members to organise an effective linguistic resistance strategy. Every individual must decide whether to use Lm or to learn and switch to LM. If they collectively refuse to accommodate to the language of
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the majority, they can resist assimilation. But each party will be tempted to learn the majority language in order to secure a decent job for himself and social mobility for his children. The game can be represented by the model in Figure 2.
Figure 2 A's preferences can be shown as O3>O1>O4>O2. (Learning the majority language when other members of his group do not know it involves socioeconomic advantages, but he also has a collective interest in organising linguistic resistance.) Similarly, B's preferences can be shown as O2>O1>O4>O3. This is a classical example of the situation called the prisoner's dilemma by game theorists. O4 is the equilibrium outcome of the game. Moreover, learning Lm is not only the maximum strategy, but also the dominant strategy. But it can be seen that O4 is not the optimal strategy in Pareto's sense and both decision-makers prefer O1 to O4 (Luce & Raiffa, 1957). When considered together, the above examples explain why, as a result of modern state building, and political and economic 'rationalisation', the linguistic minorities will eventually have to switch to the majority language. However, if the 'linguistic rationalisation' with its implied one nationone language formula could be considered a historical necessity in the context of nineteenth century Western Europe, language standardisation in favour of official bilingualism has also emerged as a partial solution to language problems in several contemporary states. Even in the case of older Western European states, Switzerland provides a classic example of the successful implementation of such linguistic policies. Two types of official multilingualism have been distinguished. In the territorial approach the indigenous language of each region becomes the official language in that region, while in the personality approach the state must accommodate the lingusitic preferences of individuals and provide its public services in two or more official languages. Thus nationalistic and pluralistic approaches are two distinct policy options between which the majority and the minority groups can choose. If each group can
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promote the use of its own language by choosing a more nationalistic policy, then the language-planning games can be shown by the model in Figure 3 (Nercissians & Lucas, 1986).
Figure 3 In both O1 and O4 we have a state of bilingualism as the outcome. In O1 the bilingualism is of a subtractive type, since each language is being promoted at the expense of the other, while the bilingualism of O2 is of an additive type and is preferable to O1 from the point of view of both groups. Otherwise the majority prefers O1 to O3 and O2 to O4 and the minority prefers O1 to O2 and O3 to O4. The language-planning game described above is another example of the application of the prisoner's dilemma. It explains why a mechanism for promoting co-operation may be necessary for achieving optimality. The Canadian setting provides a good example of this, as can be seen from the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Official Languages (1985). The next example considers the possibility of using another code by two or more communities speaking different languages, in order to resolve their communication problem. Here, the choice for each community is whether to continue using its own language or to switch to a common code. The obvious examples of this model are the newly independent third-world countries, composed of two or more nationalities, none of which is the dominant majority group or pluridialectal settings. The common code might be the standard language, a lingua franca, or the colonial language. The game can be represented by the model in Figure 4. Again, O4 is the optimal outcome. But O1 is the equilibrium point and in the absence of a mechanism (like the colonial experience) promoting the common code the cost of switching to LC may prove too high. In the previous three examples the nature of the dilemma was always the same. The equilibrium of the game is not the optimal outcome. Therefore, there is a need for a co-operation-promoting mechanism in order to achieve optimality. However, this is by no means the only possible dilemma which
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Figure 4 can be explained by game theory. If, in the above example, we exclude the possibility of switching to a different language, but consider the possibility of resolving the communication problem by learning (and eventually switching to) the other nationality's language, then the game can be represented as in Figure 5. Clearly, O1 is the most preferred outcome for nationality A, and O4 is the preferred outcome for nationality B. If we additionally assume that the gain obtained from resolving the communication problem is higher than the cost of accommodating to the language of the other nationality, then nationality A will prefer O4 to O2 and nationality B will prefer O1 to O3. Here, the dilemma stems from the fact that we have not one, but two equilibria. The situation is problematic because it is not clear which group will have to accommodate to the other group's language. If we further assume that the two groups cannot communicate before choosing and implementing their strategies, then the game will be even more complex. Not only may both groups decide not to accommodate, but also each group may decide to go for the second best outcome, assuming that the other group will not accommodate, so that the final outcome is O3, which is sub-optimal. Finally, if we assume that both switching to the other nationality's language, and a third common language are possible, the game can be represented as in Figure 6.
Figure 5
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Figure 6 Here we have both dilemmas. It is not clear which outcome should be selected and how to guarantee optimality. The eventual outcome will be determined by pre-game conditions and the mechanisms designed to promote co-operation in order to achieve Pareto optimality. Conclusion The models described in the previous section are representative of the present state of the application of game theory. It can be seen that the models are very simplistic and hardly reflect the real complexities of language planning. However, even in these simple models we can see several of the essential problems involved in typical language-planning situations. Also, the models so far discussed in the literature are all descriptive and no attempt has been made to use game theory normatively. This reflects in part the strength as well as the shortcomings of game theory itself, and in part the preliminary stage of applying this theory to language planning and the lack of maturity of this area of investigation. At this stage, it would not be improper to be pessimistic about the potential for the normative application of game theory to language planning in the near future. It is safer to expect that in the future more complex and more powerful descriptive models will be presented for analysing particular, rather than general, language situations. The models described in this paper also demonstrate where game theory can be expected to help in analysing language-planning situations and what the prospects for its application in the near future are. Most of the interesting cases can be modelled as games that are non-zero-sum. It is well known that some of the main properties of the zero-sum games such as the existence, uniqueness and optimality of an equilibrium do not extend to the case of non-zero-sum games. An equilibrium may not exist. Even if it
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does, it may not be unique and there is no guarantee that it will be optimal. Even the concept of solution and solvability does not have one single definition (Luce & Raiffa, 1957). This allows us to use game theory in order to explain and categorise some of the observable dilemmas in language planning. Many social dilemmas stem from the fact that the equilibrium outcome is not optimal in the sense of Pareto. The prisoner's dilemma type models discussed here provide examples of this kind. In these cases the factors promoting co-operation for achieving optimality are of importance. One such factor is time. Models of repeated games have been analysed by Lucas & Nercissians (1986), and conditions under which optimality will be achieved in the dynamic case have been discussed. Another type of dilemma, based on the non-uniqueness of the equilibria, has also been examined in Lucas & Nercissians (1987) and in this paper. The solvability of the game becomes problematic if the equilibria are not interchangeable and equivalent. The prisoner's dilemma is at least solvable in Nash's sense, although it is not solvable in the strict sense (because there does not exist an equilibrium among the jointly admissible strategy pairs; see, e.g. Luce & Raiffa, 1957). But the last two models discussed in the previous section are not solvable because the equilibria, and even those among the jointly admissible strategy pairs, are not interchangeable; and neither are they equivalent. Again, some of the properties of non-zero-sum games like the power of disclosing one's strategy and the value of pre-game communication and information about the other decision-makers' strategy choices, which unlike the case of the zero-sum games are not a matter of indifference, become of importance. One is often forced into such questions as the bargaining psychologies of the decision-makers, interpersonal comparisons of utility, etc. In future, it can be expected that the rich game-theoretic literature will be utilised for the cases where pre-play messages can be transmitted, binding agreements can be concluded, and utilities are transferable and side payments are possible. Concepts like solutions, cores and stability will then be applied in analysing language-planning problems. Also, the concept of mixed strategies, which has been discussed by Lucas & Nercissians (1987), will probably be used and its interpretation can be expected to be a subject of discussion in future applications. Finally, our discussion would be incomplete without a brief mention of some of the limitations of the application of game theory, which have become apparent even at this early stage of its application. Firstly, there are important extra-theoretical psychological and sociological considerations without which the purely technical discussion and game-theoretical modelling would be incomplete and not very useful. In addition, the modelling of utility, which has been altogether avoided in this paper, is very problematic. The assumption that the preferences of the decision-makers are independent
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of their strategy choices may be untrue, the decision-makers may not behave in a 'rational' manner, etc. A general discussion of these limitations can be found in the literature (e.g. Luce & Raiffa, 1957). One of the most important problems here is the consideration of all the possible strategy choices. Misleading results may result from the omission of some of the possibilities. For example it was shown that when the possibility of bilingual strategies was not considered, a robust model justifying assimilation was obtained (see Lucas & Nercissians, 1987 for elaboration). Thus it should always be remembered that the theoretical approach of the game-theoretical model should not overshadow its sociological content. This should be considered by future theorists who are going to build more complex and elaborate game-theoretical models. Game theory is only a mathematical tool and its successful application is only possible when it is based on a sound underlying social theory. References Bourhis, R.Y. (1984) Introduction: language planning in multilingual settings. In R.Y. Bourhis (ed.) Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Commissioner of Official Languages (1986) Annual Report 1985. Canada: Minister of Supply and Services. Eastman, C. & Laitin, D. (1986) Transaction and games: language planning in Kenya. Paper presented to the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C. Fishman, J.A. (1972) Language and Nationalism. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. (1974) Advances in Language Planning. The Hague: Mouton. Gellner, E. (1983) Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Grillo, R.D. (ed.) (1980) Nation and State in Europe. Anthropological Perspectives. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press. Lacan, J. (1968) The Language of the Self. Anthony Wilden (trans.) New York: Dell. (Reprinted by arrangement with the Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975.) Laitin, D. & Sole, C. (1986) Language games: comparative speculations. Presented at the 11th World Congress of Sociology. New Delhi, India. Lucas, C. & Nercissians, E. (1986) Language planning in a bicultural environment. In D. Koval (ed.) Applied Simulation and Modelling, ASM'86. Anaheim, Calif.: Acta Press. (1987) Modelling conflicts in language planning: an application of game theory. In D. Koval (ed.) Applied Simulation and Modelling, ASM'86. Anaheim, Calif.: Acta Press. Luce, R.D. & Raiffa, H. (1957) Games and Decisions. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Mead, G.H. (1962) Mind, Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Miller, G. & Johnson-Laird, P.J. (1976) Language and Perception. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nercissians, E. & Lucas, C. (1986) A two-dimensional language planning model. Paper presented at 11th World Congress of Sociology. New Delhi, India. Tajfel, H. (1982) Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Weinstein, B. (1979) Language strategists: redefining political frontiers on the basis of linguistic choices. World Politics, 31, 345-64. (1983)The Civic Tongue. New York: Longman.
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2 Societal Bilingualism and Language Planning Christer Laurén University of Vasa, School of Modern Languages, Rådhusgatan 31, SF-65100 Vasa, Finland. Abstract. The field of language planning to be discussed is mainly what has been called implementation and elaboration. The starting point is the situation of speech communities like the Finland Swedes, who use a language which could be characterised as a minority language with an outside standard. A model is proposed for predicting attitudes and measures taken in the field of language planning. An important dichotomy used is majority language-minority language. It is proposed that this dichotomy is also crucial in situations not bounded by political borders. Language planning is also influenced by the international status of the language. Therefore, the model is applicable on national, regional and international levels. The field of language planning to be discussed here closely corresponds to Swedish 'språkvård', Norwegian 'språkrøkt' and German 'Sprachpflege'. These terms could be translated as 'language cultivation', as Neustupny (1978) does. This term is not, however, as satisfactory in English as its equivalents in other languages. In his model of language planning, Haugen (1983) regards the concept of cultivation merely as the process of implementation and elaboration, these concepts being defined as follows: Implementation includes the activity of a writer, an institution, a government in adopting and attempting to spread the language form that has been selected and codified. (Haugen, 1983:272) and Elaboration is in many ways simply the continued implementation
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of a norm to meet the functions of a modern world. (Haugen, 1983:273) Finland-Swedish language planning is in many ways influenced by the fact that Finland is a bilingual society. We have two official languages with a long history of geographical and political co-existence. This, of course, very strongly influences attitudes and measures taken in the field of language implementation and language elaboration. The behaviour which I am interested in is typically the behaviour of communities in developed countries. There are different problems in developing countries, where attention may be focussed on selection and codification, the two other central concepts of Haugen's model. According to Haugen (1983:274) himself, his model provides a description of what language planners have done, but it does not tell us why they have done it, nor what goals they have hoped to attain. My model is connected with Haugen's model through its concern with implementation and elaboration of function. My model has, however, another aim. It tries to understand why language planners, or perhaps in this case language cultivators, of different speech communities behave differently. Hence, it may also be called a hypothesis. The processes indicated by Haugen's model are not realised in my model. It is possible at least to hypothesize causes behind the differences of language-planning processes suggested by Haugen. This is what I shall be concerned with below, i.e., I will suggest some reasons behind differences in strategy in the fields of language implementation and language elaboration. My starting point is that there are real reasons behind the differences in strategy. There is normally nothing odd or ridiculous in the fact that one speech community behaves differently from another. The reasons may simply be complex. The concept systems of linguistics as well as those of sociology may not suffice to explain the reasons for the differences in question. One way of discovering these could be to study the language-planning traditions of different speech communities in order to define the underlying common characteristics of communities with common attitudes and behaviour with regard to implementation and elaboration. Against this background I want to suggest three dichotomies for structuring speech communities according to attitudes and measures in the fields of implementation and elaboration: majority language-minority language; outside standard languageindigenous standard language; officially directed implementation and elaboration-non-officially directed implementation and elaboration. With these three dichotomies speech communities can be classified into eight categories in a figure with three dimensions as in Figure 1. The dichotomies are extra-linguistic and my claim is that they predict the
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Figure 1 guidelines of implementation and elaboration in a speech community. These guidelines concern, for example, regionalisms, loan translations, loan-words, neologisms, terminology and pronunciation. Of course, other variables could be added and as a result we would have a more complex figure, one with more than eight categories of languages. In order to discover general tendencies we have, however, to simplify the situation. Still, it is not my intention to give lists of possible variables. A linguistic criterion which nonetheless could be mentioned is the degree of linguistic distance between two languages in contact with each other. Considerable linguistic distance can make interference in some fields impossible (cf. Swedish and Finnish in Finland), linguistic closeness can cause problems because, for instance, interference on the semantic level may be hard to discover (cf. French and English in North America). Below I will comment upon the eight classes of my figure. (1) Majority languages with standards of their own. Swedish of Sweden, French of France and Italian of Italy are examples of speech communities belonging to this group. It has not always been evident that the languages of these communities could meet all possible demands. Therefore these speech
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communities are at least to some extent interested in developing vocabulary by using resources of their own. (2) Minority languages with standards of their own. For instance, New Norse in Norway and the Gaelic of Ireland are minority languages with standards of their own. Speech communities belonging to this group are linguistically under strong pressure from the majority language of the same country and therefore they make a great effort to maintain their linguistic identity. (3) Majority languages with outside standards. This group may be exemplified by the German of Switzerland and the German of Austria. There are practical reasons why these speech communities try to keep the standard variety of their language close to that of the society which determines its development. There would, of course, be no risk involved if the speech communities in question were inclined to support a different development of their language. In time, however, they would no longer possess a language which it would be possible to use outside the political borders of the country in question. A speech community of this type has in any case a safe existence, which usually cannot be threatened by another speech community as in case 2. (4) Minority languages with outside standards. Examples of this group are Swedish in Finland and French in Canada (cf. a comparison of these given in Laurén, 1983). These are speech communities under strong pressure from a majority language as in case 2. They try to keep their language variety close to that of the main area of the language because of the support this gives them in their minority situation. This possibility of support is a remarkable advantage to these communities when comparing them with those of case 2. Behaviour which may be good for a community of category 2 may perhaps not be good in this case. I cannot agree with Haugen (1983: 286) when he advocates Norwegian behaviour for Finland Swedes concerning language. With categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 we have covered the speech communities with officially directed implementation and elaboration. Responsibility for such direction devolves on academies, language councils, meetings or other governmental or nongovernmental bodies authorised for their tasks in some way. Two West-European extremes in the field of implementation and elaboration are French and English. English is often mentioned as an example of a language used by a speech community with a remarkably liberal attitude with regard to language. At least in some respects this view is superficial. Of course, there is no English academy but there are traditions embodied in dictionaries and maintained in other ways, too. Well established norms exist but because they often are not of the same type as those of, for example, French, there is seldom any discussion of these norms. A hypothesis I want to propose is that a language with officially directed implementation and elaboration socially
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often has a more accessible standard variety than English. The lack of officially directed activities may lead to a situation where the pattern of the standard variety is very complicated, with relatively many rules existing only implicitly. English is in many ways exceptional in the context of my model but one should not draw any conclusions about the availability of a standard English for its users compared with other languages. My model concerns only differences of attitudes and measures. The next case is, of course, close to case 1: (5) Majority languages with standards of their own. This is the case with the English of Great Britain and that of the U.S.A. English has a strong position internationally. Because of the mixture of Germanic and Romance elements, it is not possible to maintain puristic language planning. Structurally the language can accept a great deal of influence from outside. One could possibly compare the situation with that of Latin in Western Europe until the time when efforts were made to return to Ciceronian Latin. (6) Minority languages with standards of their own. As examples of this category we may mention Sardinian, Rhaeto-Romanic, the Gaelic of Scotland. These are languages which, using a term employed in Bossong (1980), are in a recessive cycle if WestEuropean. If there is no officially directed activity in our field and no support from another speech community, it must be difficult for a language to exist in a modern society. The modernisation of Rhaeto-Romanic society has recently called for activities directed towards the development of a standard language; otherwise there will not be one single standard for the language. (7) Majority languages with outside standard. This is a variety of the English model existing in many countries outside the U.S.A. and Great Britain, for example in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Because of English traditions, there do not usually exist officially directed activities in our field. Typically, there is a strong dependence on either the English variety of Great Britain or that of the U.S.A. There are problems of regionalisms but they are not often discussed. (8) Minority languages with outside standard. A speech community which could be mentioned is the Basque community of France, which quantitatively is weaker than the Basque-speaking community of Spain. Another is the Catalan community of France, which has a similar status. 1. From the point of view of bilingualismand from my personal point of viewthe case of minority languages with an outside standard is the most interesting one. One way of describing the characteristics of the language planning of these speech communities is to do it by means of contrast. The German of Austria is the language of a majority population even if the standard
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language is mainly developed in Germany. The majority situation gives the German of Austria a basis for independent language planning. The Austrians can afford themselves all literature in special fields of knowledge if they want to. They will, however, derive great advantage from their language situation if in the future they are also able to communicate in German with other German-speaking areas of the world. One could mention as some signs of a greater independence in language-planning matters the fact that Austrians generally use 'Jänner' and 'Fäber' for standard German 'Januar' and 'Februar', and Österreichisches Wörterbuch (35th edn, 1979), a very authoritative source, presents Austrian regionalisms without any marking. Words like 'Standel', 'Budel', 'beiläufig', 'brocken', 'Dachtel', 'Beutler', 'einhakeln', 'gar sein', 'derweil', 'warschelnass', 'verschwitzen' and 'gelungen' (= 'originell') are included; these are either unknown by Germans in Germany or have a special meaning in Austria. I am aware of the fact that the dictionary has been criticised because of this tendency; the dictionary has, however, been compiled by a very competent and well established team of Austrian scholars. Regionalisms can as a rule never have an opportunity to be included in this way in dictionaries with official or semi-official status in speech communities where the language is a minority language. 2. It is, however, interesting to see that my model is applicable also to situations not bounded by political borders. A speech community can feel its language threatened in a larger context. In the middle and at the end of the nineteenth century this must have been a correct description of Finnish and the Finnish speech community. A great deal of work was done to coin new words for use instead of the mass of Swedish and other Germanic or Indo-European loan words: e.g. 'shäkö' for 'elektrisiteetti', 'otsikko' for 'rubriikki', 'ongelma' for 'probleema', 'mittakaava' for 'skaala', 'kyljys' for 'kotletti' and 'arvovalta' for 'auktoriteetti'. In the 1980s the Norwegians already had and still have many terminological projects for creating adequate Norwegian terms in the field of petrotechnology, which is dominated by the English language. They, too, felt themselves to be a minority threatened also by the influence of English terminology. This is also true for all the Nordic languages in the wide application of computer technology. They all, in their attitudes and measures taken, react as minority languages in the traditional sense. In Nordic co-operation measures have been taken many times and problems have been discussed concerning international loanwords, the goal being to integrate loan-words better in the same or mainly the same way into the Nordic languages. One dominating principle has been to harmonise. Another one has been to overcome problems caused by a far too large number of fresh loan-words. A language can in this way in different contexts simultaneously function as
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a majority and a minority language. Therefore the speech community in question can show attitudes typical of both, with differing emphasis according to the actual relations between those communities. 3. There is, of course, also a change due to time. The status of a language as a majority or a minority language can change as a result of political and/or cultural ups and downs. 4. Hence, my model of language planning may be a useful tool when a rough analysis of implementation and elaboration situations is needed, be it from a synchronic or a diachronic point of view. It can also be used taking into account either a narrower or broader context of neighbouring speech communities. The nature of possibly existing societal bilingualism seems to be crucial. References Bossong, Georg (1980) La situation actuelle de la langue sarde. Perspectives linguistiques et politiques. Lengas. Revue de sociolinguistique, 8, 33-58. Haugen, Einar (1983) The implementation of corpus planning: theory and practice. In Juan Cobarrubias & Joshua A. Fishman, Progress in Language Planning. Berlin-New York-Amsterdam: Mouton, 269-89. Laurén, Christer (1983) Canadian French and Finland Swedish: minority languages with outside standards, regionalisms and adstrata. Quebec: International Center for Research on Bilingualism, publication B-122. Neustupny, J.V. (1978) Post-structural Approaches to Language: Language Theory in a Japanese Context. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
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3 Against All Odds: Language Promotion Efforts in Brittany Lenora A. Timm Program in Linguistics, University of Califonia, Davis, Calif. 95616, U.S.A. Abstract. This paper provides a brief historical overview of language promotion efforts in Brittany, placing them within the context of the larger movement for ethnic revival and regional self-determination that has existed for at least a century in this far western region of France. Language has almost always played a role in the Breton movement, but the importance attached to it has varied by generation, class, political orientation of activists, and by whether or not the latter have themselves been Breton speakers. Since the 1960s the movement has gained momentum, accelerated in part by the worldwide burgeoning of the expression of ethnicity, in part by the increasing participation in the movement by non-élites, and in part by a degree of decentralisation recently permitted by the French government. A prime achievement of this last wave of activism has been the establishment of a network of pre-school and elementary classes that use Breton as a medium of instruction. Yet in spite of this and some other victories for the language in the public sector, it is concluded that the prospects for Breton as a living vernacular remain dim. Prologue Comment peut-on être breton? was the trenchant title of a provocative book published by Morvan Lebesque in 1970. This is indeed a profound question for Bretons, as it is for Basques, Occitans, Alsatians and other so-called 'regional' minority groups living within the territorial boundaries of modern France; for it is hardly a secret that the French state has for nearly two centuries sought the elimination of languages other than French and the cultures that support them. The Jacobin mentality of the French Revolution has sustained itself through the generations: countless statements from government officials (and others) stretching back two hundred years attest
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both to the low regard in which all non-French (i.e. Parisian) 'idiomes' were held and to the government's intense desire to get rid of the whole lot of them. One of the first public pronouncements articulating this viewpoint came from Barrère in 1794 when he declared in the name of the 'Committee of Public Safety' that 'Federalism and superstition speak Breton; emigration and hatred for the Republic speak German; counter-revolution speaks Italian and fanaticism speaks Basque'. He ended by proclaiming that 'among a free people, the language must be one and the same for everyone' (quoted in Gwegen 1975:33). Only in recent years have these attitudes begun to attenuate, most notably with President Giscard d'Estaing's 'Charte culturelle' in 1978 that established a Cultural Council of Brittany and that declared itself favourable to the teaching of the Breton language and culture and other actions in support of the language (promises that have been only partially realised). The current French President, François Mitterand, had as one of his campaign slogans 'le droit à la difference'. While campaigning in Brittany in 1981 he proclaimed: It does not behoove France to continue the shameful persecution of the regional languages and to remain the only European country to prevent national minorities from obtaining their basic cultural rights. (Bar-Lewaw, 1986) Yet six years later French minorities feel that, although they are no longer persecuted in the overt manner of the past, there has not been the kind of support and promotion of their languages and cultures that they had been led to believe the Socialist régime would usher in. The promised 'renaissance' of cultural diversity has hardly taken place. Part of the reason for this relates to the different viewpoints on the question of minority languages held by key government officialse.g. Jack Lang, the current Minister of Culture, has been favourable and opened certain doors (such as allocating the use of bilingual road signs and promoting the approval of a baccalaureate degree in Breton); at the same time, the Minister of Education, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, was stating publicly that he felt it was not in young people's best interest to study 'languages that do not help in opening new perspectives in the future' (ibid.). A few years earlier, in 1981, after much anguished debate, promises by the government, then retractions, the then Minister of Education, Savary, finally grudgingly approved the creation of the licence (equivalent of a university bachelors degree) in Breton. Protest and political mobilisation of students and other pro-Breton activists were required to extract this concession from the government. These examples illustrate the fragile, or perhaps, volatile, nature of the
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state's commitment to language minorities; it is understandably a source of frustration and grief to the latter groups, some of whose languages are in obvious danger of extinction. Breton is one of these. Brittany as an 'Ethnie' Thus far I have been referring to Brittany as one of France's linguistic and cultural minorities; but it is important to emphasise the fact that the Bretons constitute an ethnic community, or group, by most criteria that have been proposed in the literature on ethnicity. Definitions of the concept abound, and differing formulations are drawn depending upon the relative weight given to cultural, linguistic and political factors. For purposes of this paper I have found the characterisation by A.D. Smith (1981:66) apropos: For short, we may define the 'ethnie' or ethnic community as a social group whose members share a sense of common origins, claim a common and distinctive history and destiny, possess one or more distinctive characteristics, and feel a sense of collective uniqueness and solidarity. On all these counts the Bretons comprise an 'ethnie', though it is true, as with many other ethnic groups, that the claim of a 'common and distinctive history and destiny' has had to be elaborated and upheld mainly by the intellectual segment of the population, inasmuch as the French state has for so long attempted to suppress minority histories in the educational system and to assimilate their cultures to the French; thus common folk are not usually well informed about their ancestral past. It is also true that not all contemporary Bretons are especially interested in their ethnicity and may even repudiate it, or, perhaps, claim co-allegiance to France and accept that their destiny is bound up with the latter's. Nevertheless, the Breton people are linked to one another by 'primordial' ties of kinship, religion, custom and, until the twentieth century, of language. 1 It is arguably because of these very real or authentic ties (i.e. not invented or contrived as happens in the mobilisation of some ethnic groups) that Brittany has possessed a strong ethnic movement for nearly a century now, one that has ebbed and flowed in different waves, with differing results for successive generations of Bretons, and one that seems likely to go on. A book-length study would be necessary to do justice to the intricate history of this movement (and there are some good ones available, e.g. Reece, 1977; Nicolas, 1982); what I propose to do in this paper is to sketch in briefly some of the historical highlights of the movementEmsav in Bretonand then to indicate the role
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that the linguistic dimension of Breton ethnicity has played for movement activitists and for the Breton people in general. The Breton Movement (Emsav) The present day Emsav is no recent phenomenon, a simple by-product of the turbulent 1960s or a transitory effort to secure more political and economic rights for the Breton population. Its roots go back well into the nineteenth century and even intertwine with the late eighteenth-century Romantic notions associated with 'Celtomanie' (such as the idea that a Celtic language, presumably Breton, was spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) touted by such Breton intellectuals as LeBrigant and La Tour d'Auvergne. Moreover, ethnic nationalism was not unknown elsewhere in Europe in the nineteenth century. As Smith (1981:24) points out: Ethnic revival is not only a global phenomenon, but a major trend stretching back, at least in Europe, for two centuries or more. It began in the late eighteenth century, erupted in the French Revolution and spread quickly to Central and Eastern Europe. There, the doctrines of nationalism fired and sanctioned the budding ethnic movements of Poles, Hungarians, Greeks, Serbs, Czechs, Italians and others. By the late nineteenth century, the Middle East had been caught up in this revival, with Armenians, Egyptians, Arabs, Kurds and others staking their ethnic claims. Smith argues, therefore, that 'the ethnic revival is a far more durable and powerful phenomenon than is usually depicted; and it draws on far deeper and historical roots than many would allow' (ibid.). Concerning Brittany, the movement as such 2 may be said to have been launched in the late nineteenth century with the establishment of the Union Régionaliste Bretonne (URB) in 1898 (Nicolas, 1982:43). This organisation is considered by historian J. Reece to be 'the first avowedly Breton regionalist society' (quoted in Fortier, 1980:140), one that attempted both economic and political reform and advocated teaching Breton in the schools. While the URB set the model which others could look to, it nevertheless failed ultimately due to its élitist stance (membership came mainly from the aristocratic and landed classes [Reece, 1977:61]). The URB also got bogged down, ironically, in the language issue itself, i.e. the draft resolution calling for bilingual instruction in the school system led to an imbroglio between the Francophone and Bretonophone members, the former only weakly committed to the idea, and the latter claiming that the language issue was central to advancing Breton
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interests. Heated debates arose at this time over the issue of the role of language in Breton identity, a debate which would resound throughout the twentieth-century movement. Bretonophone leaders left the organisation in disgust, and the URB ultimately withered away in about 1911. In the meantime, other nationalist organisations had been developing, e.g. the BleunBreug (Heath Flower), a Catholic association founded in 1905 by Abbé Perrot (later to be canonised as a Breton martyr following his assassination in 1943 for allegedly nationalistic activities). The Bleun-Breug flirted with political issues, but was devoted chiefly to promoting the language and traditional culture of Brittany. Another pre-World War I organisation, secular and separatistand a reaction to the conservative URBwas the Strollad Broadel Breiz (in French, Parti Nationaliste Breton, or PNB). Its aim was complete severance of ties with France. Breton, of course, was to be reinstated as the national language. Again the question arose among the leadership as to whether or not language was a crucical component of Breton identity, or as crucial, at any rate, as, say, history and culture. To some degree, the debate over language, filling many pages of the Breton militant journals, reflected the split between 'the two Brittanies'the French-speaking eastern or upper half (pays gallo) and the Breton-speaking western or lower half. The former territory (which includes the important historical urban centre of Rennes) had not been Breton-speaking since the tenth/eleventh century, yet the Gallo activists wanted to press the point that that particular unfortunate accident of their history did not and should not disqualify them as Bretons. Indeed, some went so far as to see this language lack as a positive attribute enhancing their sense of Bretonness and their national consciousnessand this precisely because they felt their Breton identity more jeopardised when they did not command the ancestral language (ibid:93). Though perhaps not acknowledged by this group of activists, the valuing of history over language may also have reflected the apparent reality of language use in Brittany at the time: Breton was the vernacular (in its many dialect forms) of the rural, coastal and island populations. It was, then, the language of peasants and fisherfolk, of the working class, in short. The commercial and professional classes as well as the aristocracy had been speaking primarily, if not exclusively, French for decades (the aristocracy for centuries). 3 Even the clergy spoke French among themselves, though they still found it necessary to know Breton in order to communicate with their parishioners; and they still offered mass and catechism in Breton, though French was beginning to encroach more and more in this domain.4 Nevertheless, the Breton-speaking militants would not accept a second-place position for the language. They argued their case passionately in the pages of the nationalist periodicals Brittia and Brug (ibid., pp. 84f.).
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These World War I organisations and publications had, in truth, little impact on the Breton population, who mobilised readily in defence of France at the outbreak of the war. 5 The war, moreover, brought the movement to a standstill, and it did not begin to regather its mometum until the 1920s. Reece argues that although there was no nationalistic activity during the war years, one result of that global turmoil was the development of Breton nationalism amidst the disrupted society that the war had produced, a nationalism fuelled more powerfully now by resentment at France for the loss of so many Breton lives. Thus, a new organisation and a new journal were born, Breiz Atao ('Brittany Forever'). 'Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, it embodied the resurrection of the polemic, the spirit and fervour of the prewar publications' (Fortier, 1980:143). Attention was now focussed less on history and the preservation of traditional ways than on the economic problems of the Bretons and the inequity of taxation for what Brittany was getting in return. Language was an issue to the Breiz Atao activists, but Francophone members were not told that they could not be patriots; rather, they were enjoined to make every effort to learn the language. As it turned out, a number of prominent interwar nationalists represented just this sort of patriota Francophone from birth who acquired Breton as a result of political beliefs. Some members of this group were interested primarily in achieving Breton independence and with rediscovering and revalidating Breton and Celtic history. Othersand several are of relevance to this paperdevoted themselves chiefly to language matters. The towering figure in the latter group is Roparz Hemon (born Louis Nemo). Hemon not only founded and edited an influential literary revue, Gwalarn ('Northwest'), that attracted the talents of a distinguished assemblage of Breton writers and poets but also contributed an awesome quantity of original linguistic and literary works, including dictionaries (contemporary and historical), grammars, essays, plays, novels and Breton translations of world literature. To a significant degree the codification of the modern language is due to Hemon's prodigious efforts; and the fact that the zedachek ('ZH') orthography is widely used today (there are at least two competing ones) is surely attributable to the fact that it was the choice of Hemon and the Gwalarn group.6 However, along with this codification and elaboration of the literary language came a widening of the gap between spoken and written forms of Breton, for an important aspect of Hemon's elaboration efforts entailed the creation of Breton neologisms to replace French-derived ones or to fill lexical gaps. His Breton-French dictionary is replete with words that no native speaker had ever used or would even be likely to comprehend. This is an ironic result for the linguist who once wrote: Nous voulons nous mêler au peuple (. . .) car il est la chair de notre chair. Ce n'est pas comme des imbeciles que nous venons le regarder,
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mais comme des fils respectueux (. . .) c'est en lui que nous trouverons le sens de notre littérature, de notre vie. . . (Quoted in Lebesque, 1970:179) Yet Hemon, and many of the movement intellectuals for that matter, was in truth schizoid in his attitude toward the people. Revering them from a distance, he (and others) nevertheless were repelled at the thought of mixing with them and allowing their 'coarse' and 'corrupted' speech to percolate into the new literary standard that he was crafting. This is evident in the editorial of the inaugural issue of Gwalarn, in which Hemon describes (in French) the purpose of the journal: Revue littéraire destinée à l'élite du public bretonnant . . . pour la première fois une revue bretonnante presentera exclusivement à des lecteurs instruits des articles faits pour eux ... travaux d'une irreprochable tenue littéraire, et fermant la porte aux patois (même decorés du nom de dialectes) . . . déclencher un mouvement général de l'élite bretonnante. (Quoted in Nicolas, 1982:86) His 'ivory tower' approach to the creation of the literary languageone of Hemon's legaciesremains a troubling problem today for the implementation of Breton language programmes in the schools. Yann Sohier is another name of importance in the Breton language movement. He may, in fact, be regarded as a precursor to the present-day Diwan movement, the network of Breton language schools that will be described later. Sohier's relationship with many of his nationalist peers was not always good, for he was an avowed communist, this penchant evident in the title chosen for the journal he launched, Ar Falz (The Sickle), targeted at lay teachers of Breton. From Upper Brittany (pays gallo) and trained as a teacher, Sohier was given a position in a school in Lower (Breton-speaking) Brittany. It was there that he became fully aware of the linguistic and cultural oppression of the educational system; he soon began speaking out in favour of Breton language instruction, and in 1933-34 worked intensively to garner public support for this idea. An early death unfortunately prevented Sohier from realising his dream, but a few years later, in 1942, one of his friends, Kerlann, opened the first Bretonlanguage elementary school (in Tregor). In announcing his plans to open this school, Kerlann explained: 'Tired of waiting in vain for Breton to be taught in State schools, I've decided to create the first wholly Breton school' (quoted in Gwegen, 1975:97). He goes on to admit that he has almost nothing with which to start a schooldesks, books, writing pads, pencils are all in short supply, as is money. 'However,' he concludes resolutely, 'I've firmly decided to realise my project against all odds' (Gwegen, 1975). It is this same spirit and tenacity that drive today's language activists.
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Kerlann's school lasted only three years, shut down in the aftermath of the purges against Breton activists following World War II. The history behind these events is complex and would take me too far afield to discuss here. Suffice it to say that there was a vigorous post-war anti-Breton campaign waged by the government in retaliation for the alleged collaboration of Breton activists with the Nazis during the war and especially during the Occupation. Hundreds of Bretons were arrested merely for having been members of any sort of Breton association or organisation. Many were stripped of civil rights and/or had their property confiscated. Leaders were imprisoned or exiled (Hemon, for example, went to Ireland, where he lived out his life); fifteen were executed as traitors (Fortier, 1980:146). The post World War II decade, then, in contrast with the years following World War I, was not only depressed economically but also from the perspective of Breton morale. While other parts of France began experiencing growth and were starting to enjoy new levels of prosperity, Brittany languished. An ever-strong birth rate coupled with stagnant economic conditions promoted much out-migration. The age pyramid began shifting in favour of the older segment of the population, a situation that has not really changed even today in rural Brittany. A new organisation emerged in 1950, avowedly apolitical, with the aim of stimulating economic growth on the Peninsulathis was the Comité d'Etudes et de Liaison d'Interêts bretons (CELIB); it had a cultural commission that worked unsuccessfully to earn official recognition for Breton in the schools in traditionally Breton-speaking areas (Reece, 1977:181). In 1957 the Mouvement pour l'Organisation de la Bretagne (MOB), more inclined than the CELIB toward political action, was founded. A hallmark of this organisation was its adherence to the idea of Brittany as a colony 7 and a return to the idea of Breton autonomy (i.e. home rule for Brittany's five departments). This interpretation of Breton problems, ironically perhaps, attenuated the degree of emphasis that had previously been placed by militant organisations on linguistic and cultural oppression; and language was not a burning issue within the MOB. However, for the group that soon split off from the MOBthe Union Démocratique Bretonne (UDB)language was crucial (though this group, too, adopted the Brittany-as-colony perspective). In fact, many of its members were Breton speakers from the Finistère in Lower Brittany. This organisation has, since 1964 or so, been an important element in the leftwing of Breton politics. It launched in the mid-1960s what would turn out to be a highly successful magazine, Le Peuple Breton, that has always espoused strong support for the language; indeed, for several years it published a Breton-language version (much slimmer) of Le Peuple Breton under the Breton banner of Pobl Vreizh. Unfortunately, if tellingly, the
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latter folded just a year or two ago due to financial malnutrition. As we move further into the 1960s and then into the 1970s and 1980s in this rapid trek through Breton movement history, we see a veritable explosion of militant organisations, some of which have attracted no small measure of media attention through their more spectacular actions, e.g. the FLB (Front pour la Libération de la Bretagne) bombing in 1974 of the main television transmission tower for western Brittany and in 1978 the bombing of a wing of the Château de Versailles. These latter-day militants are chiefly younger people, from diverse walks of life; 8 they are also predominantly neobretonnant(e)s (if they speak Breton at all) and aggressive in their claims for linguistic as well as political and economic selfdetermination. Certain ones, following arrest for their actions, have languished in prison for refusing to speak French in the courtroom. A few have gone on hunger strikes to draw attention to the financial plight of the Diwan schools. A point of great importance about these recent organisations is that. they are far less élitist than their predecessors and that they haveto a far greater extent than ever beforecaptured the imagination of a broader swatch of the Breton population. In brief, the movement has been galvanising the general public and at the same time moving out of the wings into the flow of everyday social life. This is evident in the profusion of Breton festivals, in the propagation of Breton literature, music and musical societies, the ubiquity of 'Bzh' (Brittany) car stickers and the Breton flag. Last, but not least, there is the emergence of Diwan and the granting of a licence and CAPES in Breton.9 Diwan (a Breton word meaning 'seed') is a network of Breton-medium elementary schools strung throughout Brittany, and it is equally an association of parents and teachers. This year marks its tenth anniversary, which is no mean achievement considering the obstacles and financial difficulties that have plagued this dauntless and innovative organisation from the beginning. Diwan owes its existence to the efforts of concerned young parents who feel deeply the effects of having been denied their traditional language in their own childhood and are determined that their children will not be so denied. Diwan warrants a history of its own, which cannot be attempted here. I will simply say that its emergence in the late 1970s is certainly related to the popular prise de conscience of ethnicity that was manifested in Europe and the U.S.A. beginning in the mid to late 1960s10 and to the actions of the more radical organisations in the Emsav, mentioned above. Another factor was the emergence in the 1970s of a French government less overtly hostile to linguistic/cultural minorities, as noted at the beginning of this paper. Launched on a diminutive scale and a shoestring budget with one
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kindergarten class in northwest Brittany (Lampaul-Ploudalmézeau), the Diwan network now comprises 30 classes, including 13 pre-schools, 17 primary level classes, and 380 students. There are some 40 teachers, none of whom is paid by the state, and an overall annual operating budget of six million French francs. A critical issue for Diwan is integration into the state educational system, a process that had been envisaged from the outset in order both to 'mainstream' Breton and ensure financial stability and regular teaching careers for instructors. However, integration has still not taken place because the government's stipulations are problematic: specifically, the government has proposed only partial funding for the teachers and is also demanding that French be introduced from the lowest (pre-school) levels, whereas Diwan has been running the pre-school classes in Breton only, and introducing French in the primary levels. It is feared that the government is using this as a tactic to undermine the Breton component of the bilingual programme. For years Diwan had staunchly resisted this, but finally in early 1987under threat of bankruptcythe beleaguered association was forced to accept the government's conditions. As one observer says of this predicament: 'Diwan est aujourd'hui à un tournant. Se saborder en refusant trop de concessions ou perdre son identité en allant trop loin dans la réforme' (Seité, 1987). 11 In addition to seeking a place for Breton in pre-school and elementary education, language activists of the 1970s and 1980s have been breaking new trails in the groves of academe: as noted earlier, 1981 saw the granting of the licence in Breton (following a decade of requests and petitions), which was an immediate success343 students enrolled in September 1981 at the Université de Haute Bretagne (Rennes-2). It is true that enrolments tapered off in subsequent years, but this was arguably due more to the fact that other degrees needed to render the licence a tenable one (in terms of preparation and employability) were still lacking. One of these, the CAPES (Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat de l'Enseignement du Second Degré) was granted in 1985it is the degree required to be employable as a language teacher in the public schools. It, too, was won only after an arduous campaign by language activists in Brittany and elsewhere in Europe and the U.S.A.12 The final link in the chain of higher degrees still needed to put Breton on an equal footing with other languages taught in France is the DEUG (Diplôme d'Etudes universitaires générales), which has hitherto been denied by the government. This degree may be an end in itself or may qualify a student to go on for the more specialised licence. A question naturally arises to any outsider reading this account: namely, what does the Breton public think . . . do they care about Diwan and Breton in the schools, or anywhere else for that matter? I believe that the answer increasingly is yes. Breton language supporters and promoters are
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found throughout Brittany, and they show their support by means of public manifestations (street rallies, sign-carrying), petitionsigning, and direct contributions to Diwan's coffers (over 4,500 people have volunteered an automatic payroll deduction payable to Diwan). A weekend gathering in March of 1987 to demonstrate interest in and promotion of language and other Breton cultural issues drew 4,000-5,000 people to the interior town of Carhaix. Stourm ar Brezhoneg (Battle for Breton), a group that worked for several years clandestinely in burning or tarring 10,000 French street and road signs, has recently been put out of work: bilingual signs are, with government authorisation, being erected along a major northern highway of the Peninsula. It is unfortunate that vandalism had to be resorted to, for this has meant arrests and court fees for those judged guilty, who can ill afford the fines; but Breton history has shown repeatedly that the state will never give an inch on its own initiative. Through Diwan, bilingual road signs, Breton theatrical productions, and an expanding corpus of Breton literature, the traditional language of Brittany is at last gaining a true public presence. Much more visibility is needed especially in the media, which are still overwhelmingly French in language and cultural content); 13 but this presence is already helping to counteract 'the deafening propaganda of the status quo' (to borrow E.P. Thompson's apt phrase)helping, that is, Bretons reassert their sense of distinctiveness as a people with a shared heritage. It is perhaps in the achievements and the works in progress of this last wave of Breton activistswho have reached out to and affected a more popular base than ever beforethat Bretons of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries will be able to find an answer to Lebesque's troubling question, with which I opened this essay. Conclusion Where is the Breton language headed? With perhaps a half-million speakers, most of whom are (well) over 50, and lacking strong institutional support, the ineluctable answer appears to be that it is on its way out. Yet Diwan and other expressions of the Emsav over the past decade or so have mobilised impressive numbers of Breton people from different walks of life to take a stand on issues that affect their lives. Ultimately the Breton movement exists because Bretons are discontent with the way things arewith economic discrimination, with insufficient social services, with long years of insults and depracation, and with the historical suppression of their linguistic and cultural expression. Language is a symbol of that
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dissatisfaction and of the Bretons' claims for fairer treatment. If they can sustainor better, of course, increasethe current level of interest in protesting the status quo and promoting the language through Diwan and other initiatives, then it seems to me that Breton has a fighting chance of surviving. However, I possess no crystal ball, and while I admit (to paraphrase Roamain Rolland) to a pessimism of the intelligence, I, along with many Bretons, cling tenaciously to an optimism of the will. Notes to Chapter 3 1. An opposing view has recently been voiced by writer P. Rannou (1987) who denies that there is either a Breton people or a Breton culture, the latter being absent because the population has assimilated to the French; and the former consisting of no more than 'militants marginalisés' (p. 18). This cynical assessment of contemporary Breton society contains, certainly, some insights into an ethnic group that has been subject forcibly to assimilation, but it overlooks the positive creations (such as Diwansee below) that are emerging from the Breton movement, creations that, in turn, are forging a new sense of Breton identity (cf. Kuter, forthcoming). 2. That is, the movement in terms of organisation. Linguistic reformssuch as efforts to normalise the orthography of the three northern dialects and to expunge French loanwordshad been underway since the early nineteenth century. 3. The fact that the working classes were numerous and did not interact extensively with the other classes within or outside of Brittany is one of the reasons Breton has persisted for so long (cf. Hechter & Levi, 1979:265). 4. In some recent archival research Per Denez (1986) has come across documents from the turn of the century in which the departmental prefects were instructed to have local mayors surveille the local cures to make sure that they were giving Sunday sermons and catechisms in French at least every other week. If the priests made no effort to introduce French into their services, their salaries were to be withheld. As many as 99 priests in the départemente of the Finistère had their salaries so suspended, but the plan was never effective on a massive scale due to the resistance of the mayors, who balked at acting as informers. The whole scheme, however, is indicative of the subversive techniques used by the government in their attempts to assimilate the Bretons. 5. And who paid dearly in lives: Brittany may have lost as many as 240,000 men to the war, amounting to a fatality rate of 1 in 14, compared with 1 in 28 for the rest of France (cf. Reece, 1977:87). 6. Well known names associated with this group include Jakez Riou, Youenn Drezen, Kongar, Langleiz, Abeozen and Meavenn. 7. This was a concept articulated in 1957 by Yann Fouéré, a leading nationalist figure for many years; Fouéré likened Brittany to an external colonised nation such as Algeria (Reece, 1979:289, n. 2). The notion has gained wide currency and has been formulated as an explicit model to account for the socio-economic underdevelopment and ethnic resurgence in the 'Celtic fringe' of the British Isles (see Hechter, 1975; Hechter & Levi, 1979); Reece (1977) applies the model to Brittany. For critiques see Smith, 1981; Williams, 1980. 8. Reece (1977:207-8) reports on the demographic characteristics of arrested FLB suspects as follows: Men and women, Bretonnants and non-Bretonnants, rich and poor, radicals and conservativesall figured among the factory workers, farmers, university intellectuals, military officers, businessmen and priests accused of clandestine terrorist action. One attribute most had in common, however, was their youthfulness. 9. The significance of the latter two will be noted below.
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10. Berger maintains that the movement of the 1960s attracted young people because it 'provided a way of not being French, a way of being revolutionary' (1977:173). My feeling is that while this may have been true initially, nowadays people are not simply 'not being French' but are positively, pro-actively being Breton. 11. Matters have gone from bad to worse for Diwan since this was written: the latest French Minister of Education, R. Monory, has unceremoniously cancelled all previous commitments made, and signed, by the government to the officials of Diwan regarding the integration of its teachers into the public system. As reported in Ouest France (3rd February 1987), the document signed in February 1986 between the state and Diwan, assuring the integration of 31 teachers and classes 'n'est que le fruit de circonstances particulières' and thus lacks 'aucune valeur', according to Monory. Unless alternative revenue sources are found quickly, the Diwan teachers will be laid off their jobs. 12. Through the activities of the International Committee for the Defence of the Breton language (ICDBL), an organisation founded in Brussels in 1975; it now has branches in a dozen or more countries, including an active U.S. branch that publishes an informative newsletter, Bro Nevez, several times a year and tries to promote awareness of and interest in Breton language and culture. For further information, write to the Committee's Secretary, Dr Lois Kuter, 605 Montgomery Road, Ambler, PA 19002, U.S.A. 13. Breton-language radio programming amounted in 1986 to 12.5 hours per week, or about 10% of total air time; television time devoted to Breton was a fraction of that. References Bar-Lewaw, Issac (1986) France also torn by language woes. Toronto Globe, 2 February. Berger, Suzanne (1977) Bretons and Jacobins: reflections on French regional ethnicity. In Milton J. Esman (ed.), Ethnic Conflict in the Western World. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 159-78. Denez, Per (1986) [No title]. Paper prepared for the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar, 'Indigenous Minorities in Multinational Democracies in the Year 2000: Problems and Prospects' (Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada, 9-10 May 1986). Fortier, David H. (1980) Brittany: 'Breizh Atao'. In Charles R. Foster (ed.), Nations without a State. Ethnic Minorities in Western Europe. New York: Praeger, 136-52. Gwegen, Jorj (1975) La lanque bretonne face à ses oppresseurs. Quimper: Nature & Bretagne. Hechter, Michael (1975) Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe in British National Development, 1536-1966. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. & Levi, Margaret (1979) The comparative analysis of ethnoregional movements. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2 (3), 260-74. Kuter, Lois (forthcoming) Breton vs. French: Language and the opposition of political, economic, social and cultural values. In Nancy C. Dorian (ed.), Investigating Obsolescence: Studies in Language Death. New York: Cambridge University Press. Lebesque, Morvan (1970) Comment peut-on être breton? Essai sur la démocratie française. Paris: Seuil. Nicolas, Michel (1982) Histoire du mouvement breton. Paris: Syros. Rannou, Pascal (1987) Littérature et bretonnité. Première partie. Le Peuple Breton, 278, 13-15. Reece, Jack E. (1977) The Bretons against France. Ethnic Minority Nationalism in Twentieth Century Brittany. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. Seité, Daniel (1987) Diwan: Un pas vers le gouvernement. La Bretagne à Paris, 3 avril. Smith, Anthony D. (1981) The Ethnic Revival. New York: Cambridge University Press. Williams, Colin (1980) Ethnic separatism in Western Europe. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geographie, 71, 142-58.
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4 Linguistic Normalisation in Catalonia: Catalan for the Catalans or Catalan for Catalonia? Charlotte Hoffmann Department of Modern Languages, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WT, U.K. Abstract. Catalonia comprises one of Europe's largest linguistic minorities. It has been shaped by a number of features which are typical of minorities elsewhere, but it also has characteristics which differentiate it markedly from others, such as, for example, its economic strength, its sociological composition, its sociocultural history and the close link between language and perceived national identity. In one respect Catalonia is perhaps unique in today's Europe: it is a region which has achieved considerable political independence from the central government and which is today actively engaged in language planning with the aim of making Catalan the language of the region. Catalonia's Statute of Autonomy of 1979 decrees that Catalan should be the official language in the Principality. The autonomous government is entrusted with the responsibility for taking the necessary measures to ensure adequate knowledge of the language. It is the aim of this paper to discuss the events which led to the passing of the legal framework for all official language policies, and to look into the underlying philosophy of linguistic normalisation. A closer look at the role of education in the recovery of Catalan will reveal some of the more controversial issues that Catalonia's language planners are faced with. Introduction I think that Catalonia today is one of the most interesting places in Europe for sociolinguistic research. For decades Catalonia was considered alongside many other minorities in Europe, sharing many of the features of other
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suppressed ethnic groups who see their language and culture threatened. However, Catalonia has also had certain traits that set it apart from other linguistic minoritiesMier (1984) refers to Catalonia as an atypical minority; these traits have become much more dynamic since the death of General Franco in 1975, which brought democracy and autonomy to the Catalans. For about ten years now they have been able to do what they had aspired to during so many years of suppression: decide upon their own linguistic policies with the objective of making Catalan the language of the Principality of Catalonia. It is the aim of this paper to give an outline of language planning policies in Catalonia, with special reference to those that relate to the field of education. Geographical and Demographic Overview Catalonia is the politically autonomous region in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. It comprises the four provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona. Of its just over six million inhabitants (1982: 6,380,654), more than half live in the metropolitan area of Barcelona which, together with Tarragona, is the most industrialised part of the Principality. Both provinces, but particularly Barcelona, have seen a very heavy influx of immigrants from other parts of Spain, both before the Spanish Civil War and, especially, during the period of industrial recovery 1950-1970. Catalonia is surrounded by other areas where Catalan is spoken: French Catalonia to the north of the border, Andorra, Valencia to the south and the Balearic Islands. In none of these does Catalan enjoy the same political status or social prestige as in Catalonia itself, with the exception of the tiny state of Andorra, where it is the official language. But linguistic unity in 'els Països Catalans' is historically based and seems to provide Catalonia with the justification to take a leading role in fostering and strengthening linguistic and cultural links. Within Catalonia the majority of the population speak Catalan, although this demographic concentration is distributed unevenly between urban and rural areas. Outside the Principality the speakers of Catalan are geographically much more dispersed and socially more homogeneousboth factors which weaken the status of the language. The Language Despite many similarities between Castilian Spanish and Catalan, there is, as has been pointed out, more common ground between Spanish and Portuguese than between Spanish and Catalan. The Catalans have always stressed this fact, because during their long history of suppression Catalan was not granted
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the status of a language in its own right. In the Spanish literature on the subject, in documents, legal papers, political speeches, and in newspapers, Catalan was often referred to as a dialect, a vernacular, a regional variety ('una modalidad')all terms that usually implied negative attitudes towards Catalan and reflected a feeling of political superiority on the part of Castilians. Only in times of independence was Catalan called 'la lengua catalana'. On the other hand, names such as 'la lengua española' or even 'cristiano' (as in 'hablar en cristiano') were applied to Castilian Spanish only (see Ferrer i Gironés, 1985). A Sociolinguistic Historical Overview of Catalan The first documentary evidence of a language recognisable as Catalan can be traced back to the tenth century, which was the time when the Catalans obtained independence from the Franks and gradually gained more territory from the Moors. Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries Catalan cultural life and literary output flourished, providing later generations of Catalans with a 'great tradition' (Fishman, 1971) to refer back to. Catalan was the official language of independent Catalonia until 1714 when, after military defeat, the region became subjected to Castilian laws and the 'Decret de Nova Planta' which decreed a 'new order' that included many repressive measures. Cultural, linguistic and political suppression was to last for more than 270 years, during which Castilian Spanish was the only language permitted for public use, in both its spoken and written forms. The nobility, higher clergy, military and high civil servants became completely castilianised, and monolingual in Castilian Spanish; the middle classes retained spoken Catalan for informal contact with friends and relatives, and only the illiterate rural population, with little need for contact with the state authorities, remained monolingual Catalan. The language had therefore become mainly a spoken variety, and it was associated with rural backwardness. It has been said (e.g. by Vallverdú, 1984) that a diglossic situation existed. The nineteenth century saw two important advances: large-scale industrial development and the emergence of Catalanism. Both of them had important consequences for the Catalan language. Economic development in Catalonia caused the emergence of a strong urban middle class which was liberal in outlook, enterprising in commerce and industry and eager to invest and partake in cultural activities that found their expression in Catalan. By the end of the century, the movement known as the 'Renaixença' (Catalan cultural renaissance) had provided the basis for the widespread use of Catalan, both spoken and written, in non-literary fields such as journalism, and also in education; the literary output had already become extremely influential. The language was becoming standardised as a grammar and an orthography were published, and
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the Academy for Catalan Studies was established (see e.g. Hooper, 1986). Catalanism also found expression as a political creed, and the demand for independence from Madrid gathered momentum, but to this day it appears that the movement has been much more strongly influenced by cultural middle-class values and aspirations than by politically extremist demands or the involvement of the urban working classes. A condition that does not always obtain among other minorities, and which has almost certainly guaranteed the survival of Catalan under very unfavourable circumstancse, is the fact that to be Catalan you must be able to speak Catalan. For the Catalans their language has become an inseparable characteristic of the perceived national identity, and this has made them, in their own perception, different from others: this is the 'fet diferencial' ('differential fact' or 'uniqueness') of Catalonia (Giner, 1984; Strubell; Trueta, 1984). Allardt (1984) lists self-categorisation as one of the four basic criteria according to which a language minority can be said to exist. In the case of Catalan the notion of their uniqueness has survived for centuries, and it finds its expression today in the government proclamation that it is its 'unquestionable right and duty' to restore Catalan to her 'rightful place'. During the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera (1923-30) Catalan was banned from many areas of public life. This situation was reversed during the years of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-39), when Catalonia enjoyed semiautonomous government. In the 1930s the political and social prestige of Catalan flourished, as can be measured in terms of published material and widespread use of the language in administration and education, and also by the fact that many immigrants, seeing it as the language of upward mobility, were willing to learn it. The fortunes of Catalan changed dramatically after the Spanish Civil War. Again the language was forbidden in public life, as was any manifestation of Catalanism. The restrictive measures taken by Franco against the Catalans have been described by many sociolinguists, both Catalan and foreign, all displaying equal dismay at the vindictiveness that they display (e.g. Stephens, 1976; Strubell i Trueta, 1985; DeCicco & Maring, 1983). Francesc Vallverdú, one of Catalonia's most prominent sociolinguists, refers (1973) to the post-war years 1939 to 1950 as the period of 'persecuted bilingualism', and he says that it was followed by a phase of 'tolerated bilingualism'. The prohibition of Catalan gradually subsided. By that time, however, the use of Castilian Spanish had become institutionalised, many generations of Catalan schoolchildren having received their education entirely in Castilian, whereas at the same time a huge influx of immigrants boosted the number of Spanish monolingual speakers in Catalonia. It was not until after Franco's death in 1975 that measures could be instigated to ensure the maintenance of Catalonia's own language.
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Present Status and Spread of Catalan The two most influential factors with a direct bearing on a minority language are its political status and the socio-economic position of its speakers. As regards the latter, Catalan has traditionally enjoyed the full support of the middle classes and the rural population, but by the beginning of this century large sections of the upper class, and also of the working classes, spoke Catalan. Naturally, the number of Catalan speakers dropped during the 40 years of the Franco dictatorship, but at the same time Catalan became the language associated with political resistance, and so it appealed to all sections of the population. As the speakers of Catalan are often regarded positively, for a variety of reasons, and their socio-economic status and educational background are generally higher than those of Spanish-speaking immigrants, their language, Catalan, also enjoys considerable prestige. This has caused the language to be generally considered to be adequate for communication in any situation and in connection with any topic. Nowadays the language choice of a Catalan-Castilian bilingual is based on the language of her or his interlocutor, not on the formality of the situation or on the medium (i.e. written or spoken language) employed. A diglossic situation such as has, in the past, been attributed to Catalonia has ceased to exist. The present linguistic situation in Catalonia cannot be adequately described with a single label. Several forms of bilingualism coexist among the population of the area, ranging from active to passive, and from incipient to balanced. But officially the term 'bilingualism' does not occur anywhere. For instance, the status of Catalan as 'Catalonia's own language' is laid down in the 1979 Statute of Autonomy, where it is, alongside Castilian Spanish, accorded equal official status. The language policy of the Generalitat (autonomous Catalan government) is geared towards 'restoring' Catalan, not towards establishing bilingualism, although of course bilingualism is a de facto phenomenon. Fabre expresses the rather unusual view that to talk about bilingualism in Catalonia would come close to admitting defeat, i.e. to an acceptance of the status quo: a country, he claims, has one language, not two or three; and if a considerable proportion of its population does not know this language, this is the result of an abnormal political situation, which can and must be rectified (Fabre, 1979, 56). Catalonia's Language Policy Article 3 of the Statute of Autonomy constitutes the basis for the Generalitat's language policy. It states that Catalan is 'Catalonia's own language'; it spells out its co-official status and it asserts the Generalitat's determination to ensure
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the normal and official use of both languages. In addition, it says, the Catalan government 'will take the necessary steps to ensure adequate knowledge of both languages and will establish conditions which will allow them to attain full equality with respect to the rights and duties of the citizens of Catalonia'. The reason the Generalitat made its language policy a priority was the realisation that Catalan was facing a crisis and that its continued existence had become questionable. The repressive measures taken by the Franco government, plus the influx of immigrants, presented a dual threat to the language. Before 1975 no official figures existed about the number of Catalan speakers, since the census did not include questions on language. According to a report published by the Spanish government in 1975, 71% of the population in the Principality could speak Catalan, although the proportion of those who actually did speak it was somewhat lower. A sharp division between the capital and the provinces of Lleida, Tarragona and Girona became evident: in Barcelona only 39% of the inhabitants were Catalan speakers, whereas the figure for the provinces was 90%. Subsequent research showed that many speakers of Catalan could not read or write the language, and another problem was highlighted when a report was published showing that Catalan tended to be used more often as the language of social interaction, i.e. in conversation and at work, than as the language of the home. In mixed marriages, the use of Castilian Spanish was often preferred to that of Catalanand, as is well known, once a minority language ceases to be the language of the family, its continued existence is seriously threatened. Other signs indicating a weakening of Catalan vis-à-vis Castilian Spanish were seen in the increasing number of loan-words and castilianisms apparent in the Catalan of even educated speakers and writers, which was attributed largely to the prolonged linguistic accommodation Catalans had been forced to undergo, whereas Spanish speakers in Catalonia had been able to remain monolingual. 'The restoration of Catalan to its rightful place as Catalonia's own language' was, then, the declared aim of the new autonomous government. This is, of course, a very ambitious goal, and it was clearly seen that it could only be approached by means of a radical policy. This policy is laid down in the 1983 Law of Linguistic Normalisation (the 'norm', in this context, being that Catalan should be the language normally used in Catalonia). This is an Act which proposes to overcome 'the current situation of linguistic inequality' by introducing measures which protect and promote the use of Catalan in all areas of public and private life. The knowledge of Catalan, it says, is to be spread throughout the whole of Catalan society, to all citizens regardless of the language they normally speak, within a global framework in which everyone will accept the use of both languages and recognise and contribute to the recovery of Catalan as one of the fundamental aspects of the reconstruction of Catalonia'.
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It is, of course, this aspect of Catalonia's language policy that is the most controversial and, possibly, illusory, for, whereas it is relatively easy to put Catalans in a position to use their language in all walks of life and to have the chance to have their children educated in their forefathers' language, it is more difficult to succeed in turning almost half the population, which is mainly of non-Catalan stock, into speakers of Catalan and therefore 'proper' Catalans. The figures published in 1980 by Subirats (as quoted in Sabater, 1984) showing the knowledge of Catalan among the inhabitants of the region do not seem very encouraging. They refer to the population as a whole and, if they are taken together with the figures for the school population's home language, they confirm that the main thrust of the government's language policy has to focus on the catalanisation of the education system, if any real change in language use is to be achieved (see Tables 1 and 2). Table 1 Percentage of population according to their knowledge of Catalan 2% No data 18% Castilian speakers who do not understand Catalan 12% Castilian speakers who understand Catalan 10% Castilian speakers who speak Catalan 6% Perfect bilinguals 52% Native Catalan speakers 100% Total Table 2 Language of pupils (%) (Arnau & Boada, 1986) In general In higher secondary education basic (15-18 years) education Baccalaureate Vocational (6-14 years) training 33.71 47.86 33.73 Catalan in the family 12.64 12.83 12.06 Bilingual families 53.65 39.31 54.21 Castilian in the family A Directorate General of Language Policy was set up in 1980 and charged with the task of spreading the use and knowledge of Catalan; it was also made ultimately responsible for language planning. Today a number of bodies are involved in the various activities which are being carried out under the Law of Linguistic Normalisation, such as organising special Catalan classes for state employees, the development of technical vocabulary for use by government departments and the promotion of Catalan in publishing and in the media.
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The 'Campaign for Language Normalisation' is an on-going concern in Catalonia. It finds expression, for example, in slogans and short features published in the newspapers, on posters and in broadcasts. The aim is to increase language consciousness with a view to encouraging Catalans to use Catalan more frequently and consistently, and to fostering positive attitudes towards this language. The Campaign extends to the field of local corporations, which are encouraged to engage in activities that relate to the normalisation of the use of Catalan. As stipulated in the Normalisation Law, these bodies may become eligible for tax deductions or even total tax exemption by doing this, which obviously can make support for the Generalitat's language policies appear as an attractive proposition even for the less ideologically inclined world of business and commerce. Language Policy and Education It has long been recognised that unless Catalan is taught in schools and eventually becomes the medium of instruction, all the other efforts in language recovery will remain cosmetic and may be short-lived. It is a challenging task, and it offers the opportunity of undertaking both linguistic and curriculum reform. Many committed Catalan politicians and educationalists have approached this task with a great deal of enthusiasm. For them, language 'normalisation', 'recovery' and 'restoration' in the school context have the aim of putting Catalan pupils who do not know their own language (but are familiar with another one) through an immersion programme within a linguistic framework which cannot be called that of a minority. (Abeyà, 1985) But at the same time the question of a language policy in education is a highly sensitive issue, and the government is faced with the task of overcoming the considerable problems posed by lack of resources and even hostility on the part of parents and teachersnot to mention the attitude of the rest of the Spanish population and the lack of enthusiasm of the central government. Section II of the Law of Linguistic Normalisation includes seven Articles which deal with the question of language policy in education. The first one simply (and rather ambitiously) states that 'Catalan, as Catalonia's own language, is also the language of education at all levels'. Catalan must be taught in schools, and all children must attain an acceptable level of proficiency by the end of their basic education. Only if children can demonstrate adequate mastery of Catalan will they be awarded the Certificate
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of General Basic Education (school-leaving certificate). The principle that children are entitled to receive their early instruction in their mother tongue is, however, accepted, so that upon entering school children may be taught initially either in Catalan or in Castilian Spanish. The Act lays down that children should not be segregated into different schools purely on the basis of their first language, and it adds that Catalan should be used progressively more as the medium of instruction as pupils' mastery of it increases. In higher education staff and students are free to choose which language they wish to use, but all centres of higher education must offer language courses for non-Catalan speakers. As far as teacher training is concerned, the Act is quite specific: 'All teachers must be proficient in both official languages'. This requirement means that the curriculum of teacher-training courses has to be designed in such a way as to ensure that students are trained to teach their subjects in both languages. The full implementation of the provisions of this Act will, of course, be a question of years, probably many years. In many private schools catalanisation has progressed considerably faster than in the public sector schools. As approximately half the schools in Catalonia are private, their faster progress makes for better-looking overall statistics. As we saw before, it is the middle classes who are spear-heading the spread of Catalan. The linguistic normalisation programme in schools is faced with two major problems. One is posed by the uneven distribution of the Catalan- and Castilian Spanish-speaking population. In some parts of the Barcelona metropolitan area (the districts with the heaviest concentration of immigrants) more than 80% of the inhabitants speak Spanish only; in these areas the need to learn Catalan is perceived as being less obvious. Often these are also socially deprived areas, with high unemployment. Only an improvement in the quality of public education, coupled with a higher degree of social integration between Catalan and Castilian Spanish speakers (most of whom are first- or second-generation immigrants) will, one feels, ensure the successful catalanisation of schools in these areas. The other problem is caused by a lack of qualified staff able to use Catalan as the medium of instruction: only about half the teachers are of Catalan origin, and the number of those who have undergone teacher training in Catalan is smaller still. It has also been found that many of the teachers who have attended specially-organised teacher-training courses have not succeeded in learning Catalan properly, thus slowing down the extensive programme of reorganisation in schools (Arnau & Boada, 1986; Joos, 1984; Siguán, 1980). Since 1978 the Generalitat has assumed most responsibilities for education in Catalonia, including the appointment of staff and re-training in Catalan. This should, in due course, alleviate the shortage situation. Another important measure was the setting up of the Education Department's Office
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for the Teaching of Catalan (SEDEC), charged with the promotion and organisation of Catalan in schools. It can, for instance, supply specialist Catalan teachers to schools that request them; it monitors the use of Catalan in schools; and it organises information talks for parents' and teachers' associations. Parental support and involvement are considered to be a vital aspect of linguistic recovery. SEDEC and a number of other agencies regularly carry out surveys to collect information on the spread and use of Catalan, both in schools and in other fields. The limitations of such enquiries are well known, and the resulting data should therefore be treated with some care. It is, for example, difficult to ascertain the actual number of Catalan speakers if there is no clear definition of what a Catalan speaker, or a bilingual, is. For instance, SEDEC figures on the linguistic background of pupils are grouped into three sections: those who speak Catalan, those who understand Catalan and those who do not understand it. In an article by the Director of SEDEC (Arenas, 1985) the same figures are used, but a further distinction is made between monolinguals and bilinguals. We are thus faced with the problem of interpretation of data. However, the process of data collection is becoming more sophisticated, and the regular publication of figures by different bodies does allow one to perceive trends. Also, in 1986 a new census was carried out which contained various questions which will yield information about the linguistic situation in the whole of Catalonia. School Programmes Since 1978 Catalan has been incorporated in schools, either as a subject or as the language of instruction. Basically, three different models have been used, ranging from (Model A) total immersion to (Model B) teaching partially in Catalan and (Model C) teaching progressively more in Catalan. It has normally been up to the individual schools to choose the model each wants to follow, on the basis of the qualifications and commitment of their staff rather than on the linguistic background of their pupils. Arnau & Boada (1986) looked at the development of different models of schools and the linguistic abilities and qualifications of teachers. They found that, of the three models mentioned, Model A (teaching entirely in Catalan) had been chosen by a small but constant number of public sector schoolsabout 8% of them had been following the General Basic Education programme totally in Catalan. In 1982 there was a marked increase in the number of state schools following Model B (teaching partially in Catalan), and the figures for 1983-84 begin to show an increase in schools adopting Model C (using Catalan progressively more). Altogether, by this time more
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than 70% of public sector schools were using Catalan wholly, partially or progressively, and in the remaining schools Catalan was taught as a school subject. Compared to the 3% of 1975, when Catalan was only 'tolerated', this figure looks very impressive, even if one allows for all kinds of shortcomings in the immersion programmes. In an assessment of the environmental and individual factors that were believed to influence school results obtained in Catalan and in Castilian Spanish, it was found that the factors that influenced achievement in Catalan and in Castilian Spanish were not the same, although in both cases general learning ability was of paramount importance. The type of school model adopted was seen to be important for the successful establishment of Catalan: only the total and progressive immersion models provided the necessary linguistic orientation for children whose family and social environment was predominantly Castilian-speaking. The burden placed on the education system in terms of expectations and demands is enormous, as it is not adequately equipped at the moment, either financially or pedagogically, to make all the members of the new generations competent in Catalan. In any case, making the whole of Catalonia Catalan-speaking cannot be entirely up to the schools: a fundamental social change is necessary as well, i.e. complete social integration and the support of all the population of the area for the linguistic normalisation programme. This can come about only as a result of changing attitudes towards each other on the part of both linguistic groups. In this field schools can play an important role. The Catalans have been keen to learn from other countries' language-planning experiences, notably from Wales and Canada. But despite some similarities their linguistic situation is not really comparable. In the context of Spain as a whole, Castilian speakers are the majority and Catalan speakers the minority, but within Catalonia the picture is reversed and neither group shows all the typical traits of either a majority or a minority. Therefore, the insights gained from the experience of other countries may not be directly relevant to Catalonia. Whether its language policies will make it possible for the Principality to recover Catalan's lost ground and result in a change in linguistic behaviour among Catalans of Castilian descent remains to be seen: achieving either of these objectives fully (let alone both) would come close to being a sociolinguistic miracle in modern Europe. References Abeyà, Mercè (1985) Valoraciones del programa de inmersión en Santa Coloma de Gramanet. In M. Siguán (ed.), Enseñanza en dos lenguas y resultados escolares. IX Seminario sobre educatión y lenguas. Serie Seminario, No. 17 Barcelona: ICE (Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación).
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Allardt, Erik (1984) What constitutes a language minority? Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 5 (3 & 4), 195-205. Arenas i Sampera, Joaquim (1985) El proyecto de inmersión lingüistica escolar en Cataluña: objetivos y planificación. In M. Siguán (ed.), Enseñanza en dos lenguas y resultados escolares. IX Seminario sobre educación y lenguas. Serie Seminario, No. 17. Barcelona: ICE (Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación). Arnau, Joaquim & Boada, Humbert (1986) Languages and school in Catalonia. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 7 (2 & 3), 107-22. De Cicco, Gabriel & Maring, Joel (1983) Diglossia, regionalism and national language policy: a comparison of Spain and the Philippines. In A. Miracle (ed.), Bilingualism. Georgia: University of Georgia Press. Direcció General de Politica Lingiiistica, Law 7:1983 of 18th April on Linguistic Normalisation in Catalonia. Leaflet of the Department de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Estatut d'Autonomia de Catalunya 1979 published by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Fabre, Jaume (1979) Los catalanes. Barcelona: Epidauro. Ferrer i Gironés, F. (1985) La persecució politica de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: Ediciones 62. Fishman, Joshua (1971) National languages and languages in wider communication in the developing nations. In W.H. Whiteley (ed.), Language Use and Social Change: Problems of Multilingualism with Special Reference to Eastern Africa. London: Oxford University Press. Giner, Salvador (1984) The Social Structure of Catalonia. The Anglo-Catalan Society, occasional publications No. 1, London. Hooper, John (1986) The Spaniards. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books (Viking). Joos, Konstanze (1984) Die Situation des Katalanischen an den Schulen Barcelonas heute. Magisterarbeit (unveröffentlicht), Univ. Frankfurt Philosophische Fakultät Romanische Philologie. Mier, Jeanne Zang (1984) Catalan: an atypical minority language. In Ernst Pulgram (ed.), Romanitas: Studies in Romance Linguistics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Sabater, Ernest (1984) An approach to the situation of the Catalan language: social and educational use. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47, 29-41. Siguán, Miquel (1980) Education and bilingualism in Catalonia. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 1 (3), 231-42. Stephens, Meic (1976) Linguistic Minorities in Western Europe. Llandyssul: Gomer Press. Strubell i Trueta, Miquel (1984) Language and identity in Catalonia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47, 91-104. (1985) The Catalan experience. Paper presented at the conference on publishing in minority languages, Aberystwyth (unpublished). Vallerverdú, Francesc (1973) El fet lingüistic com a fet social. Barcelona: Ediciones 62. (1984) A sociolinguistic history of Catalan. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47, 13-28.
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5 On the Planification of Language Acquisition Doris Pyee-Cohen Department of French, Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M6. Abstract. This study focuses on the sociolinguistic aspects of bilingual education planification in three Canadian provinces: Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. These provinces offer an interesting representation of linguistic groups: Quebec is a Francophone province with a strong Anglophone population and a variety of ethnic groups; Ontario is an established Anglophone province with an influential Francophone minority; and British Columbia is a young anglophone province with numerous ethnic groups and a strong commitment to bilingual education. In this paper, we examine the relationship between educational and linguistic policies on the one hand, and (1) ethnic nationalism and language conflict in Quebec, (2) linguistic awareness and ethnic movement in Ontario and (3) multiculturalism in British Columbia on the other. After demonstrating the need for a social, cultural and economic balance among the linguistic forces in bilingual settings, our study permits us to conclude that the successful planification of bilingual education (1) requires a clear definition of a national linguistic norm and a balance between the status and social image of the majority and the minority languages and (2) implies the careful planification of language acquisition. Theoretical Framework When considering the sociolinguistic aspects of bilingual and multilingual settings, language planners and scholars recognise the importance of defining and implementing both the planification of a linguistic corpus and linguistic status. The following key concepts in language planification as established by Haugen (1966) constitute the main parameters guiding such an undertaking: (1) norm selection, (2) codification, (3) implementation, (4) elaboration. Although these parameters are undoubtedly crucial for language maintenance and planification, we shall explore an additional element which seems to have
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been hitherto often neglected, that is the educational component of language planification. While a few scholars have recognised the importance of this type of planification, 1 to our knowledge, however, there is but a single country, namely Israel, which has dealt with it extensively. For obvious reasons, language planners in Israel have had to deal with the acquisition of the national language by immigrants from various linguistic backgrounds and from all age groups. Clearly, such an ambitious undertaking can only be successful if it is the result of careful language acquisition planification. This initial broadening of the scope of language planification has further led to the establishment of another parameter, that of the language functions within any bilingual or multicultural community. The concept of ethoglossia, created by Cobarrubias (1983), has helped to define more precisely the language functions to be considered in language planification. Among these Cobarrubias lists (1) legal use, (2) public administration, (3) education, (4) family and interpersonal relations, (5) media, (6) religion, (7) world of work, (8) public health, (9) public safety, (10) publicity, etc. This model clearly reserves a role for education. It is within this general framework of current trends in applied sociolinguistics that we shall focus on a case study, Canada. The Case Study It is a well established fact that Canada's French linguistic heritage has been instrumental in the definition of the country's national identity. Hence, bilingualism receives strong support from the federal government, particularly in the field of education. In this article we shall consider the concept of bilingual education planification and implementation in three Canadian provinces: Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Because of their strikingly different social and linguistic components, these provinces are both representative of the variety of backgrounds language planners have to deal with, and exemplify the need for a clear planification of bilingual language acquisition. As we shall refer to the relationship between 'majority' and 'minority' languages in bilingual Canada, the inner classification recently established by Cobarrubias (1987) will be helpful to recall here. Cobarrubias distinguishes between: (1) minority languages not minoritised, (2) non-minority languages minoritised, (3) minority languages minoritised, and (4) neither minority nor minoritised languages. The neologism 'minoritised' refers to the state of a language which, for lack of legal status or corpus planification, loses ground within its own linguistic community. Quebec can be viewed as a unilingual Francophone province with an
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Anglophone minority and several other ethnic groups. Ontario, on the contrary, is a predominantly Anglophone province with an influential Francophone minority. Finally, British Columbia, a young Anglophone province, possesses a very strong Anglophone majority, a number of ethnic groups and a microscopic Francophone minority representing 0.47% of the total population. We shall first turn our attention to Quebec, which constitutes a unique case in Canada. The province is overwhelmingly Francophone and has always fought during its history to maintain its linguistic and cultural French heritage. Yet for a number of reasons, the situation of the French language has been far from that of a majority language. In order to fully understand the historical, political and social context underlying the status evolution of the French language in Quebec, we must recall a few pertinent historical elements. Tocqueville in the 1860s mentioned in his Memoirs that the Anglophones, although the minority, clearly constituted the ruling class. At that time, the image projected by both the French language and the French culture was a poor one. One may say that a century later, the situation is hardly different. Experts 2 agree that the following five factors should be taken into consideration to account for the linguistic situation in Quebec before 1970: (1) the status of the English language in the spheres of work and industry, (2) the alarmingly low demographic growth in Quebec, (3) the assimilation of immigrants into the Anglophone group, (4) the state of spoken French in Quebec and (5) the status of the latter vis-à-vis standard French. Presented with the largest of brush strokes, this conflictual linguistic situation whereby the 80% of Francophones in the province were, over a long period of time, losing ground linguistically, attracted the attention of both the federal and the provincial governments in the 1960s. Consequently, two commissions were given the task of examining the relationship between the two linguistic groups. The federal commission conducted a survey between 1963 and 1967, while the provincial one conducted its survey between 1968 and 1972. Both commissions came to the same conclusion: the English language was the language of power, social prestige and social promotion. Therefore the Anglophones were more numerous in the higher administration and large businesses where English was clearly the language of work. The sociolinguistic consequence of this situation has been the dramatic Anglicisation of the technical terminology and of the language of work in general. Furthermore, the demographic decline and the assimilation of the immigrants into the Anglophone group have led a number of observers3 to state that legislation was necessary in order to preserve the importance of the Francophone group. As for the status of French in Quebec, it reflects the inner evolution of the language away from the mother tongue, resulting basically in phonetical, lexical
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and morphological differences between the two varieties of French. Several surveys 4 have shown that the francophone community was dissatisfied with the state of its language and was aspiring to a better variety of French, closer to the prestigious Parisian norm. While France had established its own institution to preserve the quality of its language in 1635, with the creation of the Académie française, the province of Quebec had to create legislation in order to reinforce the status and use of French in the province; and plan the standardisation of its linguistic corpus. Several steps were taken by governments, both federal and provincial, to consolidate the situation of the French language. While it would be too long to cite here all legislative measures taken in this respect, we shall concentrate on the most recent such measure, the 'Charter of the French Language', adopted in August 1977 by the Quebec government. This bill, born out of a nationalistic ideology, has not only changed the status of the French language in Quebec, but has had very important ramifications in the field of language standardisation and language education. The election of the Parti Québécois was followed less than a year later by the adoption of the Charter of the French Language. The diligence with which this bill was promulgated showed clearly the link between the ideology of the Parti Québécois at that timethat of an independent Québécois stateand the importance given to linguistic matters as they relate to and reveal elements of national identity and culture. With this bill, French became the official language of Quebec and thus the bill terminated a state of 'institutionalised bilingualism' in the province. The French language became the language of work, of education, of communications, etc. The very fact that the imposition of French as the language of instruction became one of the most controversial aspects of the bill, and one generating vehement protests from the Anglophones and some immigrant groups, is a clear demonstration of the key role educational matters play in bilingual settings. While the increase in the enrolment in Francophone schools is undoubtedly noticeable, the bill has created a new trend whereby Anglophones worked, and succeeded, at becoming bilingual. In the past 'Canadian bilingualism' in Quebec meant simply that the Francophones spoke English. Clearly, the bill is responsible for the spread and recognition of French as a language of the majority in Quebec. Having considered the quantitative and socio-economic implications of language planification, we shall now turn to a linguistic evaluation of the educational system and the state of the language. According to a recent evaluation of the teaching of French as a mother tongue in Quebec,5 there seems to be great concern about the quality of the French language mastered by graduating high-school students. Due to a shift in the curriculum, it is estimated that graduating high-school students have the same number of teaching hours in French as primary school graduates
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some 15 years ago. As a result, and with the increase in class sizes, students write less (for instance, one essay a term seems to have become the average work load) and consequently the quality of the French mastered by graduating high-school students raises some concern. It seems, then, that educators in Quebec, who have always been concerned with the quality of the language taught in schools, are becoming more than ever conscious of the dichotomy between the élitist and prestigious French model and the local norm. This preoccupation, shared not only by intellectuals but also by politicians, has led to the corpus standardisation currently undertaken by the French Language Bureau. We may briefly recall that the French Language Bureau, created in 1977, was given the task of ensuring that French would become the language of communications, of work, of commerce and of government. The instrumental force of the francisation, the Bureau surveys numerous commissions for terminology, as well as the diffusion of words and expressions it has approved. Finally, it can aid the administration, the business sector, public organisations as well as individuals in bettering and enriching the state of spoken and written French in general. However, it is still too soon to evaluate the success of the Bureau. Since its implementation, this administrative normative body has concentrated its efforts on the public domain. It creates a linguistic pressure on enterprises but not on individuals. Incidentally, this is in keeping with the very task for which it was created. Yet, in deciding to control institutional and not personal communications, the province of Quebec has not, it seems, stressed the fact that the general educational system should reflect the current efforts to standardise the linguistic corpus and cooperate toward this aim. Therefore, the definition of the 'referential norm' in institutions is far from clear. Yet, when it comes to linguistic acquisition, a reference model is necessary. But who should be responsible for its definition? In a bilingual society this model should unquestionably be defined by the native speakers. If not, what happens? Can the standard norm be defined by the other ethnic group, that is by the Anglophones? This somewhat uncomfortable perspective represents a major concern among educators and linguists in Quebec. 6 It is clear that Quebec has a leading role to play in establishing the standard norm for French in Canada, and the sooner language planners and educators join their efforts in that direction, the better the result will be. One might add that problems like this one exist beyond Canada: the U.S.A., for example, currently encounters a similar situation with the Hispanophones and we could start a lengthy digression about similar problems elsewhere. We shall turn now to the bilingual situation in Ontario. In that province, the Francophone community has steadily fought with determination for the maintenance of its language and culture. Influential organisations such as the
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Action catholique française en Ontario have always insisted on the right to bilingual education and to the francisation of public services. The educational matter was resolved in 1944 when the infamous Règlement 17 was finally abolished. 7 Some 25 years later, in 1968, the Prime Minister, John Roberts, stated the principles of the provincial government in bilingual education. Several new Francophone classes or schools were thereafter established. His follower, Bill Davis, undertook progressively the bilingualisation of the justice system. Recently, a crucial bill, Bill 8, was adopted on 8th November 1986. This bill, which will be in effect in three years, ensures the Francophone population services in French from the provincial government. However, it has been decided that these services will not be offered in 'Parisian French' but rather adapted to the French spoken by the local community. Recently (1987), Bernard Granmaitre, Ministry for Francophone Affairs, underlined the fact that the majority of Francophones were not attracted to services offered in standard French in Ontario. The Francophones somehow felt that the services 'were not addressed to them'. If the use of standard French in this context is not successful, what is the alternative? To use the local non-standardised norm? The problem is all the more complex because the rate of assimilation of FrancoOntariansespecially among those born from mixed marriagesinto the Anglophone group is widespread. Can a government in its language planification process institute diglossia? Is the French norm in Ontario going to be imposed by an élitist group of anglophones? These questions remain open and show how important the balance is between minority and majority languages in the light of the socio-economic language status. If some action is not taken, no matter how dirigiste it may appear, there is always a danger of imposing a language norm that will not correspond sociolinguistically to the norm practised by the local social group. And this might result in a greater rate of assimilation, since native speakers may feel reluctant to be estranged from their own sociolinguistic practice. As far as education is concerned, this new legislation will certainly result in an increased enrolment of students in French courses at all levels, including those in bilingual universities. It is clear, therefore, that a consensus has to be reached concerning the referential norm to be accepted in educational institutions so that the linguistic cleavage between the social norm as practised by the majority of the Francophones and the institutional one will not be great. Our third component of this Canadian case study, British Columbia, presents a totally different background. As we have stated before, the Francophone minority in British Columbia accounts for 0.47% of the total population. Needless to say that, although they have their own association, la fédération des Franco-Colombiens, the Francophones have never had the power of a
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pressure group; yet, against all expectations, French is now a flourishing language in this province. The main reason for this spectacular and totally unpredictable change toward the learning of French comes from the demand of Anglophone parents for immersion schools. Several studies have shown that Anglophone parents felt that learning a second language would be positive for the cognitive development of their children. However, that the language studied in immersion schools should be French, it is interesting to note, was listed as the last consideration. Among immigrants, on the other hand, 'becoming bilingual' was the instrumental reason for sending their children to French immersion schools. While the enrolment in those schools has reached quite unexpected proportionscurrently some 16,000 students are enrolled in the French immersion school system and waiting lists are steadily growingthis success story has had several consequences, some positive, some negative. Among the positive aspects are: (1) At the educational level, the development of post-secondary programmes in French for graduates of French immersion schools. Currently, Simon Fraser University plays a leading role in the implementation of this new curriculum. (2) At the national level, the opening of the province of British Columbia-hitherto oriented toward the Orientto the eastern part of the country. Educational exchanges with Quebec, among other examples, have gained in popularity and one can clearly see the reinforcement of the national feeling through the bilingual or 'immersion experience'. (3) At the sociocultural level, it has allowed some immigrant groupsamong them the Vietnamesefor whom the French culture has been part of their upbringing or their parents' upbringing, to join in the development of an educational experience for the benefit of all. Among the negative aspects of the immersion schooling in British Columbia, we mention the following, all resulting from the lack of educational planification. The increasing popularity of the immersion schools has resulted in a high demand for specially trained teachers. Since very few were available locally, some positions have been filled with Francophones coming from the east. Because of the success of French immersion schools, the enrolment in Anglophone schools has decreased, and many teachers have been laid off. If they want to get a teaching position, they have to be able to teach in the immersion system. This situation has resulted in protests from Anglophone parents who see the immersion as a threat to the maintenance of Anglophone schools and consequently to the right to education in English. Stated briefly, the
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educational system was simply not prepared for what happened, and now a planification is needed in order to ensure: (1) the balance between the Anglophone educational system and the immersion one, (2) the continuing development of teacher training programmes for immersion schools, and (3) the retraining of teachers who are capable and who desire to adapt to the immersion system. Some fear a backlash against French if a balance is not reached between the two educational systems. Conclusion From what precedes, we see that the maintenance of French in Canada rests not only in the hands of politicians and language planners, but also in those of educators. In general, language planification in society can be conceived in terms of individuals or of territory. Canada has opted for the former while countries like Belgium have chosen the latter. In Canada, the individual's rights prevail over those of the society at large. Therefore, language planning can only deal primarily with collective, institutional communications. The concept of defining and imposing a reference norm nationwide conflicts with the very notion of individual rights. Yet, language acquisition planification, as we have seen, requires such a norm, and it seems impossible to progress in language planning without this essential component. Our observations then stress the need for analysing what Cobarrubias has defined as 'minoritised' languages. When dealing with a bilingual society, this very concept should be kept in mind so that the socio-economical, political, sociocultural images projected by both languages are balanced. As far as standardisation goes, if diglossia cannot be avoided, the clear definition of what Bourdieu (1982) has called the marché linguistique, that is the valorisation of the different uses of one given language, is required. If the consideration of this concept is avoided, non-minority languages can certainly be minoritised. These concepts are, of course, easier to discuss than to apply. A tremendous task awaits educators and language planners in bilingual societies: planning, educating, standardising and maintaining . . . harmony. Finally, in education, the need to adapt the curriculum to the socio-economical, geographical and sociocultural milieu is crucial. In the hands of educators rests, in many ways, the successful bilingual society of tomorrow.
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Notes to Chapter 5 1. The topic has been recently dealt with by R.L. Cooper (1987). An interesting analysis can also be found in McQuown (1982). 2. Among them we can name Boudreault (1973), Chantefort (1976), Charbonneau & Maheu (1973), Daoust (1982), to cite just a few. 3. See Charbonneau & Maheu, 1973:237. 4. See, for example, Lambert (1967), Valin (1970), d'Anglejan & Tucker (1973). 5. This question which constituted one of the themes of the 18th Annual Symposium of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (Montreal, 28-30th May, 1987) has been extensively dealt with both by Gagné during his main lecture at the Symposium, and by Bibeau (1987). 6. See Note 5. 7. Bill 17 voted in 1912 recommended the withdrawal of financial support from bilingual schools. References Bibeau, G. (1987) Les attentes des Québécois à propos de l'enseignement du français langue maternelle dans les écoles du Québec. Québec: Office de la langue française. Boudreault, M. (1973) La qualité de la langue (synthèse effectuée pour la 'Commission d'enquête sur la situation de la langue française et sur les droits linguistiques au Québec', S1). Québec: Editeur officiel. Bourdieu, P. (1982) Ce que parler veut dire: l'économie des échanges linguistiques. Paris: Fayard. Charbonneau, H. & Maheu, R. (1973) Les aspects démographiques de la question linguistique (synthèse effectuee pour la 'Commission d'enquête sur la situation de la langue française et sur les droits linguistiques au Quebec', S3). Quebec: Editeur officiel. Chantefort, P. (1976) Diglossie au Québec: limites et tendances actuelles. La sociolinguistique au Québec, No. 6, 23-53. Cobarrubias, J. (ed.) (1983) Progress in Language Planning: International Perspectives. Berlin, New York: Mouton. (1987) On language planning. Main lecture, 18th Annual Symposium of the CAAL. To appear in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics. Cooper, R.L. (1987) Planning language acquisition. Paper presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 12-14th March, to appear in Language Spread and Language Policy: Issues, Implications, and Case Studies. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Corbeil, J.C. (1975a) Notes sur les rapports entre le français québécois et le français de France. Etudes, recherches et documentation No. 1. Quebec: Editeur officiel. (1975b) Essai sur l'origine historique de la situation linguistique du Quebec. Etudes, recherches et documentation No. 6. Quebec: Editeur officiel. (1981) L'aménagement linguistique du Québec. Montreal: Guérin. D'Anglejan, A. & Tucker, R.G. (1973) Sociolinguistic correlates of speech style in Quebec. In R.W. Shuy & R.W. Fasold (eds), Language Attitudes: Current Trends and Prospects. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. Daoust, D. (1982) La planification linguistique au Québec: un aperçu des lois sur la langue. Revue québécoise de linguistique, 12, 9-75. Gagné, G. (1987) L'aménagement du français langue maternelle au Québec. Main lecture, 18th Annual Symposium of the CAAL. To appear in a forthcoming issue of the Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics. Granmaitre, B. (1987) L'avenir du français en Ontario. Unpublished paper. Toronto: Glendon College, York University. Haugen, E. (1966) Linguistic and language planning. In W. Bright (ed.), Sociolinguistics. The Hague: Mouton, 50-71.
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Lambert, W.E. (1967) A social psychology of bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues, 23, 91-109. McQuown, N.A. (1982) Language, Culture and Education. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Tocqueville, A. de (1861) Memoirs, Letters and Remains of Alexis de Tocqueville. London: Macmillan. Valin, R. (1970) Quel français devons-nous enseigner? Québec: Cahiers de l'Office de la langue française, No. 7.
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6 Bilingualism with Diglossia: Status and Solidarity Dimensions Emilia Nercissians Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. Abstract. An important type of societal bilingualism occurs in multinational and/or multicultural settings where a minority group lives alongside the dominant majority in the same country or area. Language is an important factor in intergroup relations in many modern and urban societies and the language problem has become an acute political issue in several developed as well as developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine this problem with special reference to the Iranian-Armenian community. It is shown that due to the historically developed ethnic division of labour, and other social and cultural processes, the minority community may develop closeknit social networks based on personal ties and face-toface communication and supported by ethnic and cultural traditions, within the formal and bureaucratic organisation of the society that is dominated by the majority norms. The languages then become functionally differentiated, each reflecting the corresponding organisational principle. After examining the sociolinguistic problems of the Iranian-Armenian community, a generalised model is presented with emphasis on social group and identification theories. Within this model, both the statusmarking and solidarity-marking functions of languages have been incorporated. The model can also be used in monolingual settings in order to analyse the diatypes and other non-standard varieties that coexist with the standard variety. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to investigate a particular type of societal bilingualism where two different languages or language varieties, performing distinct and complementary functions, co-exist. The use of one code marks socio-politico-economic status, while the use of the other code marks intimacy
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and solidarity. Thus the standardisation process is contradictory, resulting in two rather than one standard codes, which have differential prestige. Or as Fishman (1971:286) puts it, we are considering the interaction between two major psychological and sociological constructs; namely, bilingualism and diglossia. The fact that one of the codes (the H-code) marks status and the other (the L-code) marks solidarity, guarantees that the former is always a superimposed code, i.e. is learned at a later stage and in a more formal setting than the L-code, which is learned as a mother tongue by the children in their usual process of socialisation. After the concept of 'diglossia' was first elaborated by Ferguson (1959), it became widely used in sociolinguistic literature and became further extended and theorised. Its applications include both monolingual settings where two distinct varieties of the same language are standardised, and bilingual settings where the H- and L-code are two different languages. The model discussed above is especially applicable to multinational, multi-ethnic, or multicultural settings where a minority group lives alongside a majority group who sets the dominant norms of the society, and the minority group forms a gemeinschaft within the gesellschaft. The majority langugae may then become the H-code and the minority language becomes the L-code in a bilingual and diglossic situation. It is also said that diglossia possesses an innate source of stability. As long as the conditions giving the H-code its current social status and singling it out for more formal usage persist, the L-code continues to be the primary language learned as the mother tongue by successive generations, and the H-code is always subsequently learned so as to be used on formal occasions. It has even been suggested, e.g. by Fishman (1971:298), that bilingualism without diglossia tends to be transitional and eventually the language associated with higher status replaces the other language, which does not have its own distinct domain of usage. The almost exclusive attention of diglossia theory in its present form to language prestige is rather simplistic and one-sided. For example, it fails to explain why and how the L-code, which has a lower status than the H-code, is nevertheless standardised alongside the latter code. Indeed, one may ask the question why the H-code, which is the more suitable language for use in formal settings, is not deemed suitable for use in informal settings, too, and does not simply replace the L-code. Of course, there can be no doubt that the status-variable is important in determining the capacity of a language to survive and continue to be used by the members of the corresponding language community. In assessing the 'ethnolinguistic vitality' of a group, Giles, Bourhis & Taylor (1977) have proposed considering status as one of the three factors, which together with demographic strength and institutional support is said to contribute to the vitality of the group, i.e. the likelihood that it will behave
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as a distinctive and active collective entity in intergroup situations. But despite the appeal of this construct, as well as similar models proposed by Clement (1980) and others, it has been pointed out by Husband & Saifullah Khan (1982), that it is wrong to talk about status in abstraction as such an approach will necessarily be dominant-centric and the recognition of status of an ethnolinguistic group will then be based upon the dominant norm prevailing in a society. One should not forget the relative nature of the variables. For example, while the status of a minority language may be perceived to be low, it may be valued as a fundamental part of the minority culture and symbol of group membership. Johnson, Giles & Bourhis (1983:260) concede that 'in certain cases the perception of low vitality may not herald the demise of the ethnic language but rather may spur efforts to maintain it and even increase its use and vitality'. It has been pointed out by Ryan (1979:147), among many others, that 'the value of language as a chief symbol of group identity is one of the major forces for the preservation of non-standard speech styles or dialects'. The identity marking of certain minority languages has also been elaborated by Milroy (1982:210), who points out that such varieties often function powerfully as a symbol of identity and a source of pride to their users, and are capable of symbolising group values which may contrast sharply with the socially legitimized values of the main-stream culture. These varieties or languages thus become 'simultaneously a source of pride and a source of stigma'. She concludes her most interesting study with the observation that we need to move away from those early models of sociolinguistic description which view the standard language as the norm and which are constructed in terms of a linear progression from nonstandard to standard. Rather than simply modifying this model with a recognition that at the edges of society low status speakers are proud of their stigmatised language varieties, we need to find ways of incorporating both the status-oriented and solidarity-oriented functions of language variation into a single model. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop such a model for characterising the bilingualism with diglossia prevailing in many minority settings. The existence of two or more standard codes according to this model is explained by the multiplicity of norms which is a reflection of the internal structure of the society. Taking the first step beyond considering a homogeneous society undifferentiated by class, ethnicity etc., we can usually distinguish
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dominant and subordinate norms and values which influence the language and culture overtly from above, as well as covertly from below. Thus there can exist two different sets of linguistic norms: an overt norm which sets the standard in formal settings, and a covert norm which sets a different standard for the informal settings. In bicultural societies, these norms may reflect the majority and minority cultures. Also, an adequate theory of social identification must reflect this multidimensionality and the reactive as well as the situational nature of the identification process. For example, a subordinate social group may develop a very negative self-image as a result of social comparisons with the dominant group. To avoid such negative views of one's own group, there are several different strategies available (see, for example, Tajfel, 1982; Giles & Johnson, 1981; Lambert, 1979). One possibility is to counter-react to the perception of inferiority in the sense of rejecting the accepted image of one's group, starting often with an exploration of the opposite viewthat one's own group is as good as, if not better than, the high prestige group. As the counter-reaction gets social force, the relative attractiveness and status of the two or more ethnolinguistic groups in the society can change. (Lambert, 1979:188) Such a strategy of social competition will take place, for exmaple, when subordinate group members are aware that their inferiority is based on unfair advantages and is illegitimate as well as believing that status differences are potentially changeable and unstable. (Giles & Byrne, 1982: 21) The paper examines the bilingual situation of the contemporary Iranian-Armenian community. The next section will outline the history of this community and investigate the social, economic and political processes that have led to the present situation. The following section will analyse the social and cultural structure of the Armenian community in Iran. The typology of community bilingualism will then be discussed in the light of modern sociolinguistic theory, and the final section will provide the summary of conclusions and suggest possible generalisations. Historical Background The Armenians, as well as the Persians, are among the most ancient nationalities, whose existence as distinct ethnicities in Western Asia has
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persisted for thousands of years. There are different conjectures about the Armenians' ethnic and linguistic origins. The majority of comparative and historical linguists consider Armenian to be a separate branch in the family tree of the Indo-European languages. Modern Persian (called Farsi) is also categorised, alongside several other Iranian languages, within the IndoEuropean family of languages. Based mainly on the linguistic data and also partly on the Greek historiographical sources reproducing ancient myths about a certain 'Armen' race, it was thought that the Armenians were the descendants of that race, whose members spoke an Indo-European dialect, which, after their migration to the Armenian highlands and the assimilation of the other ethnics living in that area, has become the Armenian language. However, the migration theory is not supported by the available data and evidence for the Armenians' nativeness is overwhelming (Lang, 1970). The Armenians have been called by several different ethnic names (e.g. they call themselves 'Hay', which is equivalent to 'Armenian'), but there are many ancient written sources attesting to the fact that the Armenians, who spoke a language which was also called Armenian, have lived in the area bridging Asia to Europe (called the Armenian highlands) for more than two millenia. Unlike modern nationalities, whose formation has been based mainly on the socio-economic organisms resulting from the development of modern exchange economies requiring nationally organised markets, the ancient Asiatic nationalities were largely based on the need for communal labour (especially for constructing irrigation systems) and defence, which was necessary in the harsh environmental conditions prevailing in most parts of ancient Asia. The communal work resulted in a strong sense of solidarity among the different Asiatic agricultural communities. The amazing capacity of the Armenian nationality to survive can also be attributed to the simplicity of ancient Asiatic communities and their immense capability for adaptation. Politically, however, the small Asiatic communities did not always remain isolated and independent. As a result of intercommunal and intertribal wars, larger units were formed from the combination of smaller communities and, eventually, huge empires were built by conquering nationalities. In rare historical moments, the Armenians have also succeeded in subjugating other nationalities and forming Armenian states and empires. These moments of national glory are proudly recalled by contemporary Armenians. However, during most of history, the Persian dominance in Western Asia was evident in political, economic, cultural, as well as linguistic spheres. It suffices to point out that the vocabulary of the Armenian language is mainly composed of Persian loan-words, and these loan-words have entered the Armenian language from Ancient Persian, Middle Persian, as well as Modern Persian, both directly or via a third language or a substandard dialect (Acaryan, 1940: ch. 10). So many were the Persian loan-words and grammatical forms that for a long time
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Armenian was considered to be just another Iranian language, until Hubshman (1875) was able to isolate the Persian borrowings which had entered the Armenian language at a later stage and thus prove that the Armenian language forms a separate branch in the Indo-European family of languages. The socio-economic sub-structure in the Asiatic societies did not remain static. Although small agricultural societies usually survived and witnessed the rise and fall of different empires, as a result of economic developments and political and military conquests, newer and more complex forms of division of labour on ethnic lines gradually developed and different forms of caste systems resulted from these developments. During the Middle Ages, religion replaced community and caste as the main social identity marker. The Armenians had adopted Christianity during the third century and established their national Church soon afterwards. Most of the Persians, on the other hand, were converted to Islam, which became the dominant religion in the area during late Middle Ages. The Armenians thus became a religious minority, a legal status they still have in several countries of the area. As a result of several different factors, such as an unfavourable geopolitical situation, wars and massacres, involvement in trades and crafts, existence of Armenian colonies in other countries (see, e.g. Nercissians, 1986 for an expanded discussion), the Armenians have a long history of emigration, sometimes so massive as to result in the formation of Armenian states outside their historical homeland. In Persia, there has always been a sizeable Armenian community. But the formation of the present-day Iranian-Armenian community dates back to the massive deportation of the Armenians by the Persian Emperor Shah Abbas some four centuries ago. Despite their long history of living in Iran, the Iranian-Armenians have very little sense of belonging to Iran and are characterised by their virtual lack of cultural participation (Nercissians, 1986). The entry of Western Asia into the modern historical period took place mainly during the nineteenth century. As a result of this social transformation, language gradually replaced religion as the main social identity marker. Thus the Armenians became a fully fledged nation while they were deprived of their right to self-determination (Armenian statehood had been lost several centuries ago). These developments resulted in a most radical shift in the Armenian language. The ancient literary standards (called Ancient Armenian and Middle Armenian), which were of little use outside the religious domain and were not understood by the Armenian masses, were abandoned, and two new modern and literary standards (called Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian) were developed, based on the spoken vernacular varieties (Nercissians, 1987; Nercissians, forthcoming). These changes were also associated with the advent of the Armenian nationalist movement. One of the causes of the Armenian
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movement was the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the repression to which its national and religious minorities were subjected. The ethnic conflicts became very acute. Some of the European nationalities succeeded in winning their national liberation struggle and gaining self-determination rights. However, the Armenian movement was not strong enough to defeat both the Ottoman state and its European supporters. The only international super-power whose interests partly coincided with the liberation of Western Armenia was the Russian Empire, which at that time had become the centre of the European reaction and could hardly play the role of the sociopolitical change instigator. So, the Armenian question remained unresolved and during the period when the first World War took place the Armenian genocide was organised to which millions of Armenians fell victim. The genocide was the most important experience of the Armenians during the modern period and has affected virtually every domain of the Armenians' social life. One of the consequences of the genocide has been the dispersion of its survivors in many different countries and the creation of the so-called Armenian diaspora. Although after the conclusion of the first World War a tiny state was created in Eastern Armenia which later became a republic in the U.S.S.R., the majority of the Armenians remained outside it. The 1915 genocide was a crime committed against the Armenian nationality as a whole. Both the Eastern and Western sections of the Armenian people, as well as such older communities as the Iranian-Armenians, feel collectively victimised by it. Today, even though the direct descendants of the victims of the genocides are not refugees any more (they have been integrated economically, if not culturally, into their host countries) they continue to think of themselves as one nation that is deprived of its statehood and this fact hinders their cultural participation in their new home countries. Sociocultural Context Beginning the analysis of the social and cultural structure of the Iranian-Armenian community by considering the demographic data, we notice that the Iranian-Armenian community forms a tiny minority both in the Iranian context and the context of the world's Armenian population. The total number of Iranian-Armenians lies between one to two hundred thousands (the lower figure results from Iran's official census and the higher figure comes from the Iranian-Armenians' own estimate of their number). This is less than 0.5% of the total Iranian population. The number of Armenians living in the different countries of the world also amounts to six millions or more, depending on how one defines being an Armenian (whether by ethnic origin, language, subjective self-identification, etc.). The Iranian-Armenian community is also
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highly urbanised and thus its cultural and economic influence far exceeds the level that could be expected from its relative population size. On the other hand, the rate of population growth is estimated to be much lower than the Iranian average because city life does not encourage the formation of large families. There is also a net emigration which also contributes to the proportional decrease of its population size. There are two distinct emigration trends. The first, which pertains mainly to the middle and lower social strata is migration to the Armenian S.S.R.; the second is migration of the city-dwelling propertied classes to the Western industrial countries and most of all to the U.S.A. The Armenians are a national as well as a religious minority in Iran. The second status has been historically recognised and politically some measure of cultural autonomy has been granted to them in accordance with the Millet system of the Ottoman Empire (Nercissians, 1986). They can also be distinguished from the Persians and other Iranian people by their different housing, eating and dressing habits. The Iranian-Armenians' different social networks, such as their neighbourhoods and family, friendship, professional and recreational networks, to a large extent, coincide and form a closeknit ethnic super-network. Coupled with the Armenians' distinctive lifestyle, this primary network endows them with a fairly strong informal organisation within the formal and bureaucratic organisation of Iranian society (Nercissians, 1986). Armenian ethnicity can also be observed at their work. Few Armenians are professionally engaged in the mainstream productive sector of the country and the majority of Armenians are to be found in the service sector and in such jobs in which their closeknit social networks and informal social organisation can be used as an advantage. It is possible to identify different niches in the Iranian economic structure which are mainly occupied by Armenians. However, the jobs usually performed by Armenians are not necessarily low status and the position of the Iranian-Armenian community is closer to the position of the so-called 'middleman minorities' (Nercissians, 1986). The 'minority' status of the Iranian-Armenian community is also perpetuated by its internal organisation, highly ethnocentric sub-culture, a leadership dedicated to the perpetuation of endogamy and a distinctive subculture (see, e.g. Blalock, 1976:141) conducted under the pretext of resisting assimilation or 'white terror'. Nationalism has become the dominant ideology among the Armenians due to several social and historical causes. It reflects, on the one hand, the strong historical sense of injustice and the memory of the 1915 genocide as well as the incomplete resolution of the Armenian question, and, on the other hand, the middleclass mentality and the limited socialisation due to the closeknit ethnic networks of the Armenians. One of the most sensitive areas of Armenian politics is the administration
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of the educational system. In Iran, this function is carried out by the Parish Councils, which are the autonomous organs administering the cultural and religious affairs of the Iranian-Armenian minority. It is through the control of the educational system that the nationalists hope to bring up a new generation that would share their ideological beliefs. There are special 'national schools' managed by the Parish Councils where the moral education of the young generation takes place. But, the language of education in these schools, besides the courses on religion or Armenian studies, is exclusively Farsi (Modern Persian). The only 'national' thing about these schools is that they accept only Armenian students. There are no immersion programmes or bilingual education and the students study all scientific courses in the majority language, even though all their classmates are Armenian. The contents of the different courses are the same in all Iranian schools and so these national schools use the standard textbooks published by the Iranian Ministry of Education (Nercissians, 1987). Language Use It is now possible to characterise Iranian-Armenian bilingualism and explain the patterns of language use by the history and social and cultural structure of the community. Persian is both the official language of Iran and the common language with which the different nationalities in Iran communicate with each other. It is both the capital language and the language of education, and benefits from the economic, cultural and political dominance of the Persians. There are many other languages, belonging to various Indo-European, Semitic and other families, which are spoken in Iran. It is not unusual to see that within very short distances completely different dialects or even structurally distant languages are spoken which are not mutually understood. Some of the languages spoken in Iran, like Turkish and Baluchi, are regionally dominant. Some, like Arabic, have other sources of support (such as religion). These languages have their own set of varieties, including standard forms as well as dialects and vernaculars. Today, most Armenians are bilingual or multilingual, while the Armenian peasants belonging to the older generation could satisfy their communication needs with a minimal knowledge of a second language that is no longer compatible with the modern urban setting of the Iranian-Armenian community. For example, an Armenian living in the city of Urumia typically speaks Armenian at home; Assyrian, Armenian, Turkish and Kurdish in the neighbourhood; the latter two languages as the common language at regional level, and Persian as the common language at national level. Furthermore, he learns some English and some Arabic in school, etc. He
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may not know all these languages well but, typically, he can converse in three or four different languages quite fluently. The demographic facts and the asymmetry in Persian-Armenian bilingualism implies that a second language must be used in a setting where non-Armenians may be present; and except in Northern Iran where it can be a regionally dominant language, this second language is usually Persian. (In older times there were several Persians who learned Armenian because of attending the Armenian schools or engagements in works commonly done by Armenians, but in contemporary Iran few Persians have any motivation for learning Armenian.) Thus it can be generally concluded that Armenian is used in the home domain and other ingroup settings (the ethnic super-network described in the previous seciton) where relations are personal and communication is face-to-face. In formal and bureaucratic domains, on the other hand, Persian is used dominantly. It is for this reason that IranianArmenians do not master all the registers of either Armenian or Persian. This is one form of the much disputed doublesemilingualism (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1984:248-63). In a more general approach described by Hymes (1974) and others, one can consider the ethnography of speaking rather than merely concentrating on linguistic aspects. The basic units in this approach are the speech events. The etic framework is comprised of the speaker and hearer(s), the message form or style, the channel, the code, the topic, setting, etc. It is the patterning of these factors, the restrictions and frequencies of co-occurrence of these elements that constitute the appropriateness of the speech and communicative competence is the ability to use these rules in an optimal manner. It is not difficult to see that these patternings are culturally determined. In the case of the Iranian-Armenian community, it has been shown that the Armenian language is associated with all-Armenian speaker-hearer(s), informal and casual speech, face-to-face settings in home or some other ethnic settings, etc. Persian is, on the other hand, usually associated with formality, bureaucratic settings, participants with little prior personal knowledge of each other, etc. Another important aspect of speech events is that of function. This involves not only what a language contributes to the maintenance of personality, society, culture, etc.; but also what the latter contribute to the maintenance of a language. It is possible to enumerate the different functions of a language form, but within the field of linguistics functions of speech have commonly been an interpretation of factors of the speech event in terms of motive or purpose. Even if functions of speech are not conceived too narrowly, as to number or domain, it is clear that any given speech event can be characterised by a particular hierarchy of functions. In the case of the Iranian-Armenians, it can be generally said that in the home
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domain as well as in other in-group settings when the Armenian language is used and where the focus is seldom on the speaker within the speech event, the directive or connotive function predominates, while in the more formal settings when Farsi is used, the expressive and the referential functions are more dominant. Thus not all functions of these languages are equally mastered. There are also speech differences at the semantic level, as hypothesised by Bernstein (1971, 1973) due to the differences in the role of speech in socialisation. The Iranian-Armenian uses the Armenian language (at home or in other ethnic domains) in the public mode (using Bernstein's terminology) while he uses Farsi (at work, in school, or other bureaucratic settings) in the formal mode. In the former case, he can depend on his common background with his family members, friends or fellow IranianArmenians and his speech is usually context dependent; while in the latter case he has to be verbally explicit. Clearly, he uses a restricted code when he speaks Armenian, but when he speaks Farsi he uses an elaborated code. The restricted and elaborated codes are usually discussed in analysing the speech differences of the different social classes. But here we can see that it is equally applicable to the speech patterns of an ethnic minority. Limited use of complex syntactic forms, condensation of meaning in stock words, phrases or sentence structures, use of tag questions and other devices of sympathetic circularity, frequent use of idiomatic phrases, frequent use of short questions and commands, preferent use of the active voice, rigid and limited use of qualifiers and the other characteristics of Bernstein's restricted codes can all be observed in the Iranian-Armenians' use of their mother tongue. These facts explain why, despite their emotional attachment to the Armenian language, many Iranian-Armenians use Farsi in order to write an elaborate expressive letter (such as a love letter or a thank you letter) to fellow Iranian-Armenians (Nercissians, 1986). Finally, it should be noted that Armenian-Persian bilingualism is associated with a corresponding biculturalism. An important concept in the cultural standardisation process, called 'dinomia' has been described by Saville-Troike (1982:58-59). Like the concept of 'diglossia' in sociolinguistics, dinomia is defined as 'the co-existence and complementary use within the same society of two cultural systems'. But culture-switching is potentially more problematic than code-switching. In the case of the minorities, the mastery of the majority culture is always incomplete because their acquisition of this culture has not begun from the home domain. There are some norms and behavioural rules that cannot be learned in formal, bureaucratic settings. Even when the majority norms and values are known to the minority members, they often negate their own cultural norms and values. Thus, anomie is one of the most important problems involved in becoming or
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being bilingual and it is thought that at least some of the findings in connection with semi-lingualism are probably more attributable to anomie than primarily to purely linguistic considerations (Baetens Beardsmore, 1982:129). Any study of bilingualism-biculturalism in the Iranian-Armenian setting will be incomplete without analysing the role of identification and social boundary-making processes. The recent historical experience of the Armenians, their nationalist ideology, and their contemporary social structure put the question of their social identity at the centre of all other problems. Today, the Armenians do not fear that another massacre may happen in our time. However, there are civilised ways of ethnic annihilation which are no less effective. Instead of the 'red massacre' the Armenians now fear the so-called 'white massacre', i.e. ethnic annihilation through gradual assimilation. Those Armenians living as minority national groups in other countries have in fact dual identities. For example, an Iranian-Armenian assumes his Iranian self in order to earn his living in the broader Iranian society where he has to speak Farsi in order to communicate with non-Armenians. He then withdraws and becomes his Armenian self in his home in other ethnic settings. He feels that his Armenian culture and his Armenian self are threatened by the broader Iranian society and his own Iranian self. In order to guard against this threat, he compartmentalises his roles and draws a clear line between his two selves. His Armenian self is associated with the collective effort of the Armenians to maintain their cultural identity in the face of a situation which they perceive as historically unjust. On the other hand, his Iranian self is associated with economic necessity and social position. Conclusion It has been shown that the Persians and Armenians are two ancient nationalities that have been in close contact for thousands of years. Both history and present conditions associate solidarity with the Armenian culture and status with the Persian culture. Correspondingly, the Armenian language often marks intimacy and solidarity while the Persian language is often associated with prestige, formality and politeness. This can be seen most clearly in behavioural rules and speech routines. There are elaborate routines in the Persian language and culture maintaining a delicate balance between the rule of self-respect and the rule of considerateness. For example, at the typical ending of a Persian conversation the speaker asks if there is any 'amr' (command); the proper answer (if the social rank of the other party is not much higher), is to state explicitly that there is no further 'arz'
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(request), because to simply answer 'no thank you' would amount to acknowledging higher status and is therefore considered very rude. There are many similar doublets of status-increasing and status-deprecating phrases in Farsi, as well as numerous other complementary routines which have to be learned in the natural socialisation process; otherwise one could not produce the proper routine no matter how well one knows the Farsi language. Iranian-Armenians frequently find themselves at a loss because they are unaware of the rules that exist in Persian culture or because they feel clumsiness in having to respond to too many compliments and other politeness routines. There are few equivalent routines in Armenian and Iranian-Armenians do not care much about politeness, because speaking Armenian in Iran already implies informality and there can be no elaborate formalities for politeness. As another example, there are formal and informal addressing patterns in both Persian and Armenian (e.g. the second person plural pronoun is used for formality in both languages). But the rules of their proper usage are very different. For Armenians, it is very important to reach the informal and friendly stage as early as possible, while in Persian culture a certain level of formality is always maintained even in family relationships. These differences stem from the different organisational principles of the Persians and Armenians (Nercissians, 1986). Although the analysis carried out in this paper has been for the Iranian-Armenian setting, those who conduct research in other minority settings will probably find many common features which they will not find difficult to generalise. It has been the purpose of this paper to demonstrate the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach, combining the theories and methodologies of sociology, psychology and linguistics. It is only by considering all the implications of history and the social and cultural formation that one can critically understand and explain the linguistic situation and the patterns of language use, and these can never be the same for any two cultures. On the other hand, it is hoped that the general model and the approach discussed here can be applied for studying other minority settings which share many, but by no means all, of the features of the IranianArmenian community. References Acaryan, H. (1940) The History of the Armenian Language. Vol. 1. Yerevan: State University Press. (Arm.). Baetens Beardsmore, H. (1982) Bilingualism: Basic Principles. Clevedon, Avon: Tieto/ Multilingual Matters. Bernstein, B. (1971) Class, Codes and Control. Vol. 1. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (1973) Class, Codes and Control. Vol. 2. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Blalock, K.H.M. Jr (1976) Toward a Theory of Minority Group Relations. New York: John Wiley.
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Clement, R. (1980) Ethnicity, contact and communication competence in a second language. In H. Giles, W.P. Robinson & P.M. Smith (eds), Language: Social Psychological Perspectives. Oxford: Pergamon. Fergusons, C. (1959) Diglossia. Word, 15, 325-40. Fishman, J.A. (1971) The sociology of languages: an interdisciplinary social science approach to language in society. In J.A. Fishman (ed.), Advances in the Sociology of Language. The Hague: Mouton. Giles, H., Bourhis, R.Y., & Taylor, D.M. (1977) Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In H. Giles (ed.), Language Ethnicity and Intergroup Relations. London: Academic Press. Giles, H. & Byrne, J. (1982) The intergroup model of language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 3, 17-40. Giles, H. & Johnson, P. (1981) The role of language in ethnic group relations. In J.C. Turner & H. Giles (eds), Intergroup Behaviour. Oxford: Blackwell. Hubshman, H. (1875) On the position of Armenian in the sphere of the Indo-European languages. Reprinted in W.P. Lehman (ed. and trans.) (1967) A Reader in 18th Century Historical Indo-European Linguistics. London: Indiana University Press. Husband, C. & Saifullah Khan, V.S. (1982) The viability of ethnolinguistic vitality: some creative doubts. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 3, 193-205. Hymes, D. (1974) Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press. Johnson, P., Giles, H. & Bourhis, R.Y. (1983) The viability of ethnolinguistic vitality: a reply. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 4, 255-69. Lambert, W.E. (1979) Language as a factor in intergroup relations. In H. Giles & R.N. St Clair (eds), Language and Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell. Lang, D.M. (1970) Armenia, Cradle of Civilization. London: George Allen and Unwin. Milroy, L. (1982) Language and Group identity. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 3, 207-15. Nercissians, E. (1986) Dominant Languages and Cultural Participation: A Historical Study of the Iranian-Armenian Community. M.Sc. Thesis. University of Salford, England. Nercissians, E. (1987) The Advent of the Armenian Vernacular Education. Ph.D. Dissertation. Century University. U.S.A. Nercissians, E. (forthcoming) The development of standard literary Armenian and Persian: a comparative study. Journal of Pragmatics. Ryan, E.B. (1979) Why do low prestige language varieties persist? In H. Giles & R.N. St Clair (eds), Language and Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell. Saville-Troike, M. (1982) The Ethnography of Communication. Oxford: Blackwell. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1984) Bilingualism or Not: The Education of Minorities. L. Malmberg & D. Crane (trans.). Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters. Tajfel, H. (1982) Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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7 Language Use and Attitudes: The Rise of Sango Jeannine Gerbault University of Bangui, B.P. 1794, Bangui, Central African Republic. Abstract. In the Central African Republic Sango is the national language and French the official language and the language of education. Regional languages are still widely spoken. Language use and attitudes in Bangui, the capital city, were investigated. The results show that the spread of Sango among the younger generation has been achieved at the expense of French as well as of the regional languages. French is not used at home. Multilingualism is the rule among city dwellers. Sango is considered as the most useful language, and its introduction in education is viewed favourably; French is considered a foreign language. The perception of competence in French and Sango and of the reciprocal influence of these languages in the Centralafricans' speech was also tapped, and opinions concerning the roles of indigenous and imported languages in Africa were investigated. Directions for further research are suggested. The paper also suggests that policy decisions regarding school education might take into account some of the findings of this survey. Introduction Historical background In the Central African Republic, Sango has been the national language since 1964, while French has remained the official languge. Sango is not the only African language spoken over the territory, but it has progressively gained ground during the colonisation period and since Independence. It is the vehicular form of Ngbandi, a language spoken by the inhabitants of an area along the Ubangui River. It is probable that frequent trade relationships on
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the river originally favoured its spread. Its function was to permit inter-ethnic communication. This is why it has spread over the whole territory of the Republic. The decision to promote it to the status of national language in 1964 was made because it had already spread considerably. Since that time, it has become the symbol of national unity, and its use has extended among families. For a number of young city dwellers, it is the language acquired first. However, except for a short-lived experiment in 1975, Sango has not yet been introduced in education, although Article 36 of ordinance No 84/031 of 14th May 1984 states that teaching must be done in French and in Sango. An educational reform is in progress, but for the time being French remains the language of education and of administration. French, however, is not spoken by everybody. Its use is rare in the family environment. A 1975 survey (Dechamps-Wenezoui, 1981) indicated that it was considered a foreign language which was learned for social prestige. In addition to Sango, the national African language, and to French, the imported official language, other regional languages are spoken in the Central African Republic. These languages are used by large numbers of people in the provinces. Most of them belong to the Ubanguian branch of the Adamawa-Ubangui group. Sango also belongs to this group, which probably favoured its spread. The Mechanisms of Change Today the younger age group plays an important role in the changes occurring in the linguistic situation of the country. The population growth has been estimated to be around 2.5% a year. According to the Atlas de la République Centrafricaine (1984), the population under 14 years of age represented 42.9% of the total population in 1975; persons between 15 and 49 years of age represented 53.5%, and those over 60 only 3.6%. School attendance among children between 6 and 14 years of age is estimated to be about 45%. The figure for the city of Bangui is 80%. The city of Bangui is growing steadily. According to Boulvert (1986) it represented 2.2% of the total population in 1931, 6.5% in 1955, 10.4% in 1966, 13.9% in 1975. Boulvert's estimate for 1990 is that it will represent one fifth of the total population. Around the administrative and commercial centre, the inhabitants have settled in separate districts, the 'kodoro'. In many districts they have grouped according to ethnic origin; in some districts the members of different ethnic groups live next to each other, which is also a factor for the expansion of Sango. Such changes in the population (growth of the younger age group, growth
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of urbanisation and of school attendance) may account for some of the linguistic changes that have taken place in the C.A.R. Contacts between languages have become more frequent even in the provinces. The University of Bangui, created in 1970, has contributed to the formation of a westernised élite. Radio broadcasts in Sango and French can be listened to all over the country. At a time when the role of language planning in the process of development seems to be acknowledged by African countries and by international organisations, it has seemed useful to collect information concerning the role of languages in the C.A.R. and to analyse attitudes towards them. The Survey The Questionnaire The questionnaire used for this survey identified the subjects according to place of birth, number of years of residence in Bangui, age, mother's and father's ethnic group, occupation. The subjects were also asked to state what languages were used at home. The second section inquired about the subjects' perception of the spread and role of Sango, and also asked them to evaluate their own competence in Sango and French. The third part of the questionnaire asked for their opinions regarding the relative roles of French and Sango and of national and imported languages in Africa. Subjects and Procedures Two hundred and ten questionnaires were completed. The subjects were grouped into six occupational categories: tradespeople (N = 23), peasants and unemployed persons (N = 25), civil servants (N = 37), professionals (N = 31), teachers (N = 39), and students (N = 55). Three age groups were identified: persons under 30 years of age (N = 137), persons between 30 and 40 (N = 55), persons above 40 (N = 18). All the ethnic groups were represented, but no attempt was made to represent the actual percentage of each group in the population, since no statistical data exist regarding these figures. For the purpose of this survey the subjects were also identified according to whether they had been born of parents belonging to the same ethnic group (N = 161) or from mixed marriages (N = 49). Subjects born in Bangui represented only 16.66% of the sample. The questionnaire was presented in French and administered by Central-African students, whose task was to help those subjects whose knowledge of French or mastery of the written word was inadequate.
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Results Languages Used at Home The figures indicate that the use of ethnic languages has decreased a lot among children, while the parents use Sango less often than their children do. This can be observed both in families whose members belong to the same ethnic group and in mixed families. In Figure 1 the use of languages at home is represented according to type of speaker/listener and to ethnic origin of parents (same or different). French does not seem to be used a lot at home, and its use tends to decrease among children when compared to adults. Considering that it is the language of school (i.e. the medium of education) and that more children attend school now than in their parents' time, this decrease in the use of French also appears
Figure 1 Languages spoken at home. , Sango; , French; , Other. Ethnic groups: , same; ---, different. A = between adults; AC = adults to children; CA = children to adults; C = between children
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to reflect the rise of Sango. Only four of the 210 respondents declared that they used only French at home among adults. Homes are generally bilingual or multilingual; bilingualism at home is in Sango and in an ethnic language, rather than in Sango and/or an ethnic language and in French. One hundred and sixty-one (79.4%) of the 210 subjects declared that children spoke only Sango among themselves at home, while the percentage for adults was 13.33. Home bilingualism seems to be more common among adults than among children. Besides, the use of the ethnic language by children has not decreased to the benefit of French but to the benefit of Sango. Figure 1 shows a slight decrease in the use of French among children compared to adults. Languages Spoken The foregoing results deal with the use of languages at home. Questions were then asked about competence in the various languages (Sango, French, or other ethnic languages). One hundred and fifty-nine of the subjects, that is, 75.71%, declared that they spoke French, Sango, and at least one other Centralafrican language. Thirty-six (17.14%) of them said that they spoke French and Sango only, while twelve (5.71%) said that they spoke Sango and at least one other ethnic language. Only two of the subjects declared that they do not speak Sango, while fourteen of them (6.66%) do not speak French; 82.38% of the subjects said that they spoke at least one ethnic language. So, for the time being, these languages are still spoken by the majority of city dwellers. Language competence was analysed in terms of three variables: length of stay in Bangui, occupation, and age group. One hypothesis was that a subject's length of stay in Bangui might influence his language competence. The responses were therefore analysed according to whether the subjects had lived in Bangui for less than three years, between three and ten years, or more than ten years. 'Older' residents were more likely to be competent in French and Sango and to have forgotten their ethnic language, while more recent residents would be more fluent in the language of their native village, rather than in Sango or French. Table 1 presents the results according to the length of stay in Bangui. Living in Bangui would seem to encourage the learning of French. The competence in Sango and French tends to increase only with the length of stay in Bangui. Figure 2 shows the variations in language competence according to length of stay in Bangui. The analysis of the results concerning the languages spoken according to occupational categories showed that trilingualism is lower among peasants and unemployed persons (44% compared to 76.66% for the total sample). For all the other occupational categories the answers about the languages spoken were
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Page 74 Table 1 Languages spoken according to length of stay in Bangui Sango Sango + Sango + Sgo + French French French + Length of stay in Bangui French Other + Other Other Less than 3 yrs N = 6 N:% N:% N:% 5 : 83.33 0:0 N:% 3 to 10 yrs N = 76 0:0 0:0 1 : 16.6 59 : 77.63 0:0 0:0 Over 10 yrs N = 128 0:0 9 : 11.84 6 : 7.89 95 : 74.21 0:0 1 : 31 1 : 0.78 27 : 21.09 5 : 3.90 0:0 Table 2 Languages spoken: Variations according to occupational categories Sango Sgo + French Sgo + Other Sgo + French French N:% N:% N:% + Other N:% N:% Tradespeople N=23 0:0 0:0 3 : 13.04 20 : 86.95 0:0 Farmers N=25 1 : 3.99 4 : 15.99 8 : 31.99 11 : 44 0:0 Civil servants N=37 0:0 7 : 18.91 1 : 2.7 29 : 78.37 0:0 Professionals N=31 0 : 0 8 : 25. 8 0 : 0 23 : 74.19 0:0 Teachers N=39 0:0 7 : 17.94 0:0 31 : 79.48 0:0 Students N=55 0:0 10 : 17.54 0:0 45 : 81.81 0:0 TOTAL 210 1 36 12 159 0
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French + Other N:% 0:0 0:0 0:0 0:0 1 : 2.56 0:0 1
Other N:% 0:0 1 : 1.31 0:0 Other N:% 0:0 1 : 3.99 0:0 0:0 0:0 0:0 1
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Figure 2 Languages spoken: variation according to length of stay in Bangui very similar. Table 2 presents the results for Question 11 according to occupational categories. Age was the third variable in the analysis of the languages spoken. The figures in Table 3 indicate that the highest percentage of subjects capable of speaking at least three languages (Sango + French + Other) is found among the older age group; in this group only one person reported that he did not speak any African language besides Sango. All of the subjects over forty declared that they spoke French. However, although multilingualism seems to decrease among the younger generation compared with their elders, the percentage of subjects under thirty who declared that they speak all three languages remains high (73.72%). Figures 3 and 4 represent the variations in languages spoken and in multilingualism according to age groups. Perception of the Present Role of Sango The preceding results indicated that 99.04% of the respondents declared that they speak Sango. In Bangui everybody seems capable of communicating
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Page 76 Table 3 Languages spoken according to age Age N Sango Sango + Sgo + French other N:% N:% N:% Under 30 137 1 : 0.77 25 : 18.24 8 : 5.83 30 to 40 35 0:0 10 : 18.18 4 : 7.27 Over 40 18 0:0 1 : 5.55 0:0
Sgo + French French + other N:% N:% 101 : 73.72 41 : 74.54 17 : 94.44
0:0 0:0 0:0
French + other N:% 1 : 0.72 0:0 0:0
Other N:% 1 : 0.72 0:0 0:0
Figure 3 Languages spoken: variations according to age in this language. But city dwellers are aware of the more important role of the regional languages outside the capital: only 40.56% of the subjects gave positive responses to the statement that 'all Centralafricans speak Sango'. The proportion of 'Yes' answers was highest among tradespeople; this seems to confirm the important role of Sango in local trade. Table 4 shows the percentage of positive responses for this question according to occupational categories. The subjects were then asked to state whether they considered that the Sango language was rich enough to be used in any type of conversation; 47.17% of the subjects responded positively to this question. Slightly higher percentages were found among tradespeople and peasants. The aptitude of Sango is judged most severely among professionals, who normally handle more abstract and specialised 'Western' notions. Table 5 shows the percentage of positive responses for this item according to occupational categories.
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Figure 4 Multilingualism: variations according to age Table 4 Percentage of positive responses: 'All Centralafricans speak Sango' All categories: CA = 40.56% Tradespeople Tr = 56.52 Peasants and unemployed Ps = 40 Civil servants Cs = 45.94 Professionals Pr= 35.48 Teachers Te= 33.33 Students St = 38.59 Table 5 Aptitude of Sango for any type of conversation. Percentage of positive responses according to occupational categories CA = 47.17% Tr = 52.17% Ps = 52 Cs = 48.64 Pr = 38.70 Te = 48.71 St = 45.61
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Sango is judged more useful than French in Bangui to obtain a job (53.30% against 37.73%). Among civil servants, 75.67% judged Sango useful, while for the other groups the scores ranged between 42% and 59%. The usefulness of Sango seems to have become considerable in administrative bodies. As for the usefulness of French, it seems to be associated more closely with two occupational categories, professionals and teachers, whose functions require the use of this language more than those of the other groups. Table 6 presents the results for these questions. The figures for the amount of writing and reading done in Sango indicated that Sango is still an oral language. Writing and reading are done mostly in French. Expression of the Desired Role for Sango A majority of subjects (82.54% of the total) were favourable to the idea of the introduction of Sango in school. Among teachers positive responses reached 92.30%. Table 7 shows the results for this question according to occupational categories. Table 6 Usefulness of languages to have a job in Bangui. Percentage of positive responses according to occupational categories Sango French % % CA 53.30 37.73 Tr 52.17 30.43 Pe 48 32 Cs 75.67 32.43 Pr 45.16 58.06 Te 58.97 46.15 St 42.10 29.82 Table 7 'Sango should be taught in school'. Percentages of positive responses according to occupational categories CA 82.54 Tr 73.91 Pe 88 Cs 83.78 Pr 74.19 Te 92.30 St 80.70
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The general opinion seems to be that foreigners working in Bangui should learn Sango; 83.96% of the subjects responded positively to this question. 'Yes' answers were strongly dominant among all categories of subjects. This attitude to the instrumental value of Sango seems particularly revealing of a context in which the value of French as a symbol of development and culture, that was typical of the colonial spirit, co-exists with the notion of Sango as a tool for development. Table 8 presents the results for this question according to occupational categories. The respondents were then asked to state whether they thought Sango would some day replace French in schools. This item dealt with the function of Sango as a medium of instruction (as opposed to Sango taught as a subject). A majority of subjects responded positively (61.79%). The results are shown in Table 9. The number of subjects unable to decide (39.52% of all the respondents, and 36.64% of those who answered 'Yes') seems to reveal some doubts as to the immediate future. This can be related to the responses to Question 14, where only 47.17% judged that Sango was adequate for all types of communication. Table 8 'Foreigners should learn Sango'. Percentage of positive responses according to occupational categories CA 83.96 Tr 95.65 Pe 88 Cs 78.37 Pr 83.87 Te 82.05 St 82.45 Table 9 'Sango will some day replace French in schools'. Evaluation according to occupational categories in percentages This change will be Yes Good Bad Neither good nor bad % % % % CA 61.79 38.09 17.61 39.52 Tr 78.26 39.13 13.04 47.82 Pe 60 36 28 36 Cs 56.75 38.88 19.44 41.66 Pr 48.38 29.03 22.58 48.38 Te 61.53 42.10 13.15 44.73 St 66.66 42.10 12.28 45.61
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Table 10 Perception of competence in Sango and French. Percentages of selected responses according to occupational categories Competence Excellent Good Fairly good Poor Occupation % % % % CA 13.80 41.90 39.04 4.28 Sango Tr 21.73 52.17 21.73 4.34 12 32 52 4 Pe 0 Cs 16.66 38.88 44.44 Pr 6.45 51.61 38.70 3.22 Te 10.42 42.10 39.47 7.89 St 15.78 38.59 40.35 5.26 CA 7.61 57.14 31.42 3.80 French Tr 4.34 39.13 43.47 >13.04 16 40 40 4 Pe Cs 11.11 44.44 41.66 2.77 Pr 9.67 70.96 16.12 3.22 Te 5.26 78.94 13.15 2.63 St 3.50 57.89 36.84 1.75 Perception of Competence in Sango and French The subjects were asked to evaluate their own knowledge of Sango and French on a four-point scale. Table 10 presents the results in percentages for each occupational category. The first observation that can be made upon examining these results is that most subjects consider that they know both languages at least 'fairly well'. The percentage of subjects who answered that their knowledge of Sango or French was 'poor' is very low (respectively 4.28% and 3.80%); 51.42% of the respondents consider that their knowledge of Sango does not influence the way they speak French at all. Although it may be true that among professionals competence in French has reached a level where the influence of Sango may be limited (70.96% of them selected this answer), the responses may seem surprising from some other occupational categories. The difference of perception of the reciprocal influence of each language in the subjects' speech is striking: only 28.57% of them think that their knowledge of French does not influence their Sango at all (32.38% think it influences it a lot, while only 10.95% think Sango influences their French a lot). It would seem that the subjects are not aware of 'Africanisms' in their French, while acknowledging the numerous lexical borrowings from French when they speak Sango. The variations across occupational categories observed in these judgments are small, with the exception of professionals. However,
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Table 11 Perception of the reciprocal influence of Sango and French. Percentages of selected responses according to occupational categories A lot A little Not at all % % % Sango CA 10.95 37.61 51.42 influences Tr 17.39 26.08 56.52 8 36 56 Pe 50 Cs 11.11 38.83 French Pr 3.22 25.80 70.96 50 Te 10.52 39.47 St 12.58 49.12 38.59 French CA 32.38 38.57 28.57 influences Tr 34.78 39.13 26.08 44 32 24 Pe Cs 22.22 36.11 41.66 Sango Pr 32.25 41.93 25.80 Te 23.68 44.73 31.57 St 42.10 35.08 22.80 the feeling that French has little or no influence upon their Sango is stronger among civil servants. Table 11 presents the percentages of selected answers according to occupational categories. National and Imported Languages: Attitudes The third section of the questionnaire aimed at identifying the subjects' attitudes towards Sango and French, and towards African national languages and 'official' imported languages such as English and French in general. The results are presented in Tables 12 and 13. Following Hofman (1977), from whom the items of this section of the questionnaire are largely borrowed, the questions have been grouped according to whether they deal with local African languages (Table 12) or with languages of wider communication (Table 13). Attitudes towards Sango and African Languages To explain why national languages develop in Africa, the majority of subjects (79.19%) chose the argument which stated the desire of Africans to express themselves in their own language. This choice reflects a sentimental orientation of the subjects. The second choice expressed the desire to forget colonialism (value: 50.47%). Over 62% of the subjects selected the argument stating that national unity is tied up with linguistic unity. The argument that came second, with 52.85%
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Table 12 Attitudes towards Sango and African languages Percentage of subjects who Questionnaire items:a options, by selected the option orientation Reason independent countries in Africa develop a national language: (S) 76.19 Desire for self-expression Desire to forget colonialism (V) 50.47 Easier to make a living (I) 19.52 Try to dominate other ethnic groups (C) 18.57 Arguments for Sango as national language in the C.A.R.: Further literary enjoyment (S) 50.00 Help Africans feel equal (V) 40.95 Make activities easier for Africans (I) 34.28 (C) 80.47 Promote communication Main role of a national language: Let Africans express feelings (S) 59.04 Provide Africans focus of identity (V) 53.80 Make French choice subject (I) 40.47 (C) 76.19 Help Africans to communicate a For each item, options are listed in the same order, by orientation: S = sentimentalism; V = value; I = instrumentalism; C = communication. Table 13 Attitudes towards French and imported languages Percentage of subjects who Questionnaire items:a options, by selected the option orientation Reasons French had English achieved special status: A flourishing literature (S) 39.19 Countries enjoy prestige (V) 40.95 Easy to learn (I) 17.14 (C) 77.14 Everyone forced to speak Why French is required in schools: Contact with culture (S) 44.28 (V) 60.00 Language of culture and science Get better job (I) 50.95 Language of governing group (C) 36.66 If no unified language: Literature may suffer (S) 52.85 (V) 62.38 National unity suffers Misunderstanding between individuals (I) 43.80 Misunderstanding between classes (C) 44.76 a For each item, options are listed in the same order, by orientation: S = sentimentalism; V = value; I = instrumentalism; C = communication.
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of the choices, was that a national literature develops only if there exists linguistic unity. The communication argument concerning the role of the national language in the C.A.R. was also selected most often (79.19%), while the sentimental argument (occasion to express one's feelings) was selected by 59.04% of the population. The role of the national language as providing Africans with a focus of identity was the third choice (53.80%). In the three items that dealt with Sango specifically, a consensus seemed to appear. Centralafricans seem to be sentimentally attached to the national language, and to consider it very valuable as an instrument of communication within the country. Attitudes Towards Imported Languages Concerning French, the only argument that was selected by over 75% of the subjects was the argument stating that Africans were forced to learn this language. The next two arguments (60% and 62.38% respectively) express the value of French as the language of culture and science on the one hand, and the value of an indigenous language as opposed to French as the cement for national unity on the other hand. So French is felt as a language which has been imposed, and which remains because it represents an opening to culture and science in general. Summary and Conclusion This study surveyed a sample of the population of the capital city; persons differing in terms of age, occupation and ethnic affiliation were represented among the subjects. The purpose was to analyse attitudes towards languages, and more specifically the Centralafricans' perceptions of the present, future and desired roles of Sango and French. The large number of subjects among the youngest age group and among students and teachers has been pointed out, together with the crucial role that these categories may play in the orientation of a national language policy. The sex of the subjects has not been identified as a variable. One must be aware, however, that males are far more numerous than females in Centralafrican schools. Real problems were encountered in the course of the survey. The first type of problem is typical of questionnaire surveys: some respondents may have chosen the answers that they thought were expected, 'right', rather than what they really thought. The total lack of practice of the population with surveys is another source of confusion in the analysis of responses. In addition, although the subjects had been told they would remain anonymous, a number of them
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were very reluctant to answer because they were 'afraid to get into trouble' or to lose their job. The survey revealed that the large majority of the population of the capital city was born outside Bangui, and that all language groups are represented there. Concerning the use of languages at home, it was found that the use of both Sango and an ethnic language is more frequent among adults than among children, with whom Sango is more dominant. The use of French at home is very limited at all levels of communication. The dominance of Sango was found in families whose members belong to the same ethnic group as well as in those whose members belong to different ethnic groups. Three-quarters of the population surveyed declared that they speak at least three languages, Sango, one or more other local languages, and French. The largest proportion of trilingual speakers was found among the subjects over 40 years of age. The length of stay in Bangui tends to facilitate the learning of French, and to lessen competence in the ethnic languages. But ethnic languages in Bangui remain powerful. Multilingualism is less frequent among peasants and unemployed people. The inhabitants of Bangui perceive Sango as a language which co-exists with the other Centralafrican languages in the rest of the country; that is, not everybody in the C.A.R. is expected to speak Sango. In Bangui, Sango is considered more useful than French, although its limitations for certain types of communication are acknowledged. Sango is not at present a language used for reading and writing, but the majority of subjects is favourable to its introduction in school education. Some doubts were expressed as to its use as a medium of education (to replace French). The feeling was also expressed that foreigners working in Centralafrica should learn Sango. The majority of subjects thought that their knowledge of Sango and French is fairly good. The feeling was expressed that Sango interferes little when they speak French, while French influences their Sango more. The survey also showed the Centralafricans' sentimental attachment to the national language, and their awareness of the role of a national language for internal communication. French is accepted more by necessity than by choice. Some consequences of the facts and opinions that have been presented can be outlined. Since Sango is the language used at home by the majority of children, French can be considered as a second language. Its acquisition in primary school could be facilitated by the use of second-language teaching methods. The decrease in home bilingualism among children compared to adults also raises the question of the disappearance of ethnic languages in Bangui.
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I have pointed out that regional languages seem to be very much alive for the time being. Future research may determine the rise of Sango more precisely by examining various domains of use. The particular language behaviour of certain language groups may also be studied. The spread of Sango in Bangui and in the other urban areas will also need to be compared. In terms of the aptitude of Sango for all types of communication, interesting data could be collected by translation of selected technical passages from French into Sango and into French again. An analysis of the three versions would reveal borrowings, lexical creations, imperfect synonyms, circumlocutions, etc. The description of the language might benefit from this type of analysis. In addition, modern Sango presents characteristics of both pidginisation and creolisation that will have to be described systematically. Since Sango seems to become the first language of an increasing number of children in Bangui, it will be necessary to study the various stages of the acquisition of this language, and its development in relation with the child's cognitive development. Besides, if Sango is to be introduced in schools, research will be necessary in order to determine its norms. In particular, the question of the varieties of Sango will have to be solved. Systematic study of the judgments upon the several varieties of Sango could be undertaken within the framework of research on the norms of 'good Sango'. A number of projects are now in progress at the University of Bangui on the basis of the findings of this study and of the questions that have been raised here. References Atlas de la République Centrafricaine (1984) Paris: Editions Jeune Afrique. Boulvert, Y. (1986) Aperçu bibliographique sur l'évolution de la population du Centrafrique et de la capitale Bangui. Bulletin de Liaison No. 26. Bangui: Department des Etudes de Population, U.D.E.A.C. Dechamps-Wenezoui, M. (1981) Le français, le sango, et les autres langues centrafricaines. Enquête sociolinguistique au quartier Boy-Rabe (Bangui, Centrafrique). Paris: SELAF. Hofman, J.E. (1977) Language attitudes in Rhodesia. The Spread of English. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House, 277-301.
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8 Tosprogethed på FærøerneI Historisk Perspektiv Malan Saleem Bavnehøj skole, Nat. Zahlesvej 9 - 2450 SV. Abstract. This paper is written from a layman's point of view and is largely based on accounts from my family. The handing down of the spoken language is founded on very old and strong traditions in the form of lays, legends, proverbs. Faroese was not acknowledged as the official language, as the upper class consisted of the Danish clergy and other officials. A written language did not exist as Old Norse was no longer used. Jens Chr. Svabo made an unsuccessful attempt to develop a written Faroese around 1780. One hundred years later, the present system was constructed by V.U. Hammershaimb. In the earliest times home education was the tradition. The purpose was to be able to read 'Luther's Catechism', to be catechised by the vicar. Instruction for teachers on the Faroe Islands (1854) instigated the extension of village schools in spite of determined opposition among the local people. The language of instruction was Danish. Gradual extension to meet the requirements for examination schools took place. Faroese was acknowledged as an official language in the Faroe Islands after 1938. The problem of producing Faroese textbooks was gradually solved. The examination for the Faroese Matriculation Certificate was still in Danish until a few years ago. The industrial (fishing) development and the influence of the mass media on linguistic development are discussed. Min mormor var engang i 30'erne på kort besøg i Torshavn. Hun havde der haft en utrolig stor ople-velse, som hun fortalte om, da hun kom hjem til den lille færøske bygd: Min mormor havde været i kirke i Torshavn og præsten holdt sin prædiken på FÆRØSK!! Det var ganske uhørt, fordi det officielle sprog i administration, kirke og skole var dansk.
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Det Færøske Taslesprog Til hverdag talte man færøsk. I hvert fald i bygderne. I Torshavn boede en stor gruppe danske embedsmænd med deres familier og de øvede, dels igennem deres embedsførelse, dels igennem deres sociale liv en betydelig indflydelse på omgangstonen. Det færøske talesprog har udviklet sig fra oldnordisk, ligesom de øvrige nordiske sprog. Det tales af 40.000-50.000 mennesker, bosat på Færøerne og af et ukendt antal færinger, bosat i Danmark. Indbyggertallet på Færøerne har først i dette århundrede oversteget de 5.000, fordi levevilkårene tidligere var så barske, at selv børn måtte arbejde fra 7-8 års alderen. Det er derfor et under, at det færøske sprog overhovedet har overlevet. Dette skyldes i høj grad den stærke tradition for mundtlig overlevering, som stadig trives på Færøerne. Bygdernes isolerede småsamfund har haft et usædvanligt rigt socialt og arbejdsmæssigt fællesskab. Navnlig i den mørke vintertid dyrkede man den færøske dans, og man var parat til at gå langt over fjeldeneja endog til at ro i flere timer for at komme 'i dans'. Den færøske dans udføres til kvadsang. Kvadene er for størstedelens vedkommende overleverede viser fra middelalderen og omhandler f.eks. begivenheder fra forskellige dele af Europa. Endnu i dag nyder kvadforsangere den største respekt. De fleste af kvadene er på færøsk, men der er også nogle på dansk. I så fald er udtalen en speciel færøsk variant. Også de gamle ordsprog og sagnFæringesagablev fortalt igen og igen. I det hele taget er fortælletraditionen stærk. Gamle fælles oplevelser fremlægges ofte, og slægtens historie berettes. Det færøske talesprog er særdeles rigt på blomstrende billeder og lydsammensætninger. Folkeviddet er originalt, malende og rammende. Det kan ikke være noget tilfælde, at der på Færøerne er mange forfattere og digtere. Det færøske sprog var dog ikke officielt anerkendt, da alle embedsmænd kom fra Danmark og naturligivis talte og skrev dansk. Det medførte bl.a., at personnavne og stednavne fik en dansk version. Det Færøske Skriftsprog Det færøske sprog kunne i mange hundrede år ikke skrives. Oprindeligt havde man skrevet og talt oldnordisk, men efterhånden som sproget ændrede sig gik skriftsproget af brug. Jens Chr. Svabo udførte umådeligt stort arbejde for at konstruere et færøsk skriftsprog under sin Færø-rejse 1781-82. Han troede selv, at det færøske sprog var ved at uddø, og han så det som sin vigtigste opgave at bevare mindet om, hvordan det havde været. Han siger i sin rejsebeskrivelse:
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Naar man vilde tænke paa nogen Forbedring i det færøske Sprog, saa fordærvet, som det nu befindes, saa vilde der, efter mine Tanker, blive 2 Veje at vælge: enten at bringe det til første Reenhed, bringe de gamle manglende nordiske Ord tilbage, udrydde de nye og fordærvede, give Sproget, om ikke en nye Udtale, saa dog altid en nye Orthographie ... eller stræbe at befordre det danske Sprogs Indførelse i den Reenhed, som det i de sildigere Tider har erholdt, og for Eftertiden endvidere vil erholde. Flere andre forsøg på at skabe et færøsk skriftsprog slog heller ikke an. Måske fordi man forsøgte sig med lydret stavning. det skabte nye problemer, fordi der på Færøerne findes et utal af dialekter, hver med sit særpræg. Først ca. 100 år efter Svabo's version lykkedes det for V.U. Hammershaimb at konstruere et brugbart skriftsprog. Det geniale i hans forslag var, at han (1) lagde det 'nye' skriftsprog så tæt op ad oldnordisk, som det var muligt, og at (2) samtlige dialekter kunne rummes i det. I starten var der megen diskussion for og imod det nye skriftsprog, men det er slået an. Undervisning på Faerøerne før 1938 Man kunne tro, at samtlige færinger var analfabeter, dengang det færøske skriftsprog ikke fandtes. Men det var ikke tilfældet. Kirken havde stor indflydelse på Færøerne, og for at deltage i kirkelige handlinger måtte man vare i stand til at læse. Præsterne havde pligt til at overhøre de vordende konfirmander i Luthers katekismus, hvilket understreges af den forordning, som biskop Hersleb i 1741 udsendte til præsterne på Færøerne: Jeg anmoder Prasteskabet ved alle Lejligheder at have Ungdommen for sig og være nøje passende, at ingen kommer til Konfirmationen, som ikke kan lase vel i en Bog. Der fandtes dengang kun Latinskolen i Torshavn. Latinskolen havde kun ringe søgning og blev nedlagt i 1804. Katekismus lærte man at lase i hjemmet. Den var på dansk, for præsterne var danske. Børnene lærte den af deres forældre eller ældre søskende. Derimod er det nok tvivlsomt, om alle kunne skrive. Der var fra tid til anden forsøg på at starte skoler i bygderne. F.eks. fik præsten på Sandø en mand til at være lærer for hele øen så tidligt som i 1719. Men ordningen holdt ikke længe, fordi læreren ingen løn fik. Den føromtalte biskop Hersleb forsøgte også i 1746 at oprette skoler. Han skrev til præsterne igen:
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Jeg ønsker Deres Tanker, om det ikke var muligt af Kirkernes Indkomster at kunne spare saa meget, saa at i Skolerne i det mindste een Skoleholder i hvert Præstekald kunde beskikkes, hvortil De, som bedst kende Landet, kunde give de tjenligste Forslagda Hans Majestæt er saa meget og saa kristilig posteret for Skolers Indrettelse overalt, og det let begribes, at Skoler allermest gøres fornødne i Færø, hvor Præsterne ere faa og Kaldene vidtløftige. Selv om der kun var 7 præstegæld, kunne der ikke engang skaffes 7 lærere. De fleste færinger savnede ikke skoler. Det færøske samfund var i den danske monopolhandels tid meget isoleret fra omverdenen. Sandsynligheden for at komme uden for øernes område var yderst ringe. Der opstod dog i Torshavn et ønske hos embedsmændene om lærdom og kundskaber for deres egne børn. De vidste, at man i Danmark havde indført almene skoler i 1814 ved lov, og det lykkedes for dem at starte Torshavn Almueskole i 1825. Skolen var både for drenge og piger. Ude i bygderne gik det anderledes. Et såkaldt 'Provisorisk Reglement' fra 1845 påbød bygdeskoler. Disse blev hurtigt nedlagt igen. (1) Bygdefolkene havde ikke selv ønsket dem, (2) Lærerne var for de flestes vedkommende ulærde, (3) Løn og agtelse for lærerarbejde var yderst ringe. Kun skolen i Torshavn fortsætter og ved 'Instruktion for Lærere ved Torshavns Skoler' af 1854 står der: Under Undervisningen bør Lærerne stedse have for Øje, hvad der skal være Formaalet for deres Virksomhed, nemlig: at danne de unge til at vorde kristelige, retskafne, sædelige, efter deres Stand og Stilling oplyste og for Samfundet gavnlige Mennesker. En paragraf som kom til at gælde for de senere skoler. Det færøske samfund gennemgik i denne periode store omvæltninger. Monopolhandelen blev ophævet, landbruget gik tilbage til fordel for fiskeriet, som begyndte at foregå langt fra Færøerne. Flere og flere færinger fik derfor kontakt med omverdenen og følte savnet af lærdom. Enkelte færinger havde fået dansk uddanelse som f.eks. præst eller lærer. I 1870 grundlagdes det færøske lærerseminarium ved V.U. Hammerhaimb's medvirken, og det blev efterhånden muligt at give en kvalificeret undervisning i bygderne. Der blev bygget små skoler med lærerbolig i løbet af de næste 30 år. Vilkårene var ikke gode, for larerlønnen var ussel, og undervisningsmaterialer eksisterede knap nok. Undervisningssproget var ikke fastlagt ved lov. I praksis blev både dansk og færøsk anvendt. Det afhang af den enkelte lærer eller larerinde, hvor meget de to sprog blev brugt. Eftersom dagligsproget var færøsk var det naturligt at
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bruge detmed den begrænsning, at alle bøger var danske, så der kun blev læst og skrevet på dansk. Da det færøske skriftsprog forelå blev der et udbredt ønske blandt lærere om at fa undervisning i det, og fra 1905 blev færøsk et fag på Seminariet. I de kommende år udbrød der en heftig diskussion for og imod færøsk som fag i folkeskolen. Nogle ønskede en valgfri ordning med 2 timer færøsk om ugen, andre ønskede, at undervisningssproget skulle være færøsk, og at der først skulle undervises i dansk, når børnene var omkring 10 år. Der var en del lærere, som mente, at det ville være umuligt at lære børnene at skrive færøsk efter Hammerhaimb's system. Mange var desuden bange for at børnene ikke skulle lære dansk godt nok (afhensyn til videre uddannelse i DanmarkFærøsk havde de jo lært hjemme, inden de kom i skole! Striden blev afgjort af undervisningsministeren, som i 1912 bestemte at undervisningssproget skulle være dansk. Det blev tilladt at have 2 timer om ugen i færøsk talesprog. Samtidig var realskolen blevet tilpasset de færøske forhold og der blev oprettet realskoler i større bygder. Undervisningen i de færøske skoler var derfor højst forskellig, da der i bygdeskolerne oftest kun var én lærer, og antallet af fag var derfor begrænset. Man lærte hovedsagelig at læse og skrive dansk perfekt, vil jeg vove at påstå. Udtalen var bogstavret og understøttede derfor stavningen. Det færøske sprog blev ikke lært ligeså godt. Min mor fortæller, at hun havde gået flere år i skole, førend hun så en færøsk læsebog. Selvom hun var en habil læser, var hun ikke i stand til at læse et eneste ord i den. Min far siger med hensyn til den komplicerede færøske grammatik, at han ikke lærte den godt nok i realskolen. Han ved, hvornår han siger en grammatisk fejl, men er ikke i stand til at korrigere den. Undervisning på Færøerne efter 1938 I det færøske lagting blev der i de næste årtier flertal for at indføre færøsk som undervisningssprog. Men først i 1938 efter mange forgæves anmodninger ophævede undervisningsministeren bestemmelsen fra 1912. Støttet af en grundig skoleundervisning har det færøske tale- og skriftsprog gennemgået en rivende udvikling. Det færøske sprog, som tales i dag, er meget forskelligt fra det, der taltes i 30'erne. Det kan man konstatere ved at sammenligne med det sprog som tales af færinger, der har nedsat sig i Danmark før 2. verdenskrig. De sidstnævnte har f.eks. svært ved at forstå indholdet af visse færøske aviser. Efterhånden er det færøske skolevæsen blevet udbygget efter dansk forbillede, så at man automatisk kan fortsætte sin uddannelse i Danmark. Fagbøger fandtes i mange år kun på dansk, men i dag findes de også på frøsk.
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Selvom undervisningssproget er færøsk, har der indtil for få år siden været en rest af dansk: Eksamination ved studentereksamen skulle foregå på dansk, angiveligt fordi censorer blev hentet i Danmark. Det Færøske Sprogs Fremtid Man har fra tid til anden dødsdømt det færøske sprog. Jeg har svært ved at tro, at det uddør. Det kan jeg ikke underbygge videnskabeligt, da jeg ikke er sprogforsker. Men Svabo fik ikke ret. Derimod er det nok rigtigt, at man i Torshavn for 100 år sidenforetrak danski bygderne var sproget færøsk. Jeg husker endnu det smukke færøske, som mine bedsteforældre og deres generation taltemed forskellige dialekter. Dør et sprog af at miste bøjningsendelser?I så fald er dansk et dødt sprog. Et sprog dør ikke så længe det har et formål. Det gælder i høj grad det færøske sprog, at det skaber ny frøsk kultur. Hvis der opstår nye idealer og behov, som ikke stemmer overens med det traditionsbundne færøske sprog, er det i fare. Jeg ser en 'fare' i den moderne massekommunikation. Den kan også på Færøerne medvirke til individernes isolering. Litteratur Kjeld, J.M. (1948) Skúli og uppfostran. Torshavn.
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9 Faktorer, der Fremmer Eller Truer det Færøske Sprog Jeffrei Henriksen Føroya Læraraskúli, FR-100 Tórshavn. Abstract. During the last two centuries, the Faroese language has developed from being a spoken language for everyday usein great danger of becoming extinctto a language now serving as a means for both oral and written communication in all fields. This paper will try to illustrate what has happened, what the conditions were then and what they are now, to analyse which factors expedited the development and which factors obstructed it, both politically and in the language structure itself. Faerøsk Sprogrøgt Det er ikke muligt inden for den begrænsede tid, jeg har til rådighed, at give en fyldestgørende oversigt over færøsk sprogrøgt. Mit indlæg vil derfor bære præg af at være forkortet. I sin oprindelige udformning er denne oversigt udgivet på færøsk i den færøske lærerforenings organ 'Skúlablaðið' (Henriksen, 1987). Historie Færøsk er ikke noget minoritetssprog, men dog et truet sprog. Allerede i begyndelsen af det 15. århundrede var det kommet under dansk påvirkning (Jakobsen, 1907), og det har det været lige siden. Efter reformationen blev færøsk fuldstændig fortrængt af dansk som skriftsprog, kirke- og administrationssprog. I det 19. århundrede, d.v.s. omkring den tid, da der rigtig kom gang i arbejdet med at genrejse det færøske sprog, var det kommet så vidt, at det faldt færinger naturligt at digte på dansk
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ikke blot salmerdet var selvfølgeligt, for det hellige sprog var danskmen også viser, fædrelandssange og hvad ellers det skulle være. Svabo I sidste halvdel af det 18. århundrede blev det påny forsøgt at skrive på færøsk. Det var Jens Chr. Svabo, 1746-1824, som nedskrev færøske ord og folkeviser. Men i mellemtiden var det færøske sprog gået sine egne veje, så det var svært at finde en brugelig ortografi. Svabo valgte 'Qvintilians simple og naturlige Regel: at skrive som man udtaler' (Svabo, 1773), d.v.s. en fonetisk retskrivning. Han var overbevist om, at det færøske sprog var ved at uddø; men han ville 'optegne Ruinerne af det gamle Sprog, . . . for at give Verden nogen Kundskab derom, og ikke lade en Efter-Verden savne Svar naar den spurgte om dette Sprogs Tilstand i vores Tid'. Hammershaimb Efter Svabo fortsatte nedskrivningen af de færøske folkeviser med hans mere eller mindre tillempede fonetiske ortografi. Men dette medførte, at stavemåden blev forskellig fra den ene dialekt til den anden. I 1846 kom så V.U. Hammershaimb, 1819-1909, med en etymologisk retskrivning, som tilgodeså samtlige dialekter. Foruden selve ortografien gav Hammershaimb os også en færøsk sproglære, hvor han i tvivlsspørgsmål førte tilbage til den etymologisk mest oprindelige form. I forordet skrev han bl.a., at Mange former ere nu for tiden i en opløsningstilstand . . . og ungdommen begynder nu mange steder at undse sig ved at bruge de gamle former ..., især når de komme til Thorshavn, . . . hvor sproget er noget jammerligt miskmask og hvor man derfor gør nar ad det rette gamle færøiske. Når derfor bonden i landsbygden vil lade Thorshavns indbyggere give tonen an, hvorledes han skal tale, . . da vil sproget snart være fuldkommen opløst og ikke have anden interesse end betragtningen af, hvorledes det lidt efter lidt ved afslibning af bøjningsformerne går over til dansk, dog med enkelte ejendommeligheder i lydlæren; derimod vil det ikke så let miste ordforrådet, som grammatikken, hvilket de norske dialekter vise os. (Hammershaimb, 1854) Dr Jakobsen Den næste betydelige skikkelse inden for færøsk sprogrøgt var Jakob Jakobsen, 1864-1918. Han var cand. mag. med oldnordisk som hovedfag; i
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1896 skrev han doktorafhandlingen 'Det norrøne sprog på Shetland'. Hans arbejde med det dødsdømte shetlandske sprog fik afgørende betydning for al færøsk sprogrøgt sidenhen. Ud fra dette arbejde kunne han bl. a. fremsætte generelle regler for, hvordan et sprog dør. Og disse regler skal i korthed gengives her: Den Bestanddel af det gamle Sprog, som det allerførst er gaaet ud over, er ... Bøjningsformerne. Dernæst fortrænges de fleste af de alleralmindeligste Ord. De Ord, som har holdt sig længst, er i Reglen de mere specielle og de, som betegner Underarter af forskellige levende Væsener og livløse Genstande; endvidere Redskaber og Husgeraad ... Som en særlig og meget righoldig Klasse af bevarede ord kan fremhæves: (a) de mange spøgende eller spottende navne, som bruges om et Væsen eller en Ting, der frembyder et fra det normale afvigende Udseende; (b) Kælenavne. Af bevarede ord paa andre Omraader kan fremhæves: saadanne, som udtrykker Vrede eller gnavne Sindsstemninger; Verber, som betegner de forskellige (aparte, komiske) Maader at bevaege sig eller at te sig paa; Adjektiver, som betegner forskelligt grupperede Farver paa Dyr . . . (medens de gamle Navne paa Hovedfarverne er tabte). En hel Del Ord anvendes nu kun paa en stærkt begrænset Maade (hyppigt kun overført). a høstak betegner nu ikke længere en Hæstak, men sammenligningsvis 'en korpulent Kvinde'. (Jakobsen, 1896) Om det færøske sprog skrev Dr. Jakobsen (1889): det i daglig Tale almindelig brugte Ordforraad er for en væsentlig Del et andet. Denne Forskjel hidrører fra, at Talen, den daglige Tale, paa grund af den beskedne Plads, som Færøsk for øjeblikket har i Forhold til Dansk, efterhaanden er bleven saa spækket med danske ord og Vendinger, at man næsten ikke kan sige enuden nærmere Prøvelse udtaltSætning uden paa et eller andet Punkt at forsynde sig imod god, gammel færøsk sprogbrug. Videre giver han eksempler på, hvordan også færøske ord fortrænges af de finere danske: 'De egentlige færøske Ord ere her alle trængte tilbage og have faaet en lavere Betydning end de oprindelig havde'. Med Dr. Jakobsen var der lagt op til, i hvilken retning den færøske sprogrøgt skulle gå. Noget andet var, hvilken plads vi kunne byde modersmålet, i vort eget samfund. Her var Dr. Jakobseni hvert fald dengangikke saerlig optimistisk, kan vi sige nu, knapt et århundrede begefter. Han skrev bl.a., at
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'Noget Literatursprog i egentlig Forstand kan Færøsk ikke blive, Landet er for lille til at bære en trykt Literatur'. (Jakobsen, 1889). Sprogstrid og Sprogpolitik I 1889 blev der stiftet en forening, Føringafelag, med bl.a. det formål at få undervisning i færøsk ind i den færøske folkeskole. Der skulle tilvejebringes frihed for præsterne til at benytte det færøske sprog i og uden for kirken, og det færøske sprog skulle fa fuld anerkendelse som meddelelsesmiddel mellem befolkningen og autoriteterne (Skarði, 1963). Under påvirkning af Otto Jespersen kom Dr. Jakobsen også med et forslag til en fonetisk retskrivning (Jakobsen, 1889) mod Hammershaimbs etymologiske. Dette medførte en sprogstrid, som endte med et kompromis. Men bagefter gik alle undtagen Dr. Jakobsen tilbage til Hammershaimbs retskrivning. Af og til fremkommer dog igen det spørgsmål, om det alligevel ikke havde været bedre med Jakobsens fonetiske ortografi. Jeg skal her kun henvise til, hvad professor Chr. Matras, f. 1900, skrev om dette: Jeg havde utvivlsomt, hvis jeg var i samme omstændigheder som Jakob Jakobsen dengang, gjort det samme som han. Men nu ser jeg de erfaringer, som både vi og nordmænd har gjort, og jeg priser os lykkelige for det held, vi havde, at Hammershaimbs retskrivning vandt. (Matras, 1929) Med foreningen 'Føringafelag' kom en mand ind i historien, som senere blev Færøernes ypperste politiker, J6annes Patursson, 1866-1946. Han var i 1895 foreningens formand og samtidig redaktør af foreningens blad 'Føringatíðindi'. Efter det nævnte retskrivningskompromis meldte han sig ud af foreningen og fra som redaktør med den begrundelse, at med den ortografi bliver vi nødt til at bruge dansk som tingsprog og lovsprog (Patursson, 1896). Så fremsynet var han allerede dengang. Færøernes første sangdigter derimod, han som i sin ungdom havde digtet om modersmålet, at man havde drevet det ud af kirke og tinge (1876), Friðrikur Petersen, 1853-1917, præst og senere provstog J6annes Paturssons ledende politiske modstander, skrev i 'Føringatiðindi' (1895): Jeg tror ikke kun, at vejen til færøsk som kirkesprog bliver svær, men jeg er også bange for, at slider vi den vej til ende, så kommer vi ikke ind i en rummelig, smuk og lys kirke, men ind i en hytte, hvor det er trangt mellem væggene og lavt til loftet, så der knapt bliver muligt at trække vejret.
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Som disse to eksempler antyder, var der lagt op til en bitter sprogstrid. Det sandsynligvis groveste eksempel på chikanerier i denne forbindelse var fremgangsmåden mod provst Jákup Dahl, 18781944, som var den banebryder inden for sprogbevægelsen, som med sit ufattelig utrættelige arbejde gav os det kirkesprog, som Fr. Petersen ikke ville tro på. Lisbeth Michelsen (1983) skriver i sin afhandling om Jákup Dahl, at Dahl ikke blot var banebrydende, hvad angår det færøske bibelog kirkesprog, men han overbeviste desuden den færøske befolkning om, at det færøske sprog kunne anvendes i samme udstrækning som dansk. Dahl skabte således et færøsk bibelog kirkesprog i en periode, hvor det færøske sprog var ved at uddø. Undervisningssproget i folkeskolen var også et af de store stridsemner. I 1912 blev der af de danske lovgivende myndigheder efter forslag fra det færøske Sambandsparti (samhørighedsparti) pålagt den færske folkeskole at benytte dansk som undervisningssprog. Denne paragraf blev ikke slettet før end i 1938 (Læs f.eks. Arnfinnur Thomassen, 1985). Sprogstriden aftog med Hjemmestyreloven (1948), hvor § 11 bestemmer, at Færøsk anerkendes som Hovedsproget, men Dansk skal læres godt og omhyggeligt, og Dansk kan lige saa vel som Færøsk anvendes i offentlige Forhold. Og det bliver det. Det færøske sprogspørgsmål er endnu langt fra løst. Som eksempler kan nævnes, at det stadig er sådan, at En færing, der begår en lovforseelse, noteres, afhøres og dømmes på dansk, og dette til trods for den aftale mellem de nordiske lande, hvorefter en person i et andet nordisk land skal have krav på at få retsbetjening på sit modersmål! (Poulsen, 1986a) og Et forslag til en færøsk navnelov blev fejet af bordet . . . med den begrundelse, at der ikke findes hjemmel for en sådan i hjemmestyreloven. (Poulsen, 1986b) Ordbøger Vi er nu forholdsvis godt stillet med ordbøger. Foruden færøsk-danske ordbøger (Jakobsen, 1891; M.A. Jacobsen & Chr. Matras, 1928; Poulsen,
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1974), har vi fået 2 dansk-færøske (Skarði, 1967; Anna, 1977), som var hårdt tiltrængte, da det ordforråd, som nutiden kræver, var meget fattigt, og der også derfor blev og bliver benyttet mere og mindre forvanskede danske ord i færøsk. Vort andet lærdomssprog er lige som så mange andre steder engelsk. Når de studerende så skulle slå op i en engelsk ordbog, var det en engelsk-dansk, og så blev der igen forvansket fra dansk til færøsk. Men nu har vi både engelsk-færøsk g færøsk-engelsk ordbog (Skarði, 1984; Young & Clewer, 1985). Desuden kan nævnes en færøsk-svensk ordbog, Färøord (Lindberg & Hylin, 1984). Oversættelsesproblemer Disse ordbøger er til umådelig hjælp i den færøske sprogrøgt, f.eks. når man skal finde færøske ord for fremmede eller ny begreber. Men hjælpeløsheden er stadig alt for stor, når f.eks. de færøske love ikke fra grunden bliver forfattet på færøsk og så, når galt skal være, oversat til dansk. De bliver almindeligvis skrevet først på dansk og derefter oversat til færøsk. På den måde bliver færøsk mere og mere præget af at være et 'oversat' sprog. Nyord Svenskeren Ulla Clausén (1978) har skrevet doktordisputatsen 'Nyord i färöiskan'. Hun skriver bl.a.: Nyord kan bildas antingen av inhemskt eller främmande material eller genom en kombination av inhemska och främmande morfem. Av nya ord, som är uppbyggda av inhemskt material, bildas somliga med äldre färöiska ord som mönster, medan andra, mer eller mindre exakt, följer ett främmande språks mönster .... När faröiskan saknar egna lämpliga mönster för hur nyorden bör utformas, kopieras oftast en främmande förebild direkt på färöisk språk . . . En annan möjlighet är att importera de främmande orden och anpassa dem till faröiskt ljud- och formsystem. Fremmedord Flommen af ord, som ikke følger færøske lyd- og bøjningsregler, er en overvældende, men alt for lidet agtet trussel mod vort sprog. Færinger er godt nok meget bevidste med hensyn til ordforråd. Men at hvert ord, som bryder med lyd- og bøjningslæren, nedbryder lyd- og bøjningsfølelsen hos dem, der taler sproget, er for mig den store oversete fare.
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Selvfølgelig kan vi ikke udelukke alle låneord i færøsk; men skal vi bevare sproget, er det nødvendigt at holde mængden af ord, som ikke stemmer overens med det, mest muligt nede. Lydlære Færinger havde en lang tradition for at læse, før vi fik noget færøsk skriftsprog. Dengag laeste vi dansk, og det gør vi stadig. Det danske og det færøske lydsystem er selvfølgelig ikke det samme. Men flertallet af færinger benævner endnu bogstaverne i overensstemmelse med dansk og ikke færøsk fonetik. Resultatet er foruden fejllæsning og følgende indarbejdet forkert udtale en masse retskrivningsfejl, som direkte kan henføres til denne forkerte benævnelse af vokalerne. Bøjningslære Tilbøjeligheden til at bortkaste bøjningsendelser, som allerede Hammershaimb og Dr. Jakobsen advarede imod, er nu langt fremskreden i færøsk. Det er svært at sige, i hvor høj grad dette skyldes en indre udvikling, og hvor meget det skyldes ydre påvirkning. Men det er tydeligt, at påvirkningen udefra, direkte eller indirekte fra dansk, er stor. Særlig er det galt inden for særnavne, hvor ubøjede fremmede navne ikke passer ind i færøsk sprogstruktur. Dernæst kommer låneord med fremmede suffikser. Og til mange andre fremmedord er det også næsten umuligt at tilføje færøske bøjningsendelser. Ordføjningslaere Inden for færøsk sprogrøgt er syntaksen det, man har gjort mindst ved. At ordføjningen må forandres, når brugen af bøjning forsvinder, er en selvfølge. Men desuden er færøsk ogsø under stærk direkte påvirkning udefra med hensyn til ordføjning. Jeg er selv midt i en undersøgelse vedrørende omsagnsled til akkusativ, som ifølge gængs sproglæere altid også skulle stå i akkusativ, men ret ofte i færøsk står i nominativ. Mine eksempler er ikke tilfældig valgt, og ingen af de 177 personer, som har svaret spørgeskemaerne, benytter 100% akkusativ. Der er stor forskel på de forskellige dialekter (fra 71 % akkusativ til 49 %); men en enkelt af de 177 personer, som man nok uden videre ville mene taler helt godt færøsk, benyttede nominativ i 97% af eksemplerne. Han er opvokset i Danmark. Dengang jeg gav mig i lag med denne undersøgelse, ville jeg sikre mig mod det misforhold, som kunne opstå derved, at nogle var bedre sproglig skolet end andre, og delte derfor de adspurgte op i to grupper. Jeg tænkte særlig på
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det forhold, at de foruden i færøsk også i tysk havde lært, at omsagnsled til genstandsled står i akkusativ. Men resultatet viser klart, at det er de mindre skolede, der bruger mest kongruens. Forskellen er rigtignok ikke særlig storhenholdsvis 51% akkusativ for de mer skoledes vedkommende og 55% for de mindre skoledesmen forskellen går igen i så at sige samtlige undergrupper. Konkulsionen bliver således, at højere almen uddannelse er med til at trække det syntaktiske niveau i færøsk ned. Som man kunne forvente, har den gamle syntaks holdt sig bedst i de små bygder. Men i den yngste aldersgruppe (op til 30 år) er der ingen nævneværdig forskel på, om man bor i byer eller småbygder. Syntaksen har undergået lige stor forandring hos samtlige yngste aldersgrupper. Sandsynligvis er der her flere faktorer, der virker sammen, og det kan i denne forbindelse være rimeligt at huske på ungdomskulturen med den omfattende idoldyrkelse, som nu er almindelig. Ungdommen lægger sig efter at ligne idolerne, at tale på samme måde som disse. Massemedierne Med kundskaben om de sproglige forhold hos folk med højere uddannelse bør følge et krav om højere sproglig bevidsthed, ikke mindst hos dem, der benytter denne uddannelse til almen kommunikation, dem der får adgang til massemediernebåde fordi disse er under større fremmed sproglig påvirkning end folk flest og fordi de i deres arbejde mere end nogen anden bærer deres sproglige habitus ud til publikum. I samtlige andre nordiske lande har man da også ansat sproglige konsulenter ved de offentlige medier, radio og fjernsyn. Det eneste nordiske land, som ikke synes at mene at have brug for sådan rådgivning, er Færøerne. Sprogpolitiske anskuelser Den bevidste sprog- og kulturpolitik, som har gjort sig gældende i Færøerne dette sidste århundrede, har selvfølgelig delt sig i forskellige anskuelser. Ulla Clausén (1978) deler færinger sprogpolitisk op i 4 grupper: purister, nationalister, pragmatikere og internationalister. Med hensyn til uddybning af denne gruppering henvises til selve afhandlingen. Sprogbrugsprogrøgt Ud fra nutidige pædagogiske synspunkter gør endnu et aspekt mere og mere om sig i sprogspørgsmålet, dette at vi ud over at skulle røgte sproget som redskab også skal kunne benytte det som redskab. Disse synspunkter har selvfølgelig været fremme hele tiden, men næppe som modsætninger, og det
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skulle vel være både muligt og nødvendigt at forene begge disse interesser. Men det ser ud som om dette sidste, sprogbrugen, for flere traeder så meget i forgrunden, at man nærmest målbevidst har skubbet sprogrøgten til side. Resultat Det færøske sprog blev i sin tid kun benyttet til dagligdags mundtlig kommunikation foruden til den gamle folkelige tradition: kvad, sagn, æventyr o.l. Skriftsproget, kirke- og administrationssproget var dansk. Skriftsproget er nu selvfølgelig færøsk, og vi har fået en omfattende moderne litteratur på modersmålet. Hvad man sprogligt har gjort mest ud af, er at få de gamle færøske ord til hæder og ære og ellers af det gamle sprogmateriale at skabe nyord, hvor det er brug for dem. Dette har vi haft gode muligheder for derved, at vi var så heldige at få en etymologisk og ikke fonetisk retskrivning. Og det er i det hele taget gået godt med at indsamle oprindelige færøske ord. Den almindelige interesse er meget stor; og det er lykkedes forstanderen for det færøske akademis ordbogsarkiv, Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen, i det populære radioprogram Orðabókin at øge interessen og fra lytterne indsamle en mængde mindre kendte ord. Desværre blev dette program afbrudt et par gange, og hver gang var det så at sige nødvendigt påny at oparbejde fortsat kommunikation med lytterne. Nu er radioprogrammet Orðabókin sandsynligvis definitivt standset. For knap 100 år siden nævnte Dr. Jakobsen (1889) 6 eksempler på hvorledes gode færøske Ord ere blevne trængte tilbage og danske have taget Luven fra dem ... De egentlige færøske Ord . . . have faaet en lavere Betydning end de oprindelig havde. Af disse 6 eksempler er 2 nærmest gået af brug. De andre 4 har absolut ikke længere 'en lavere betydning end de oprindelig havde', men er atter kommet til hæder og ære i det færøske sprog. Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen sagde i en forelæsning (1985), at I den tid, der er gået, siden man aktivt begyndte at dyrke det færøske sprog, har en enorm mængde af nydannelser på hjemlig grund set dagens lys . . . Mange af denslags ord er så rodfæstede, at endda personer, der af og til tager til orde mod denne såkaldte puristiske linie, selv spækker deres artikler med netop den slags ord, som de ivrer imod, naturligvis fordi de er opvokset med dem og ikke aner, at de ikke altid har været en del af sproget.
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Cand. mag. Johnny Thomsen er en af dem, der ikke er enig her. Han skriver i en ordbogsanmeldelse (1986), at man må forbavses over udholdenheden og staedigheden hos de færøske purister. For ser vi på det færøske dagligsprog, må puristens resultat være som at komme hjem uden noget i sin kurv ('sum at koma aftur av torvheiðum'). Færøsk dagligsprog har overhovedet ikke ladet sig påvirke af purismen, men har med få undtagelser stået uberørt af disse ord. Johnny Thomsen benytter imidlertid ikke altid selv, hvad der var dagligsprog, dengang jeg var ung. Og færøske nyord mangler ikke hos ham: ca. 30 eksempler i en anmeldelse på 13 sider af en ivrig modstander af al purisme. Ende Jeg vil gerne ende mit indlæg med at gentage, hvad Jóhan Hendrik W. Poulsen sluttede sin forelæsning med på det nordiske sprogmøde 1985: Den fatalistiske darwinistiske betragtningsmåde, at sproget udviklede sig mekanisk, har fået et alvorligt skud for boven, siden det pludselig blev anstændigt at tale om 'language planning' . . . Nu er pludselig de indgreb, som f.eks. vi har gjort i sproget gennem 100 år, og som der er blevet ironiseret over fra forskellige sider, i pagt med nutidenog fremtiden. Vi har ikke råd til at udlevere sprogets ve og vel til sælgere og hæsblaesende journalister. De kyndige, der kender sprogets anatomi, må give deres bidrag til sprogets røgt og ikke kun beskæftige sig med at registrere og beskrive. Henvisninger Anna, Jógvan við (1977) Föroysk málspilla og málrøkt. Tórshavn: Egid forlag. Clausén, Ulla (1978) Nyord i färöiskan. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. Hammershaimb, V.U. (1854) Færøisk Sproglære. Annaler for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, 233-316. (Genoptrykt i Hammershaimb (1969) Savn. Tórshavn: Emil Thomsen. 225-308. Henriksen, Jeffrei (1987) Tættir, ið hava framt ella darvað føroysku málmenningina. Skúlablaðið, Nr 5. Tórshavn: Føroya Lærarafelag. Jacobsen, M.A. & Matras, Chr. (1928) Føroysk-donsk orðabók. Tórshavn: Varðin. (2. udg. 1961. Tórshavn: Føroya Fróðskaparfelag.) Jakobsen, Jakob (1889) Nogle ord om Færøsk samt et Forslag til en ny færøsk Retskrivning. Dimmalætting, Nr 20-25. (Genoptrykt i Jakobsen (1957) Greinir og ritgerðir Tórshavn: H.N. Jacobsens Bókahandil, 23-43. Jakobsen, Jakob (1891) Ordsamling og Register.-V.U. Hammershaimb, Færøsk Anthologi II. København (2. udg. 1947 - 3. udg. 1969: Hammershaimbsgrunnurin.) Jakobsen, Jakob (1896) Shetland og Shetlænderne. Tilskueren, Nr 9-10. (Genoptrykt i Jakobsen (1957) Greinir og ritgerðir. Tórshavn: H.N. Jakobsens Bókahandil, 111-142.
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Jakobsen, Jakob (1907) Diplomatarium Feroense. Tórshavn: H.N. Jacobsens Bókahandil. (2. udg. 1985. Tórshavn: Emil Thomsen.) Lindberg och Hylin (1984) Färöord. Stockholm: Samfundet Sverige-Färöarna. Lov om Færöernes hjemmestyre (1948). Föroya kunngerðasavn fyri árið 1948, 19-26. Tórshavn 1949: Landsstýrisskrivstovan. Matras, Chr. (1929) Hin föroyski málspurningurin og stöða hans i norrönum nýreisingarverki. Varðin, IX, 46-59. Tórshavn. Michelsen, Lisbeth (1983) Provst J. Dahl og hans indsats for færøsk bibel- og kirkesprog. Fra Færøerne/Úr Föroyum IX-X. København: Dansk-færsk Samfund. Petersen, Fr. (1876) Föroyska málið ('O móðurmál, stórt er titt fall'). Trykt f.eks. i Songbók Foroya Fólks, Nr 57. Tórshavn: H.N. Jacobsens Bókahandil. Petersen, Fr. (1895) Við fávum orðum . . . Föringatiðindi 7 (feb,) 2. Tórshavn. Poulsen, Jóhan Hendrik W. (1974) Föroysk-donsk orðabók. Eykabind. Tórshavn: Föroya Fróðskaparfelag. Poulsen, Jóhan Hendrik W. (1985) Orðagerð á heimligum stöði. Språk i Norden, Nordisk Språksekretariat, 46-56. Poulsen, Jóhan Hendrik W. (1986a) Sproget er symbol for og barer af folkets egenart. F 15 Kontakt, januar Nordisk Billedkunst informasjon. 5. Poulsen, Jóhan Hendrik W. (1986b) Færøske sprogspørgsmål. Språk i Norden, Nordisk Språksekretariat. 60-64 Skarði, Jóhannes av (1967) Donsk-föroysk orðabók, (2. udg. 1977), Tórshavn: Föroya Fróðskaparfelag. Skarði, Jóhannes av (1984) Ensk-föroysk orðabók. Tórshavn: Föroya Fróðskaparfelag. Svabo, Jens Chr. (1773) Forsøg til en Ordbog eller Ordsamling i det færøske Sprog. Dictionarium Færoense II. København 1970: Munksgaard. Thomassen, Arnfinnur (1985) Færøsk i den færøske skole. Odense: Udgivelsesudvalget under Odense Universitets Konsistorium. Thomsen, Johnny (1986) Ensk-föroysk orðabók (anmeldelse): Brá, Nr 8, 11-23. Young, G.V.C. & Clewer, C.R. (1985) Föroysk-ensk orðabók. Tórshavn: Föroya Fróðskaparfelag.
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10 Malecite Bilingualism László Szabó University of New Brunswick, Department of German and Russian, Fredericton, N.B. E3B 5A3, Canada. The Malecites The Malecite Indians live in New Brunswick, Canada. They are a small group of people, just a few thousand. Another small group of Indians speak the same language: the Passamaquoddies. They live in the U.S.A. Their Bilingualism Since the time of the white man's arrival on the North American continent, the ancestors of the Malecites have been exposed to the linguistics influence of the Francophone and later the Anglophone immigrants. The English influence came later, but has been much greater. The Malecite Indians are bilingual, but their bilingualism is never 'Malecite-French'. It is in all cases I ever met 'Malecite-English' bilingualism. I have been working on the Malecite language for eighteen years. During this time I noted down twelve volumes of Malecite stories, about 6,000 pages, which is the largest collection in the history of research on this language. Then I wrote the first and only published dictionary of this Indian language. During my long association with the Malecite Indians and their language, I worked with more than 30 Indians who were able and willing to help me as informants. Most of them were old (over 70 and 80, and dead now). Some were around 40-50; only a few of the young Indians were able and willing to participate in my work (aided by the University of New Brunswick, the Canada Council, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Museum of Man, Ottawa). I wrote many articles and presented papers on Malecite, including papers at international conferences in Canada, U.S.A., England, Japan and Austria. I worked a great deal on a question which is related to their bilingualism, i.e. the English loan-
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words in Malecite. All of them, old or young, are bilingual. Their bilingualism ranges from 'excellent Malecite plus acceptable English' to 'excellent English plus poor Malecite', depending mostly on the age groups, and, to a certain extent, on personal capabilities. My old informants were really 'artists' of their Indian language, and exceptionally gifted storytellers when they were speaking in Malecite. Their English was not always perfect, but was, at least, acceptable. The people about 40 to 50 spoke both languages fluently, but their language was not as nice as the language of the really old people; their style was less colourful, and their way of thinking was strongly influenced by the 'white man'. The young people are the only age group who need and receive help to preserve their beautiful heritage, the Malecite Indian language and culture. They have schools, university courses, a special radio programme in the language of their ancestors, their own newspaper in Malecite, etc. Despite all these efforts, they do not speak it properly, but their English is perfect. Now I am going to study three stories from my large collection. These stories were told by three different storytellers who represent three different age groups of Malecite speakers. The first is the beginning part of a witch story, told by a blind old man, 80 years of age. The second speaker represents the middle-aged Malecites; his story is a joke about their bilingualism. The last one is a young man, who is a perfect Anglophone, but still speaks the Malecite language. I shall quote a small section of each story, count the English loan-words, and have a look at certain grammatical phenomena in their speech. A quotation from Story No 1: / (The two witch women) I shall tell a story [i.e. I shall tell the story of the two witch women] / (I shall tell you a story) / (Two brothers are going hunting) / (One is a woman-chaser) / (The other is not) amte petotiyik / (Finally they came [with their belongings to the place]) (where they hunted) / (They hunted) / (Finally one evening) (when they were going back) / (he [one of the brothers] told his friend [i.e. his brother]: ('What would you do [if] we came to our home / and two women were there?')
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/ (The one who does not like women told him:) / 'Right away I would run out.') The two women were bad witches. One of the young men, the woman-chaser, was killed by them; only his bones were found in the morning. The other brother escaped. There are about 500 words in this story, and there is no English loan-word in it, except for the speaker's first name: Solomon. This is a common phenomenon in unwritten minority languages, that first names are borrowed from the prevailing majority language. Otherwise the language of this story is absolutely free of any English influence, including vocabulary, grammar and style. The conjunct verb and the obviation are two characteristic features of Malecite grammar, which are non-existent in English. This story is full of conjunct verbs and nouns and verbs with the obviative suffix (-l). For instance, in the quoted part (where they hunted) is a conjunct. It is one word in Malecite, and a whole subordinate clause of the story the word must be used to translate it into English. The sentence tiyal witapiyil (he told his friend) consists of only two words in Malecite, but four words are necessary to render it in English. Both the verb 'tiyal ('he said to him') and the noun 'witapiyil' ('his friend') are obviative forms, with the suffix -1, which means that two third persons are involved in the action, he and his friend. Now I am going to quote a few sentences from the second story, which is a linguistic joke. Three monolingual strangers go to the schoolhouse where bilingual Indian children are studying English. They stand at the open window and listen. They can catch only a few words, such as 'we three', 'money', 'raspberry bush', and 'wait until it grows'. These words were told in English by our middle-aged storyteller, while he was telling his story in malecite. But these are not loan-words. These are English phrases, quoted by the storyteller intentionally in English. But there are two real English loan-words. I quote the sentences in which these loan-words occur: / (And they walked by the schoolhouse, and / they were making a sound of reading, the children.) is from the English 'schoolhouse'. However, we cannot say that the style of this speaker is not typically The word (by the schoolhouse) there is an inanimate Malecite, despite the use of the English word. In the expression (being); and there is an animate plural conjunct form in the story, ([while] they were intransitive conjunct, making a sound [of reading]). Both of these constructions are typically Malecite,
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absolutely different from the equivalent constructions in English. I quote the other short sentence with an English loan-word in this story: (They were having a trial). (trial) is built up in a conjunct phrase, as part of a very characteristic Malecite verb form, which is The English loan-word good for a sentence abbreviation, unknown in English. It is enough to quote a few words from the third story, which was told by a young Indian man, about eighteen years of age. Most Malecite teenagers do not speak Malecite well enough to be able to tell a story in this language. This boy must be a capable person, who paid special attention to the language of his ancestors, and did not want to lose it. He spoke fluent Malecite, but it is enough to look at the first few sentences in his story to realise how different his language is from the language of the middle-aged Indian, and particularly from our first speaker, the old man of eighty. Here I quote the beginning section of the young man's story: . . . / (I am going to . . . ... after I finish . . . iyéy . . . yot you know . . . this etliyay where I go to school. I am going to make my clothes. I am going away, / far away. I'll go away, / I am going to Europe. kisi-yot . . . iyey / after I ... hm ... after I finish it here, the school. after I . . . hm . . . hm . . . hm . . . finish the school here.) In this short section of the story, there are three English loan-words, and two of them occur several times. If we count the real occurrences of the English loan-words in the quoted text, we get the number seven. The noun for 'school' occurs once as a nononce with a Malecite ending, such inflected word,
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as the locative ending k: ' (in the school). The equivalent of the English verb 'finish' occurs three times in this short text, (after I finish it). This is a loan-word, not just an every time with a Malecite prefix and suffix complex: English word in the sentence of a bilingual speaker, because it is used with the Malecite past marker 'kisi-' and the transitive But in the stem of the word (finish), two completely alien phonetic peculiarities have inanimate suffix complex been preserved, the English sounds f and . In older loan-words, these consonants have been adjusted to Malecite; the f became (Europe). There is no r in original p, and the became s. Another foreign sound is used in this short text in the word Malecite words. In older English loan-words it became an l. In this way, we must say that this boy speaks a phonetically alienated, poor Malecite, even though he speaks it fluently. What about the frequency of the above mentioned very characteristic Malecite morphological phenomena, such as the use of the obviation and the conjunct? In the young boy's story, there is no obviation whatsoever, and I found only one conjunct (where I go to school). construction in his story: In summary: if we compare the language of the old, the middle-aged, and the young man, starting with the old man, we see a clear decline with regard to all three aspects investigated in the present paper: (1) vocabulary, (2) phonetics, and (3) morphology.
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11 Sprogpolitik og Sprogplanlægning efter Hjemmestyrets Indførelse Aqigssiaq Møller Kultur- og undervisningsdirektoratet, Grønlands Hjemmestyre, 3900 Nuuk, Grønland. Abstract. When Home Rule was introduced in Greenland in 1979 the question of languages was dealt with in the Home Rule Act and in the Statutory Instrument of the Parliament, No 6 of 16th October 1979, regarding primary school, in which it is stated in §§ 1.2 and 1.3 that the educational language is Greenlandic, and that Danish may be the educational language if exceptional circumstances make it necessary. For pupils with the Greenlandic language as their mother tongue, the subject of Danish may be introduced in the second grade, and has to be introduced by the fourth. For other pupils special training in Greenlandic as a foreign language is given. It must be stated that the efforts of strengthening the Greenlandic language and making it the principal language, also within the administrative field, have been fruitful. But it has been a slower process than expected. This is due to many things which I shall deal with in my paper. The Home Rule Act and the Statutory Instrument about primary schools very clearly state which language is the main language. The situation is the same for media policy, where the aim is a distribution between the languages of 80% Greenlandic and 20% Danish. Recent Greenlandic school history and the debate about education and learning are very much centred on language problems. There is a tendency to discuss the acquisition of language as a final purpose in itself instead of a means to an end. The aim is bilingualism in Greenland, oras stated by the Home Rule Actthat Danish has to be mastered well and thoroughly. The situation of language policy and planning after seven years of Home Rule is illustrated by information about debates in Parliament, in parents' assemblies and in teachers' assemblies. There are reflections on language and communication; language and socialisation; language and action; and Greenland between two worlds of languageScandinavian (Danish) and English.
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Indledningsvis skal jeg gøre opmærksom på, at jeg i mit foredrag sådan som jeg har skrevet ved forhåndsorienteringen vil beskæftige mig med sprogpolitik og sprogplanlægning under hjemmestyret i almindelighed og sprogpolitik og sprogplanlægning i undervisningsvæsenet i særdeleshed. Jeg vil samtidig meddele, at jeg har ønsket at tale skandinavisk, idet jeg finder det naturligt at fremlaegge min del af foredraget under nordisk 2sprogethedskonference på nordisk. Dette skyldes dog alene min person og min sprogkunnen, idet grønlandsk er mit modersmål og dansk mit 1. fremmedsprog. Alle andre sprog, incl. engelsk har jeg psykologisk og psykolingvistisk blokering overfor. Met det er dog mit håb, mit inderlige håb, at jeg kan overvinde det på et eller andet tidspunkt. For jeg er overbevist om, at det at kunne et andet sprog end sit modersmål åbner en verden af viden og forståelse for andres forhold. Mange misforståelser vil kunne blive ryddet af vejen og unødige følelsesudbrud af negativt art vil kunne blive sparet. Sprogpolitikken Når man skal skabe en alternative styringsform som hjemmestyret i Grønland er sammenlignet med fjernstyring fra Danmark, er nationalisme og nationalsprog selvfølgelig vigtigt. Som et værn mod fremmedgørelse og mangel på identitet inden for rigsfællesskabet med Danmark. Med hjemmestyreloven cementeres en sprogpolitik. Der et et politisk ønske om, at Grønland udvikles som et 2-sproget samfund. Loven siger, at grønlandsk er hovedsproget og dansk skal beherskes godt og grundigt. Dette udmøntes videre i folkeskolen og i uddannelserne, hvor det er praktisk muligt. Folkeskoleforordningen siger om dette meget bastant, at grønlandsk er undervisningssproget, og at dansk tillige kan være undervisningssprog, hvis sarlige forhold gør det nødvendigt. Særlige forhold i denne sammenhæng skal forstås således, at hvis man mangler grønlandsksprogede/dobbeltsprogede undervisere i de grønlandskprogede klasser, da bruges der danskprogede undervisere. En anden begrundelse for denne passus er også, at der vitterlig findes dansksprogede klasser, hvor det vil være imod intentionerne omkring sprog og begrebsindlæring, undervisning, kommunikation og socialisering, hvis dette sker på barnets fremmedsprog. Når man taler om sprogpolitik i samfundet i almindelighedog i undervisningen og uddannelsen i sardeleshed, glemmer man tit mediernes store betydning for sprogudviklingen og sprogændringen i samfundet. Her sker der nemlig både begrebsdannelse og meningsdannelsebevidst og ubevidst. De skrevne medier som etableres eller støttes af hjemmestyret er dobbeltsprogede. Målsætningen for sprogfordelingen i radioen og de elektroniske medier er for henholdsvis grønlandsk og dansk 80% og 20%.
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Sprogpolitikken i administrationen søges også gjort fuldt dobbeltsproget. Indtil nu er det det danske sprog som fortrinsvis bruges, når der teknisk udformes love, forordninger og udfyldende bestemmelser. Dermed er det danske sprog ikke alene rigssprog, men også retssprog. Beslutningerne om at gøre Grønland til et tosproget samfund er begrundet i ønsket om at bevare og videreudvikle den grønlandske kultur og dermed sproget og samtidig følge med og deltage i en verden i stadig forandring. Det står klart for enhver, at grønlandsk er hovedsproget. Dette betyder, at undervisning i folkeskolen foregår på grønlandsk. Erhvervsuddannelser, almene uddannelser og administrationen vil gradvis gøres grønlandske/dobbeltsprogede. Herved udtrykkes en klar tendens, nogen vil kalde det for en vision, at undervisningen, uddannelsen, medierne og administerationen foregår på grønlandsk i en progression som siger: når vi har uddannede nok i Grønland, så er grønlandsksagt på en anden mådearbejdssproget i landet. Hvad angår folkeskolen er dette emne velbelyst såvel i lovgivningen, litteraturen samt i politiske og pædagogiske diskussioner. Selve problemkomplekset kan groft inddeles i følgende kategorier: (1) Lærerkræfterne. (2) Læseplanerne og lærervejledningerne (mål/formål-metodik). Undervisningsmaterialerne og dermed metoder og arbejdsformer. (3) Forældrenes og elevernes motivation for læring gennem skolen. (4) Bevidstgørelse omkring vigtigheden af sprog-kommunikation, sprogsocialisation og ikke mindst sprog og handling i et tosproget samfund. Det uddelte baggrundsmateriale fortæller, at behovet for uddannede grønlandskprogede/dobbeltsprogede lærere stadigvæk er meget udtalt. I denne forbindelse må man ikke glemme, at uddannelse og dygtiggørelse af disse lærere ikke skal ske alene ud fra en kvantitativ synsvinkel. Kvantiteten er efterhånden blevet kardinalpunkt for løsningen og indfrielsen af undervisnings- og opdragelsesspørgsmålet. Så nemt er det ikke i virkeligheden. Læreruddannelsens form og indhold er til stadighed under debat og diskussion. En ting er man enige om: hvis intentionerne om et tosproget samfund i Grønland skal indfries, er det yderst nødvendigt at få uddannet så dygtige lærere som overhovedet muligt. Lærerne, mediearbejderne og valgte repræsentanter må kunne varetage folkets interesser samtidig med, at de bevarer det sproglige fællesskab med dem. Til gengæld må folket have træning i stadig at formulere deres erfaringer og synspunkter, så de bliver hørt politisk. Modstående interessegrupper må kunne søge demokratisk støtte for deres interesser samtidig med, at afvejningerne i forhold til fællesskabet ikke tabes af syne. Med andre ord må opdragelsen til demokrati og til at kunne samtale med andre og løse problemertil at kunne argumentere og respektere argumenter
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og til at kunne opfatte andres og at kunne formulere egne synspunkter vægtes højt i modersmålsundervisningen. Her plæderer jeg for, at et veludviklet sprog er vejen til drøftelse og løsning af livets problemer menneske og menneske imellem. Hvad angår dansk er det klart, at faget indtager en fremtrædende plads som obligatorisk første fremmedsprog. Der er sket en ændret vægtning af forholdet mellem dansk og grønlandsk i forhold til tidligere. Timetallet i dansk er reduceret, medens timetallet i grønlandsk er forøget tilsvarende. De elever, der forlader folkeskolen i de kommende år, vil have modtaget danskundervisning i et færre antal timer end elever havde for år tilbage. Der er mange gisninger om, at undervisningen er blevet forringet i faget. Men da eleverne under denne ordning endnu ikke har gennemført deres obligatoriske skoleforløb, er det for tidligt at foretage en faglig og kvalitativ vurdering af, hvorvidt dette er rigtigt. En af de væsentligste indvendinger samler sig omkring folkeskolens afgangsprøver i faget. Prøverne er identiske med modersmålsprøver i faget for danske elever. Dette bygger på et politisk ønske om, at grønlandske unge skal stilles lige med unge i andre dele af riget med hensyn til at gå ind i danskprogede uddannelser. Der sker ændringer i danskprøverne netop i år. En ny læseplan er udarbejdet. Denne er i sit indhold og form placeret mellem læseplanen for modersmålet og læseplanen for fremmedsproget engelsk. Der er til stadighed bestræbelser på at forbedre danskundervisningen i den grønlandske skole. Jeg kan navne nogle eksempler: (1) Intensivering af undervisningen inden for de givne rammer og timetal. Vægtning af timetallene på en anden måde. (2) Radikal ændring eller afskaffelse af de nuværende prøveformer i faget. (3) Forbedring af dansklærernes forudsætninger som fremmedsprogslærere. (4) Udvikling af undervisningsmaterialer, der tager højde for fagets nuværende situation og ikke mindst fremtidige. Denne sker netop nu. Der påregnes færdiggjort materialesæt dækkende hele undervisningsforløbet i grundskolen inden for en overskuelig tid (ca. 2 år). Sprogplanlægning Med hensyn til sprogplanlægningen skal det erindres, at Hjemmestyret har eksisteret i 8 år og dermed også forordningen om folkeskolen. I et samfund som Grønland, hvor alting sker så hurtigt, er det klart at undervisnings- og
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uddannelsesplanlægning på kort og lang sigt er en nødvendig faktor for, hvordan samfundet kommer til at køre nu og i fremtiden. En løbende debat om folkeskolen i landstinget resulterede i nedsættelse af en kommission om folkeskolen. Den skal komme med kommenterende endringsforslag til fororordningen. Som omtalt før sker der udviklingsarbejde såvel i grønlandsk som i dansk.Ogikke at forglemmei andre fag i folkeskolen såsom orienteringsfag, religion og matematik. I denne proces er der sket en polarisering i diskussionen omkring de to sprogs udvikling. Begge sprog skal tilgodeses, men tendenserne peger klart imod, at hovedvægten laegges på det grønlandske. Men er det muligt at udvikle en to-kulturel skole og dermed en to-kulturel identitet udfra de præmisser, vi kender. Næppe på nuværende tidspunkt. Men der er klare meldinger om en tredie faktor i skolen: to-kulturelle børn af fødsel, børn af blandede ægteskaber. Kommissionen om folkeskolen blev præsenteret for problematikken. Henvendelsen er efter min mening veldokumenteret og fremsætter problematikken ud fra en synsvinkel, der aktualiserer skoledebatten og giver den en interessant dimension. Problemet er af forældrene fromuleret således: . . . Vi mener, at den almindelige, nuværende ordning med opdeling i rent danske og grønlandske klasser er utidssvarende og dårlig for i hvert fald vore ''blandede'' børn. Der er i vore dage en meget stor gruppe af børn i Grønland, som har en grønlænder og en dansker som forældre. Derved vokser de op i et miljø, der ikke er helt dansk og heller ikke helt grønlandsk. Naturligvis præges de fra begge sider, og derved udvikles de i væremåde, taenkemåde og sprog med en anden baggrund end den, børnene fra et rent dansk eller grønlandsk hjem vokser op i ¾ VI MENER, AT DET ER FORKERT, AT VI SOM "BLANDEDE" FORÆLDRE VED VORES BØRNS SKOLESTART SKAL TVINGES TIL AT VÆLGE IMELLEM (a) en ren dansk skole, hvor børnene ikke lærer grønlandsk tilstrækkeligt (2 timers undervisning for en blandet skare af nogle, der slet intet kan til nogle, der taler det som deres modersmål er frygtelig svært at fa til at være udbytterigt for ret mange) eller (b) en ren grønlandsk klasse, hvor børnene slet ikke far undervisning i dansk før i 3. klasse.
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HVORFOR VI SYNES, AT VALGSITUATIONEN ER FORKERT??? ¾ fordi vi gerne vil have, at vore børn lærer at udtrykke sig, lase og skrive på begge sprog ¾ fordi barnet i 3-6 års alderen far omgivelserne, kulturen flettet ind i identiteten. Det erkender, at "jeg er noget dansk og noget grønlandsk" og er forhåbentlig godt tilfreds med denne tingenes tilstand. I forvejen er det en stor omvæltning for alle børn at begynde i skolen, men endnu svarere tror vi, det bliver for vore børn, der enten kommer i en "ren" grønlandsk eller dansk klasse, at det nu pludselig skal til at vare kun dansk eller kun grønlandsk. Det er ligesom ikke godt nok mere at være noget af begge dele. ¾ fordi vi godt vil være med til at mindske eller helst udrydde den forskel i status mellem dansk og grønlandsk, der har hersket i mange årdet, at nogle synes, at det ene sprog og dermed den ene kultur er vigtigere, nyttigere, bedre at lære end det andet. Vi mener, at det er på tide, at dansk og grønlandsk stilles lige vardige, således at også danske og grønlandske kan arbejde sammen på lige fod med måske forskellige, men hver deres stærke sider. Problematikken er velkendt, men den har aldrig været fremsat så tydeligt og markant. Det er min overbevisning, at den sætter en pal igennem tosprogethedsdiskusisonen i Grønland på et realistisk grundlag og kommer til at have indflydelse i den politiske og pædagogiske sprogplanlægning. For denne kategori af børn bliver dansk og grønlandskved en konsekvent planlægningbåde genstand og redskab. En mærkbar ændring i dette spørgsmål kræver en holdningsændring i samfundet og en anden form for tilrettelæggelse og gennemførelse af undervisningen. For det er en kendsgerning i Grønland, at der groft sagt findes tre sociolingvistiske klasser: grønlandske, danske og blandede. Der er selvfølgelig mange nuancer imellem, men lad det være usagt i denne omgang. I sprogdebatten forekommer spørgsmålet om engelsk gang på gang. Det er klart ønske fra politikerne og forældrene, at engelsk gøres obligatorisk i de grønlandske klasser enten fra 6. eller 7. klasse. Det er under erkendelse af, at engelsk er et nødvendigt redskab i videreuddannelsen og kommunikationen til den store verden samt til inuit befolkningen i Canada og Alaska. Hvis og når engelsk gøres obligatorisk skal der politisk også tages stilling til på bekostning af hvilket fag eller sprog, der skal tages initiativer der. Det er og
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bliver politisk spørgsmål, der får indvirkning på sprogplanlægningen i den grønlandske skole. Jeg har med stor interesse fulgt med debatten om sprog i Grønland og har medvirket i diskussionen og planlægningen. Derfor finder jeg mange yderst interessante tanker i professor Bent Søndergårds rapport om sprogfordelingen i den grønlandske skoles curriculum, der omhandler sprog som genstand kontra sprog som redskab. Endvidere har jeg fulgt med i vedvarende og skiftende initiativer på handlingsplan i arbejdet i grønlandsk som modersmål og dansk som fremmedsprog. Ved den sidste har vi fået uvurderlig hjælp fra Danmarks Lærerhøjskole. Problemkomplekset er fantastisk spændende og yderst livsnært for os. Alle indrømmer, at sprogpolitiske forestillinger og sprogpædagogiske erfaringer har skiftet meget gennem tiderne, ikke alene i Grønland, men også i den store verden. Udfra det udgangspunkt må jeg få lov at konstatere, at det eneste, der ikke har skiftet sådan fra dag til dag er omgivelserne, landet, naturen og tildels de livsbetingelser, der står til rådighed umiddelbart, men også på længere sigt. Forskningen omkring bilingualisme kredser om problemet eller spørgsmålet: kan der i praksis lade sig gennemføre en afbalanceret bilingualisme eller et ægte tosproget samfund i Grønland. Som det er blevet nævnt flere steder i litteraturen er spørgsmålet ikke entydigt og lader sig ikke løse ved en enkel teori, men må skifte fra situation, tid og politiske samt pædagogiske intentioner. Dog er der klare meldinger og begyndende planlægningsinitiativer i Grønland som peger mod følgende velkendte udgangspunkt: Grønland med sin beliggenhed og spredte befolkningsgrundlag kan ikke klare sig alene med det grønlandske sprog. Heller ikke med dansk aleneudfra den kendsgerning, at sproget er udviklet under helt andre omgivelser og derfor mangler den dybde og nuancering som grønlandsk har været udviklet udfra på grund af de livsbetingelser, som naturen og landet byder på. Det synes at være yderst vanskeligt at komme med en helhedsløsning politisk og pædagogisk, for ikke at sige på det holdningsmæssige plan på nuværende tidspunkt. Bestræbelserne på at udvikle grønlandsk til arbejdssprog og kultursprog er accepterede og alle er enige om dette spørgsmål. Hvad angår sproget dansk er det klart, at der skal udvikles materialer, der tilgodeser miljøet i Grønland og tager udgangspunkt i indhold og form også hvad fagdidaktikken og metodikken angår. Med andre ord skal der udvikles materialer i faget og kravene til eventuelle prøver kan betegnes som "dansk i Grønland". Det er indlysende, at de ikke kan være identiske med danske materialer i Danmark. Afsluttende Bemærkninger Afslutningsvis skal jeg konkludere, at der til stadighed diskuteres forskellige veje til opnåelse af tosprogethedblandt forskere, politikerne, lærerne og
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forældrene. Men det det drejer sig om til syvende og sidst er barnet. Hvordan er kravene om tosprogethed udformettager de hensyn til barnetbliver det en unødig stor byrde og dermed ødelaggende eller er det en udfordring, som kan bane vejen for bedre forståelse og samliv i samfundet. Det sidste tror jeg på. Til slut et cirat om ord af østgrønlænderen Asineq: Ordet er menneskets største magt. Med ord kan man såre eller glæde et menneskefor livet. Såres man af et våben, og såret læges, kan det stadig ses, men det smerter ikke længere som det ord, der en gang er udtalt. Derfor er ordet menneskets største magt. Vi tror på Oqautip Kimia "Ordets magt". En forunderlig kraft. Ordet er trolddom.
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12 Børn, Teenagers og de to Sprog i Grønland Grete Ulrich Naluunguarfiup Atuarfia, Box 122, 3911 Sisimiut, Grønland. Abstract. This paper gives a short summary of the different stages the school has passed through over the years in Greenland. Before Home Rule the idea was that pupils should learn Danish so that they could pass through different stages of further education on equal terms with Danish children living in, e.g. Copenhagen. Equality in every sense of the word was the ideal. The Home Rule Act and the Statutory Instrument about primary schools changed this radically by clearly stating that Greenlandic should be the main language and Danish the first foreign language introduced to the pupils in the fourth grade. Nevertheless the exams were still Danish exams, and if the pupils failed, they lost access to further education in Greenland as well as in Denmark. The pupils have paid for all mistakes made in the past. The question this paper raises is: 'Where do we go from here?' It is absolutely necessary that we find a solution to the problems the conflict between the two languages has created in the past. It is essential for the sake of the next generations of children in Greenland that we find which way to go in the future. The paper suggests a possible model but admits that much expertise from the surrounding world is needed if the main purpose, a balance between the two necessary languages, is to be found. Betegnende for udviklingen indenfor det grønlandske skolevæsen er den zig zag kurs, der er blevet ført gennem årene. Før 1953 blev undervisningen hovedsagelig varetaget af kateketer på grønlandsk og i grønlandsk. Da Grønland ved grundlovsændringen 1953 blev et dansk amt, satte daniseringsprocessen ind i ligestillingens hellige navn. Man, det vil sige også den tids fremtrædende grønlandske politikere, mente, at elevernes beherskelse asf dansk på lige fod med danske elever måtte være skolens mål. Dansk var adgangskortet til den omgivende verden, en vej ud af isolationen.
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Danisering Danske lærere kom i stigende antal til Grønland, dårligt rustede med viden om deres opgave. Man var så jensynlig af den mening, at en larer, der kunne tale dansk, også kunne undervise i dansk. Nederlagene blandt danske lærere har været talrige, men det blev der ikke talt meget om. Lærere kunne og burde selv have gjort det, men man taler ikke gerne om sine nederlag, så er det nemmere at rejse hjem. De små børn, der mødte dansk og danske lærere på første skoledag kom også ud for nederlag; men de kunne ikke protestere. Op gennem tresserne kom alligevel de første protester fra politikere, der blev klar over, hvad denne daniseringsproces kunne betyde for grønlandsk sprog, kultur og identitet. I halvfjerdserne begyndte grønlandske unge, der havde følt fremmedgørelsen på deres egen krop, at protestere i tale, digte og musik. Skolens mål ligestilling mellem danske og grønlandske elever blev ikke nået. Trods massiv påvirkning fra danske lærere i faget dansk og en bred vifte af instrumentalfag. Man måtte erkende, at grønlandske elever ikke levede op til forventningerne, mange faldt fra allerede i skoleforløbet, andre afbrød deres uddannelser. Alkoholmisbrug og selvmord blandt unge blev uhyggelige alarmsignaler. De unge kunne hverken det ene eller andet sprog, de var blevet dobbelt halvsprogede og stod splittede mellem de to kulturer. Grønlandisering Ved Hjemmestryets indførelse blev skolen som det første område ved årsskiftet 79/80 overtaget af det nye unge hjemmestyre, og kursen skiftede til grønlandisering. Skolen skulle ikke længere være en dansk ø midt i det grønlandske samfund. Skolestarten skulle være grønlandsk, medens dansk fik status som 1. fremmedsprog, der først præsenteredes for eleverne i 4. klasse. Samfundet mål Uanset partitilhørsforhold har man i Grønland længe erkendt, at skal landet klare sig i en industrialiseret verden i stadig og voldsom udvikling, og skal Grønland bevæge sig hen mod større uafhængighed af Danmark, så må landets menneskelige ressourcer udnyttes fuldt ud. Samfundets mål er derfor helt klart at få uddannet en grønlandsk elite, at fa uddannet faglærte håndværkere og kontorfolk og samtidig sikre tilgang af unge til landets oprindelige, stadig bærede erhverv fangst og fiskeri.
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Skolens mål I overensstemmelse med samfundets mål er de sidste linier i den grønlandske skoles formålsparagraf. Skolens mål er: '. . . at gøre eleverne beredte til at virke i samfundet og i en verden i stadig forandring'. Heroverfor har vi det helt konkrete mål, der præger skolens hverdag, at føre eleverne frem gennem skoleforløbet, så de, der er egnede, det vil sige er født med en almindelig god forstand, kan afslutte deres skolegang med en aflagt FA-prøve (Folkeskolens afsluttende prøve), for nogles vedkommende med en FUA-prøve (Folkeskolens udvidede utsluttende prøve). Disse prøver er stadig og har også i dette forår været danske prøver med danske prøvekrav. Nuværende situation Ifølge § 1, stk. 2 i landstingsforordningen af 16. oktober 1979 er undervisningssproget i den grønlandske folkeskole grønlandsk. 1 Dansk fik som nævnt status som 1. fremmedsprog med start i 4. klasse. Belært af tidligere fejltagelser ønsker man en styrkelse af modersmålet. Man ønskede, at eleverne skulle beherske deres eget modersmål, før de blev konfronteret med dansk. Hvorvidt de behersker grønlandsk ved begyndelsen af 4. klasse er så en anden sag, men således var intentionerne. Samtidig startede produktion af flere og flere grønlandsksprogede bøger og materialer, der efterhånden har afløst de dansksprogede. Mange dygtige unge grønlandske lærere uddannede på seminariet i Nuuk har overtaget undervisningen i instrumentalfagene. En overvejende del af de nye bøger og materialer focuserede på grønlandske natur- og samfunds- forhold, og en overvejende del af de unge lærere tilrettelagde deres undervisning med hovedvægt på grønlandsk relaterede emner. Den danske larer stod tilbage med sit fag dansk som 1. fremmedsprog og den opgave på færre år at nå de samme mål, som det havde knebet stærkt med at nå, før skolen blev hjemmestyret. Hans forudsætninger var, at han havde en dansk seminarieuddannelse, og at han talte dansk. At undervise i dansk som fremmedsprog var han ikke uddannet til, havde ikke lært nogen metode, ligesom der ikke eksisterende nogen pædagogik for faget. Af materialer hade han det af alle på Grønland så velkendte Gynthers Dansksystem,2 der var produceret i daniseringsperioden og folgelig var tilrettelagt med henblik på start i 1. klasse. Begynderbøgerne indeholder barnlige billeder, småhistorier; der er sider til farvelægning og store billedplancer; det af bøgerne styrede tempo fremad er uendelig langsomt.Vælger man under nuværende forhold at benytte det slavisk, når man ikke endemålet, før eleverne har passeret de 20 år.
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Følgelig har de fleste valgt at gå på opdagelse i skolernes bogrum eller blandt klassesættene på bibliotekerne for at finde dels supplerende dels erstatningsmateriale med risiko for, at den roligt fremadskridende udvikling sattes over styr. På et tidspunkt tvinges elever og lærere over i et system som Tage Hansen og Niels Kjær: Skriftlig for sjette, 3 for at kunne gå videre mod endemålet at kunne skrive stil og diktat ved FA-prøven. Samtidig går man i mundtlig dansk over til Ny Litteratur for sjette,4 danske noveller eller udenlandske suppleret med klassesæt af stigende sværhedsgrad. Læreren står i alt dette alene i sine valgsituationer og kan i farreste tilfælde støtte sig til erfarne kollegers råd. Disse vil ofte have forladt Grønland uden at have efterladt sig rapporter over fuldførte forløb og indhøstede erfaringer. Egentlig sprogundervisning er der ikke tale om generelt. Der er tale om danskundervisning af grønlandske børn med individuelle tillempelser efter samme model som anvendt i danskundervisning af danske børn. Kan læreren ikke klare dette, kan han rejse hjem, det kan eleverne af gode grunde ikke. De må blive og underkaste sig den nye dansklærers frusterede forsøg på at få noget til at lykkes. Elevernes forudsætninger Hvordan er så elevernes forudsætninger, de der er gjort til hovedaktører i dette drama ? Det er grønlandske elever, men det alene er ikke et dakkende signalement. For at tydeliggøre problemerne har jeg foretaget en gruppeinddeling. Gruppe 1. Et grønlandsk elev kan være barn af grønlandsk far og grønlandsk mor med grønlandsk hjemmesprog og ringe eller ingen kontakt til danske. Gruppe 2. Et grønlandsk barn kan være barn af grønlandske forældre, der tilhører den grønlandske veluddannede elite med god kontakt til Danmark og med stærkt præg af dansk kultur, og derfor i realiteten allerede inden skolestarten dobbeltsproget. Gruppe 3. En grønlandsk elev kan også være barn af en dansk far og en grønlandsk mor med grønlandsk som hjemmesprog og ringe kontakt til danske. Gruppe 4. Endelig kan en grønlandsk elev have an grønlandsk far og en dansk mor og derfor have dansk som hjemmesprog samt god kontakt til danske og Danmark. Nogle børn, der hører hjemme i grupperne 2 og 4, bliver af deres forældre allerede ved skolestarten anbragt i danske klasser, dem vender vi tilbage til senere. Ovenstående er en grov forenkling. Det kan variere indenfor de enkelte grupper, men giver alligevel et indtryk af, hvor forskellige forudsætninger eleverne i en enkelt klasse kan have ved deres første møde med faget dansk i skolen.
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Figur 1 Etnisk og sproglig forde ling
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Dertil kommer, at der i hver 4. klasse sidder elever, der af en eller anden grund er henvist til specialundervisning i deres modersmål. Ofte er der tale om elever, der i førskolealderen har været understimulerede både sprogligt og motorisk. Det er på forhånd givet, at gruppe 2, elitegruppen, vil klare sig. De har motivation i stærk grad, og bag sig har de hjem, der i enhver henseende støtter dem og som har forståelse for, hvad skolens mål er. Fra denne gruppe noterer læreren sig ofte sine sejre, medens sandheden måske ofte er, at denne gruppe sammen med gruppe 4, der også har dansk som hjemmesprog, i fællesskab pacer tempoet i begynderundervisningen frem, så elever fra gruppe 1, de kun grønlandsksprogede falder fra allerede i løbet af første eller andet år. Så kan de henvises til specialundervisning hos en lærer, der heller ikke har anden metode eller pædagogik overfor faget end den i Danmark anvendte. Der kan de uheldigste blive i årevis. I gruppe 4, gruppen med dansk som hjemmesprog, kan der sidde børn, der har så store vanskeligheder med faget grønlandsk, at det næsten er for meget for dem også at satse på dansk. Dem lægger læreren often ikke mærke til i starten, da de blænder ved at kunne tale sproget. Karakteristik Generelt kan man sige om grønlandske børn, at de er tålmodige, venlige, gode skuespillere, dygtige imitatorer og generte. Tillige har de stor tillid til de danske læreres, eksperternes, formåen, en tillid, der desværre, set i lyset af udviklingen, har været delt ikke blot af mange i det grønlandske samfund, men også af folk i Grønlandsministeriet. Disse egenskaber, tålmodigheden og venligheden bevirker, at eleverne underkaster sig lærer, fag og tilførte plager i årevis uden protest. Skuespiltalentet og imitationstalentet gør, at eleverne kan udtale ordene og levere en nydelig oplæsning-, og genertheden, der forbyder dem at lukke munden op og formulere sig selvstndigt, bevirker, at der kan gå lang tid, før det afsløres, at nogle af dem ikke har forstået sammenhængen i det læste. Dette er forhold, der kan afsløres og chokere læreren ikke blot i 4. skoleår, men også langt senere i forløbet. Forsaettelsesskolen og Kursusskolen Ved slutningen af 9. klasse fordeles eleverne på udvidet hold og grundhold i fagene engelsk, matematik, fysik og dansk.
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Principielt træffes afgørelsen om hold eller kursus af forældrene efter samråd mellem forældre, elev og skole. 5 I praksis vil det gå således, at eleverne på det udvidede dankshold vil blive rekrutteret fra gruppe 2 i fuld overensstemmelse med forældrenes ønsker. Hertil kommer elever fra grupperne 3 og 4, børn af blandede ægteskaber, medens det som regel kun lykkes meget få fra gruppe 1 at komme med. I Sisimiut har vi også F-kursus. På dette kursus, havner de fleste tidligere specialundervisningselever på små hold på 5-6 elever. Generelt når de ikke så vidt, at de kan læse en dansk bog eller dansk avis eller finde ud af f.eks. dokumenter, der skal benyttes i forbindelse med forsikring eller låntagning til en båd. Men de kan nok klare at kommunnikere med danskansat personale på offentlige kontorer i begrænset omfang. FAprøven efter 11. klasse vil de ikke kunne klare. Derimod skulle det udvidede hold kunne klare sig igennem 10. og 11. klasse på tilfredsstillende måde til FA-prøven og derfra videre efter yderligere et skoleår til FUA-prøven. På grundholdene må adskillige elever regne med, at det 12. skoleår vil være nødvendigt for dem, før de vil kunne regne med at kunne aflægge folkeskolens afgangsprøve. Denne FA-prøve har været og er, som omtalt, den danske prøve med danske prøvekrav. Netop her i fortsættelsesskolen afsløres systemets svagheder, eller rettere det manglende systems svagheder. Her skulle eleverne kunne forstå og tolke en tekst, foretage billedanalyse, give en personkarakteristik samt kunne formulere sig rimeligt sikkert skriftligt og mundtligt. De flittige kan skrive en næsten fejlfri diktat, de læser nydeligt op, forstår tilsyneladende, hvad man siger, og hvad der nu lases, men de formulerer sig meget nødig selv. De smiler venligt og svarer så kort som muligt. Men hvornår skulle de også have fået den fornødne træning i det at tale sproget frit om noget helt andet end netop den foreliggende tekst. Gruppe 2 og gruppe 4 børnene kan, men ikke holdet som helhed. Hvornår skulle den danske lærer have fundet tid til at give eleverne den fornødne mulighed. Han har jo ikke et eneste instrumentalfag med klassen som støtte for sin undervisning, og således som såvel han som eleverne piskes fremad mod den efterhånden truende prøvesituation, er tiden knap. Eleverne er nu faktisk inde i et dansk skolesystem i deres dansktimer. De, der ikke kan mere, falder i søvn og lader den danske stemme gå ind ad det ene øre og ud ad det andet, som de var vant til fra små med de danske stemmer fra radio og TV. Nogle begynder at pjække eller sove for længe om morgenen. Og så er der så meget andet, der er morsommere, sport i hallen, dans i klubben, sex, alkohol og hash. Følgevirkningerne er velkendte.
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I almindelighed er grønlandske teenagers overladt meget til sig selv. For mange forældre gælder det, at de har erhverv begge to, måske er de engagerede i politisk arbejde, måske er de simpelthed trætte, når de endelig er hjemme. De små boliger på Grønland domineres totalt af et igangværende TV. Der er sjældent plads til, at det ældste teenagebarn kan få eget værelse, hvor det kan få ro til lektier eller modtage kammerater. Mange teenagers får med andre ord ikke den støtte, de burde have fra deres forældre. Kammeratgruppen holder de til i, dens normer er deres normer, for ofte er det lærerne på skolen, der er den eneste rigtige voksenkontakt, de far. Der var under daniseringsperioden tabere, det er der stadig i grønlandiseringsperioden. Skal den danske lærer holde sammen på sin flok, så har han også en social opgave, men sjældent tid til at tage sig ordentligt af den. Ofte har problemerne også et for stort omfang, inden han bliver klar over dem. Den danske FA-prøve er kompetence givende til de forskellige uddannelsessteder, EFG-skolerne og nyskabelsen De Gymnasiale Uddannelser; men her tårner problemerne sig igen op. Vender vi tilbage til grupperne, vi startede med, så vil i faget dansk, selvfolgelig de elever fra grupperne 2 og 4, der valgte at gå i dansk klasse, eller hvis forældre ved skolestarten valgte at få dem placeret der, være sikre vindere, når det gælder dansk. Men de har ikke opnået fornøden kompetence i grønlandsk, så de vil blive afvist på de fleste uddannelsessteder og er dårligt forberedte på et voksenliv i deres eget land. Af de to grupper er måske gruppe 2 den stærkeste, idet hjemmenes opbakning måske har bevirket ekstra undervisning i grønlandsk, så FA-prøven i dette fag kan aflægges i ungdomsskoleregi. Men tilbage til grupperne i den grønlandske klasse. Grønlandsk FA-prøve klares sikkert af grupperne 1, 2 og 3. FA-prøve i dansk klares sikkert af grupperne 2 og 3. Uanset skolestart vil gruppe 2 være den stærkeste gruppe, og gruppe 1 vil være den svageste. Med andre ord, det nuværende system bærer elitens børn sikkert frem, medens børn af grønlandske forældre med grønlandsk hjemmesprog tabes i systemet. Denne sidstnævnte gruppe omfatter iøvrigt samtlige børn og unge, der fra bygder og yderdistrikter sendes til videre skolegang som kollegieelever i de store byer på vestkysten. Hvad dette kan betyde for det grønlandske samfunds fremtid, kan man allerede nu se, en tydelig klassedeling og en yderligere skæv udvikling, hvor bygder og yderdistrikter tabes langt bagude. Man kan klart forudse fra hvilke grupper de kommende arbejdløse vil blive rekrutteret, ligesom man kan forudse til hvilke grupper der vil blive givet afslag på ansøgninger og videreuddannelse.
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1260 unge fik i år afslag på deres ansøgninger. Disse får brev om enten at forbedre deres aflagte prøve eller supplere med erhvervserfaring. De næste års elever vil således i kampen om uddannelsespladser skulle konkurrere med en stadig voksende pukkel af ældre. Planer til Forbedringeller Hvad? Det er klart, at alt dette er utilfredsstillende. Der er da også kommet protester fra forældre, fra lærere og deres råd samt fra erhvervene og uddannelsesstederne. Man måtte søge at sikre alle unge et uddannelsestilbud samt søge at hindre det store frafald under uddannelserne. Samtidig har Hjemmestyret for længst erkendt, at det vil være nødvendigt at skaffe flere uddannelsesmuligheder, flere praktikpladser, flere ungdomskollegier og endelig flere erhvervsmuligheder, gerne alternativer til fiskeindustrien. Gennem flere år har en erhvervsuddannelsesreform været undervejs. Pricipielt blev den vedtaget under efterårssamlingen 1986. 6 De Gymnasiale Uddannelser startede i 1986. Efter planen skulle erhvervsuddannelserne og G.U. tage flertallet af vore elever fra 11. klasse efter FA-prøven. Det er endnu uklart, hvad der skal ske med 12. (og 13.) skoleår, om dette vil blivebevaret til gavn for de elever, de ikke klarede FA-prøven på normeret tid, på grund af faget dansk. En Reformkommission er nedsat, der skal tage folkeskoleforordningen op til revision, samt stille forslag om justeringer. Arbejdet skulle være mundet ud i et færdigt forslag, der kunne være forelagt landstinget på dettes efterårssamling 1987, men så vidt vides har man bestemt at bede om endnu et år til dette arbejde. Kommissionen vil blandt andet se på, hvilken rolle fremmedsproget dansk skal indtage i skolen. Endvidere fremkom K.U.D. (Kultur- og Undervisningsdirektoratet) i foråret 1987 på Landslærerrådsmødet i Narsarsuaq med bekendtgørelse med tilhørende notat, der skulle afløse undervisningsdirektoratets cirkulære 2/80 om folkeskolens afsluttende prøver.7 Både bekendtgørelse og notat sendtes til udtalelse i lærerrådene, hvorfra man skulle melde tilbage inden 1. april. Også dette forslag skal endelig godkendes af landstinget, dette vil formodentlig ske efteråret 1987. Nævnes skal det også, at man selvfølgelig har været klar over, at situationen med et dankssystem baseret på skolestarten, men anvendt på 4. klasse, var uholdbar. Længe har nye materialer været undervejs, men
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produktionen går som meget andet uendelig langsomt. Det kan vare år, før vi har det ude på skolerne, og man kan forudse problemmer, hvis det ikke er i overensstemmelse med den pædagogik, man måtte blive enige om at anvende på faget. Da alle disse planer endnu er helt eller delvis under udarbejdelse, vil det ikke være fair på dette tidspunkt at underkaste dem en kritisk gennemgang. Lad mig derfor nøjes at omtale der det, der i denne forbindelse forekommer mest relevant og synes at væres mest afklaret. Angående Reformkommissionens arbejde, så tyder intet på, at man skal vente en tidligere start på faget dansk end 4. klasse. Hvis vi vender os til KUD's bekendtgørelse med notat og ser på, hvad der siges om faget dansk, da vil vi i notatet læse: Problemet om faget danskdefineret som 1. fremmedsprog i Grønland er løst ved at definere faget som 'Dansk i Grønland', idet faget i Grønland på en række punkter adskiller sig væsentligt fra et decideret fremmedsprog, hvorfor de tilsvarende termer selvsagt ikke kan bruges. Når man læser dette kunne man forledes til at tro, at der efter denne erkendelse vil være væsentlige ændringer i bekendtgørelsen i forhold til det gældende cirkulære. Angående kravene til de skriftlige prøver, hanholdsvis FA og FUA, da vil man i bekendtgørelsen § 19 se, at udtrykket 'klart og forståeligt sprog' er afløst af 'et sprog, der er forståeligt og i det væsentlige, sprogligt korrekt, at udtrykket 'sikkert og varieret' er afløst af kravet om et rimeligt sikkert sprog'. Samtidig har man søgt at lempe kravene til de mundtlige prøver ved at erstatte kravet om opgivelse af et eller to skønlitterære værker med kravet om opgivelse af et værk til FA-prøven, og ved at erstatte kravet om opgivelse af to eller tre værker med krav om opgivelse af to ved FUA-prøven, samt ved at gøre ordet samtale til nøgleord i prøvesituationen. I realiteten forekommer ændringerne ikke store. Angående de skriftlige prøver drejer det sig om nogle omformuleringer af nogle krav til det sproglige, hvor der i en vurderingssituation vil afhænge meget af en enkelte lærers fortolkning. Sætter man bekendtgørelsen i relation til 'Bestemmelser og vejledende læseplan for faget dansk' 8, da kan man i formålsparagraffen stk. 2 læse: Undervisningen sjal øge elevernes muligheder for selvstændigt af orientere sig om levevilkår og kulturforhold i Danmark og den øvrige verden og for at udnytte sproget i uddannelsesøjemed.
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Vi havde håbet på, enten at opnå en væsentlig styrkelse af faget eller en vasentlig ændring af prøvekravene, som uddannelsessterderne så måtte tage til efterretning. Angående det første kan vi måske endnu knytte håb til Reformkommissionen, angående det sidste har vi mistet illusionerne. Vi vil med andre ord stadig stå i den situation, at vi skal starte danskundervisningen i 4. klasse og slutte den med FA-prøven efter 11. klasse. Dette giver os den nuværende (1986/87) timetal ialt 1,440 timer dansk i en grønlandsk klasse. Til sammenligning har danske elever 2720 timer dansk i deres danske klasse. Med de, så vidt vi kan skønne, sm ændringer i prøvekravene for de grønlandske klasser, vil danske og grønlandske klasser skulle aflægge i det væsentlige ens prøver. Man må følgelig spørge: 'V il dette overhovedet være muligt?' En Model Når jeg i det følgende foreslår en mulig model for faget dansk og dets placering i den grønlandske skole, sker det med viden om, at andre har foreslået modeller før jeg. En model, der har interesseret mig meget, er den af professor Bent Søndergaard opstillede i 'Nogle hovedproblemer ved sprogfordelingen i den grønlandske skole', artikel offentliggjort i tidsskriftet 'Forskning i Grønland' 3/83. 9 For de mennesker, der kender Bent Søndergaards model, vil det af følgende modelbeskrivelse klart fremgå, at jeg ikke er ganske enig med ham. Modellen er tnkt bestående af fem faser. Fase I (for Skolealderen) Forældre og personale i vuggestuer og børnehaver må bibringes forståelse for, hvor vigtigt det er at stimulere førskolebarnet ikke blot sprogligt, men også motorisk. Forældre må ligeledes bringes til at forstå vigtigheden af, at deres børn anbringes i en institution eller dagpleje, hvor barnets hjemmesprog tales. Endvidere må forældre oplyses om, hvor ulykkelige konsekvenser det kan få for deres barns fremtidige liv i Grønland, dersom de anbringer deres grønlandske barn i en dansk klasse. Her bør skolen, når barnet indmeldes, informere meget grundigt og ikke uden videre bøje sig for et forældreønske. Videoprogrammer om børneopdragelse bør produceres, således at man kan nå ud til det størst mulige antal af foraldrene med information.
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Fase II (Forskolen) Forskolen bør styrkes ved indførelse af tolarersystem, forstået således at f.eks. en grønlandsk lærer og en grønlandsk forskolelærer går ind i et tæt samarbejde om en klasse. De skal ikke dele klassen, den ene skal heller ikke være 'radiatorpædagog'. De skal samarbejde på lige fod med det formål at sikre, at tilgangen til specialundervisningsafdelingen kun bliver af 'ægte' specialundervisningselever, samt at klassen som helhed står så stærkt som muligt i modersmålet inden 4. klasse. Fase III (4. og 5. Klasse) De første år, hvor eleverne har dansk, skal klassen have to lærere, en dansk lærer, der giver sprogundervisning samt en grønlandsk (evt. timelærer), der fungerer som støttelærer som formidler af forståelse, når det er behov, og som sikkerhedsnet under svageste gruppe, gruppe 1. De to lærere må principielt ikke dele klassen. Det er sproglæreren, der leder og tilrettelægger. Det er klart, at forudsætningerne for at et samarbejde af denne art kan lykkes er, at begge parter går 100% ind for arrangementet som beskrevet, at de evner at samarbejde, og at den grønlandske lærer har en veludviklet sans for hvornår, der er brug for det grønlandske sprog, og hvornår det ville være klogere, at tvinge børnene til at anstrenge sig for at forstå. Fase IV (6, 7, 8 og 9. Klasse) Klassen har nu kun den danske sproglærer, der fortsætter intensiv sprogundervisning. Der hægtes nu et instrumentalfag på med samme lærer. Som det bedst egnede fag foreslås faget geografi, idet det erkendes, at det måske vil være upopulært at skille det fra de øvrige orientringsfag. Men da dette fag langt fra bør koncentrere sig om grønlandske forhold alene, men åbne vinduer ud mod den omgivende verden, mener jeg, valget er begrundet. I blokke af 2 timer fordelt over skoleåret, efter behov, bør kunne lægges intensive opsamlingsheat for eleverne fra gruppe 1, helst med den samme grønlandske lærer, de kender fra 4. og 5. klasses dansktimer. Mod slutningen af denne fase, i løbet af 8. og 9. klasse, skal den intensive sprogundervisning nedtrappes, således at litteraturlæsning indtager en stadig større plads. Fase V (Fortsættelsesskolen) Sprogundervisningen bør nu kunne glide ind i de rammer, der er om det, man i en dansk klasse forstår ved dansk-undervisning, således at den
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forekommer som små regelmæssige doser, som regel i naturlig forbindelse med skriftligt arbejde. Kommer der kollegieelever til på dette tidspunkt, bør de gennemgå et intensivt danskkursus, inden de sluses ind. Kan dette ikke lade sig gøre, bør de starte i byskolen et trin lavere, end det ellers var hensigten. Instrumentalfaget Geografi bør stadig være med, men da det nu optræder som en integreret del af faget samfundsorientering, må dansklæreren her i sin tilrettelæggelse af undervisningen indgå i et tæt samarbejde med den grønlandske orienteringslærer. Da de øvrige fag er valgfag, vil det ikke være formålstjenligt at vælge et af disse i stedet. Selvfølgelig ville det tjene faget dansk at udvide viften af instrumentalfag, den danske lærer har, evt. ved at tildele ham hele faget samfundsorientering; men her må vi holde os målet for øje. Målet var at skaffe eleverne kompetence i både grønlandsk og dansk, og faget grønlandsk tåler ikke en svækkelse. 10 Angående valgfagene skal bemærkes, at adskillige elever på nuværende tidspunkt har danske lærere til nogle af disse fag, men pågældende lærer har ikke fagene af skolepolitiske grunde. De har dem simpelthen efter tilfældighedernes princip, dermed menes, at det var deres eget fagønske den dag, de sammensatte deres skema. Med den forhåbentlig større tilgang af grønlandske lærere vil de blive afløst. Opstiller man en model, kan man ikke tage ovennævnte forhold i betragtning som en statisk situation. Bemærkninger til Modellen Man kunne måske mene, at det var oplagt at anvende de dobbeltsprogede grønlandske lærere til dansklærere; men dels kan de ikke afses fra andre opgaver til det formål, dels er de ikke uddannede til det. Endvidere vil der så heller ikke på samme måde i begynderundervisningen være den vigtige støtteperson for den svage gruppe, selvom der nok ville være et støttesprog. Danske dobbeltsprogede lærere er en sjælden vare, så muligheden for at anvende sådanne også må lades ude af betragtning. At lade en dansk lærer, der ikke virkelig behersker det grønlandske sprog, radbrække det for at gøre sig forståelig for grønlandske børn på 4.-5. klassetrin, ville være danske uforsvarligt. Man kunne også have tænkt sig, at modellen omfattede ønske om flere timer tillagt sprogfaget dansk, men medmindre forordning og timefordelingsplaner ændres radikalt, vil det heller ikke være en realistisk mulighed. Under alle omstændigheder vil det være vanskeligt gennemførligt. Som førnævnt tåler faget grønlandsk ikke en svækkelse, og desuden mangler
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vi timer til faget engelsk, som der fra mange sider er udtrykt ønske om at styrke i den grønlandske skole. Endvidere kunne man have tænkt sig foreslået en niveaudeling af eleverne allerede i grundskolen. Men delshar niveaudeling vaeret afprøvet i Grønland med ringe resultater, dels er jeg personlig ikke tilhænger af, at de i samfundet allerede så synlige klasseskel bringes ind i den grønlandske folkeskole. Det er klart, at en model som den foreslåede, hvis den skal bæres igennem til succes, skal følges nøje i sin opbygning. Lærerne bør have tildelt konferencetimer og bør pålægges at skrive rapport, De bør fastholdes i den klasse, de engang er startet med, og de bør have kurser, så de uddannes til sproglarere. Endelig bør der oprettes en konsulentstilling for faget dansk, ligesom der er det for faget grønlandsk. Der bør produceres et dansksprog-system i lighed med f.eks. 'This Way', der bruges i sprogundervisning i engelsk. Det er ikke tilstrækkeligt, at der produceres materialer, der kan anvendes her og der i skoleforløbet, for så overlades for meget til de enkelte lærere, deres individuelle engagement, energi, indsigt og evne til planlægning. Endvidere må den for faget så nødvendige ny pædagogik formuleres og udgives som håndbog, der kan få sin plads, lettilgængelig på ethvert lærerværelse i Grønland. Og så må man håbe, uanset om der vlges denne model eller en helt anden, at den kurs, der bliver valgt, vil blive holdt, at den grønlandske skol vil finde balancen mellem de to nødvendige sprog til gavn og glæde for brugerne, de grønlandske børn og unge. Noter 1. landstingsforordning No 6 af 16. oktober 1979 om folkeskolen. Kapitel 1 § 1, stk. 2. Undervisningssproget er grønlandsk. Stk. 3. I det omfang lærerkræfterne, undervisningsmidlerne eller hensynet til den enkelte elev gør det nødvendigt, kan dansk tillige være undervisningssprog. 2. Bent Gynther, Kirsten Gynther, Mogens Lyngsø & Else Vogler (1975); F.eks. Min danskbog 4. Ole og Lene og Eva. Nuuk: Pilersuiffk. Tidligere Kbh.: Ministeriet for Grønland. 3. Tage Hansen & Niels Kjær (1981) Skriftlig for sjette. København: Gyldendal. 4. Esther Hansen, Tage Hansen & Poul Billeskov Jansen, (1979) Ny litteratur for syvende. København: Gyldendal. 5. Landstingsforordning No 6 af 16. oktober 1979 om folkeskolen. Kapitel 2 § 7, stk. 90. Afgørelse om valg af fag eller kursus træffes af forældrene, efter samråd med eleven og skolen. 6. Ejvind Christoffersen (1987) Erhvervsuddannelsesreformen. Kapitak. Tidsskrift for kulturog undevisning. No 1, 8-9. Kulturog Undervisningsdirektoratet. 7. Ciruklære 2/80. Folkeskolens afsluttende prøver. M.v. (1980). Kultur- og Undervisningsdirektionen. 8. Folkeskolen i Grønland. No 7. Bestemmelser og vejledende læseplan for faget dansk (1985). Kultur- og Undervisningsdirektoratet. Formål, jfr. Folkeskoleforordningen § 9:
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(1) Formålet med undervisningen er, at eleverne tilegner sig færdighed i at forsta talt og skrevet dansk samt i at udtrykke sig på sproget i tale og skrift. (2) Undervisningen skal øge elevernes muligheder for selvstændigt at orientere sig om levevilkår og kulturforhold i Danmark og den øvrige verden og for at udnytte sproget i uddannelsesojemed. (3) Undervisningen skal medvirke til, at eleverne bevarer lysten til at bruge sproget, og at de får interesse for at dygtiggøre sig yderligere heri. 9. Bent Sondergaard (1983) Nogle hovedproblemer ved sprogfordelingen i den grønlandsk skole. Forskning i Grønland, 3, 2-7. Bent Sondergaards model har tre faser. 10. Bent Søndergaard arbejder i sin model med en gradvis storre vifte af fag hvor undervisningssproget er dansk. Dette er i hans artikel fremstillet grafisk som en omvendt trekant, hvor den nedadvendte spids repræsentere starten på forlobet og trekantens overkant slutningen.
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Brunell, V. (1979) Läsförståelse och sociokullurell bakgrund. Jyväskylä universitet. Rapporter från Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet 298. Brunell, V. (1983a) Dialekt och skola i Svenskfinland. Folkmålsstudier, 28, 173-80. Meddelanden från Föreningen för nordisk filologi. Abo Akademi. Brunell, V. (Red) (1983b) Dialekt, tvåspråkighet och modersmålsundervisning i den finlandssvenska grundskolan. Jyväskylä universitet. Rapporter från Pedagogiska forkningsinstitutet 331. Brunell, V. (1986) Ger grundskolan behörighet för studier i gymnasiet? S. Hämäläinen (red) Kehittyykö koulu? Tutkijoiden arviointeja peruskoulun ja lukion nykytilasta. Jyväskylä universitet. Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet. Publikationsserie B. Teori och praxis 1, 147-152. Jöreskog, K.G. & Sörbom, D. (1984) LISREL VI. Analysis of linear structural relationships by maximum likelihood, instrumental variables, and least square method. University of Uppsala. Department of statistics. Knubb-Mannien, G. (1982) Språksituationen bland eleverna i de svenskspråkiga skolorna. Jyväskylä universitet. Rapporter från Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet 326. Søndergaard, B. (1986) Sproglig-kulturel heterogeniteten pedagogisk problemstilling i den finlandssvenske skole. S.-E. Hansén, C. Lauren, U. Lauren, V. Brunell & B. Søndergaard, Boken om värt modersmål, 199-256. Helsingfors: Söderström.
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14 Language Use by French Immersion Graduates John De Vries Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario KIS 5B6, Canada. Abstract. In this paper, I shall describe the nature of immersion schoolinga system designed to provide children of a language majority with acceptable fluency in a minority language. While the immersion approach in Canada has been studied extensively from the linguistic, psychological and pedagogical points of view, little work has been done on the sociological side. Moreover, there is a marked scarcity of research on those children who have left the secondary school system. Thus, while we know that the immersion system has few, if any, dysfunctional effects on the intellectual and psychological development of pupils while they are in school, we know little about the durability of their language skills after graduation. This paper describes the main findings of a pilot survey conducted in 1985 among immersion graduates from the Ottawa Board of Education. Questions dealt with the respondents' language use at work, in education and in a variety of other language domains. Results suggest that, at least in the region in which the majority of the respondents now reside, the second language (French) is indeed used in a variety of situations by a high percentage of those responding. In the final section of the paper, some unresolved research issues are discussed. Introduction A uniquely Canadian development in bilingual education is a system commonly referred to as 'French immersion'. The characteristic features of this system are: (a) Pupils entering the programme (usually in kindergarten) have no knowledge of French (the target language). They are generally, though
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not exclusively, from households in which English is the language spoken most often. (b) Instruction is almost completely in French through grade three or four, when instruction in English is gradually introduced. In the higher grades, French and English are both used as languages of instruction. (c) Ideally, teachers are bilingual in English and French. In practice, one does find teachers whose main language is French, and whose command of English is far from perfect. Even these teachers, however, are able to communicate with the pupils in English. (d) In sum, there is ample support for both the majority language (English) and the target language (French). This model for bilingual education has been discussed widely (e.g. Swain, 1981; Churchill, 1986). Moreover, the approach has been held up, often erroneously, as a promising one with regard to the integration of the children of immigrants and guestworkers in the host society. The crucial differences between the Canadian 'French immersion' system and various programmes of 'bilingual education' for immigrant children are: (i) there is generally little support for the children's mother tongue, both in the school and in the community; (ii) teachers are usually unable to communicate with the pupils in the mother tongue of the pupils. This is, however, not the proper place to argue the relative merits of various bilingual education programmes. Much work has been done on the evaluation of French immersion programmes while the students are still enrolled in school (e.g. Barik & Swain, 1975; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Swain et al., 1981). While some research has been conducted recently on the lasting impact of this type of bilingual education on the students' linguistic abilities (e.g. Wesche et al., 1986), such work has so far concentrated on rather fine-grained measures of linguistic performance. Very little is known about the benefits of French immersion education for the students' access to jobs, nor about their language use, at work or in various other domains, after they have left school. While it is all very nice to assert that immersion schooling inflicts no damage on the intellectual or emotional development of the pupils, such claims are hardly sufficient to warrant the annual expenditure of many millions of dollars without some evidence that the programme produces either graduates who are better able to function in French as well as in English, or a larger proportion than would alternative approaches to bilingual education, or both. Surprisingly, virtually no hard evidence exists at this time. In the fall of 1985, we conducted a small survey of persons who graduated from secondary immersion programmes (i.e. grade 13) in the Ottawa Board of Education in the years 1980 through 1984. This study was sponsored by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL); its main
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purposes were to develop a measurement instrument for the study of Canadian immersion graduates, and to obtain some initial evidence about the patterns of language use of such graduates. This paper gives some of the main findings of that study, as well as some thoughts about further research needs. Methodology Data for the study were collected by means of short, structured telephone interviews. The questions were almost all of a factual nature and dealt with language use in several domains, both at the time of the study and during the period after the respondent's graduation from secondary school. An initial interview schedule was discussed with OCOL staff members and then revised. A pre-test on nine subjects resulted in some very slight changes to the schedule. Subjects were chosen from an initial list of 639 persons who graduated from French immersion programmes in the Ottawa Board of Education in the years 1980 through 1984. In addition to the names of graduates, the lists gave the most recent addresses known to the Board. Understandably, these addresses were in most cases the ones where respondents were living at the time of their graduation (in other words, the addresses where their parents were living at the time). Interviewers attempted to find telephone numbers for all 639 persons, then contacted every number they were able to locate. The disposition of cases is given in Table 1. Table 1 Disposition of cases Number out of service, or wrong telephone number 123 97 No response, or designated respondent not in Canada 405 Response obtained 14 Refusal 639 Given the relatively high residential mobility of the Canadian population, it should not be surprising that no valid telephone numbers could be obtained for 123 persons (recall that some of the information on addresses was about five years old at the time of the survey). Of the remaining 516 telephone numbers, 97 cases either gave no response (it is possible that these also represented telephone numbers no longer in service) or yielded the information that the potential respondent was not living in Canada. Of the remaining 419 cases, only 14 refused to be interviewed. The proportion responding was 405 out of 419, or 97%.
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A response rate of 97% is extremely unusual. Generally, this level of response indicates that respondents have strong feelings about the topic on which they are interviewed. Given the response patterns found, it is safe to assert that those feelings were, generally, quite positive. In short, our respondents appear to have positive memories about their immersion education and are quite willing to talk about it. Respondents were interviewed by telephone. After a short introduction they were asked to answer eighteen questions about their use of French in different domains during the period following their graduation from high school. They were also asked to give an overall evaluation of their immersion experience. Virtually all of the questions had fixed response categories; only the questions pertaining to their overall evaluation of immersion schooling, and the reasons for that response, were open-ended. The questions appear to have been very clear: very few persons answered 'don't know' or gave other diffuse responses. In a study such as this one, statistical generalisations may not be made without extreme caution. While it is the case that the response rate was quite high, and that the findings for those who responded was quite unambiguous, one should keep in mind that the data describe only two-thirds of the target population. These two-thirds are characterised by the simple fact that they could be located on the basis of addresses and telephone numbers which were between one and five years old. Moreover, they were residing in Canada. In contrast, the one-third which was not interviewed had either moved to another country or was untraceable in the relatively short period of time allocated to the project. This higher mobility may be associated with several of the characteristics which were the focus of this study, such as the degree to which French was used in various domains. Thus, generalisations, even to all French immersion graduates from the Ottawa Board of Education, cannot be made on the basis of these findings. The analysis which follows should be taken strictly as a description of the 405 persons who responded to the interviews. The patterns found in these findings may be taken to suggest hypotheses for further research, rather than to falsify or verify established hypotheses or theories. To reinforce the descriptive nature of the analysis, no statistical tests or significance levels will be reported. Findings: Univariate Patterns A rather large proportion of the respondents was a full-time or part-time student at the time of the interview. See Table 2. The majority of those studying was at university (283) while 28 respondents were attending a community college. Such proportions appear to be unusually high. Given the sample design (which dealt only with graduates from French
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Table 2 Student status Full-time student Part-time student Not a student
N 272 39 94 405
% 67 10 23 100
immersion programmes) we do not have data on post-secondary enrolments for persons who graduated from other high school programmes. The rather intensive exposure to education during the primary and secondary schooling of these respondents was not sustained to the same degree in the courses they took after graduating. Of the 311 respondents who were students (full-time or part-time), 80 were taking some courses taught in French (26% of all those who were students). While that is clearly a high percentage, only 11% of these 80 respondents mentioned that most of their courses were in French. An additional 4 persons stated that approximately equal numbers of their courses were taught in French and in English. The remaining 65 replied that most of their courses were taught in English. In short, only 15 persons out of the 311 post-secondary students among our respondents were taking at least half of their courses in French. It may be that the post-secondary institutions attended by these respondents (primarily, though not exclusively, in the National Capital Region) do not provide adequate opportunities for the selection of appropriate courses taught in French. Given the fact that we did not ask the respondents at which university or college they were studying such an inference is tenuous only. Obviously, a study of the supply of and demand for university and community college courses taught in French will be necessary. Many respondents had a job at the time of the study. Table 3 provides the breakdown. Of the 254 respondents with a job, many did use French at work, at least some of the time. The details are given in Table 4. Such numbers may, of course, be interpreted in different ways. Since we do not have a 'benchmark' against which this distribution may be compared, we could assert that nearly two-thirds of the respondents with a job used French only occasionally or never at all at work. On the other hand (in the spirit of 'half full, half empty') it is the case that over one-third of the respondents with a job was using French at least half of the time. The latter approach carries more weight when we consider that virtually all of the respondents had English as a mother tongue. Thus, it seems fair to state that a fair proportion of these immersion graduates was using French at work (at least among those who, indeed, had
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Table 3 Employment status of respondents A job only Students, also holding a job Students without a job Unemployed
89 156 154 6 405
Table 4 Use of French at work by respondents with a job % N 2 Always 4 17 Often 42 18 About half of the time 43 42 Occasionally 102 22 54 Never 101 245 a job at the time of the interview). Only a small proportion of those with a job never used French at work. A subsequent set of questions focussed on the situations in which those with a job would use French at work. Only 46 (less than 20% of those with a job) used French with their supervisor. A much larger number used French with other employees (113, or nearly half of those with a job). The most common situation in which French was used at work was with customers. 155 respondents mentioned that they used French at least occasionally with members of the public (63% of those with a job). The situations mentioned above seem to have exhausted the most common occasions pretty well: probing of respondents yielded only 26 additional responses, mostly of a general nature ('people', 'the public', 'government agencies'). Obviously, the term 'customer' is somewhat inappropriate for persons in some occupations, such as nursing or teaching. Overall, it appears that French usage at work, for these respondents, was most common when they were interacting with 'the public'. It should be noted that this rather common use of French with the public may be unique to the National Capital Region. Clearly, the region itself has sizeable French-speaking and English-speaking populations. Most of the jobs which involve contacts with members of the general population (be it as a waiter in a downtown restaurant or as a nurse in a hospital) will put the occupants in contact with members of both language communities. Such bilingual markets may not be present outside a small number of regions in
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the country (Northern New Brunswick, the Montreal Metropolitan Area, the Outaouais, Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario). Writing in French was not a common component of the job: 36 respondents replied that they had to write in French, while another 13 wrote in French 'very rarely'. The remaining 141 respondents stated that they did not have to write in French. It is, of course, possible that many of these were in jobs which required no writing at all. Our occupational breakdowns are not sufficiently detailed for further analyses to be carried out. The linkage between the ability to speak French and access to the job market showed itself quite clearly in a question about summer jobs (question 11). Only 89 respondents reported having had a summer job (perhaps more than one) in which French was not used at all. Another 9 respondents had never had a summer job. The great majority of the respondents replied that they had used French on their summer job (262), an additional 39 said that French was used sometimes, while 5 persons mentioned that they had used French on some summer jobs, but not on others. The picture painted so far was further reinforced by the answers to a question about the use of French in any previous full-time or part-time jobs (in other words, excluding current jobs as well as all summer jobs). Only 66 persons said that they had not had any other job. Of the remaining 349, a little over one-third (124) had not used French in those jobs. About half (177) said 'yes', while the rest was divided over 'sometimes' (29), 'some jobs yes, some jobs no' (8) and 'other' (1). The final sequence of questions dealt with the degree to which respondents used French in various social settings. For ease of response they were asked to indicate whether French was used 'often', 'sometimes' or 'never'. Such categories do not present perfectly reliable stimuli, of course. A condition categorised by one person as 'often' may be regarded as representing 'sometimes' by someone else. The category 'never' is probably the most reliable one. The following patterns show up in the data: (a) Talking with your family. Two-thirds of the respondents never used French with the members of their family. Only 16 persons (4%) used French 'often', while 119 (29%) responded that they sometimes spoke French with family members. Given the characteristics of the study population (high school graduates whose main language was not French), it is safe to infer that the language used most often by members of their family would not be French either. The relatively low level of use of French in this domain should, therefore, not be surprising. (b) Reading French was considerably more common: 82 persons (20%) responded that they never read French, 40 (10%) read French 'often', the majority (283 or 70%) 'sometimes'. It is possible that the reading
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of French is connected with the respondent's current job or schooling. Since we did not ask what type of material was read in French, this connection cannot be supported empirically. (c) Travel involved a fair amount of French: 103 persons (25%) used it 'often', another 253 (62%) 'sometimes'. The interview schedule did not contain further questions about destinations or times of travel. Given the proximity of the province of Quebec to the original residences of these respondents, 'travel' may well have been short visits to Montreal or to the ski slopes. Such opportunities may not have been as convenient for immersion graduates from other parts of the country. (d) Conversations with friends involved some use of French: 136 respondents (35%) never used French with other friends, 224 (55%) 'sometimes' and 45 (11%) 'often'. Given that many of the respondents may have had friends who graduated from the same immersion programme, it is quite conceivable that there was ample opportunity for them to speak French with their friends if they so desired. The data suggest that such opportunities were, indeed, used to some degree. (e) Using radio or television showed a comparable pattern: 107 (26%) never used French, 258 (64%) used it 'sometimes', 40 (10%) 'often'. (f) Films and plays present an interesting contrast. Overall, these cultural activities demand a greater understanding of the spoken language than do radio and television. Almost half of the respondents (197) never saw a film or play in French, 192 (47%) 'sometimes', only 16 (4%) 'often'. Such low usage of French on these cultural occasions cannot be explained by the lack of opportunities. It may be that the obviously more complex applications of the second language present more serious obstacles than do the less involved forms used on radio and television. (g) Popular music was the least attractive of the cultural media for the use of French. To some degree, the low appeal of French is, of course, a function of the supply: most radio stations appear to play popular music with texts in English. Only 11 respondents (3%) listened to French popular music 'often', another 106 (26%) 'sometimes', the great majority (288 or 71%) never. It is, of course, possible that some of these 288 respondents never listened to popular music at all. In a somewhat more cynical vein, it might be argued that the language used in popular music is immaterial in any case. (h) Neighbours were the target of the French spoken by our respondents on rare occasions only. Only 17 (4%) 'often' spoke French with neighbours, 97 (24%) 'sometimes', the majority (291 or 72%) never. Perhaps many of these respondents never talk to their neighbours at all.
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We can summarise the use of French in these settings by sorting them by descending proportions responding 'often' (see Table 5). If we had sorted the categories on the basis of the number of respondents indicating that they never used French in that setting, a slightly different order would have emerged. Travel would still have been the most common one; the sequence would have been different for the next three categories (friends, reading, radio), next would have come films and plays, last would be neighbours, family and popular music (note that the response patterns for these last three categories are very similar to each other). Table 5 Use of French in social settings Often Sometimes Never 103 253 49 Travel 45 224 136 Friends 40 283 82 Reading 40 258 107 Radio, television 17 97 291 Neighbours 16 192 197 Films, plays 16 119 270 Family 11 106 288 Popular music The list of settings given above seems to cover virtually all of the situations in which one could use French (except work and education, which were addressed in earlier questions). We added to the sequence one open-ended question about other situations in which the respondents used French. A little over half of them (213, or 53%) did not volunteer any additional information. The remaining responses fell into nine categories. Most frequently mentioned were: ¾ shopping, mentioned by 52 respondents; ¾ education, mentioned by 48 respondents; ¾ asking directions, mentioned by 25 respondents. As a measure of overall evaluation, we asked the respondents whether their immersion schooling had been good for them, bad for them or did not make any difference. Obviously, the last response category must have been hard to evaluate for respondents, since no comparisons could be made. As it turns out, the great majority (336 or 83%) rated the experience as good, only 3 persons as bad, while 66 (16%) felt that it made no difference.
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One way to assess somewhat more objectively whether the immersion experience made a difference would be to study a control group which graduated from a comparable English-medium secondary school programme. In such a research design, the educational and occupational careers of the two groups of subjects could be compared. Those who gave a positive evaluation of their educational experience were asked what their reasons were. Respondents were classified by the main reason they supplied. To facilitate the analysis, we grouped the reasons given into two major categories: instrumental and integrative. An evaluation in instrumental terms is linked to relatively concrete results, e.g. getting a job or acquiring specific skills. Integrative reasons deal with more abstract or diffuse considerations, such as meeting other people or appreciating a different culture. A summary is given in Table 6. One could quibble about the proper classification of 'study' and 'other', but it is, nevertheless, clear that most of the respondents gave integrative reasons for their positive evaluation of the immersion experience. This pattern is somewhat peculiarkeep in mind that the most common area in which these respondents used French was at work (an instrumental reason). With regard Table 6 Reasons given for evaluating immersion experience as 'good' Instrumental Integrative 94 Job opportunities 62 Meet French speaking people 43 Unique skills 39 Communicate with French friends 41 Business contacts 5 Understand French culture 23 Travel 19 Study/education 10 Other ___ ___ 230 106 Table 7 Did language training help in the job market? % N 304 75 Yes 74 18 No 23 6 No job 2 0.5 Other 2 0.5 Undecided 405 100
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to the utility of immersion schooling for entry into the labour market, we asked whether the respondents felt that their langugae training helped them in the job market. The findings are given in Table 7. Three-quarters of all respondents said 'yes'. If we exclude those who did not have a job (and for whom the question was, therefore, immaterial) the proportion giving a positive response increases to 80%. Among the good things in life, immersion education (as evaluated by those who received it) appears to rate as high as, or perhaps higher than, apple pie or motherhood! Findings: More Detailed Analysis We begin the bivariate and multivariate analysis of these data by focussing on this overall evaluation of the utility of immersion schooling for the job market. Detailed and fine-grained analyses are well-nigh impossible in a survey with only 400 respondents; as a consequence, findings and insights in this segment should be taken as suggestive. A larger study will be required to pursue some of these points in greater detail. In an attempt to establish determinants of the positive evaluation, we cross-tabulated the responses to this question with the sex and year of graduation of the respondents. For the sake of simplicity, Table 8 reports the percentages saying 'yes' to the question on 'job market utility'. Table 8 Percentage giving positive evaluation, by sex and year of graduation 1984 1980 1981 1982 1983 69 70 50 63 79 Male 73 83 77 82 80 Female 71 78 68 73 79 Total The data show that, overall, females are more likely to evaluate their language training positively than are their male counterparts. The difference is negligible for those who graduated in 1980 and in 1984, but is fairly large for the remaining years. The data in Table 8 do not indicate any trend over time: those who graduated in the earliest years were as likely to give a positive reply as were those who graduated more recently. A somewhat different approach leads us to question whether the evaluated utility of the language training is in any way associated with the use of French at work. One would expect that those who use a fair amount of French on the job might be more inclined to think positively about their
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experience than those who use little or no French at work. For this analysis, we grouped together those who used French 'always', 'most of the time', and 'about half of the time' at work. The combined category thus deals with respondents who use French at least half of the time on their job. Table 9 gives the percentages with a positive response, by language use at work. In lower panels of the table, those responses are further broken down by sex of respondent and by year of graduation. The numbers on which these percentages are based are very small (e.g. the number never using French at work, graduated in 1984, was only 9). The percentages in Table 9 do, however, suggest a number of interesting patterns. There appears to be an overall association between the evaluated utility of the immersion schooling for the job market and the use of French at work: 93% of those who used French at least half of the time had a positive evaluation, compared with 74% of the occasional users and 57% of those who never used French at work. The pattern appears to hold when we control for sex. It looks, incidentally, as though the somewhat lower evaluation by males is associated with rather infrequent use of French at work: for the most frequent users, there is no difference between males and females. The difference is 11% for those who use French occasionally, 24% for those who never use French at work. The relation appears to hold also for the different graduating classes, with the most pronounced trends for 1980, 1981 and 1983. One issue which cannot be resolved on the basis of these data is the one of causality. We could describe two scenarios, both of which match the data as summarised in Tables 8 and 9. The first one postulates that those Table 9 Percentage giving positive evaluation, by frequency of French use at work, by sex and year of graduation Language use at work At least half of the Occasionally Never time 93 74 57 Overall 96 67 43 Males 92 78 67 Females 100 82 44 1980 95 81 40 1981 88 87 69 1982 95 66 46 1983 89 59 89 1984
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respondents who have a positive evaluation of the utility of their language training are more favourably disposed to the use of French on their job. Such a disposition would lead them to use French in a variety of work situations, even when they could have used English. The second scenario assumes that respondents who are required or expected to use a fair amount of French at work will have a higher appreciation for the training they received than those who do not need to speak French at work. The data do not enable us to select either explanation as the more tenable one. Unfortunately, the crucial information required (time ordering) is not available in this study. The data in Table 9 have been set up to illustrate the tenability of the latter scenario (with 'perceived utility' as the dependent variable). Table 10 presents, briefly, the percentages in support of the former explanation (with language use at work as the dependent variable). Table 10 Percentage of respondents using French at least half of the time at work, by sex and evaluation of immersion experience Females Males 40 46 Positive 4 17 Not positive N.B.: Respondents without a job excluded from this table A second aspect to be explored deals with the various indicators of language use in domains other than work or schooling. Table 5 indicated that the various social settings were occasions for the use of French by respondents in varying degrees. One relatively simple approach taken was to summarise the information on the eight separate indicators by means of a summated score. We combined the responses 'often' and 'sometimes' (this new category obviously indicated at least some use of French) and constructed an index in which every positive mention was counted. In other words, our French usage index has a range from 0 (indicating that the respondent did not use French in any of the eight different settings) to 8 (indicating that the respondent used French at least sometimes in each of the settings mentioned). While the distribution of the separate items (as given in Table 5) may have given the impression that these respondents did not often use French, the final distribution of index values tells a different story. Table 11 provides some data on the distribution of the French usage index, cross-classified with selected other variables. Overall, these respondents did use French in several domains. Of the total number of respondents, only 5% used
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French in at most one domain; only 5 persons responded that they never used French in any of the eight settings. The median value was 5. In other words, half of these respondents used French 'ever' in five or more of the eight settings for which information was collected. Table 11 shows that the use of French in these eight settings did not differ between males and females. This is in some contrast to the data in Table 10, which showed that females were somewhat more likely than males to speak French 'at least half of the time' at work. It may be that the female respondents are more prone than are males to get jobs where French must be used. Joint consideration of Tables 10 and 11 suggests that such (possible) differences in work environments do not carry over to other social settings. Table 11 also does not show any trends over time. The percentage distributions (based on fairly small frequencies) show no systematic variations. In other words, there appears not to be a 'decay' factor, in which graduates of these immersion programmes gradually lose their fluency in French. The bottom line in Table 11, which gives averages for the various categories, supports the notion that this index value is not associated with sex or with year of graduation. Analyses which show no associations between variables are generally considered to be uninformative and not interesting. While one may wish to debate that position, it is the case that the conclusions one may draw from Table 11 are not very constructive. There are, however, other aspects of the survey which are associated with the French language use index. Table 11 Index of French usage, cross-classified with sex and year of graduation Sex (%) Year of graduation (%) Index value N % Male Female 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 0 5 1 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 1 14 4 3 4 1 0 5 4 6 2 27 7 8 6 6 9 11 5 5 3 71 18 15 19 17 17 18 16 19 4 73 18 17 18 14 22 18 16 20 5 99 24 24 25 29 31 18 25 21 6 71 18 19 17 19 8 20 19 20 7 34 8 8 8 9 9 6 8 10 8 11 3 2 3 6 2 3 3 1 405 101 99 100 101 101 99 99 102 Total 4.5 4.4 4.5 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.5 Average
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Given the small number of cases, we have grouped the values of the French use index into three categories: ¾ low (original values 0 through 3); ¾ medium (values 4 and 5); ¾ high (original values 6 through 8). This gives us, overall, a good trichotomy with approximately 30, 40 and 30 per cent of the cases in the three categories. In Table 12, the cross-classification of this grouped variable with several other variables is given. The patterns shown in this table suggest some important results. There appears to be an association between the 'general' use of French (as measured by our French language use index) and the use of French in the specific domains of schooling and work. Full-time students are more likely to use French than part-time students; those who are not studying are the Table 12 Percentage distribution of French language use index by several other variables Variable Category Percentage Low Medium High Average 42 32 4.6 Full-time student 26 36 33 4.3 (1) Student status Part-time student 31 36 46 18 4.2 Not a student 18 46 36 4.9 Yes (2) Taking courses in French 30 40 30 4.4 No 21 44 35 4.9 At least half of (3) Use of French at the time work 32 47 21 4.3 Occasionally 46 37 17 3.8 Never 24 42 34 4.7 Yes (4) Has language training helped in labour market? 43 44 14 3.9 No, other 20 42 37 4.9 Yes (5) Use of French in summer job 45 44 11 3.7 No 44 41 15 3.9 Other responses 26 43 32 4.7 Good (6) Overall effect of immersion schooling 44 44 12 3.7 No difference
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least likely to use French. Moreover, those who are taking at least some courses in French are more likely to use the language in other settings than are those who are not taking any of their courses in French. There is a similar covariation between the use of French at work and the overall usage in other settings: most likely to use French are those who speak French at least half of the time at work and those who used French in their summer jobs. Finally, we note again the association between French language use and the respondent's evaluation of the immersion experience: most likely to use French are those who regarded their language training as helpful in entering the labour market, and those who felt that their immersion schooling had been good for them, rather than indifferent. We are again (and still) unable to sort out the causal linkage between these perceptions of past educational experience and current language behaviour. It may be that a positive evaluation leads to increased language use by choice (most of the settings indicated by the index are voluntary ones, where a person may choose to use English rather than French). Alternatively, relatively high use of French may have led to a sense of appreciation for the educational experience. As a last analysis, we constructed an implicational scale or Guttman scale from four of the eight items. The four items, which scale acceptably, were: (i) speaking French with neighbours (highest); (ii) speaking French with friends; (iii) reading French; (iv) using French while travelling (lowest). The implication scale is constructed in such a way that respondents who answered 'yes' to the highest-ranked item ('neighbours') would also answer positively to the three items ranked below it. Similarly, those answering 'yes' to the second ranked item would also answer positively to the items ranked below it. There are, of course, some cases which do not fit neatly into the correct scale types. As Guttman scales go, the four-item scale constructed behaved quite respectably. In total, 312 respondents fit properly in the scale types (77%); this gave a coefficient of scalability of 0.94. General wisdom advises that implicational scales should not be used if their scalability falls below 0.90. As it turns out, the simple cross-classification of this scale with the set of variables we examined in Tables 10 and 11 did not yield any new information. However, a useful feature of these implicational scales is that we can efficiently consider the effects of all of the items contained in the scale on a dependent variable. In effect, we are able to look at four independent variables simultaneously. When the scale was cross-tabulated with the information on language use at work, several interesting contrasts
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Table 13 Cross-classification of language use at work with Guttman-scale items French language used at work Percentage using French At least half of OccasionallyNever thetime 89 91 91 On travels 89 79 72 Reading 80 64 48 With friends 38 24 13 With neighbours 36 18 9 With friends as well as neighbours 45 28 19 With neighbours, given friends 38 27 15 With neighbours, given reading showed up. Consider Table 13. The first four rows of this table give the simple propensities of using French as a function of the language use at work. To illustrate: the first line shows that 89% of those who use French at work most frequently have used French on their travels, in comparison with 91% of those who use French occasionally or never at work. There is, obviously, no relation between French use at work and on trips. The next three lines show that reading French is at least somewhat related to the use of French at workpossibly the reading is associated with the respondent's job. Most clearly associated are the use of French with friends and with neighbours. It appears that those working most obviously in French are interacting with friends who are also able to use French. Moreover, such persons appear to live in areas where neighbours are also likely to use French. The last three lines in Table 13 go even further in examining the association between language use at work and these separate items. The fifth line gives the percentage which uses French with neighbours as well as with friends. We note a sharp drop, from 36% through 18% to 9%, in obvious and strong association with language use at work. The last two lines give conditional probabilities of using French with neighbours, given that French is spoken with friends, and given that the respondent reads materials in French. Especially the former is, again, illustrative. To translate these percentages in words: for those respondents who use French at least half of the time at work, almost half of those who speak French with their friends also speak French with their neighbours (45%). The corresponding figure for those who never use French at work is 19%. Thus, it appears that using French at work is associated with the language characteristics of one's friends as well as with those of one's residential environment.
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A similar analysis by sex of the respondents shows that females are more likely than males to use French in their travels, in reading and with friends (in all three cases, female responses are about 6% higher than the corresponding male responses). However, males are slightly more likely to use French with neighbours than are females. However, the joint proportions (using French with neighbours as well as with friends) are equal for males and females, while the conditional proportion of using French with neighbours given that French is used with friends is slightly higher for males than for females. These percentages are summarised in Table 14. It may be that respondents of both genders are equally likely to interact in French-speaking environments (as indicated by the 24% on line 5), but that women are, in addition, more likely than men to use French in travelling and reading. Finally, we consider the relationship between the respondent's evaluation of their language training for the labour market and the individual scale items. Consider Table 15. We saw earlier that language use at work was associated with the evaluation of the immersion experience. This evaluation seems to be associated with several, but not all, of the scale items. The effect is most pronounced with regard to the use of French with friends, Table 14 Cross-classification of sex of respondent with Guttman-scale items French Percentage using French Males 84 90 On travels 76 82 Reading 62 69 With friends 29 27 With neighbours 24 24 With friends and neighbours 38 34 With neighbours, given friends Table 15 Cross-classification of evaluation of language training with Guttman-scale items Percentage using French Evaluation Positive No, other 90 82 On travels 80 78 Reading 72 52 With friends 31 21 With neighbours 29 17 With friends and neighbours 36 32 With neighbours, given friends
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somewhat less with regard to speaking French with neighbours or while travelling. No effect is observable on the tendency to read French. There is a marked difference between the two response categories in the joint proportion using French with friends as well as neighbours; those with a positive evaluation are almost twice as likely to speak French with both groups than are the others. The crucial difference appears to lie in the use of French with friends: the conditional proportions are almost equal (in other words, for both response categories there are approximately identical proportions, among those who speak French with their friends, who speak French with their neighbours). Conclusions It is obviously difficult to generalise from this relatively limited pilot study of graduates from one region of the country to all persons graduating from immersion programmes. The sample was small; a more severe limitation was that the respondents all grew up in a part of Canada in which there is high demand for bilingual employees. In other words, students leaving high school with relatively high degrees of fluency in French as well as English had many opportunities for the use of both languages in the labour market, as well as in other public domains. Aside from the Montreal metropolitan area, no other region in the country offers such broad opportunities for the use of two languages. As such, these data cannot really be used as a foundation for a national language policy. At best, they suggest that, at least in regions containing two viable language communities, French immersion has a utility for graduates finding employment. More generally, it is likely that long-term bilingualism may be sustained if bilinguals are given the opportunity to use their second language in a variety of settings. It is obviously even more difficult to generalise from this very restricted setting to other bilingual situations, either among regional minorities or among immigrants and guest workers. An essential requirement for the success of any bilingual education programme appears to be that pupils are given competent instruction in two languages, their mother tongue as well as the target language. Especially in the lower grades, bilingual instructors apparently are an essential ingredient. Both during the children's schooling and after they leave school, opportunities for meaningful use of both languages are important ingredients for the development and maintenance of fluency in the two languages. Note that these last points are going well beyond the results of our little study, although its findings are consistent with them; on the other hand, these points are in accord with current wisdom on bilingual education. If there were any tenability in these
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generalisations, they would have far-reaching consequences for those policies aiming at the protection of minorities and the integration of immigrants and their children. References Barik, H.C. & Swain, M. (1975) Three-year evaluation of a large scale early grade French immersion program: the Ottawa study. Language Learning, 25, 1-30. Churchill, S . (1986) The Education of Linguistic and Cultural Minorities in the OECD Countries: Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Lambert, W.E. & Tucker, G.R. (1972) Bilingual Education of Children: the St. Lambert Experiment: Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. Swain, M. (1981) Bilingual education for majority and minority children. Studia Linguistica, 35, 15-32. Swain, M., Lapkin, S. & Andrews, C. (1981) Early French immersion later on. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 2, 1-23. Wesche, M., Morrison, F., Pawley, C. & Ready, D. (1986) Post-secondary Follow-up of Former French Immersion Students in the Ottawa Area. Ottawa: University of Ottawa, Centre for Second Language Learning.
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15 Should the French-Canadian Minorities Open Their Schools to the Children of the Anglophone Majority? Raymond Mougeon and Édouard Beniak Centre for Franco-Ontarian Studies, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S V6, Canada. Abstract. When the status of the minority language of an officially bilingual country undergoes positive changes, it is not unusual to observe members of the majority language group showing an interest in the institutions of the minority, such as its schools. Just such a development is currently taking place between Canada's two official language groups. The instrumental value of French has increased significantly since the late 1960s as a result of important political decisions by both the federal and provincial governments. Due to the relative failure of French immersion education to turn out native-like bilinguals, the English-speaking majority is coming to regard the schools of the French-speaking minority as a better alternative. The present paper focusses specifically on the province of Ontario and argues that the long-term survival of French in this province is still too uncertain for the Franco-Ontarian minority to be taking the gamble of an open-door educational policy toward the English-speaking majority. Indeed, an objective assessment of the potential positive versus negative effects of such a policy suggests that the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages. Introduction In officially bilingual or multilingual countries where one language clearly outranks the other(s) in prestige and instrumental value, members of the
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dominant linguistic community, as a rule, do not show any real interest in learning the subordinate language(s). In contrast, in countries whose official languages do not have a sharply differentiated status or whose status is undergoing significant changes, it is possible to observe a crossover phenomenon between the school systems of the different language groups, i.e. one community seeking access to the schools of the other, each community believing it is to its advantage to learn the other's language. Thus in the province of Québec, as the instrumental value of French started to rise significantly (late 1960s), it was possible to observe a trend among the once socio-economically dominant Anglophone community to take steps to improve the teaching of French in its schools (e.g. the development of French language immersion) or alternatively to seek access to the schools of the Francophone majority, just as certain French Québeckers had been and were still sending their children to English language schools (Frasure-Smith, Lambert & Taylor, 1975). 1 Similarly in bilingual Brussels, the schools of the once downtrodden Flemish-speaking minority are now attracting not only assimilated Flemish who in the past would have been sent to French language schools but also French-speaking children of Walloon extraction, a sure sign that Flemish is no longer the low status language that it once was. In Canada, one can now also observe outside the province of Québec and notably in Ontario, both a rise in the popularity of French language immersion among the Anglophone community and a trend for some members of this community to seek access to the schools of the Francophone minority. This dual phenomenon can be linked to a series of significant political measures taken over the last twenty years or so by the Canadian and Ontarian governments to provide services in both English and French in the agencies and ministries under their jurisdiction. These measures brought about the creation of an increasing number of more lucrative bilingual positions (i.e. requiring a knowledge of both official languages) which has had the effect of boosting the instrumental value of French both in Ontario and Canada as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to try to show that if Anglo-Ontarians can feel justified in seeking access to the schools of the Francophone minority, it is also possible, if one is concerned about the long-term survival of French in Ontario, to make a case for limiting (if not barring) such access. Indeed, the Franco-Ontarian community is still undergoing erosion through assimilation, hence the necessity of preserving and developing autonomous French medium institutions to turn the assimilation clock back. Let us first provide some background information on the Franco-Ontarian community and its school system, as well as explanations for why and how the Anglophone community of Ontario would like to have access to the schools of the Francophone minority.
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Ontario's Francophone Community There are about 475,000 individuals of French mother tongue in Ontario. As such they constitute in absolute numbers the largest French-speaking community outside Québec. However since Ontario is the most populated of the ten Canadian provinces (over 8,500,000), Franco-Ontarians only make up a small minority (less than 6%). Statistics from the last two national censuses (1971 and 1981) revealed that a non-negligible proportion of French mother tongue Ontarians have given up the use of French at home (27% in 1971 and 34% in 1981). 2 The somewhat lower socio-economic status of Franco-Ontarians (Ontario's Francophone community is primarily the result of emigration from poor rural regions of Québec), their demographic weakness and up until recently, the lack of institutional support for French, each explains in part the processes of shift to English revealed by the national censuses. From the late 1960s to the present, however, the Ontario government has taken a series of political measures which amount to a recognition of the special status of French in Ontario and which may contribute to its maintenance. The most significant of these measures was the legalisation in 1968 of French medium instruction in Ontario's public schools. This measure brought about a dramatic expansion of the system of French language elementary and secondary schools already in place then. As a result most Franco-Ontarians can now, if they so wish, enrol their offspring in elementary or secondary schools which function entirely through the medium of French. At the post-secondary level, though, Franco-Ontarian students can only enrol in bilingual universities (e.g. the University of Ottawa) which do not offer French medium courses in all subject matters. Not all of the children who are sent to Ontario's French medium schools, however, come from homes where French only is used. In fact, in the French language schools located in predominantly Anglophone localities, children from bilingual homes or mainly English-speaking homes are in the majority. Most of these children are the offspring of linguistically mixed couples, a phenomenon which underscores the fact that in English Canada exogamy plays a major role in the shift to English at home among Francophone minorities (Castonguay, 1979). Among the other measures which were taken and which may favour the maintenance of French in Ontario, one can mention the establishment of French language media (e.g. expansion of the French CBC Radio and Television network, creation of a French medium educational TV channel and the provision of services in French by several institutions under provincial jurisdiction, e.g. courts of justice, hospitals, etc.). It is probably too early to attempt to determine what impact these measures are having on the linguistic assimilation of Franco-Ontarians.3 One can say, however, that Ontario's Francophone minority is at a crucial stage in its efforts to have the provincial government take steps favourable to the
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maintenance of French. Should the Ontario government continue to expand its policy of providing services in French in its agencies and ministries as well as allow the creation of autonomous French language institutions (e.g. French language universities, French language school boards), it is not inconceivable that one may see in the future a slowing down and even perhaps a cessation of the processes of English language shift which have been eroding Ontario's French language community. (For more information regarding the French-speaking population of Ontario, see Mougeon & Heller, 1986). Anglo-Ontarian Reactions to Changes in the Status of French As we have already pointed out, in the late 1960s and early 1970s Canada's English majority took major steps to improve the teaching of French in its schools. The best known of these steps is French language immersion, a form of bilingual education which was originally started in Québec and which later spread to the rest of Canada and became most popular in Ontario. French immersion is a form of schooling which involves the use of French as a medium of instruction in varying proportions at the elementary and/or secondary levels. It was initially believed that French immersion could 'produce' students with native-like proficiency in French. Over the years, however, it has become gradually clear that immersion cannot achieve this ideal goal. Students who graduate from immersion programmes reach an advanced (rather than native-like) level of proficiency in French (Harley, 1984). This no doubt is due to the fact that immersion students are not entirely schooled in French and have few opportunities to hear and use French outside the classroom. This relative failure of French immersion has prompted education specialists to try to improve the teaching of French in immersion programmes and/or to identify supplementary or alternative forms of French medium instruction. Many of these solutions involve in one way or another the schools of Ontario's Francophone minority. We shall examine them in this section. One solution recently adopted by immersion specialists consists in the placement of English-speaking students in immersion schools, i.e. schools which in addition to using French as a medium of instruction promote the use of French outside the classroom. Indeed, students enrolled in immersion schools have been found to be more proficient in French than students placed in 'regular' immersion programmes housed in English-language schools. On the basis of this finding, Lapkin & Cummins (1983) recently expressed the opinion that the placement of immersion programmes in Ontario's minority French language schools would be an even better and cost effective alternative. At the same time, however, they also recognised that such a measure could prove to be sensitive, since Franco-Ontarian parents could legitimately fear that it might
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have an accelerating effect on the anglicisation of Franco-Ontarian students (see further). Yet certain French language schools have already opened their doors to immersion programmes. They have done so for at least two reasons. One is that many of Ontario's French language schools are administered by school boards where Francophones are largely outnumbered by Anglophones and hence lack decision power (see note 3). The other is that French language schools are more affected by the consequences of declining enrolment than English-language schools. By allowing an immersion programme in, some French language schools may be in a better position to offer special programmes or, more crucially, may have a better chance for survival. An alternative to French immersion which is actively pursued by certain English-speaking parents in Ontario consists in enrolling their children in a French language school. Initially English-speaking parents may have considered this solution due to a shortage of immersion programmes. Since immersion programmes have now become much more widely available it is reasonable to assume that it is the search for a better alternative to French immersion which motivates these parents. A recent study by Heller (to appear) indicates that several of these Anglo-Ontarian parents consider that they have an unquestionable right of access to the French language schools and thus find it hard to understand why some Franco-Ontarian parents may want to limit such access. Another improvement which has been proposed is that immersion students be enrolled in French language schools after they graduate from immersion programmes. Thus early immersion students could enrol in the French language secondary schools and late immersion students could enrol in the French language programmes of Ontario post-secondary bilingual establishments. This latter approach has been recently endorsed by Ontario's Minister of Colleges and Universities, who has committed himself to expanding French language post-secondary education not only because this is highly desirable for Franco-Ontarians but also because it will be profitable for bilingual Anglo-Ontarian students (Sorbara, 1987). The other alternative consists in the provision of French language courses in Ontario's English language universities. Finally, since both immersion programmes and French language schools as a whole still lack pedagogical materials, it is not uncommon to hear educators advocating that immersion and French language school specialists join forces in the production of teaching materials. Are These Solutions in the Best Interest of Ontario's French Language Schools? As we pointed out earlier, Ontario's French language schools not only include students from French-speaking homes but also students from bilingual homes and even students whose home language is English. Given this, it is
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logical to fear that allowing Anglo-Ontarian parents who seek a superior form of immersion to enrol their offspring in French language schools or, even, allowing whole immersion programmes into French language schools, will add to the problems associated with the students from English-speaking homes who are already present in those schools and are weaker in French than in English. For instance, it may appear that such measures will increase the preference for communication in English which is already observable among Franco-Ontarian students and which many a Franco-Ontarian educator attributes to the presence of Englishdominant students in the schools. Furthermore, if such measures are taken in French language schools where there are already high proportions of English-dominant students, French-dominant students are likely to feel that they are the odd ones out and consequently feel under pressure to lose their French-dominant ethnolinguistic identity (Heller, 1986). Such measures are also likely to have negative repercussions on the mastery of French by Franco-Ontarian students, since, on the one hand, as we have just pointed out, they will bring about an increased preference for communication in English among these students and, on the other hand, they will mean an increased exposure to non-native models of French at school. 4 Negative repercussions can also be feared as regards achievement in other subjects than French. A recent survey (Desjarlais et al., 1980) revealed that in those French language schools where English-dominant students are in the majority, Franco-Ontarian teachers have to slow down and simplify their French as well as some of their pedagogical activities so as not to leave these students behind. Franco-Ontarian educators believe that as a result, the other students do not learn as much or as fast as they could. Such belief, however, has yet to be substantiated by experimental research. Be that as it may, allowing immersion programmes or Anglophone students into such schools is likely to be perceived as making matters even worse. A negative impact on the transmission of French-Canadian cultural values can also be feared. Once again, the survey by Desjarlais et al. (1980) revealed that the presence of too large a proportion of English-dominant students in a French language school makes it more difficult to transmit the Franco-Ontarian cultural heritage. Again, it makes sense to surmise that letting Anglophone students or immersion programmes into Ontario's French language schools will further hamper the latter's role as cultural transmitters. Finally, allowing immersion programmes into French language schools could very well mean that the school staff would no longer be able to communicate exclusively in French with the parents. Not many of the immersion students' parents are fluent in French. It would be unreasonable to impose communication in French on them. Some immersion students who are not very strong in French may also expect to be spoken to in English by the school staff. In any
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case, all of this may mean a further erosion of the principle of French language schooling. 5 Can any positive effects be expected if French language schools allow immersion programmes or individual Anglophone students in? It is quite possible that such measures would have a beneficial effect on the English language proficiency of FrancoOntarian students. French-dominant Franco-Ontarian students already learn much English from their English-dominant peers. Allowing more English-dominant peers into the French language schools could therefore further improve the English language competence of Franco-Ontarian students. It remains to be seen, however, to what extent Franco-Ontarian students need to upgrade their English language skills. Only a few studies have been devoted to this issue (Desjarlais & Carrier, 1975; Mougeon & Hébrard, 1975). They show that in predominantly English-speaking localities, Franco-Ontarian students do not have such a need, since toward the end of secondary school they reach levels of English language proficiency which are similar to those attained by same-age Anglophone students. This suggests that in such milieux providing Franco-Ontarian students with more opportunities to use English with members of their peer group may be at the expense of their French language proficiency. In contrast, in milieux where Francophones make up a more sizeable proportion of the local population (especially where they are in the majority), Franco-Ontarian students do not always reach advanced levels of English proficiency and therefore could profitably improve their knowledge of this language. There may also be positive effects on the viability of French language schools. For instance, French language schools which have an insufficient enrolment to be entitled to a full range of services (e.g. library, transportation, consultants) or which are administered by predominantly Anglophone school boards who do not give them full share of such services, may expect to be better treated if they allow an immersion programme in. Finally, in the most extreme cases certain French language schools with markedly low enrolment may only escape closure if they let an immersion programme in. It should be pointed out, however, that Ontario's Education Act now not only guarantees Francophones a right to be educated in French but also to have equal access to a full range of educational services. Therefore, it can be expected or hoped that in the future Franco-Ontarians will use this right to pressure the local school authorities to ensure the viability of French language schools, rather than count on French immersion. At the post-secondary level, the enrolment of immersion students in French language programmes appears to us to be much less of a cause for concern than at the elementary and secondary levels. As a rule Franco-Ontarian students who opt for a Frenchmedium university education have reached a high level of competence in French and have developed a strong
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sense of identity. This does not mean, though, that Anglo-Ontarian students should not be screened before enrolling in Frenchmedium programmes, for if no such steps are taken, it may be feared that the very same problems associated with the presence of English-dominant students in Ontario's French language elementary or secondary schools will also occur at the postsecondary level. Allowing immersion students into Ontario's bilingual universities may also have positive repercussions, in that it is likely to increase the demand for French-medium courses and hence reinforce the existing programmes of French-medium courses, or better still, contribute to the development of new programmes notably in those areas where French language courses are still not widely available (e.g. engineering, business). The arrival of immersion students in Ontario's English-language universities is also likely to have a positive consequence for Franco-Ontarians in that it may generate a demand for French language courses (if not French language programmes), which Franco-Ontarian students enrolled in English language universities (due to the lack of French language universities) could take advantage of. Although the English language universities are preparing themselves to meet such a demand, the availability of French language courses in Ontario's English-language universities is likely to remain at a relatively modest level in the near future since a sufficient demand has yet to materialise (Wesche et al., 1985). This brings up the issue of who will be given the duty of delivering French-medium courses. Understandably, English language universities may be tempted (for human and financial reasons) to opt for a minimal linguistic retraining of their existing staff, in which case Franco-Ontarian students and probably immersion students, too, may feel that they are offered lower quality courses and hence may lose interest in Frenchmedium courses. This would further limit the demand for such courses. Let us now briefly consider the idea of producing a common pool of pedagogical materials for immersion and Franco-Ontarian students. While it certainly makes sense to write pedagogical materials for immersion students at a level of complexity somewhat below that presented by the kind of French which same-age monolingual Francophone students have to decode, such an adaptive strategy would be counterproductive in the case of Franco-Ontarian students who come from Francophone homes, since the latter have a higher level of French language mastery than immersion students. However, such adapted materials could be of use to Franc-Ontarian students who come from homes where French has been given up, since they experience many of the same difficulties in mastering French as do the immersion students (Mougeon & Beniak, 1988). Similarly, immersion students could profit from materials specifically designed for Franco-
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Ontarian students from assimilated homes. The idea of pooling pedagogical materials must be considered with caution, however. Franco-Ontarian educators have recently attempted to develop pedagogical materials which reflect Franco-Ontarian or FrenchCanadian culture, on the grounds that they would be more motivating for Franco-Ontarian students and hence more likely to have a positive influence on learning. Such cultural content would probably be lacking in pedagogical materials developed for immersion students. In this regard, then, a better alternative would probably be cooperation between pedagogical materials developers across French-Canadian minority settings (e.g. Ontario, Manitoba, the Maritimes). Conclusion The increased popularity of French immersion in Canada's Anglophone community and its recent desire to have access to the educational institutions of French Canadians (e.g. in Québec or in Ontario) bear witness to the fact that the status of French has improved significantly in Canada over the last 20 years or so and that English Canadians increasingly believe that an excellent knowledge of French is an important asset for socio-economic betterment. 6 In Québec, Canada's only majority Francophone province, such a desire has not met with much objection or oppositionat least on linguistic groundssince it is consonant with the government's official policy of Frenchification of 'allophones' (i.e. non-French-speaking immigrants) via obligatory schooling in French. Outside Québec, however, French Canadians are in the minority and engaged in a battle against linguistic and cultural assimilation. In a province like Ontario, Francophones are at a crucial stage in their efforts to develop a set of autonomous French language institutions which could play a decisive role in their continued existence as a distinctive community. Having examined the likely effects of the placement of immersion programmes or individual English-speaking students in the schools of Ontario's French-speaking minority, we must conclude that by and large (with the exception of post-secondary schools) such a measure could seriously hamper these schools' role as a transmitter of the French-Canadian language and culture, and hence could negatively affect the survival of a francophone community in Ontario. In his address to the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française, Bordeleau (1987) arrived at essentially the same conclusion, arguing strongly in favour of preserving the autonomy and integrity of Ontario's French language schools. Should the process of English language shift among Franco-Ontarians diminish significantly as a result of the protection and further expansion of French-medium institutions, it is not inconceivable that the French language
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schools could then open their doors without fear to the children of the Anglo-Ontarian majority. At the moment, however, it is to be hoped that Anglo-Ontarians will respect the Francophone minority's wish to preserve as much as possible the FrenchCanadian identity of their schools. Though such ethnocentrism may be seen as discriminatory, it seems to us to be a necessary stage in the maintenance of a viable Francophone community in Ontario. Those who are actively involved in the promotion of threatened minority languages outside Canada may learn from Ontario's Francophone minority's current struggle for an autonomous cultural and linguistic existence. Improvement in the status of a minority language as a result of political intervention can bring with it a new and probably unforeseen challenge for the minority group, that of facing the prospect of having to share its institutions with the majority who has 'suddenly' become interested in learning the minority language. It will be interesting to see how this particular challenge is resolved in Canada. In any case it is quite clear that the outcome of such struggle will affect Canada's future existence as a bilingual state/country. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Birgit Harley for her helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Notes to Chapter 15 1. This practice came to an end when the Québec government passed a major piece of linguistic legislation (The French Language Charter) which aimed at bolstering the vitality of French in the province. 2. Before 1971, censuses did not provide information on home language use. 3. Ontario's French language schools are administered by local school boards which also administer the English language schools. Franco-Ontarian educators have been fighting for a re-organisation of school boards along linguistic lines, which would give them full control over their schools. 4. It is somewhat ironical to note that French immersion specialists are sensitive to this aspect of the learning situation of immersion students and hold the view that the fossilisation of non-native features in the French of these students is due in part to the fact that they reinforce each other's errors. 5. Similar consequences have been observed in connection with the admission of French-speaking students by Flemish-medium schools in Brussels. 6. In a survey of Anglo-Ontarian parents who had opted for French immersion for their children, Olson & Burns (1983) discovered that their primary motivation was the desire to improve their children's chances of obtaining well-paying jobs.
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References Bordeleau, L.-G. (1987) L'éducation française a l'heure de l'immersion. Keynote address to the 40th Meeting of the Association canadienne d'éducation de langue française, Ottawa, 12-14 August. Castonguay, Ch. (1979) Exogamie et anglicisation chez les minorités canadiennes-françaises. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 16, 21-31. Desjarlais, L, Cyr, H., Brûlé, G. & Gauthier, V. (1980) L'élève parlant peu ou pas français dans les écoles de langue française. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education. Desjarlais, L. & Carrier, M. (1975) L'état de l'enseignement de l'anglais langue seconde dans les écoles franco-ontariennes. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education. Frasure-Smith, N., Lambert, W.E. & Taylor, D.M. (1975) Choosing the language of instruction for one's children: A Quebec study. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 6, 131-55. Harley, B. (1984) How good is their French? Language and Society, 12, 55-60. Heller, M. (1986) Le rôle de l'école de langue française dans la formation de l'identite ethnique française à Toronto. Final Report submitted to the Secretary of State. (to appear) L'école de langue française à Toronto. Revue du Nouvel-Ontario, 9. Lapkin, S. & Cummins, J. (1983) Canadian French immersion education: Current administrative and instructional practices. Unpublished paper, Modern Language Centre, OISE. Mougeon, R. & Beniak, E. (1988) Minority language schooling without home language maintenance: impact on language proficiency. In A. Holmen et al. (eds) Bilingualism and the Individual. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Mougeon, R. & Hébrard, P. (1975) Aspects de l'assimilation linguistique dans une communauté francophone de l'Ontario. Travaux de recherches sur le bilinguisme, 5, 1-38. Mougeon, R. & Heller, M. (1986) The social and historical context of minority French language education in Ontario. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 7, 199-227. Olson, P. & Burns, G. (1983) Politics, class, and happenstance: French immersion in a Canadian context. Interchange, 14, 1-16. Sorbara, G. (1987) Déclaration sur les initiatives du Ministère des collèges et universités concernant les programmes en français. Press release, University of Ottawa, 31st March. Wesche, M., Morrison, F., Pawley, C. & Ready, D. (1986) Post-secondary follow-up of former French immersion students in the Ottawa area: A pilot study. Final Report submitted to the Secretary of State.
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16 Bilingual Education or Education for Bilingualism? Some Notes from Norway Ellen Andenæs Department of Applied Linguistics, University, of Trondheim, Norway. Abstract. We have been given an account of bilingualism in the U.S.A.both in education and in research. In this comment, I shall try to give a brief account of the Norwegian experienceparticularly with reference to those aspects that differ from the American one. Rather than focussing on research done, I aim at providing the background for such workthat is, what constitutes the basis for trends in research already done, and needs and aims for research planned or research needed. International co-operation in research is, of course, of vital importance. Even so, Norwayand the Nordic countries on the wholeare so different from the United States and the United Kingdom that I think we need to pay attention to some of the factors underlying our concepts of 'what bilingualism is all about', of how research can be of use for educational purposes, and of how we can interpret and benefit from research done in other countries. The Concept of Bilingualism Bilingualism may be defined in a number of different ways, definitions being based on competence or on function, and demanding anything from a minimal to a native-like competence of the speaker. The lack of a terminological consensus has been the cause of much confusion, both when 'bilingual' refers to individuals and to educational practices. In this paper I shall call bilingual any person who engages in the practice of alternately using two languages (Weinreich, 1953). Education for bilingualism, then, refers to any form of education with the aim of providing individuals
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with opportunities to take up such practice (such as any form of foreign language teaching)whereas, I feel, the term 'bilingual education' should be reserved for programmes which make extensive use of two languages, employing both as a mode of instruction as well as for 'ordinary communication'. ('Education for bilinguals', on the other hand, focusses only on a characteristic of the target group, and fails to specify any educational contents or aims. Its lack of specificity renders it less useful as a term than as a general heading.) Education for Bilingualism In Norway, this phenomenon falls into two categories. Onethe training of Norwegians to develop foreign language competencehas long traditions and is conceived of as a good investment for the individuals concerned and for society as a whole. Indeed, the nation would be in grave trouble without a significant number of trained bilinguals! But even so, and even if all students are required to take one foreign language in school, and are recommended to take two or three, the question of developing bilingual skills is essentially a matter of individual choice. In the following, I shall focus on the other category, where teaching Norwegian to non-native speakers is central. This is a new phenomenon, mainly related to the arrival of migrants and refugees during the last 20 years. Since our population has been relatively homogeneous (the indigenous Sámi people having been systematically 'Norwegianised' throughout history), we have no great tradition in this field. This may or may not explain why programmes in this category have often been regarded as less of an investment than an obligation (and an expensive one, at that)and the need for them as a transitory one. Recently, though, a more positive attitude seems to have emerged, and efforts are now being made to encourage the development of bilingual skills in minority populations. Linguistic Minorities in Norway There are a number of differences between the situation in the U.S.A. and that of Norway. Differences are found in: (a) the (potentially) bilingual population; in terms of groups of linguistic minorities, and of numbers of members of each group; (Relative to the total population, minority groups in Norway are very numerous and very small. 1)
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(b) the very basis of the educational system in general (the Norwegian one being alternately characterised as 'democratic and egalitarian' and as 'uniform and rigid'); (c) the educational policy with respect to linguistic/cultural minorities; (d) the status of the target language in second (and foreign) language acquisition and teaching. I refer to the fact that Norwegian (like all Nordic languages) is so very far from being a world language. Spoken by a ridiculously small population (we are just over 4 million Norwegians), it is virtually never referred to or borrowed from outside our national borders, and is, in short, a language which is of no use anywhere else in the world. One natural consequence of this is that the Norwegian language (and culture) has never been adequately (by this I mean scientifically and/or contrastively) describedlinguistic research has been done almost exclusively by and for native speakers. As an academic subject, it is (or at least, it has been up to now) perceived as the study of one's mother tongue. (Let me illustrate this: when, 10 years ago, I mentioned to one of the professors of Norwegian language at my university that the subject of my thesis was 'Norwegian as a foreign language', he was greatly perplexed. 'Norwegian?' he said, 'as a foreign language?But it isn't, is it?') Our lack of tradition in teaching Norwegian to speakers of other languages implies that we have had to start from scratch with developing materials, 2 models and methods for systematic second language teaching. Of course, this also applies to the education of teachers, for mother-tongue and second-language instruction as well as for general subjects. For students of NSL (Norwegian as a second language) also, it seems only natural that the status of our language mustin some wayinfluence their attitude to, and motivation for, learning the language, since it only gives them access to a very limited community. Again, ten years back, when Vietnamese refugees first started to arrive in Norway, an American language expert earnestly advised us to set up language classes for themnot in Norwegian, but in English! (This advice was not takenbut it does provide a clue to how Norwegian, as opposed to English, may seem to be a rather useless language.) So much for the historical background. Now let us look at Norwegian educational policyin principle and in practice. Educational goals'Mønsterplan for Grunnskolen' (1985) The educational goals for primary and lower secondary education are stated in the national normative curriculum, called the Mønsterplan (literally The
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Model Plan). This Plan states aims and goals for subjects taught at different levels, and provides a directive framework for further development of local curricula. Recent revision of 'the M-plan' (replacing one from 1974) indicates that an impressive development has taken place in the understanding of bilingualism and its educational challenge. The M-Plan states (as does our 'Grunnskolelov') that 'All children, in whatever part of the country they live, and whatever their social, cultural or economic background, are entitled to equal educational opportunities.' This is not new. What is new, is how the general goals have now been pursued and specified in the chapters on linguistic minorities. (The M-Plan contains chapters on first and second language teaching, separately for Sámi pupils and pupils from other language minorities.) The major goal is that of bilingualism and the right to choose, a vital point being not only that every child has a right to be taught about and helped to protect and develop an attachment to her/his source groupbut also that, in cases of repatriation, the child should not be too severely handicapped language-wise, for instance by not being literate in her/his native language. Mother-tongue instruction, therefore, is pointed out as an important issue. Also, of course, competence in one's native language is seen as important for general educational reasons. It is stated that children should learn through the language they know best, and that all instruction should be given through their mother-tongue 'until they can profit from having Norwegian as the medium of instruction' (p. 33). This focus on native language is new, and represents a large step in the right direction. However, the M-plan has been severely criticised for being out of touch with reality, and for providing very little practical help for teachers and local school authorities. The aims and goals formulated in the Plan seem unattainable, given the lack of both financial and professional resources (e.g. authorised mother-tongue teachers). Educational Practice Uniform as the Norwegian school system may normally be, with respect to linguistic minorities, it is decidedly not so; this is probably the one area where most variation is found. Not only do we find various models, but each model may be (and is) practised differently in different school districts or for different groups. We find separate schools/programmes for particular groups (the Gypsy school in Oslo, a number of schools for the Deaf, a few schools for Sámi students). While such schools used to be monolingual (in Norwegian), the trend now is towards (at least a limited) bilingual practice. This process is hampered by the lack of bilingual teachers. Models may be grouped in the following rough categories:
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(1) So-called 'direct integration' with native speakers of Norwegian, with no particular services for students of limited Norwegian proficiency. This traditional sink-or-swim model is now definitely on the way out. (2) A modification of (1): direct integration with extra instruction in mother-tongue and/or Norwegian as a second language. (3) Introductory second-language classes-followed by (1) or (2) above. (4) Bicultural classes-the only example of what rightly deserves the label 'bilingual education'. The Bicultural Classroom Much is expected of this (relatively new) model, which was first introduced in Oslo four years ago, and which is also being tried out in other cities. The model is based on the realisation of the bilingual's need to use and develop both of his/her linguistic and cultural systems, and its aim is to create equality between cultures/languages. In principle, the bicultural classroom is one where minority and majority do not exist; the classroom population should (ideally) consist of 50% native speakers and 50% speakers of one other language. Each class has two teachers of (again ideally) equal standing and equal responsibility, each representing one of the two languages/cultures. Teaching, as well as all other activities connected with the class, should be completely bilingual; material for teaching and for playing should represent both cultures, etc. Each teacher should have full responsibilities to all children-with the modification that only one of them (the non-native one) is required to be bilingual. The model in itself seems a valid and a promising one. Whether or not it will give the expected results remains to be seen. Whatever the outcome, however, such programmes will never become universal-for the simple reason that the minority population is at once small, consisting of many different groups, and scattered throughout the country. In many instances, there will simply not be enough students to set up a bicultural class. Also, even the most ideal of models may not be equally well suited to all students. It will be very important, then, to research and analyse the model in such a manner that results can be of benefit to the development of alternative models also. In teacher-training and in material design, care must be taken to permit flexibility, rather than tailor everything to the needs and advantages inherent in this one model. Working Toward the M-plan: a Decade of Development A comparison between the new M-plan and the earlier one (the M-74) indicates that an impressive development has taken place over the last 10-15
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years. While the main concern of the M-74 was the teaching of Norwegian to minority children (and it was also marred by a dated and limited understanding of second-language acquisition), in the 1985 version we find a more global understanding of bilingualism, language and education. Neither version prescribes one particular model for teaching bilingual children, but the principles and guidelines of the new Plan rule out earlier monolingual models. This signifies a shift of focus: from being a prerequisite for learning, the Norwegian language should now be one of several subjects in school. Pupils should no longer have to spend an (often lengthy, if not always effective) initial period concentrating solely on language acquisition; the emphasis is on education itself and not on the mode of instruction. The philosophy behind thisthat children's general learning processes should not be discontinuedintegrates instruction in both languages with general school subjects, and allows pupils to develop and learn in their own rhythm. The differences between the plans may be summed up as follows: while the M-74 gave recommendations for 'education of bilinguals' that were narrow in scope and compensatory in nature, the M-85 concerns education for bilingualism, and opens up possibilities for bilingual education. Can the M-plan Work? The M-plan is, and is probably meant to be, more of a political manifesto than a practical guide. It provides the (ideal) aims and goals, and the frameworkand leaves quite a lot of responsibility'freedom'to local school authorities. This is a general principle of the Plan, and one which concerns all subjects/fields of study. In many instances, it seems to work well, and it certainly does provide possibilities for schools to adapt to local and individual conditions, thus reducing the tendency towards total uniformity in Norwegian schools. However, in the field of minority education, local authorities are less than likely to be able to cope. The real danger, then, lies in the possibility that the very existence of the M-plan may lead to a certain complacency in higher quarters (the educational and political administration), and that the Plan may be mistaken for its implementation. At the same time, the Plan makes legitimate and may accelerate much of the work in progress in this field. It may serve as a detailed 'Declaration of rights', making it easier to press for practical reforms, and it certainly points out what directions future work must take. Work Done and Work in Progress: Some Trends The new M-plan came as no great surprise; rather, it appears to be a natural conclusion to recent work in the field. Teachers, researchers and minority
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group organisations have all contributed to change minority education. The main efforts have been channelled into the following fields: (1) Evaluation of the school system and the educational services, and development of alternative models. (2) Linguistic research and development: contrastive studies and dictionaries have been produced; attempts at new descriptions of Norwegian language (including pragmatics and text linguistics); a number of interlanguage studies have been conducted, and some minority languages have been researched (among them, Norwegian Sign Language). A lot of work in this area has been devoted to development of teaching material, for use in second language classrooms or in the education of teachers and interpreters. (3) Teacher-training: basic programmes and in-service courses have been arranged at universities and teacher-training colleges. At least some knowledge of minority education is now included in the basic training of all general teachers, but there is also a great need for special education for first- and second-language instructors. One aim of this work is to provide a sound education of this kind; another is to make sure that such an education becomes a requirement for certain positions. Establishing the Academic Field Until quite recently, work done in this field was most often initiated and conducted by untrained researcherstypically female teachers or ex-teachers with more ambition of improving educational conditions than of making research their career. They held no established positions in universities, and the lack of models and experienced rersearch advisers made trial and error their main method. All of these factors combined to make their work a typical example of 'low status research'. Their strength, however, lay precisely in their first-hand knowledge of classroom realities, and their closer connection with colleagues outside the university than inside it. And precisely this may be the reason why their work made quite an impact after all. Now, the field might be called an established one. Research councils and educational authorities fund new research programmes. A few university positions have been estabilshed: a chair at the University of Trondheim 'in order to further the education of teachers in Norwegian for foreigners', and at the University of Oslo there is a Department of Studies in Norwegian as a Foreign Language (the terminology is dated, but both are devoted to second-language studies). Similarly, funding is under way for a researcher in Norwegian Sign Language, and a centre for the education of interpreters has been established at the University of Oslo.
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Institutions such as as these are extremely important; among other things, I see them as prerequisites to the implementation of the M-plan. One of their functions is to educate the necessary teachers; another is to train new researchers and to develop the field further. Conclusions In theory, all minority children are now entitled to be educated as bilinguals. There is still a long way to go, however, before the theory becomes reality for alland longer still to reach the aim of bilingual education proper, to allow those children to realise their full potential as bilinguals. I have described some aspects of education and bilingualism in Norway, the development of which may be characterised as one of institutionalisation (authorities have accepted new areas of responsibilities and work originally initiated by private individuals) and of professionalisation (of educators and researchers). It is important to understand both of them as continuous processesin neither case have we achieved as much as we need to. Indeed, we probably never shall, because part of our work is to constantly redefine its aims and goals. And precisely here a paradox arises. While so far the processes of institutionalisation and professionalisation certainly indicate progress in this field, it is known from elsewhere that the establishment of professions and institutions in themselves may act against flexibility. The challenge for the educational system lies partly in establishing a legal framework which is unambiguous without being rigidand partly in securing the material resources necessary to implement it. And for research, to develop the field academically without losing track of 'the real world'. Notes to Chapter 16 1. The Norwegian population is a small one (just over 4 million people), and so are the minority groups. While no official statistics provide information on linguistic or ethnic background, the number of foreign citizens is just over 100,000. Add to this the Sámi people (which numbers about 30,000 individuals, but of whom far from all are Sámi speakers); approximately 3,000 Deaf and 200 Gypsies; and an unknown number of naturalised immigrants. Even if the minority population is relatively small, it is far from homogeneous: at least 75 different mother tongues are represented. Also, although geographically more clustered than the majority population, linguistic minorities are found in all countries. For further details, see Andenaes (1984). 2. I choose to disregard the considerable number of phrasebooks and elementary textbooks aimed at tourists, and also material produced in the U.S.A. for students of Norwegian descent. Such material was virtually unknown in Norway, and presumably would have been of limited use in a modern second-language setting.
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References Andenæs, Ellen (1984) Norsk som andrespråk: bakgrunn, forskning og forskningsbehov. In K. Hyltenstam & K. Maandi (eds), Nordens språk som målspråk. Stockholm: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för linguistik. Revidert Mønsterplan for grunnskolen (1985) Oslo: Grunnskolerådet. Weinreich, Uriel (1953) Languages in Contact. New York: Linguistic Circle.
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17 Bilingual Education and Bilingualism in the Swedish Comprehensive School Roger Kallstrom SPRINS-gruppen, Institutionen for lingvistik, S412 98 Göteborg, Sweden. Abstract. Sweden has set very far-reaching goals for her policy toward ethnic minorities. The school gives obligatory instruction in Swedish as a second language (SSL) and offers so-called home language instruction (with the pupil's first language as subject of instruction, aiming among other things at literacy in the first language). Truly bilingual education (using both the first and the second language as media of instruction in regular subjects) is also an option for several minority pupils in the comprehensive school. The present policy is quite new, and there is great uncertainty as to the results of the educational efforts. A comparison between two investigations of different groups of minority youths (one who had attended a bilingual programme and one who had not) shows a wider use of the first language for the pupils who had attended a bilingual programme than for the others, who had had an (almost) monolingual education. Differences in (self-rated) competence in the languages involved were also found. There are still problems of implementation of the educational programmes for minority pupils. For example, a survey of SSL teaching in the Stockholm area shows that SSL teachers lack training for their job and the turn-over of teachers is startlingly high. Introduction Sweden's policy toward linguistic minorities has changed dramatically during the last decades. The earlier goal of assimilation has been supplanted by one of cultural and linguistic pluralism. One of the strongest mechanisms for either
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the assimilation or the preservation of linguistic minorities is the educational system. The compulsory school was seen as one of the strongest forces working for the assimilation of the old indigenous Finnishspeaking minority in the far north of Sweden. Earlier prohibitions against using Finnish in any kind of school context and teacher attitudes taking pride in not knowing Finnish, etc. have resulted in a decrease in the use and knowledge of Finnish (Tenerz, 1963). It seems clear that educational policy in this context had an effect on bilingualism, promoting a shift to the majority language, Swedish. The question I want to discuss here is whether the present bilingual programmes aiming at bilingualism for linguistic minority pupils in Sweden have any effect on bilingualism and language preservation. I shall start by giving a few background facts about immigrant policy, the comprehensive school and linguistic minority pupils in Sweden. Swedish Immigrant Policy The goals of Swedish immigrant policy are often summarised in the three mottos: Equality Freedom of choice and Partnership (e.g. in the Regeringens proposition (Government bill) 1975, 26: 14-16). Since freedom of choice explicitly means, among other things, the freedom to choose between staying in Sweden or going back to the country of origin, this goal implies a language programme that includes training not only in the second language (Swedish), but also in the first language (in Swedish school jargon 'hemspråket', the home language). The curriculum for the comprehensive school states as one of the goals of the language programme for linguistic minority pupils '. . . bilingualism which makes it possible for them (i.e. the linguistic minority pupils) to feel at home in two cultures' (Läroplan för grundskolan, 1980:57, my translation). In discussing the education of minority children, bilingualism is often further amplified into active bilingualism, a term which has come to serve as a motto of the same rank as Equality, Freedom of choice, and Partnership. The Swedish Comprehensive School (Grundskolan) In Sweden, there are very few private schools. The vast majority of children attend the state-financed nine-year compulsory comprehensive school, which offers the children of linguistic minorities
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¾ instruction in Swedish as a second language, for short SSL instruction (which is obligatory for the pupil if the school finds that the pupil needs it); ¾ home language instruction (which is voluntary for the pupil. Home language instruction always includes training of his first language proficiency and cultural elements. From now on I shall use the term home language target instruction). Various organisational arrangements exist. Often the initial instruction of newly arrived immigrant children takes place in special preparatory classes. If a sufficient number of pupils and parents want teaching of regular subjects in their home language, so-called home language classes or compound classes can be formed. (For the instruction in home language classes and compound classes using the first language as medium, I shall from now on use the term home language medium instruction.) In terms of freedom of choice, then, parents and children can choose between totally monolingual mainstream Swedish instruction, monolingual Swedish instruction plus a few hours' home language target instruction, or bilingual instruction, including substantial home language target instruction and home-language medium instruction. Naturally, it is not always possible for municipalities to provide all three alternatives. When it comes to SSL instruction, there is no freedom of choice. If a linguistic minority pupil has a lower proficiency than a comparable monolingual Swede, he has to receive SSL instruction. Linguistic Minority Pupils in the Swedish Comprehensive School In order to meet the needs of minority children, the schools note the home language(s) of every pupil. Children with home languages other than Swedish are offered home language target instruction. Their proficiency level in Swedish is estimated (often also tested, although no obligatory tests exist) and groups for SSL instruction are formed. On the basis of these and a lot of other facts, nation-wide statistics on the instruction of minority pupils are compiled every year. The figures below are taken from the statistics for 1985 (Hemspråk och hemspråksundervisning. Grundskolan och gymnasieskolan 1985/86). In November 1985, there were 81,800 pupils with a minority language as a home languge in the Swedish comprehensive school. That means that almost 9% of the total number of pupils were in daily contact in their homes with a language other than Swedish. The five largest minority language groups are listed in Table 1.
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In all, more than 100 different languages are represented in the comprehensive school. The Finnish group is by far the largest. It consists of immigrants from Finland, but there is still a considerable indigenous Finnish-speaking population in northern Sweden. This fact is clearly reflected in Table 2, where we find the ten municipalities with the highest proportions of linguistic minority pupils. The five highest-ranking municipalities are situated in northern Sweden to the north of the old language boundary between Swedish and Finnish. These municipalities have also received quite a few Finnish immigrants. In Pajala almost all the pupils are Finnish-speaking. With the exception of Jokkmokk, which is also in northern Sweden, the rest of the municipalities are in the industrial areas in southern Sweden and have received their minorities through immigration. In these places, there is a larger number of different minority groups than in northern Sweden, though the Finnish group dominates heavily Table 1 The five largest minority language groups in the comprehensive school in 1985 % of minority pupils Language group 36 Finnish 9 Yugoslavian languagesa 8 Spanishb 5 English 5 Polish a This is a cover term for all the languages officially spoken in Yugoslavia. For example, a Hungarian-speaking Yugoslav is classified under Yugoslavian languages, while any other Hungarian-speaking person is classified under Hungarian. b The vast majority comes from Latin America. Table 2 The ten municipalities with the highest proportions of minority pupils in 1985 RankMunicipality % minority pupils in comprehensive school 1 Pajala 95 2 Haparanda 62 3 Kiruna 60 4 Overtorneå 55 5 Gällivare 36 6 Botkyrka 31 7 Södertälje 25 8 Olofström 25 9 Jokkmokk 22 10 Göteborg 22 (Gothenburg)
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in a few of them. In Gothenburg, for instance, there are a few schools which offer home language target instruction in 30 to 35 different languages. In the country as a whole, about 69% of the minority children attended home language instruction, and about 66% of the 81,800 minority children were estimated to need instruction in Swedish as a second language. In fact, only 84% of those actually did attend such instruction. This probably tells us something about the degree of implementation of central regulations concerning instruction of linguistic minority children. In November 1985, there were 529 home language classes, and 258 compound classes. 74% of the home language classes were Finnish. About 9% of all minority children and 18% of those with Finnish as home language attended home language classes. The high proportion of Finnish home language classes reflects the fact that in several places, only the Finnish pupils are so numerous that it is possible to form whole classes, while most other language groups are so scattered that this is impossible. Active Bilingualism and the Comprehensive School The question I wish to discuss here is the extent to which the efforts of the Swedish school have an effect on the bilingualism of linguistic minority pupils. This question has also been asked by Sally Boyd in her study of the language choice of minority pupils in Sweden (Boyd, 1985). In Boyd's population, there were no subjects who had received home-language-medium instruction (for the simple reason that home language classes and compound classes did not exist except on a small scale when they started school). I shall compare a few of Boyd's results with the corresponding results of a study of children who had atttended home language classes for six years (Källström & Malinen, 1985). Active bilingualism is, of course, a vague term, made for policy-making rather than scholarly investigation. There is no generally agreed upon definition of it, and different users tend to give it different meanings. Boyd (1985:58) defines an active bilingual as an individual who actively uses two languages in daily face-to-face interaction. Basing herself mainly on field work carried out in 1980 with linguistic minority pupils in the seventh to ninth grade in two Swedish municipalities, she describes the typical active bilingual young person as having the following characteristics: ¾ her/his parents are both immigrants from the same country of origin (. . .); ¾ her/his parents have either very high or very low status occupations (. . .);
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¾ she/he lives in a neighbourhood with a relatively high density of immigrants (and thus attends school in a class with a high proportion of other immigrant pupils) (. . .); ¾ she/he has been born or lived abroad and/or plans to return to the parents' country of origin (. . .). (Boyd 1985:160) When analysing the language use and language choice of her informants, Boyd found no clear sign of the establishment of new bilingual groups in Sweden. The contact with and use and dominance of Swedish were evident also for the active bilingual group. Contact with and use of the home language were limited, in general, to contacts with the country of origin and with the older generation. Swedish was to a large extent the language used between peers, also peers with the same first language, including even siblings. Boyd found it evident that home language instruction alone (usually only up to two periods per week) could not do much to prevent language shift in the long run, although those informants who attended home language target instruction were more often actively bilingual than those who did not. In 1985, Vuokko Malinen and I investigated among other things the language use of 97 seventh-graders of Finnish origin in Gothenburg schools (Källström & Malinen, 1985). Our subjects were the first in Gothenburg to attend senior level bilingual classes. All of them (except one or two newly arrived from Finland) had attended home language classes for the preceding six years, so they had received more than half of their instruction in their first language, Finnish. Table 3 shows Boyd's figures for active bilinguals' language use with other bilinguals and our (K & M) figures for the language use of pupils in the bilingual classes. For all classes of interlocutor, Källström & Malinen's (1985) Table 3 Language use with five classes of bilingual interlocutor for Boyd's active bilinguals and Källström & Malinen's (K & M) subjects (all active bilingual) Best Most Mother Father Siblings friend friends (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Mostly Swedish Boyd 14 17 72 71 84 K&M 0 7 9 Mostly home Boyd 73 66 13 6 4 language K & M 78 74 32 Both languages Boyd 13 17 15 23 12 K&M
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informants show a tendency to use the home language more and Swedish less than Boyd's (1985). The most interesting difference lies in the language use with informants of the same generation. It is hard to compare the figures for friends due to great differences in questions asked, so let us look instead at the figures for siblings. There is a considerable difference in language use with siblings between the two populations. The low frequency of home language use and the consequent dominance of Swedish in the communication between siblings in her data surprised Boyd. Her review of the literature on language preservation and language shift had made her expect communication in the homes to be dominated by the first language. The extensive use of Swedish with siblings and other bilingual young people can in fact be interpreted as one of the strongest indications that the home language will not be preserved, i.e. that a language shift is taking place (Boyd, 1985:163). Another striking difference between Boyd's and our subjects is to be found in their background. All our informants were active bilinguals according to Boyd's definition. They also fitted Boyd's description of the typical bilingual young person except in one respect: while Boyd's typical bilingual has been born or lived abroad and/or plans to return to the country of origin, 83% of our subjects had been born in Sweden and 76% of the families had decided to stay in Sweden. 1 So, while failing to fulfil one of Boyd's typical characteristics of active bilinguals, they still showed a much greater frequency of home language use with one crucially important group of interlocutor. The case for an on-going language shift does not seem quite as strong for the pupils in the bilingual classes as for Boyd's subjects. It might be tempting for proponents of bilingual education to see the fact that the Gothenburg pupils had attended home language classes while the other pupils had not as the factor that causes the differences, and indeed it would be strange if six years of bilingual instruction with a large proportion of it given in Finnish by bilingual teachers did not strengthen the children's identity as Finnish young people in Sweden and develop their skills and confidence in using the Finnish language. But it must be kept in mind that there are several differences in method and in the populations, and thus many other factors besides languages of instruction and organisational arrangements during the preceding school years may influence the results. The questionnaires used were not identical. This means that the figures in Table 3 from the two investigations may to some extent stand for slightly different realities. Among differences in population can be mentioned size (Boyd had 312 active bilingual subjects), geographical location and linguistic group membership (all our subjects but only 56% of Boyd's active bilinguals were Finnish). These geographical and social factors may make a difference. But whatever the effect of these factors is, a comparison between Boyd's and our results does not
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contradict the claim that truly bilingual education (e.g. in home language classes) is more effective in supporting active bilingualism than all-Swedish instruction supplemented by a few hours of home language target instruction. I want to compare one final aspect of Boyd's and our investigation. Both groups of informants were asked to make self-ratings of their competence in Swedish and the home language. The results for Boyd's active bilinguals are compared to Källström & Malinen's results for the pupils of bilingual classes in Table 4. The methodological weaknesses of self-rating as a way of measuring linguistic and communicative proficiency are obvious (cf. Boyd, 1985:149f.). There are also great differences in the questions asked and ways of processing the answers. Given this, what we can say is that the comparison does not give us reason to suspect any dramatic differences in language proficiency. As an intuitive analysis might predict, Boyd's subjects tend to rate their proficiency in the home language lower than do the pupils from bilingual classes, while the latter tend to rate their proficiency in Swedish lower than the former (note, however, that no pupil in Källström & Malinen's investigation considered his Swedish poor). Table 4 Self-ratings of competence in both languages for Boyd's active bilinguals and Källström & Malinen's subjects (K & M) Good (%) Middle (%) Poor (%) 8 7 Swedish Boyd 85 30 K&M 70 0 34 Home language Boyd 59 7 22 K&M 73 5 Naturally, the comparison of the two investigations of bilingual young people who had received monolingual or almost monolingual instruction and bilingual instruction, respectively, cannot offer any definitive answers to the question of what effect bilingual programmes have on bilingualism and the preservation of minority languages. One might, however, judging from these investigations, hypothesise that bilingual programmes increase the use of minority languages, not only in school, but also in homes and the peer group. One can also hypothesise that bilingual programmes do not necessarily mean that the pupils' development in Swedish suffers a great deal. If one wishes more definitive answers, large, long-term investigations are needed. Such investigations have not been undertaken yet, and to my knowledge no such investigations are planned. Large-scale evaluations of bilingual education have often been wished for by proponents as well as opponents of home language classes, and indeed the
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contradictory results of various smaller evaluations give rise to much confusion. It is also true that the discussion easily focusses on the more superficial and measurable aspects. The value of bilingual education may very well be more on the less tangible psychological side. Self-respect, security and identity are words often mentioned by pupils in bilingual classes and their parents (Källström & Malinen, 1985:15). It must also be made clear to everyone that the development of each of a bilingual's two languages cannot be equated with the development of one language in a monolingual. Several studies (e.g. Ben-Zeev, 1977; MacNamara, 1966; Rosenblum & Pinker, 1983; Skutnabb-Kangas & Toukomaa, 1976; Toukomaa, 1977) show that the development of each of a bilingual child's languages lags behind the development of the same language in a monolingual child. On the other hand, a bilingual child's linguistic repertoire is obviously richer than a monolingual's, when both her languages are taken into consideration. If, as some people claim, Swedish proficiency suffers from bilingual education, this should be taken seriously. The instruction in Swedish as a second language (SSL) could be made more efficient. 2 Recent research (Svenska som andraspråk. Länsskolnämnden i Stockholms län: Rapport, 3, 1986) shows that even in the Stockholm area, with a large immigrant population and a long tradition of teaching immigrants, the majority of the SSL teachers lack experience and training for their task. Table 5 summarises a few facts. Note especially that one-third of the SSL teachers in 1985/86 were new on the job. This was not because instruction suddenly increased by onethird in 1985. Since many school administrators do not take SSL seriously, a great turn-over of teachers results. Strict regulations as to who is qualified to serve as an SSL teacher are badly needed so that unqualified teachers can be used only when no qualified ones can be found. The need for professional training of SSL teachers has now been acknowledged by the state: regular Table 5 SSL teachers (N= 1, 414) in the Stockholm area. Level of SSL teacher training and experience of SSL teaching Amount of SSL teacher <5 ³ 5 < 20 ³ 20 training weeks weeks weeks 76% 12% 12% Have you got enough training for your job as an SSL teacher? Amount of SSL teacher <5 ³ 5 < 20 ³ 20 training weeks weeks weeks 'No' answers: 71% 84% 64% 33% of the SSL teachers did not work as SSL teachers the preceding year (1984/85) Source: Svenska som andraspråk. Länsskolnämnden i Stockholms län: Rapport, 3, 1986.
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teacher training started a few years ago and will be expanded in the new education for teachers that will start in 1988. Earlier, the only way teachers who wanted more training for SSL teaching could receive it was to attend voluntary courses during their free time (normally evenings). Sweden's official goal of active bilingualism is a laudable one. It implies that bilingual instruction (i.e. using both languages as media of instruction) should be organised wherever possible. Home language target instruction as a complement to monolingual Swedish instruction does not qualify as bilingual instruction in a strict sense and it seems that it does not in itself lead to a high degree of bilingualism. It is nevertheless useful because it gives children the opportunity to keep in touch with their home language and to learn to read and write it. When considering the effects of bilingual education, it should never be forgotten that the development of bilinguals should be compared to the development of other bilinguals, not to that of monolinguals. The learning task of bilingual children is greater than that of monolingual ones and consequently slower progress in the languages and possibly also in other subjects might be expected. This does not necessarily mean that bilinguals in the end cannot reach the same level of achievement as monolinguals. Children in bilingual education also generally gain a high degree of bilingualism, a very valuable asset indeed. When proponents for home language classes in Sweden a few years ago claimed that it was devastating for the development of both languages if the first language was not developed to a very high level before the second language was used in instruction, Bengt Loman very wisely wrote: 'You can't scare people into becoming bilingual' (Loman, 1978; quoted in Boyd, 1985). We should not make the mistake of trying to scare people into becoming monolingual either. Freedom of choice, a choice based on sound expectations on the effects of different varieties of education, must be the leading principle. The role of the mainstream Swedish society is to do everything in its power to make the options work as well as possible. Notes to Chapter 17 1. The actual difference between our subjects and Boyd's active bilingual subjects is not so great. 61% of Boyd's active bilinguals had lived all their lives in Sweden and 57% of the families had decided to stay in Sweden. 2. In fact, the newly introduced term Swedish as a second language may in actual practice cover activities which are far from the conscious, contrastively based language training one associates with it.
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References Ben-Zeev, S. (1977) The influence of bilingualism on cognitive strategy and cognitive development. Child Development, 48, 1009-18. Boyd, S. (1985) Language Survival: A Study of Language Contact, Language Shift and Language Choice in Sweden. Gothenburg Monographs in Linguistics, 6. Gothenburg: Department of Linguistics. Hemspråk och hemspråksundervisning. Grundskolan och gymnasieskolan 1985 86. Statistiska meddelanden, U72, 1986. Orebro: Statistiska Centralbyrån. Källström, R. & Malinen, V. (1985) Det tvåspråkiga högstadiet i Göteborg läsåret 1984-85. SPRINS-rapport, 30. Gothenburg: SPRINS-gruppen, Institutionen för lingvistik. Läroplan för grundskolan. Allmän del (1980). Stockholm: Skolöverstyrelsen. Loman, B. (1978) Man kan inte skrämma folk till tvåspråkighet. Invandrare och minoriteter, 3, 35-43. MacNamara, J. (1966) Bilingualism and Primary Education. A Study of Irish Experience. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Regeringens proposition om riktlinjer för invandrar- och minoritetspolitiken mm. Regeringens proposition, 26 (1975). Rosenblum, T. & Pinker, S.A. (1983) Word magic revisited: Monolingual and bilingual children's understanding of the wordobject relationship. Child Development, 54, 773-80. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. & Toukomaa, P. (1976) Teaching migrant children's mother tongue and learning the language of the host country in the context of the socio-cultural situation of the migrant family. Tampereen yliopiston sosiologian ja sosiaalipsykologian laitoksen tutkimuksia, 15. Svenska som andraspråk. Länsskolnämnden i Stockholms län: Rapport, 3 (1986). Tenerz, H. (1963) Folkupplysningsarbetet i Norrbottens finnbygd under förra hälften av 1900-talet jämte språkdebatten, Stockholm: Seelig. Toukomaa, P. (1977) Om finska invandrarelevers språkutveckling och skolframgång i den svenska grundskolan. EIFO-rapport, 2. Stockholm: Arbetsmarknadsdepartmentet.
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18 Bilinguals and Linguistic Identities Mehroo Northover Department of Communication, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Newtownabbey BT37 OQB, U.K. Abstract. A generalisation regarding bilinguals is that their mother tongue is symbolic of ethnicity, while in the context of their second language they lose their ethnic integrity and even acquire a split identity. Yet, there is little research to establish the relationship between ethnic identity and language at a molecular level, or to determine whether such a relationship has any consequences for retaining the ethnolanguage, or for learning a second language. Using the metatheoretical framework of Identity Structure Analysis (Weinreich, 1980), a study of 52 Gujarati/English bilinguals, socialised within the Asian and British cultures, was carried out, to determine changes of identity structure within biilnguals in their two languages. The symbolism of language causes some modifications of identity but these are not uniform. They are dependent upon a person's orientation towards their ethnicity, while for females a further factor is their perception of gender roles within the ethnic value system. Identity Debate relating to the acquisition of second language ranges between concerns of a purely linguistic kind, such as language aptitude and levels of proficiency, to the cognitive, educational and psychological consequences of its usage for bilinguals. Motivation, affect, the sociocultural context of learning, are all legitimate factors for investigation by linguists and psychologists. Models and concepts have been developed, such as Macnamara's needs model (1973) and Clement's integrativeness model (1980). Gardner & Lambert (1959) proposed an integrative versus instrumental motivation, and the concept of the socio-affective filter postulated by Dulay Hernandez-Chavez & Burt (1978); these are some of the many concepts contributing toward an understanding of second language (L2) acquisition.
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To this list, Giles & Johnson (1981) and Giles & Byrne (1982) have introduced an intergroup dimension of group boundaries and intergroup attitudes, and concepts of ethnolinguistic vitality, and formed an integrated theory of language acquisition. The work of Giles et al., particularly Ball, Giles & Hewstone (1984), hypothesises that factors such as positive feedback from other groups, high or low linguistic vitality of own language, hard and soft boundaries between groups, are influential factors in acquiring language. The theory has clear implications for the learning of a second language by the younger generation ethnic minorities of Asians, Caribbeans, Cypriots and others, now settled in Britain. An alternative mode of investigation is to study the workings of language and identity at a molecular level, of the self-construal of bilinguals, and to determine whether there is a difference in their identity structure in the context of each language and whether it differs from that of monolinguals. Uriel Weinreich said of languages in contact (1953), that the best way of studying attendant problems was to study the locus where the two languages met, i.e. in the person of the bilingual. Despite the many problems of learning or acquiring a second language, most children of ethnic minorities acquire sufficient competence in their second language to complete their school education. I will not enter into a discussion of what constitutes competence, or the dangers of semi-lingualism, or speculate on the effects on the intellectual development of children educated in a second language (Morsbach, 1985), as space does not permit. Sometimes the first language of home is 'lost', and certainly many speakers of ethnic minority languages are not literate in their mother tongue. I shall use 'bilingual' to refer to children of migrant parents who are born in Britain or arrive at an early age and become accustomed to expressing themselves in two languages. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that linguistic context brings about psychological changes in bilinguals. However, contrary to stereotypical assumptions, it was found that speaking one's mother tongue does not necessarily bring about gratification or fulfilment of ethnic identity, as it has been romanticised to do by Fanon (1967), Fishman (1977), and numerous others. At the same time, speaking in the second language does not necessarily cause 'attrition'. The data collected from Gujarati/English bilinguals in Britain show that language is a catalyst and brings about modifications in emotional states and affective ties or identifications with role models. These changes of affect, however, flow from antecedent biographical factors. The first of these biographical pre-conditions is that of the orientation of bilinguals towards their ethnicity. There are bilinguals who wish to draw closer to the values of their own culture, while others wish to incorporate new values into their lifestyles. Thus an 'orthodox' or 'progressive' orientation underpins differing patterns of identifications among a group of bilinguals of shared ethnicity.
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Moreover, boys and girls have differing patterns of identification because of prescriptive gender roles which apply more rigidly to girls in religious cultures. Again there are differences between Asian cultures. Hindus and Muslims have different attitudes to education and to gender roles (Ghuman & Gallop, 1981). Nevertheless, parents of both groups are stricter with regard to mixing between boys and girls than indigenous British parents. In addition, independent choice of a marriage partner by young people, and other restrictions, are applied with varying degrees of consistency to boys and to girls, boys being allowed greater leeway than girls. Asian British girls who incorporate certain indigenous values into their own belief systems have much to lose by preferring to orient themselves away from their own ethnic norms. The changes in the identifications of bilinguals caused by switches in language context are culture specific, and no general theory of ethnic identity and language can hope to account for all bilinguals of all languages and cultures, transferred to diverse societies. Twentieth century migration of labour forces within Europe and between continents is one of the most important means of creating bilingual communities. Each case of migration differs and has to be studied in the setting of a particular society in its own socio-historic context (cf. Weinreich, 1986). For example, the case of Finns in Sweden is quite different to the case of Asians in Britain. In order to accommodate the differences between ethnic communities but at the same time to provide a means of comparison across them, it is necessary to have a metatheoretical framework within which a particular ethnic minority of potential bilinguals can be studied. At the same time, within such a framework, it should be possible to generate further theories grounded in the actual processes whereby the offspring of migrants develop dual linguistic systems within two cultures. Identity Structure Analysis Such a framework is provided in the theory of identity called Identity Structure Analysis (ISA), developed by Peter Weinreich (1969, 1980, 1983, 1986), which has the further advantage that it has been operationalised. Weinreich's theory develops from several strands of psychology. Erikson's theory of identity (1959, 1968), Personal Construct theory (Kelly, 1955), cognitiveaffective consistency theory (Festinger, 1954; Weinreich, 1969), and the influence of the Symbolic Interactionists are synthesised in this approach. These perspectives are particularly suitable for a cross-cultural study of bilinguals, for the disjunction between home and school culture is a crucial element in their identity. Like Erikson's, Weinreich's conceptualisation emphasises that a person strives to achieve a synthesis of identification within the values of one's own culture. Offspring of ethnic minorities are enculturated within two traditions and have to achieve synthesis of the values derived from
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their role models, who are dispersed over two cultures. Erikson also stressed that identity is 'achievable', hence identity is not pre-determined by socialisation, and the individual can cope with such disjunctions rather than succumb to them. G.A. Kelly also conceived of the person as an active participant in his own destiny. Cognitive-affective theory concerns the dissonance which arises in individuals when there is a disparity between cognition and affect, and an encounter with members of two disparate cultures can be a prime source of such dissonance. Finally, central to the work of G.H. Mead (1934) and the symbolic interactionists is the concept of the development of language in a child which enables one to develop both a sense of selfhood, as well as a sense of the moral values of one's own society. Synthesising these perspectives, ISA provides the concepts for understanding the identity structure of bilinguals and their relationship with their dual cultures and linguistic systems. Based on the concepts of Erikson and Mead, Ervin-Tripp (1954) postulated that a child forms primary identifications with powerful adults, usually the parents, in a particular language. These identifications are made in the familial language. In the case of the younger generation of Asian British, they form their identifications with powerful adults, their parents, in a home language which differs from the language of school and the wider society. In the home culture, too, parents try to preserve the religion, rituals and folk-tales of their homeland. A theoretical proposition can now be made that, Children develop their primary idealistic identifications with their parents who constitute their positive role models. Some mediating symbols of the affective ties and dependency/power relations between children and parents are non-verbal language, rites of passage, rituals, emblems, folk-lore and language. In ISA, Weinreich has refined and developed the concept of identification. As conceptualised in ISA, idealistic identifications with positive role models are the child's desire to emulate their parents' good qualities. Since no-one identifies totally with another, one forms part identifications with people. The desire to dissociate from some of the bad qualities perceived in others is the degree of 'contra-identification' for people. However, contra-identifications experienced for others do not lead to conflicted identifications in a person unless one sees commonalities of attributes both good and bad with that other, i.e. empathetic identification. The multiplicative function of both empathetic and contra-identification results in 'conflicted identifications'. A second proposition can be made, which states, The development of a bilingual child's familial language coincides with the formation of initial idealistic identifications with parents
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and care-takers and enables the child to form further identifications, viz. contra- and empathetic identifications with family members. These in turn lead to conflicted identifications with family members. The children encounter the wider culture through its representatives, such as doctors, social workers and teachers, mediated through the English language. Thus the children learn their values from role models of both cultures. Values of the home culture are encoded in the language of home, while the values of the wider community are learnt primarily through the English language. In the case of these dually enculturated bilinguals, identifications are made across both own ethnic group and English people. Initial identifications with parents are of a predominantly affective nature, while identifications with English people made in the domain of education and intellectual activities are associated more with intellectual skills and challenges. Ervin-Tripp (1954) went on to develop the concept of bicultural, bilingual identity, which may be applied to children of ethnic minorities. When these primary identifications are followed sequentially by secondary identifications with others formed in a second language and in a different social and cultural milieu, then the bilingual will associate the first language with familial and ethnic values and the second language with values of the subsequently encountered culture. A statement of this principle is, Bilingual, dually enculturated children form part identifications with new role models which are encoded in the second language associated with secondary socialisation and the development of intellectual skills. With this background, Ervin-Tripp carried out an experiment with French/ American bilinguals (1964), and concluded that bilinguals had dual personalities, each of their languages being aligned to a different value system. Her argument that people assume a cultural personality associated with its language is a widely held view but not convincing or conclusive. There are alternative views suggesting a more pragmatic relationship between languages and ethnicity or nationalism (cf. Edwards, 1985:47-98) which deny a close association of this nature between a bilingual's identity and languages. To facilitate an investigation into this arena of conflicting views, we turn to Erikson's concept of identity. He sees identity as a process of continuity of the self despite change, growth and development. Weinreich (1980) has encapsulated this view of identity as, how one construes oneself in the present expresses the continuity between how one construes oneself as one was in the past, and how one construes oneself as one aspires to be in the future.
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The principle of sameness and continuity persisting through change permits one to understand how language carries a symbolic impact which causes modifications in bilinguals in their respective languages but without causing dramatic changes of personality. However, the symbolism of language is construed in a differential manner across bilinguals, even when they share a common ethnicity and language. This is hardly surprising as people attach different values to all symbols, whether they are flags, rituals or myths. Hence the modification of identification in bilinguals, with significant people associated with each language, is not uniform. Changing patterns of identifications in the context of one or other language differ between individuals and groups of individuals because the symbolism of language arises from the individuals' predisposition towards their own ethnicity and that of the culture of the wider society. The orientation towards one's ethnicity or a withdrawal from it is not final or immutable for any person, but it provides the source from which patterns of identification flow for any given individual at a particular time in the life cycle. By adopting the framework of ISA it was possible to measure changes of identifications within bilinguals in the context of each of their languages. Further, by studying the patterns of identifications which emerged, first for individuals and then nomethetically, some empirically grounded propositions were formed regarding the relationship of the individual's ethnic identity to a dual linguistic system. Methodology Fifty-two young British-Asians (29 females and 23 males), aged between 14 and 18 years, and communicatively competent and literate in Gujarati and English, co-operated in the study which was carried out using the ISA instrument in both Gujarati and English. The young people were drawn from schools, mother-tongue teaching centres and a college of further education in the cities of Birmingham and Leicester. In order to establish cross-cultural norms against which to compare the levels of identifications experienced by the bilinguals towards significant people, a group of 20 male and 27 female indigenous monolinguals of comparable age and education were also presented with the identity instrument once, and in the English language only. For the bilinguals, the instrument was presented in Gujarati and English at intervals of approximately three weeks. By this means it was possible to compare the bilinguals' identity measures in the two languages and to compare these against identifications of a normative indigenous sample. The concepts of ISA have been operationalised by means of algebraic formulae, and indices of identity structure as defined by Weinreich (1980) can
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be measured by using a rating instrument. It consists of a series of bipolar constructs which are used to rate a selected set of entities. Both constructs and entities were elicited through two interviews in Gujarati and English respectively, and from the resulting pool of constructs and entities the final selection reflects the value system of the respondents in both languages. Some of the constructs as elicited from pilot interviews referred to specific ethnic values such as 'parents should select marriage partner' (number 6). Others were directed at traditional values, such as 'only women should do housework' (construct 16), and a third set of constructs were directed toward personal attributes such as 'feels confident' (construct 1). The constructs do not prescribe a favoured polarity and each is anchored on the respondent's ideal self-image (Me as I would like to be). This is a mandatory entity in the ISA instrument, which must also include the entities, Me as I am and Me as I used to be. Other entities selected for the instrument were people considered significant or influential by the respondents, such as parents, teachers and a religious person. Groups, such as Gujarati people, English people and Jamaicans were also included. Since the value system derives from the respondent's own ideal self-image, it facilitates the comparison of identifications with entities formed by the bilinguals in each of their languages. The data collected are processed by means of the computer programme IDEX-IDIO to provide an idiographic profile of each bilingual in both languages. At a second stage, the individual profiles are pooled and collated by means of a second computer programme, IDEX-NOMO, which provides nomethetic indices of identifications for the group. Results Indo-orientation During early stages of the analysis of data, it became clear that the bilinguals did not have a homogeneous value-system, and the young people could be divided into two groups. The first was termed 'orthodox' or Indo-oriented, as they look towards the authority of their own Gujarati people for the bulk of their values. A second group were termed 'progressives'. They did not accept the authority of their own group of Gujarati people, but were Anglo-oriented toward the values which they perceived were held by English people. This division was on the basis of the crucial construct (number 5), 'feels English/ feels different from English people' which was supported by other evidence consisting of changes of identifications with role models from the past to the present. The results discussed in the remainder of this paper focus on a sub-sample of 'orthodox' or Indo-oriented Muslim females.
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Comparison of Present and Past Self-Images The designation of these Muslim females as being orthodox is supported by comparing the group's profile first in the Gujarati language (GL) between their present and past empathetic identifications, followed by a similar comparison in the English language (EL). While GL symbolises their affective ties with parents, family and significant members of the ethnic community, in EL are codified the identifications made with members of the wider society, and symbolise the intellectual aspects of their socialisation. Profiles show that there is little or no change in empathetic identifications between past and present in either GL or EL (Figures 1 and 2). The resolution of identity conflicts may follow two paths. The first of these is the re-evaluation of self within the existing value system, and the second would be the re-evaluation of the value system itself (Weinreich, 1983). These females show little reevaluation of self in relation to their empathetic identifications with significant role models. Examination of their value system, however, shows ambivalence towards certain norms of their ethnic group. Conflicted identifications with both English and Gujarati people are hardly changed (Figures 3 and 4). At the same time, in GL there is a heightening of conflicted identifications in the present with Gujarati people. This denotes the power of GL as a symbol of ethnicity, for the context of GL heightens
Figure 1 Current empathetic identification. x, English; ---- , Gujarati
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Figure 2 Past empathetic identification.x, English, ---- , Gujarati
Figure 3 Ident-conflicts based in current self. x, English; ---- , Gujarati
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Figure 4 Ident-conflict based in the past self. x, English; ---- , Gujarati feelings of conflicted identification with own group, which is discussed below. Identity Diffusion The results concerning this sub-group of Muslim, orthodox females run counter to stereotypical expectations. Using the mother tongue does not necessarily provide a means of achieving fulfilment of identity implied by the romanticisation of language as 'recorder of paternity, the expresser of patrimony and the carrier of phenomenology' (Fishman, 1977). The Gujarati language is particularly potent for this sub-group as a symbol of ethnicity since they aspire to feel different from English people (construct 5), and to be more like their own group. Nevertheless, despite this orientation, the females have substantial conflicts in identification with their own Gujarati people. Contrary to intuition, these are evident in the Gujarati language. Further, the girls' identity diffusion (the overall dispersion and magnitude of conflicts in identification) is greater in GL than in EL (GL=0.34, EL=0.29, F=3.1499, df 1,19, p=0.0896.) This is due to the fact that because GL constitutes a more powerful symbol of ethnic values for them than for those who are Anglo-oriented, both the 'bad' qualities which they see themselves as sharing with other Gujaratis through their empathetic identification with them, and the contra-identifications with Gujarati people, are accentuated in GL.
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One cause for their contra-identification with their own ethnic group arises from their desire to protect some of the values, such as equality of genders, which they have derived from their part identifications with teachers and other role models in the wider society. The role of gender in causing conflicted identification with their own ethnic group is embedded in the general orientation of these girls. Although they wish to espouse valeus of their own group there are some values and norms with which they contra-identify. Value Systems of Muslim and Indigenous British Girls How does this orientation towards their Gujarati ethnicity make these girls different from the 'normative' orientation of indigenous British girls? In ISA, a person uses constructs as a means of evaluating others. High Structural Pressure (scale = -100 to +100) indicates the stability and consistency with which each construct is applied in evaluating people. Taking value systems of indigenous females to represent 'normative' values and comparing them to the construal system of the Muslim girls in GL (since this is the language in which their ethnic values would be most potently represented for them), Structural Pressures (SP) differ as expected on constructs arising from ethnic or traditional views of Indian Muslims. Appendix A summarises group means. Six of the ten females support the view that parents should select their husbands for them (construct 6 selected polarity 1), while indigenous females object to parents even helping them to make such decisions. Muslim females use the construct (7), 'feels OK with English people', without ambivalence, whilst indigenous females have a low Structural Pressure (SP) on the construct 'feels OK with Asians'. This indicates that they use this value uncertainly, and with some affective dissonance when construing others. To be religious (construct 11) is a highly evaluative belief for Muslim women as an attribute of their ethnicity, while indigenous females do not regard this as a core evaluative dimension by which to judge others. Gujarati language, too, is a highly evaluative dimension for Muslim females (construct 14), which is to be expected as an attribute of the ethnicity which they value. Of the constructs representing 'traditional' attitudes, another core evaluative concept for Muslim women is to 'work for the family' (construct 15), while indigenous females reject this value in favour of the opposite pole, preferring to 'work for outsiders'. On another traditional matter, whether 'men should do housework', the Muslim females reject this value while in the context of GL.
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Summary In GL, the values associated with ethnicity and traditional opinions are generally applied consistently by Muslim females. Indigenous females, as might be expected, have norms which they operate from the perspective of their own group of indigenous Britons. For Muslim girls, there is some ambivalence in respect of constructs which they perceive as protecting their feminist interests. Self-Construal of Muslim Females in GL and EL Contexts The value systems of these Indo-oriented girls varies between their GL context and in the English language, as can be seen in Appendix B showing SP of Muslim girls on constructs in GL and in EL. In accordance with the theoretical proposition stated earlier, language context provides the symbolism which evokes part identifications with the role models associated with that language. Changes of SP and even switch in the polarity of one construct show the powerful effect of EL as a symbol of part identifications with English people and the values they are perceived to stand for. The principle which seems to operate with Muslim females is that while GL has the power to symbolise the ethnic values to which they aspire, EL arouses identifications with people whose values are in opposition to ethnic aspirations but which promote their feminist interests. One or two examples suffice to illustrate the process. In EL, the females switch polarities on the construct (6), of parents' choice of spouse, and adopt the opposite value, i.e. that they should make their own choice (SP in GL=38.65, EL=66.93). There is also a significant change of SP on the construct of spouse being born in the UK or in India (construct 17). Low SP in the GL on this construct indicates that it is used somewhat ambivalently to construe others (GL=28.81, EL = 64.95. F = 5.610, dfl,19, p < 0.05). As defined in ISA, low SP means that a construct is being applied inconsistently to construe others, or, that its evaluative use is due for a change. These women are much more certain in their evaluative use of this construct in the EL context when their empathetic identifications with English people are symbolically sharpened. A husband arriving from India would probably be much more assertive of male authority, and unaware of the girls' comparatively greater freedom within British society than that of Muslim females in India. Thus, their adoption of ethnic values is tempered with the attractions of the wider society. This is further illustrated by the decrease in positive SP in GL on the traditional value of working for the family (construct 15). SP is significantly lower in GL than in EL (GL=56.67, EL=88.85, F=15.4945, dfl,19, p < 0.05). At first sight this implies a contradiction, since this is not a
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positive value for indigenous people. However, GL acts as a sharp reminder of the loss of independence by living under the protection of the ethnic community and accepting its orthodoxies. Change in polarity of constructs, or low pressure, is greatest on those constructs related to the girls' ethnicity or gender role. These findings lead one to several interesting conclusions which are empirically grounded and can be set out in statements. The first empirically grounded proposition can now be formed. Issues of gender role in dually enculturated bilinguals arouse conflicted identifications with role models which will be intensified by the symbolism of the language associated with such conflicts. Modification of Identifications between Languages Results dealt with in this section illustrate that while language has an overall global impact as representative of a particular set of identifications, bilinguals can apply this symbolism selectively to particular individuals. The ability of listeners to discriminate between speakers' paralinguistic traits has been demonstrated in matched guise experiments. Giles & Smith (1979) showed that speakers can distinguish between the accent, speech rate and content of another's speech. A parallel to this is the ability of bilinguals to distinguish between language code as a global symbol of ethnicity and its specific symbolism for bilinguals with respect to their identifications with particular individuals in their social constellation. A reflection of this selective symbolism is their significantly higher level of contra-identification with one member of the family, elder brother. The surrogate powers of authority vested by the culture in the sons is strongly symbolised by the Gujarati language. The greater equality of siblings within the indigenous British culture and associated with EL would minimise the perception of this authority. Thus Muslim girls' contra-identification with their eldest brother is greater in Gujarati than in English (GL=0.10, EL=0.05, F=4.3816, dfl,19, p < 0.05). In keeping with the desire to maintain some independence, Muslim girls have a significantly higher degree of contra-identification with parents and siblings together in GL than in EL (GL=0.14, EL=0.09, F=9.6607, dfl,77, p < 0.05). The discriminatory perception of language as a symbol can be stated as follows: While bilinguals associate the symbolism of language globally with a particular culture they do so selectively with particular members of that culture.
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Single Identity, Dual Linguistic Systems Identifications with particular individuals representing power, or one with whom there are strong conflicted identifications, can be significantly modified by change of language. Such modifications can be explained within the theoretical framework of ISA as ways of redfining self's ethnic identifications and a part of the continuing process of identity development, rather than as disjunctions of personality. It is also apparent that such changes can only come about if, while a bilingual is active within one language code, the identifications made through the alternative language code are always available to the individual whichever language may be active at a particular time. One can now say, While one language is in active use and the alternative code is dormant, the passive linguistic system is nevertheless receptive to experiential states and verbal information received in the activated code. This principle of crossover between linguistic systems is also supported by a study of a Pakistani girl (Weinreich, 1979), in which her empathetic identifications with English people were higher in the Urdu language than in English and she viewed the merits of Pakistani people more favourably in EL than when cued in Urdu. Bearing in mind that Muslim females are oriented towards Gujarati people it seems a contradiction that their conflicted identification with their own group is higher in GL than it is in EL. For them, the importance of speaking Gujarati is demonstrated by its being a core evaluative construct (construct 14). In its context, the impact of the ethnic values it symbolises for them are stronger than the influence of the same values in the English language. However, part identifications with English people are sustained when cued in the GL context. This principle of crossover between linguistic systems also operates in the idealistic identification of Muslim females with their own group. This shows a trend of being lower in GL than in EL (GL=0.70, EL=0.84, F=3.7231, dfl,19, p=0.0667). This is consistent with their greater realism towards their ethnic values in the Gujarati language. Again, with respect to their own group, there is a trend toward greater contra-identification in Gujarati than in English (GL=0.25, EL=0.13, F=3.5006, dfl,19, p=0.0747).
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Implications for Second Language Use Bearing in mind that the bilinguals who participated in this study were selected for their communicative competence in both their languages, what lessons are there, if any, for theories of second language usage and identity of bilinguals? One might expect that differing orientations towards own ethnicity between Hindu Anglo-oriented females in the study and Muslim Indo-oriented girls would result in differing identification patterns. However, generally speaking, both groups have higher levels of contra- and conflicted identifications in their own language than in EL with family members and Gujarati and English people. Table 1 shows contra-identifications of Anglo-oriented girls in GL and EL. Contra-identification for this group with English people is greater in GL when they are cued into their ethnic persona although they aspire towards the values of English people. Their redefinition of self towards Anglo values is far from resolved and the context of GL sharpens their ambivalence towards English role models. Table 2 shows contra-identifications of Indo-oriented girls in GL and EL. Indo-oriented females have higher contraidentifications with their own group in GL because the language is symbolic of some values and qualities of Gujarati people which they wish to dissociate from. Table 3 shows conflicted identifications of Anglo-oriented girls in GL and EL. Since Anglo-oriented females have higher contra-identifications in GL than in EL for English people, it follows that conflicted-identification will also be higher for this group in GL. Table 1 GL EL df F ratio P Parents 0.27 0.31 Siblings 0.18 0.17 Gujarati people 0.48 0.41 English people 0.37 0.23 1,19 6.5504 <0.05 Table 2 GL EL df F ratio P Parents & siblings 0.14 0.09 1,77 9.6607 <0.01 Gujarati people 0.25 0.13 1,19 3.5006 0.0747 English people 0.32 0.33
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Table 4 shows conflicted identifications of Indo-oriented Muslim girls in GL and EL. For Indo-oriented females the symbolism of Gujarati language can be seen to be more highly associated with family and Gujarati people who are more important and significant to this group than to their Anglo-oriented counterparts. With respect to English people, their conflicted identification with them is not much different in the English language. For Anglo-oriented females on the other hand, language context is significant with respect to English people only. They appear to lower their contra-identifications with English people in the English language but in the presence of their own ethnic group, doubts and contra-identifications with English people increase. Language cannot resolve identification conflicts, but it acts as a catalyst in modifying a bilingual's perceptions of ethnic identity. A clarification of this outcome may be found in Weinreich (1983). He writes, Insofar as there exists within ethnic minority adolescents a commonality of identification conflicts with the primary ethnic group, there will reside a concern with redefinitions of their own self-concepts in which issues of ethnicity play a salient part. The orientation of a gorup and its desire for redefinition along a pathway drawing them closer towards their own ethnicity, as in the case of IndoTable 3 GL EL df F ratio P Parents 0.40 0.41 Siblings 0.34 0.33 Gujarati people 0.49 0.45 English people 0.44 0.36 1,19 8.0366 <0.05 Table 4 GL EL df F ratio P Parents & siblings 0.32 0.24 1,77 9.1515 <0.025 Gujarati people 0.40 0.25 1,19 6.5653 <0.025 English people 0.40 0.42
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oriented females, does not necessarily provide them with freedom from conflicted identification with their own group members. Conclusion There is sufficient evidence to confirm propositions stated at the outset and these may now be elaborated as follows. Language context is associated with a particular culture through identification patterns formed with various representatives of that culture. Changes in identification according to language context take place within a bilingual, but there is no evidence to support the view that bilinguals are split into two personalities in their separate linguistic systems (Ervin-Tripp, 1964). Despite changes in their identifications in each language, these are to be seen as modifications in the pattern of identifications rather than as radical changes in pesonality activated by language switch. The continuity of the bilingual's identity is maintained in each language since the mainspring of changes is in their orientation and part of their process of redefinition. The orientation of a bilingual towards self's ethnicity and the path to redefinition which is chosen, transforms the symbolism of language for the person. Like all symbols, each language means different things to different people. Further, the symbolic quality of language is applied selectively between people of the same ethnicity. Linguistic strategies employed by individuals will change and be modified by external social factors such as favourable or unfavourable outcomes of social encounters as Ball, Giles & Hewstone (1984) have shown. However, the impact of social encounters is filtered through the individual's biographical experience and the pathway or orientation one selects towards the resolution of one's ethnicity. This is not the same as a perception of one's group boundaries but it is the way one construes one's ethnicity in the present between one's past self and aspiration towards one's future self. An important consideration for women is their gender-related role within each culture and its interaction with the symbolism of each of their languages. References Ball, P., Giles, H. & Hewstone, M. (1984) Language acquisition: the intergroup theory with catastrophic dimensions. In H. Tajfel (ed.), The Social Dimension. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clement, R. (1980) Ethnicity, contact and communicative competence in a second language. In H. Giles, P. Robinson & P.M. Smith (eds) Language: Social Psychological Perspectives. Oxford: Pergamon. Dulay, H.C., Hernandez-Chavez, E. & Burt, M.K. (1978) The process of becoming bilingual.
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In S. Singh & J. Lynch (eds) Diagnostic Procedures in Hearing Language and Speech. Baltimore: University Park Press. Edwards, J. (1985) Language, Society and Identity. Oxford: Blackwell. Erikson, E.H. (1959) The problem of ego identity. Psychological Issues, 1, 101-64. (1968) Identity, Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton. Ervin-Tripp, E. (1954) Identification and bilingualism. In E. Ervin-Tripp (1973) Language Acquisition and Communicative Choice. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (1964) Language and TAT content in bilinguals. In E. Ervin-Tripp (1973) Language Acquisition and Communicative Choice. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Fanon, F. (1967) Black Skins, White Masks. New York: Grove Press. Festinger, L. (1954) A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 17, 117-40. Fishmann, J.A. (1977) Language and ethnicity. In H. Giles (ed.), Language, Ethnicity and Intergroup Relations: London: Academic Press. Gardner, R.C. & Lambert, W.E. (1959) Motivational variables in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 13, 266-72. Ghuman, P.A.S. & Gallop, R. (1981) Educational attitudes of Bengali families in Cardiff. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 2 (2), 127-44. Giles, H. & Byrne, P. (1982) An intergroup approach to second language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development, 3 (1) 17-40. Giles, H. & Johnson, P. (1981) The role of language in ethnic group relations. In J. Turner & H. Giles (eds) Intergroup Behaviour. Oxford: Blackwell. Giles, H. & Smith, P. (1979) Accommodation theory: optimal levels of convergence. In H. Giles & R. St Clair (eds) Language and Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell. Kelly, G.A. (1955) The Psychology of Personal Constructs. New York: Norton. Macnamara, J. (1973) Attitudes and learning a second language. In R.W. Shuy & R. Fasold (eds), Language Attitudes: Current Trends and Perspectives. Georgetown University. Mead, G.H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Morsbach, G. (1985) Second language performance by children of Pakistani origin in Glasgow. Paper presented at the International Association of Cross Cultural Psychology, Malmö. Weinreich, P. (1969) Theoretical and Experimental Evaluation of Dissonance Processes. Doctoral Thesis, Faculty of Science: University of London. (1979) Sex-role identification, social change and cultural conflict. Paper presented at The British Psychological Society (N. Ireland branch) Annual Conference, Rosapenna, Republic of Ireland. (1980) Manual for Identity Exploration Using Personal Constructs. London: Social Science Research Council. Reprint 1986 London, Economic & Social Research Council. (1983) Emerging from threatened identities. In G.M. Blackwell (ed.) Threatened Identities. New York: Wiley. (1986) The operationalisation of identity theory in ethnic and racial relations. In J. Rex & D. Mason (eds) Theories of Race and Ethnic Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Weinreich, U. (1953) Languages in Contact. 1974 edition, The Hague: Mouton.
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Appendix A Muslim Girls (GL) and Indigenous Girls Structural Pressure on Constructs (Majority Consensus) CN I Construct title Muslim Pol Frq Indig 9 50.17 1Iconfident/unsure 73.78 1 8 61.20 2Ihigher educ unimp/imp 38.66 2 8 51.31 3Ipity/adm ind/blame poor* 74.24 1 6 50.85 4Ishyopp sex/not shy 57.92 2 5Ifeels Anglo/notatall* 55.83 2 10 70.29 6 53.21 6Iparents/own choice 38.65 1 7Iawkward/ok w other grp* 54.82 2 10 27.05 9 66.39 8Idepend on family/self 62.16 1 8 39.47 9Iawkward/ok w Asns (y)* 45.58 2 5 49.72 10Iaccepting/fighting 70.36 2 11Isettle o'seas/visit* 72.63 2 10 53.98 9 63.64 12Ifemales earn/hsewives only 28.39 1 8 34.19 13Iirreligious/religious 82.94 2 7 44.31 14IAsn lang imp/no* 74.02 1 7 56.89 15Ifamily/other employed 56.67 1 5 49.16 16Ihsework both/fems only 62.93 2 5 13.69 17Ispouse from UK/o'seas* 28.81 1 7 35.57 18Iprofession/business 38.98 1 * Constructs adapted for indigenous British
Pol 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1
Frq 27 27 27 25 23 17 18 18 21 21 22 27 16 18 17 27 15 16
Appendix B Muslim Girls SP in EL and GL Structural Pressure on Constructs (Majority Consensus) CN I Construct title EL Pol Frq GL 1Iconfident/unsure 58.33 1 10 73.78 9 38.66 2Ihigher educ unimp/imp 68.32 2 3Ipities indns/admires 84.49 1 10 74.24 7 57.92 4Ishy opp sex/not shy 66.31 2 5Ifeels Eng/unEnglish 64.45 2 10 55.83 5 38.65 6Iparents/own choice 66.93 2 7Iawkward/ok with the English 51.71 2 10 54.82 8Idepend on family/self 62.23 1 10 62.16
Pol Frq 9 1 8 2 8 1 6 2 10 2 6 1 10 2 9 1
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(table continued from previous page) CN I Construct title 9 Iawkward/ok with Indn vistrs 10 Iaccepting/fighting 11 Isettle in India/visit 12 Ifemales earn/housewives 13 Iirreligious/religious 14 IGujarati imp/unimportant 15 Ifamily/other employed 16 Ihousewrk both/females 17 Ispouse UK/Indian 18 Iprofession/business
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Pol Frq GL Pol Frq 7 45.58 2 8 2 8 70.36 2 5 2 9 72.63 2 10 2 8 28.39 1 9 1 7 82.94 2 8 2 9 74.02 1 7 1 7 1 10 56.67 1 6 62.93 2 5 2 7 28.81 1 5 1 5 38.98 1 7 1
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19 Incongruity of Sexual Norms and Behaviour in the Danish State Schools: Notes for Discussion Dorrit Poulsen Hawkesworth Gildbroskolen, Ishøj, Gildbrovej 39, 2635 Ishøj, Denmark. Abstract. The sexual norms and behaviour of Islamic immigrants' children differ from those of ordinary Danish children, and these differences become, at the time of puberty, very important, especially in the minds of the immigrant children and their parents. The Danes do not think too much about it. There is a cultural incongruity which to a great extent goes unacknowledged for various reasons. The discussions are usually kept in very general terms and are usually concentrated on descriptions of one or the other of the conflicting 'cultures'. I shall try to take my point of departure from the situations in the 'Folkeskole', where the conflicts arise, and describe in practical terms the incongruity of behaviour patterns and moral norms. My conclusion will be in terms of expectations and communication on the part of the four categories involved: (1) the Islamic children, (2) the Danish children, (3) the Islamic adults and (4) the Danish adults. This finally has to do with identity, both as representatives of a specific culture and of a specific sex. I would like to present some data from school situations, where the norms and behaviour of the foreign-speaking children, in this case mostly Turkish children, differ from Danish norms and behaviour and sometimes create problems for teachers. The problems with the most upsetting effects are the behaviour of ill-adapted foreign-speaking boys. There are a great number of Danish children, too, of course, who disrupt the teaching, but although it is harmful to the work of the whole class, the teacher is able to cope better and feel more secure than when she/he is faced with the alien pupils. It is not only a question of language but also a question of basic assumptions of behaviour.
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I shall try to give you some examples, and I hope we can discuss why this pattern develops and what can be done about it. The data I shall present have been gathered from my teaching of three classes over four and a half years. The first two classes were receiving classes ('modtagelsesklasser'), which I taught from 1980 to 1984. One class had 13 pupils, predominantly Turkish- and Kurdish-speaking, most of them coming straight from Turkey; the other was a special class of six children between 12 and 15 years old. All had great difficulty in adjusting to Danish culture and were unable to go into Danish mainstream classes. The third class from which I draw data is a Danish ordinary class, a fifth form, which contains 4 Turkish and 11 Danish children. Two of the Turkish children were boys, two were girls. All the data deal with children between 10 and 14 years of age. In the receiving classes the Turkish children were separated from the Danish children, and it was a small Turkish world with the Danish teacher as the only 'foreigner', often supported by a Turkish interpreter. The norms and behaviour in this little setting of the class room were, of course, very Turkish, as most of the children had just arrived in Denmark. The teacher brought with her/him the Danish system of sanctions. In the Danish school system discipline is based on scolding, explaining why good behaviour is advantageous and making agreements with the children, where the children promise to behave properly according to a common standard. It then becomes a matter of honour to keep the agreement. Beating or hitting the children is forbidden the teachers by law. The Turkish children, used to another style of discipline and of teaching, interpreted this kind of discipline as hardly any discipline at all and, as one pupil wrote in a letter home, 'the teachers are not allowed to hit us so we make a lot of fun'. The Danish children are used to the moral scoldings, which keep them from most mischief. In dealing with the Turkish boys, a teacher usually relies on the father of the children. 'I will tell your father' is synonymous with saying 'You will get a beating' in many cases. A Danish teacher can as a last resort sometimes use humiliation as a means of sanction. 'Are you stupid?' they can ask. This will often make the Danish children ashamed, while most Turkish boys would respond with anger to such a question, saying, 'No, I am not stupid', and by body language signal that he was ready for a fight. It might not be easy to be a Turkish girl in the Danish school environment, as I shall show in the following, but it is even more difficult to be a Turkish boy. There is more similarity in the expected behaviour of Danish and Turkish girls than between Danish and Turkish boys. The girls of both cultures are expected to be kind, sweet and sociable, but the self-assertiveness of a Turkish boy does not correspond to the behaviour of a Danish boy or to the status of a member of a minority group. The style of the self-assertive boy is in fact looked upon as quite provocative by many Danes, who believe in presenting
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themselves with 'ydmyg selvhævdelse' which can be translated as 'false humility'. (The term was coined by a Danish historian.) I shall focus on one behaviour trait of those Turkish boys, who have most problems in the school, namely the kind of teasing and abuse they use, which is different from the teasing and abuse used by Danes. The Danes will abuse with reference to intelligence, where the Turks seem to abuse with reference to sex. The Danes will say, 'You are an idiot' or 'how stupid you are', while the Turks would call the girls 'whores' and say things like 'I fuck your mother' or such like. The idea of using sexual abuse like this, and especially used by children, quite shocks a middle-class Danish teacher the first time she/he hears itor rather has it translated. Now let me describe to you the situations in the classes. I shall not enter into discussion of who among the Turks use these expressions, but I shall look upon what effect it had in the little social setting of the classroom. The effect was specially great on the girls. Both small acts of teasing and the more serious abuse were directed toward the girls. Usually the girls would complain, going to the teacher and saying: 'Please, stop the boys, they are teasing us'. This applied both to Danish and Turkish boys, but the Turkish boys knew the implications of what they were doing, and were taken more seriously. The seriousness of this teasing was brought home to us when the girls, in one case very suddenly, stopped coming to school altogether. Neither the Danish boys nor the Danish teachers understood the dilemma of the Turkish girls. The teachers would ask the boys to stop, but no real sanctions were used if they did not stop. Danish teachers are used to teasing and a bit of roughhandling among puberty children. They think it is normal and they expect it. They certainly do not take it seriously, so when the Turkish girls came and asked for help it was treated with the same lightness as if it had been Danish girls. Some teachers would voice the very common attitude, 'It is the age, they like it. It does not matter too much.' To the girls themselves they would give advice like, 'Talk back to the boys, ask them to stop'. There was in the behavioural repertoire of the teachers no other action possible. When some girls finally stayed at home, the seriousness became clear. 'Good girls do not talk back to boys,' said the parents when we went to the homes of the girls. When we later confronted the boys with this possibility they themselves acknowledged that they would not allow the girls to talk back to them. This seemed to be very difficult for the girls to explain. They just repeated, 'We cannot do it'. Their sexual identity as good young girls was threatened, so they had only the choice of submitting to the humiliation of the teasing or staying at home as long as the teachers did not understand the situation. Finally, we found that the most efficient action to help the girls was to visit the parents of the boy who took the lead, and with the wholehearted support of the parents it was explained to the boy what correct behaviour was.
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The girls and the teachers operated on the basis of two different norm systems, but without really realising it for quite some time. The point had to be driven home by the girls' action of protest. That the sexual norms of the Muslim children are different from those of the Danish ordinary children is known by all teachers. But it is one thing to know it intellectually, quite another to recognise it when it shows itself in behaviour in concrete situations. Furthermore, even if a teacher realises it, he/ she has no other ways of dealing with the situation. Let me take another context in which sexual roles give problems. This time it is the boy who comes to the help of his little sister, as he is expected to do according to Turkish norms. In this particular instance the brother rushed to his little sister's class, charged in through the door without knocking while a class was in progress, and went straight to the little boy who had bothered his sister, and hit him. The big brother got into trouble, firstly because he hit a boy smaller than himself and secondly because he was impolite. In the eyes of the Danes it was not at all the thing to hit a boy much smaller than himself. On the other hand, it was a very natural way of solving the girl's problem, for she could not do it herself. She relied on her brother to do this. The sanctions used here by the Danish teachers was the moral speech, where the norm system that the teacher operated from was once again alien to the Turk. It had no relevance for him. The moral norms were stated as absolute truths and not as Danish versus Turkish behaviour, nor did he get any advice as to alternative behaviour he could use the next time. He listened politely, but when the scolding was finished he left the school together with his sister for the day. They came back the next. A factor which I think comes into play here is the attitude of the Turkish parents to the Danish type of school. They do not really understand the aims and methods of the teaching and often consider it lacking both discipline and morals. They are particularly shocked by the books used for sex education. On this point, though, the teachers will show consideration in their choice of materials to be used, if they know the great apprehension which the Muslim parents feel in this regard. Only thorough communication could remove the preconceived ideas and help towards mutual understanding, but often there is not time enough or confusion reigns as to who should and could take the initiative in a discussion. Now let me turn to the last of my examples, and let me describe to you a sequence of events that took place in the fifth form, which I have taught this year. It comprised 15 children, of whom 4 were Turkish, 2 girls and 2 boys. One of the Turkish boys was the strongest boy in the class and being able to beat all the others meant something in an environment where fighting is often
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the final means of getting your way. The boy had no great command of Danish and did badly academically, but he was accepted socially. He teased a great deal. He also called the Turkish girls 'whores'. One of the Turkish girls took it well, it did not seem to bother her, but the other would be completely shattered. She would just put her head down on her arms on the table and cry. In this way it started in the same manner as the teasing in the reception classes. But it developed differently and had to me a very unexpected outcome. First, we had the situation where the Turkish boy teased the Turkish girl, an internal Turkish matter transacted in Turkish. The next step was that the Turkish boy translated his abuse 'whore' into Danish and also abused the Danish girls in his class. Now, in one particular instance which I witnessed, the Danish girl did not respond as the Turkish girl did. She just looked very coolly at him and asked: 'Was it good when we made love?' She was completely unmoved. The last step in this development was an exchange of sexual abuse between the 2 Turkish girls and the Turkish boy together with a Danish boy. The boys said, in Turkish, 'Whores' to the girls and the girls answered in Danish 'bøssekarl', an insulting word for a homosexual man. The atmosphere of this exchange was not angry. It was as if they had found a common language. It had the appearance of a harmless game. The abuse had lost its bite. I had been thinking all the while of this abuse and teasing as a clash or conflict in the classroom, but on the other hand one could also look upon it as a process of integration. First, it was some internal Turkish exchange and teasing, and then it incorporated the Danish girls and boys. After a while they had those words in common and a ready and predictable response to themand in both the Turkish and the Danish languages. The sexual norms and behaviour of the Islamic children differ from the norms and behaviour of the ordinary Danish children and Danish teachers. This incongruity creates many situations in the daily life of the school, where customary ways of communication do not work. My main interest has been to look at the communication and interaction between the pupils themselves as well as the interaction between the children and the teachers. I have called this small paper 'Notes for discussion', because I am presenting data in a rather raw and unprocessed form: a description of what happens. But my aim is also, as a practitioner who experiences these difficulties, to present some questions for discussion and get a clearer idea of possible ways of solving them. One question is whether the school system should try to bridge the incongruity of norms in some way? If so, how could this be done? How can
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teachers learn to tackle the situations, where norms clash? How is it possible to make teachers conscious about their own culture? The schools with many foreign-speaking children have bilingual teachers, and teachers specially interested in teaching minority children. These two categories of teachers act as cultural mediators. But how could they be used in a more systematic manner?
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20 Bilingualism Versus Identity Jesper Hermann Københavns Universitet, Institut for anvendt og matematisk lingvistik, Njalsgade 96, 2300 S, Danmark. Abstract. During the last hundred years psychologists, philosophers and theologians have developed two different conceptions of personal identity. One of them insists that each person is a unique and transcendent being, whereas the other finds the personality deriving from interaction with other persons. (This is the prevailing view today.) These theories are placed in relation to the difficulties an immigrant encounters. Each of the concepts in the title is of interest in its own right. The reason for taking them up together comes from the fact that they are both anchored in the personality they are helping to sustain in the individual. In this way, they are intimately connected to the person and her feeling of being a self. This paper takes the reader in two different directions to two distinctly different traditions in the philosophy of man in the twentieth century, in order to obtain their assistance in the clarification of the mutual, reciprocal influence of identity and bilingualism. But it is necessary, first, to distinguish the various situations where bilingualism occurs: where the two parents of a child each speak a different language, one of them being the language of the surrounding culture; this kind of lasting condition will have an impact of some consequence on the child, whereas the more ephemeral kind of bilingual encounter at international conferences, where most of the participants use a language that is not their first language in order to ensure mutual understanding, will be of minor consequence to the individuals concerned. But another kind of bilingualism is found in the situations in which the refugee and the immigrant find themselves. The present paper deals only with this latter kind of situation. What is happening when you have to leave your home country and go abroad as a refugee? Several matters will turn out to be of importance; the
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most decisive may be some of the following factors: you will find yourself in the midst of an unintentional clash of cultures, and you will be deprived of your social network of friends and relatives. Under normal conditions, the social network helps to keep all of us going and things take place in the usual order and way. However, the refugee finds herself completely alone and surrounded by an alien culture with which she has to come to grips. The clash of cultures will be very noticeable with regard to language. But this most essential factor in our lives is only one part in the whole pattern of disturbances occurring when integrating into an alien culture. It is necessary to keep this 'partiality' constantly in mind when dealing with these themes. Although language is very important, it is just a single strand among the several issues involved in the total emergency of the changing of culture. How may the bilingual situation influence the identity of the person experiencing it? Apart from the scepticism which msut be borne in mind when language is separated from the non-verbal conditions surrounding it, normally we are thinking neither of our language nor our identity, just using them and being there. But when the identity is under some kind of pressure it may get problematical. Changing language may generate this sort of pressure, especially when it is combined with getting used to another culture, with getting acculturated to new conditions. The normal situation may be graphically represented as in Figure 1.
Figure 1 We belong to a culture that has a matching language and in this we anchor our identity; if we change our residence permanently, it may result in some changes to this picture such as those in Figure 2. The situation with the two cultures actualises the identity question. Figure 1 presupposes a special relation between language and identity. This relation comes to the surface in Figure 2, where the two languages represent Yourself. However, only one of the sets of reactions is recognised in the world around you; by achieving the language of the host country, the refugee finds it easier to gain an identity in accordance with the culture where he/she is now staying. Our language and our identity have a solid connection. Some scientists even claim that we are not constituted as individuals until we are able to encounter the 'significant others' in our surroundings through Language.
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Figure 2 Ontogenetically speaking this is most evident in the development of children; the relations to the 'significant others' are vital, both in the biological sustenance of the little child and in order to establish the child as a person. But when we look at grown-ups, two traditions for describing their identities may be distinguished: Mead (1934) and Sartre (1983) are their respective founders. George Herbert Mead laid the foundations for his theory in the 1920s. According to his ideas, the mind of the individual is constituted and maintained through the interactions with the others around the individual. Mead says that it is the surrounding social network that forms the individual. The notion of 'the generalised other' is of primary importance in this process. It signifies the organised set of attitudes and their corresponding responses common to the group of which the individual is a member. The generalised other arises out of the capacity of the individual to take the attitude of the other toward the behaviour of the individual. The means by which the individual 'gets outside herself and takes the role of the other is Language. Mead further maintains that without this 'generalized other' there would be no unity of the self, no stability, and no character. We have to internalise 'the generalised other' of the group we are growing up into. Later on we may enter one of the professional roles of our society, but if we go as refugees to another society and culture, we shall inevitably come across difficulties in dealing with the new kind of generalised other in this new society. According to the tradition from Mead, the Self has essentially two components: the Me and the I, neither of which may exist without the other. The Me consists of those attitudes of the others, including the generalised other, that have been incorporated into the Self. The Me is functionally related to the I which may be looked upon as 'the acting Me of the present', where then the Me is the I viewed in retrospect. The Language of the person is the vehicle which makes this complicated psychic machinery work. It is with the support of language that the individual accomplishes taking over the view of herself from the other. Mead's view of the 'I' has ambiguity; sometimes it is just a presupposition for the Me but in other places the 'I' is the seat of the creative and the novelty in the universe.
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This may be resolved by turning to the other tradition, the phenemenological-existential way of describing individuals, the tradition of which Sartre is the greatest protagonist in this century. Whereas the notion of role-taking is crucial to Mead, Sartre from the phenemenological tradition sees the Consciousness as the constituting feature of the individual. To Sartre, the consciousness is so filled by the 'I' that the I only appears when it is not looked at. The moment I turn my glance towards the ego, it disappears. The question of the genesis of consciousness and self-consciousness, so crucial for Mead, is seen by Sartre as a metaphysical question. If one is to be seen as an object, there must be a subject doing the seeing. I have become an object for the other, but, assuming this limit, I may turn against him and assert my subjectivity in the face of the other. But how may we now translate the complex insights of Mead and Sartre into notions that may be of use when we are dealing with immigrants and their children? The brief mention of the clash of cultures may be helpful in this connection. For both philosophers the experience of being an individual is rooted in language. For Mead this is done through the social interaction, whereas for Sartre the Self is a story we tell ourselves, a story that begins where we are right now, at present. There is a difference in where they put the emphasis, in the social surroundings or in the individual himself, but for both of them, language is at the heart of the existence of the individual. When this individual has to become a bilingual under the circumstances mentioned above, the clash of cultures may become visible and produce actual clashes between pupils of different nationalities being educated in the same school-classes, for switching between languages spanning different cultures will cause trouble. The 'generalised other' will be someone different in the new culture. The habitual ways of reacting will be of little use. A profound insecurity and vulnerability is no strange outcome of this situation. Because she is missing her social network and many of the usual means of defence, the person may defend what is left of her individuality very vehemently and completely out of proportion with the matter at issue. Coming to a new country is not only an encounter with new people and new institutions and new utensils to use in everyday life, it is also to find yourself among new names for things in a new language. But we maintain ourselves by and through our language. Therefore, when a refugee must not only adapt to low social status but also has to come to terms with a new way of expressing herself, no wonder this may entail consequences for her self-esteem and feeling of identity as well. This is an important aspect of bilingualism, and it should not be underestimated.
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Acknowledgement D. Poulsen Hawkesworth (see p. 221) is thanked for the examples of clashes in classrooms. Literature Aboulafia, M. (1986) The Mediating Self. New Haven: Yale University Press. Haugen, E. (1986) Bilinguals have more fun. Journal of English Linguistics, 19 (1) 106-20. Mead, G.H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society, pp. 135-222. Chicago. Ouvinen-Birgerstam, P. (1984) Identitetsudveckling hos barn, Studentlitteratur, Lund. Sartre, J.-P. 1983 Between Existentialism and Marxism, pp. 141-69. London, Verso.
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21 Andraspråksinläning i Olika Subkulturer Gunnel Knubb-Manninen Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet, Jyväskylä universitet, Seminaarinkatu 15, SF-40100 Jyväskylä, Finland. Abstract. This paper deals with second language learning within subcultural groups defined by sex and social position of parents. The analysis is based on information about students in the Swedish primary schools in Finland. Differences and similarities in the learning activity and performance between the sexes and groups of different social status will be dealt with first. Then the mechanism of differences in performance will be studied. Results show that obvious differences in language ability occur between the social groups, which for the greater part can be explained by differences in their uses of language. Differences between the sexes occur in the levels of marks. These seem to be due to different approaches to learning in school. Begreppet Kultur De viktigaste determinanterna för hur vi bemöts i samhället är vår etniska tillhörighet, vår könstillhörighet och vår klasstillhörighet (Roberts, 1986). Denna indelning kan användas också för att strukturera begreppet kultur. Begreppet kultur kan med Le Vines (1982:2) ord definieras som en organiserad samling regler om de sätt på vilka individerna i en population bör kommunisera med varandra, tänka om sig själva och sin miljö och bete sigt mot varandra och mot objekt i sin miljö. Dessa regler är som vi alla vet något olika i olika grupper och frågan är naturligtvis hur stora skillnaderna skall vara för att man skall kunna tala om olika kulturer. Vanligen uppfattar man folk och språkgrupper som olika kulturer. Man talar emellertid också om kvinnooch manskulturbegrepp som har utvecklats av Berit As (1975) i början av 1970-talet. Man talar också om elitkultur i motsats till massornas eller folkkultur, vilket anspelar på klasstillhörigheten.
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Om man utgår från Roberts (1986) tre sociala determinanter, kan man tala om olika kulturer beroende av om det gäller grupper med olika etniskt ursprung eller med olika köns- och klasstillhörighet. Jag har här valt att använda begreppet subkultur eller underkultur för att betona att det inte är fråga om jämförelse mellan olika kulturer i bemärkelsen olika folk, vilket man annars lätt associerar till. Det här betyder emellertid inte att jag uppfattar klass och kön som underordnat andra faktorer som determinanter för kultur. Kulturell Tillhörighet enligt Klass och Kön Den undersökning som jag här skall presentera berör endast en etnisk gruppelever i svenskspråkiga skolor i Finlandmen granskar betydelsen av socialgruppstillhörighet och könstillhörighet. De värderingar och den verksamhet som tillhörighet till en viss grupp medför kan förväntas ha följder på barns beteende och inlärningskapacitet. Klassfaktorer har ju i undersökningar av modersmålsinlärningen konstaterats ha effekt (se Bernstein, 1971; Marton & Willen, 1972). Skolan har beskrivits som en medelklassens högborg, där barn till utbildade föräldrar får ett försprång som arbetarklassens barn som grupp aldrig tar in på. Olika socialgrupper förefaller att ha sin kommunikationsstil och sitt språk: arbetarklassen ett situationsbundet språk och medelklassen ett språk som uttrycker allt verbalt. Mellan könen har man likaså funnit skillnader i fråga om både modersmålskunskap och främmandespråkskunskap (see Tarmos översikt från 1986). Klassrumsforskningen under de senaste åren har visat att flickor och pojkar bemöts olika i skolan (Einarsson & Hultman, 1984; Martikainen, 1982). Språkforskningen har visat att man talar till flickor och pojkar på olika sätt. Förväntningarna är olika på flickor och pojkar och flickorna och pojkarna uppfyller dessa förväntningar. Man kan därför uppställa hypotesen att socialgruppstillhörighet och kön har betydelse också för inlärning av ett andra språk. Om det är så, kan det bero på att eleverna i en viss kulturell miljö använder det andra språket, dvs. finska, mer, eller på att inlärningskapaciteten utvecklas bättre under vissa kulturella förhållanden än under andra. Dessa frågor skall jag nu gå närmare in på, och belysa med hjälp av ett undersökningsmaterial som jag samlat in inom projektet forskning i finskans pedagogik vid Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet i Jyväskylä i början av 1980-talet. Den Empiriska Undersökningen För granskning av inlärning av det andra språket, dvs. finska, insamlades genom en enkät i åk 3 i lågstadiet och i åk 7 i högstadiet uppgifter om
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elevernas språkliga och sociala bakgrund och om deras uppfattning om sin språkkunskap och om deras skolframgång. Dessutom genomgick 348 av eleverna i lågstadiet ett par år senare ett traditionellt grammatikprov i finska och skrev en finsk uppsats, medan 162 av eleverna i högstadiet genomgick ett reproduktivt prov. Samtidigt med kunskapsmätningen insamlades uppgifter om elevernas vitsord i finska. Den reproduktiva uppsatsen i högstadiet bedömdes med hänsyn till språkriktigheten av två bedömare. Den styrda uppsatsen i lågstadiet bedömdes med hänsyn till nio olika kriterier likaså av två bedömare. Poängen enligt åtta av kriteriernade som var tillräckligt reliablasammanslogs så att de bildade ett mått på den totala språkkunskapen. Socialgruppstillhörigheten bestämdes med hjälp av ett klassificeringssystem som främst beaktade utbildningsnivå men också ekonomisk nivå (Leimu, 1969) utgående från uppgifterna om föräldrarnas yrke eller arbete. Med högstatuselever avses här elever vars båda föräldrar placerade sig i övre delen av skalan (5-9), och med lågstatuselever elever vars båda föräldrar placerade sig i nedre ändan av skalan (0-4). Socialgruppstillhörighetens Roll vid Inlärning av ett andra Språk Då vi jämför elever vars båda föraldrar har ett yrke med hög status med elever vars båda föräldrar har ett yrke med låg status, kan vi se att skillnaderna för lågstadiets del är statistikt signifikanta oberoende av vilket mått på kunskapen i finska vi väljer att granska (se tabell 1). Högstatuseleverna skattar sin kunskap högre, de uppvisar bättre grammatiksbehärskning och skriftlig uttrycksförmåga, och de uppvisar också bättre vitsord i finska än lågstatuseleverna. Bland de äldre eleverna är trenden densamma, men eftersom högstatuseleverna är så få, uppnår skillnaderna inte statistisk tillförlitlighet. Eftersom variationen i språkkunskap i huvudsak förklaras av variationer i språkbruk, kan skillnaderna i kunskap mellan socialgrupperna i första hand tänkas bero på skillnader i användning av finska. Så är också delvis fallet. Elever från högre sociala skikt använder finska mera. Detta större bruk av finska i olika sammanhang: i hemmet, med kamraterna, i butiker, bussar o.dyl., via massmedia, verkar dock inte i första hand bero på skillnader i attityder, utan på skillnader i näringsstruktur mellan svenska och tvåspråkiga orter. Välutbildade människor hamnar i tvåspråkiga miljöer med mer möjligheter till kontakt. Majoriteten av högstatuseleverna kommer nämligen från finskdominerade städer, medan majoriteten av lågstatuseleverna kommer från svenskdominerad landsbygd. Eftersom högstatuseleverna bor på orter med större finskt inslag har de större möjligheter till och möter större krav på
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Tabell 1 Språkkunskap enligt social status Uppsats Grammatik Självsk. Vitsord ÅK 3-5 M s M s M s M s 2.3 (1.2) 7.4 (1.3) 28.2 (7.6) 64 (26) Låg (n= 195) 3.3 (1.2) 8.2 (1.1) 36.3 (4.5) 85 (18) Hög (n=36) p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001 Reproduktion Självsk. Vitsord ÅK 7-8 M s M s M s 2.8 (1.2) 7.4 (1.5) 46 (25) Låg (n = 97) 3.6 (11) 8.0 (1.4) 70 (17) Hög (n=8) n.s. n.s. p < 0.01 användning av finska. Svenskan och finskan har i Finland samma ställning enligt lagen, men inte i praktiken på orter där svenskarnas procentuella andel är liten. Om vi bortser från de elever som aldrig talar finska, är högstatuseleverna inte ivrigare än lågstatuseleverna att tala finska så mycket som möjligt. Trots att orsakerna till skillnaderna mellan olika sociala skikt alltså inte verkar vara attityder, är det ändå intressant att notera att det är elever från de högre socialgrupperna i de svenskspråkiga skolorna som har mer kontakt över språkgränsen. Pojkars och Flickors Inlärning av ett andra Språk Resultatet av språkmätningarna visar att pojkarna och flickorna anser sig tala finska lika bra och att de med undantag for uppsatserna i lågstadiet uppvisar lika goda prestationer i språkprov, men att flickorna har betydligt bättre vitsord i finska på skolbetyget. Den egentliga skillnaden har vi alltså ifråga om skolframgång i finska. Flickorna verkar bättre kunna de saker skolan undervisat och/eller bättre ha anpassat sig till skolan. Tokningen att flickorna bättre anpassat sig till skolans krav far stöd av andra detaljer i undersökningen. Enligt elevenkäten läser flickorna läxorna noggrannare och är mer intresserade av att lära sig än pojkarna gör. Sålunda fyller flickorna bättre de krav som ställs på eleven för att hon/han skall fa ett gott vitsord.
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Tabell 2 Språkkunskap enligt kön Självsk. Vitsord ÅK 3-5 M s M s 2.6 (1.3) 7.3 (1.2) Pojkar 2.6 (1.2) 7.9 (1.2) Flickor n.s. p < 0.001 Självsk. Vitsord ÅK 7-8 M s M s 2.9 (1.0) 7.0 (1.4) Pojkar 2.8 (1.3) 8.1 (1.2) Flickor n.s. p < 0.001
Uppsats M s 29.0 (7.3)
Grammatik M s 70 (25)
31.2
73
(7.8)
p < 0.05 Reproduktion M s 47 (25) 49
(25) n.s.
(25) n.s.
Flickorna uppvisar i flera hänseenden större intresse för inlärning av finska i skolan. Nästan hälften av flickorna i årskurs 8 ansåg sig behöva lära sig mycket mer finska, medan nästan hälften av pojkarna ansåg att de behövde lära sig endast litet till och över en fjärdedel att de redan kunde till räckligt. Detta rimmar väl med det faktum att 71% av flickorna valt fördjupad kurs i finska men endast 43% av pojkarna. Flickorna uppger oftare än pojkarna att de vill lära sig finska för att de tycker om språk. I övrigt skiljer sig pojkarnas och flickornas motiv för inlärning av finska inte från varandra. I fråga om självskattad kunskap fanns det inga skillnader mellan eleverna. Inga större skillnader i social och kognitiv jagbild kunde heller konstateras mellan könen. Flickorna och pojkarna är i sina egna ögon lika blyga, pratsamma, sociala och sällskapliga, har likadant behov av goda resultat, är lika intresserade av krävande uppgifter, reagerar likadant på misslyckanden, har samma uppfattning om sin förmåga att uppträda och om sin språkförmåga. Pojkarnas behov av att andra skall tänka gott om dem verkar dock något mindre än flickornas. Dessutom anser sig flickorna i allmänhet vara ordentliga, medan pojkarna uppfattar sig som varken slarviga eller ordentliga. Det intressanta är att det större intresse för inlrning av finska och den större inlärningsaktivitet som flickorna uppvisar inte syns i testresultaten. Eftersom språkprovsresultaten förklaras till 50% av kontakterna utanför skolan, kan man emellertid sluta sig till att skolans roll i inlärningsresultaten är för liten, för att skillnaderna i formell inlärningsiver skall synas i testresultaten. Det förefaller som om olika förväntningar på könen påverkar beteendet i formella inlärningssituationer och eventuellt också resultatet av den formella undervisningen, men när språket inlärs vid informell interaktion blir resultatet lika gott för flickor och pojkar.
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Mekanismerna för Kulturell Påverkan För att granska via vilka mekanismer den kulturella påverkan sker, prövades med Lisrelmetoden (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1984) en pathmodell där kulturell tillhörighet utgjorde yttre faktorer, språkbuk och skolinlärningskapacitet mellanliggande faktorer och kunskap i finska och vitsord i finska beroende faktorer (Knubb-Manninen, 1987). Analysen visade att statusen ger direkt utslag i kunskapen, men i huvudsak indirekt via språkbruket. Statusen tycks alltså ha effekt på elevernas inlärning av finska också via andra mekanismer än språkbruksfrekvens och skolinlärningskapacitet. Eventuellt kan denna mekanism vara allmän inlärningskapacitet, dvs. förmåga att dra nytta av naturlig språklig stimulans oberoende av hur frekvent den är. Könet å andra sidan gav ju, som vi redan såg, inte utslag i kunskap, bara i vitsord och Lisrelanalysen visasde att skillnaderna i vitsord i finska tycks bero enbart på skillnader i skolinlärningskapacitet, dvs. i vilja och förmåga att uppfylla skolans krav. Sammanfattning Denna undersökning visar att flickor och pojkar lär sig ett andra språk lika effektivt då det sker i naturlig miljö. Flickorna underordnar sig bättre skolans krav och belönas för det med bättre vitsord. Undersökningen visar vidare att barn från högre sociala skikt i de svenskspråkiga skolorna kommer mer i kontakt med finskan och kan finska bättre. Det finns dock den möj ligheten att det här är fråga om ett urval, dvs. att barn från lägre sociala skikt med lika frekventa finska kontakter i förskoleåren som dessa högstatusbarn, går i finskspråkiga skolor, något som stöds av Laurens (1981) undersökning av valet av skolspråk för barn i blandäktenskap i Vasa. Högstatuselever har bättre kunskap i finska i huvudsak beroende på frekventare kontakt med finska, men tydligen också i någon mån på grund av bättre affektiv och/eller kognitiv kapacitet att ta emot språklig stimulans och undervisning. Litteratur Bernstein, B. (1971) Class, codes and control. Vol. 1. Theoretical Studies towards a Sociology of Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Einarsson, J. & Hultman, R.G. (1984) Godmorgon flickor och pojkar. Om språk och kön i skolan. Stockholm: Liber Tryck. Jöreskog, K.G. & Sörbom, D. (1984) Lisrel VI. Analysis of linear structural relationships by maximum likelihood instrumental variables and least squares methods. Uppsala: University of Uppsala, Department of Statistics. Knubb-Manninen, G. (1987) Inlärningsförhållandenas betydelse vid inlärning av ett andra språk. Jyväskylä universitet, Psykologiska institutionen. Licentiatavhandling.
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Figur 1 Lisrelmodell Determinationskoefficient för de strukturella ekvationera, 0.82; GFI-index, 0.985; RMR, 0.061; Multipelkorreltionskoefficient för de strukturella ekvationerna
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Lauren, U. (1981) Blandäktenskap och val av skolspråk i Vasa. Svenska Litteratursällskapets i Finland nämnd för samhällsforskning. Forskningsrapporter n:o 37. Leimu, K. (1969) Anmattien sosioekonominen ja koulutusluokittelu/Lisäyksiä. Jyväskylän yliopisto. Kasvatustieteiden tutkimuslaitos. Stencil. Le Vine, R.A. (1982) Culture, Behavior and Personality. New York: Aldine. Martikainen, M. (1982) Oppilaiden pedagogiset roolit oppituntien verbaalisessa vuorovaikutusprosessissa. Helsingin yliopiston kasvatustieteen laitos. Tutkimuksia, 95. Marton, F. & Willen, B. (1972) Sociolingvistiska funderingar. Göteborgs universitet, Rapporter från pedagogiska institutionen nr . 74. Roberts, B.A. (1986) Peace education in practice, in schools and in adult education. Föreläsning vid Pedagogiska forskningsinstitutet vid Jyväskylä universitet, 15.10.1986. Tarmo, M. (1986) Tytöt ja pojat koulututkimuksen valossa. Jyväskylän yliopisto. Kasvatustieteiden tutkimuslaitoksen julkaisuja, 370. As, B. (1975) On Female Culture: an attempt to formulate a theory of women's solidarity and action. Acta Sociolingua, 2-3.
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22 FlygtningeførskolebørnMål og Midler i Tosproglig Opdragelse Ewa A. Chylinski Sydjysk Universitetscenter, Glentevej 7, DK-6705 Esbjerg Ø, Danmark. Abstract. The latest influx of refugees in Denmark is characterised by the many families with children of pre-school age. In contrast to the immigrant children who were predominantly taken care of in their homes, the refugee children have been placed in day-care centres, partly to help the parents attend language classes under the integration programme of the Danish Refugee Council, and partly to help the children learn Danish as fast as possible. This paper describes a day-care centre for 40 refugee children, at which the staff speak only Danish. The ages of the children range from 3 months to 6 years. Persian is the mother tongue for a majority of them coming from Iran, then Arabic (Iraq, the Lebanon, Palestine) and Polish. Because of the distinctive character of this day-care centre, I have started a research project on the development of the children's Danishwith the emphasis on the process of second language learning and the role of extra-linguistic factors in order to find new impulses for bilingual education. Pre-school is the most creative period of a child's development with unique linguistic potential. Therefore it is important to make the most of these resources by giving the children a chance of retaining both languages in lifelong bilingualism. Indledning I modsætning til indvandrerbørnene og som følge af staerkere politisk styring, når det gælder måden flygtningene introduceres på til det danske samfund, bliver de fleste flygtningebørn ikke passet hjemme, men tilbudt en plads i
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daginstitutioner, dels for at frigøre forældrene til sprogundervisning under Dansk Flygtningehjælps integrationsprogram, dels for at hjælpe børnene at lære dansk sprog og kultur hurtigst muligt. Den generelle mangel på kommunale daginstitutionspladser samt flygtningenes økonomiske særstatus i de første 18 måneder af deres integration i Danmark har ført til oprettelsen af daginstitution for flygtninge, som modtager børn fra 3 mdr. til 6-7 år, dvs. indtil de skal begynde i skolen. Statistiske Data Selv om flygtningene boligmæssigt, på arbejdsmarkedet og i uddannelser placeres bedre end indvandrere, så ser det ud til, at de efter 18 måneders aktiv indslusning får stort set samme problemer som andre indvandrere. Dog er flygtningebørnenes situation, ligesom forældrenes, mere styret, idet familierne omfattes af sociale foranstaltninger først under Dansk Flygtningehjælp og dernæst af kommunerne. Et af eksemplerne herpå er den integrerede daginstitution i Esbjerg, oprettet i 1985. Fordi institutionens karakter er så speciel, blev Esbjerg kommune, institutionen og jeg enige om at starte et forskningsprojekt omkring børnenes Tabel 1 Udenlandske statsborgere 1986 1987 Udenlandske statsborgere 116.949 128.255 (i % af befolkning) (2,3) (2,5) 0-14 år (i % af befolkning) 2,9 3,2 Tabel 2 Flygtningebørn i Danmark 0-14 år 1986 1987 Iran 623 907 Irak 103 187 Polen 437 * Libanon * 381 Sri Lanka * 413 Statesløse * 789 kilde: Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik nr. 74/86, 63/87, 76/87. *, oplysning mangler.
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sproglige udvikling i dansk og samtidig lave et helhedsstudie af de ekstralingvistiske og lingvistiske faktorers indflydelse på sprogtilegnelsen i tre aldersgrupper og med forskellige hjemmesprog. Samarbejdet med institutionen er begyndt den 15. maj 1987 og skal foreløbig vare til maj 1988. Et års daglig kontakt med børnene vil kunne afsløre indlæringsprocessen under de givne omstændigheder. Forhold og Rammer Omkring Institutionen I starten blev den integrerede institution oprettet som midlertidig dagforanstaltning for 20 børn, hovedsaglig iranske. Siden hen er antallet af børn vokset til 40 og institutionen er blevet multietnisk, idet der er iranske, irakiske, polske, libanesiske og palæstinensiske børn i alderen 3 mdr.-6 år. Pr. 1 maj 1987 er den integrerede institution overgået til kommunen, men skal opretholdes som flygtningeinstitution, så længe behovet er til stede. På længere sigt er det meningen, at der skal være halv danske og halv fremmede børn på institutionen. Finansiering af driften er baseret på 100% statsrefusion. Selvom størstedelen af børnene har en persisk sproglig baggrund, er der intef persisksproget personale i institutionen. En af årsagerne hertil er, at der er kun få, der har interesse for den slags arbejde og det er svært at finde en velegnet person. En anden årsag er nok den psykiske tilstand, de fleste voksne befinder sig i. Fra børnehavens side vil man prøve igen om et år at finde en velegnet person. Børnene er fordelt på 3 aldersgrupper med følgende opdeling. Tabel 3 Fordeling iflg. antal, alder, køn og sproglig baggrund gruppe antal fødselsår køn spr. baggrund spædbørn 0-2 år 11 85-87 8 p. 2arabisk 3 d. 3polsk 6farsi mellemgr. 2-4 år 12 83-85 6 p. 3arabisk 6 d. 8farsi 1tyrkisk/ farsi storgr. 15 80-83 6 p. 4arabisk 10 d. 1polsk 10farsi
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Tabel 4 Personalenormering gruppe pedagoger medhjælpere spædbørn 4 mellemgr. 3 1 (tosprog.-polsk) storgr. 3 1 i alt 10 2 Fremmøde og Dagligdag Institutionen har åbent hverdag fra kl. 7.15 til kl. 16.30. Det er politikken fra personalets side, at man af hensyn til den øvrige familie (nye forhold, andre børn i familien, der skal møde f.eks. i skole til anden tid, forældrenes psykiske tilstand) bevidst ikke forlanger et fast mødetidspunkt for at undgå yderligere stress. Det sker, at børnene udebliver i længere perioder, uden at det bliver meddelt til personalet. Ved udeblivelse over en måned indberettes det til Dansk Flygtningehjælps hjemmevejleder, som skal kontakte familien og opklare årsagen til fraværet. En af årsagerne til uregelmæssig frekventering kan være en lang og besværlig transport, fordi børnehaven ligger i udkanten af byen. Derfor er der oprettet busordning om morgenen, som henter børnene fra kvartererne længst væk. Dagligdagen struktureres på samme måde som i en almindelig dansk daginstitution med samme aktiviteter, men af hensyn til den manglende eller begrænsede sproglige kontakt, bruges der mere kropssprog og kropskontakt. Forældresamarbejde Fra personalets side lægges der megen vægt på tæt forældresamarbejde. Det gode forhold skabes ved, at forældrene bydes på kaffe/te ved aflevering og afhentning, og der småsnakkes tit om alt muligt. Derfor opfatter de institutionen som en overgangsstørrelse mellem den intime og den offentlige sfære, og det sker ikke sjældent, at familiens problemer drøftes med personalet. Denne fortrolighed er et meget værdifuldt element i integrationsarbejdet med børnene og med familien some helhed. Mange forældre kender hinanden privat. Dog er der ingen kontakt forældrene imellem på tvaers af de nationale grupper, selv om en del af dem taler godt engelsk. Det, at forældrene og nogle gange søskende er med i nogle af børnehavens funktioner, giver bedre kontakt mellem forældre og børn. De voksne ved, hvad børnene beskæftiger sig med, og på den måde skabes der en fælles referenceramme. Der praktiseres også fælles madlavning om fredagen, hvor forældrene skiftes til at lave hjemlandets retteriransk, polsk osv.
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De fleste forældre synes, at man isolerer flygtningebornene fra danske børn ved at anbringe dem på den type institutioner. Det har vist sig, at de heller ikke leger jævnligt med danske børn, hvor de bor. Man går ikke så meget ud med de små børn, og de større børn har ofte for ringe sprogkundskaber til at knytte varige kontakter til javnaldrende, danske legekammerater. Der opstår en ond cirkel, når børnene ikke lærer dansk hurtigt nok til, at de kan lege med danske børn, fordi de ingen har til at lære af. Sprogtilegnelsen og den sproglige formåen er en bestandig kilde til diskussioner, da forældrene er meget ivrige efter, at deres børn skal lære dansk hurtigst muligt. Men det er kun de færreste, der er klar over de mekanismer, som er involveret i sprogtilegnelsen. En af grundene til deres bekymring er de vanskeligheder, familiens ældre børn har i forbindelse med undervisning i skolen. Også mindre børn, der har gåetomend i en kort periodei flygtningehjælpens institution, har stadig store problem, når de skal starte i børnehaveklassen. Man kan driste sig til at sige, at en af årsagerne hertil kan være den for dem manglende sammenhæng mellem børnehave og skole og desuden, hvad man kunne kalde overgangspædagogik. Fremmedsprogede Børns Vanskeligheder i Folkeskolen Med tilgangen afindvandrer- og flygtningebørn blev der stillet en ny udfordring til den danske folkeskole. De fleste børn kommer fra kulturer, hvor skolegangen ikke nødvendigvis er en del af hverdagen. Som regel har ingen af de nye elever forudgående kendskab til dansk sprog og kultur, og kun de færreste har lært et af de europæiske hovedsprog, selv om mange børn er to-eller flersprogede. Derfor den allerførste opgave, folkeskolen må klare, at give de fremmedsprogede børn en sproglig støtte, så de kan lære at tale og forstå dansk og derved bringes i stand til at følge undervisningen. Da skolevidens faglige indhold er forskellig fra land til land, er det ofte nødvendigt med en faglig støtte, der skal sikre, at pensum og indholdet af danske skolefag er forstået. Dette er en forundsætning for, at eleven får den viden, som sætter ham eller hende i stand til at følge undervisningsforløb og arbejde selvstændigt med stoffet. Kulturforskelle, sprogvanskeligheder og ikke mindst udseende kan gøre det svært for elever at udvikle normale relationer til klassekammerater. Derfor er social støtte en betingelse for vellykket integration af en fremmedsproget elev i klassen. De danske elevers holdning til de fremmede er meget forskellig, men alderen spiller en væsentlig rolle. De yngre børn er betydeligt mere tolerante over for fremmedartethed og sproglige vanskeligheder end de større børn, som tit er påvirket af hjemmet og massemedierne. De fremmedsprogede børn integreres i den danske folkeskole efter flere modeller:
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(1) Modtagelsesklasse med sproglig og faglig undervisning (2) Modtagelsesklasse med sproglig undervisning (3) Direkte placering i klassen med støttelærer. Alle tre modeller har fordele og ulemper, som skal afvejes i forhold til deres effektivitet, dvs. hvor hurtigt børnene kan begynde med normal skolegang. De erfaringer, man har gjort med indvandrerbørnene, selv de børn der er født i Danmark, peger dog på, at de har svært ved at tilegne sig samme mangde viden inden for samme tid some danske børn. De fleste læreres bud på vanskelighederne er manglende sproglig og begrebsmæssig udvikling på dansk og antydning af det samme på deres hjemmesprog. Den mest anvendte betegnelse for sådan en situation er, at børnene er halvsprogede eller dobbeltsprogede. Selv om disse betegnelser er blevet kritiseret fra mange sider, ser det ud til, at deres forklaringsbekvemmelighed stadig er meget vidtrækkende. Den sprogrelativisme, som de er baseret på, har egentlig ikke nogen begrundelse. Fra forskning omkring f.eks. døve børns kgnitive udvikling ved vi, at den er uafhængig af sproget, mens derimod sproglig udvikling er afhngig af kognitiv. Ud fra denne 'opfattelse' af halvsprogethedsbegrevet kunne man slutte, at kun perfekte ambilinguale personer kan betragtes som tosprogede, en situation som faktisk er teoretisk. Selv i to- og flersprogede samfund, hvor sprogene kan bruges officielt i alle sammenhænge og i alle situationer, er det sjældent, at alle brugere har en modersmålslignende kompetence på de pågældende sprog. (jf. Pedersen, 1986). Således vil alle to- og flersprogede personer betragtes som handicappede, når de ikke altid vil være i stand til at benytte sprogene lige godt i en given situation. Ud fra disse betragtninger må halvsprogethed opfattes som hørende til deficitteoriens rammer og værende et socialt og ikke et sprogligt fænomen. Især tre forhold gør sig gaeldende i forbindelse med fremmedsprogede elevers indlæring af dansk: (1) Familiens sociale og kulturelle baggrund i hjemlandet (2) Familiens situation i integrationslandet (isoleret vs/rettet mod det nye samfund) (3) Viden og engagement i børns tosprogede/tokulturelle udvikling Alle tre faktorer er medvirkende til, at disse børn ved skoleskift og sprogskift er i en vanskelig situation. Det sker, at skoleopgaver ikke direkte kan overføres til modersmålet, og foraldrene kan sjældent yde dem lektiehjlp. Denne situation er typisk for tilflyttede fremmedsprogede elever, men i de sidste år er der en angden gruppe, der også er begyndt at fa samme problemer, nemlig børn, hvis forældre er indvandret, men som selv er født og opvokset i Danmark, samt små flygtningebørn.
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De 0-6 Åriges Vilkår i Danmark De grupper vokser op med et hjemmesprog og en kultur, de kun kender gennem forædre og evt. andre landsmænd, hvilket i sig selv er en begrnsing, særlig når det sker i afsondring fra majoritetssamfundets kultur og sprog. Indvandrerfamiliernes brug af socialpædagogiske tilbud ligger på 26% i forhold til et landsgennemsnit på 50% i danske familier. Dog kan der være store interne forskelle (rapport fra Socialministeriet, 1986). Det afhænger også meget af, hvad kommunerne gør på dette område. De forskellige tilbud omfatter dagplejeordning, vuggestuer, børnehave, fritidshjem, skolepasningsordning, fritidsklubber og ungdomsklubber. De bliver benyttet i varierende grad, og som rapporten konkluderer: 'Dagplejen er sjældent benyttet; ligeledes er det svært at fa etableret dagplejeordning med samme kulturelle baggrund'? Der er en tradition for at passe spæd- og og småbørn hjemme, ikke mindst af hensyn til forskellige opfattelser af spædbørnspleje. F.eks. skal de fleste iranske spædbørn have mad hver anden time, og flasken skal tilberedes umiddelbart før spisning. Barnet skal helst bæres så meget som muligt. En anden faktor er omkostningerne i forbindelse med institutionsplads. De fleste familier er lavindkomstfamilier, og det kan være belastende at betale institutionsplads, men selv i tilfælde af pædagogiske pladser (uden forldrebetaling) ser man ikke ret mange indvandrerbørn i daginstitutionerne. Anderledes forholder det sig med flygtningebørnene, om end man ser samme mønster til en vis grad. En del af flygtningebørnene har gået i børnehave i hjemlandet eller blev passet af andre end forldrene. For flygtningeforældrene er børneinstitutionen ikke nødvendigvis et onde, men et sted hvor børnene lærer noget og leger sammen. Således var børnehaven i hjemlandet for en del af dem et element af familiens sociale status. I det øjeblik, familien bliver placeret på et integrationscenter, tilbydes forældrene undervisning i dansk. Generel mangel på pladser i kommunale daginstitutioner samt flygtningenes økonomiske særstilling har ført til etablering af flygtningeinstitutioner. Som tidligere nævnt opfattes de dog af forældre som en isolerende faktor. Denne vurdering af isolation modsiges af mange pædagoger, der betragter dem som en beskyttende foranstaltning især for de større børn, som er mere sprogafhængige. I de tilfælde hvor fremmedsprogede børn placeres direkte i almindelige institutioner, opstår der ofte konflikter med andre børn. Derfor synes det mere hensigtsmæssigt at lade dem starte på en flygtningeinstitution, hvor de kan opleve forholdene og tilegne sig et basissprog, inden den slippes ud i et dansktalende miljø. Børnehavens aktiviteter indfører børnene i de danske kultur og giver på den måde mulighed for en blid integration. Den udvikling, der sker i børnehaven, er også med til at give dem en mere afbalanceret start i skolen. Det mærkes meget tydeligt på skolerne. I en forsøgsrapport fra Gladsakse kommune (Tokulturel skolestart. Enghøjskolen 1984/85) siges det, at;
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Børnehave klasselederne mærker en tydelig forskel på de fremmedsprogede elevers situation i børnehaveklassen, hvis disse børn blot har gået et par år i børnehave, før de begynder at gå i skole. Samme model, dvs. fremmedsprogede børns indførelse i dansk sprog og kulturaltså en sproglig opdragelse for sigsynes at have lige så gode resultater i skolen. Et forsøg gennemført på Brobjergskolen i Arhus konkluderer: En multietnisk børnehaveklasse vil, hvor de ydre forhold i øvrigt taler herfor, være en særdeles god indslusningsmodel for vore små indvandrerbørn ... her kan man etablere et miljø, der giver børnene en tryghed og stimulation, som ofte kan være vanskeligt at skabe for dem i en almindelig blandet børnehaveklasse. Det er også vigtigt, at flere børn med samme sproglige baggrund placeres i samme klasser eller gruppe. F.eks. støtter de iranske børn vældig godt hinanden, fordi de befinder sig på forskellige sprogniveauer både på persisk og på dansk. På den måde er de selv i stand til at holde øje med hinandens kulturelle normer og sprog på modersmålet, medens de modtager danske normer og sprog fra de voksne pædagoger og afprøver disse på dem. Den måde giver betydelig strengere kontrol med sprogbrug end kontakten med danske børn i tilsvarende aldersgrupper, fordi de sidstnævnte selv er i indlæringsfasen, og meget ville nok kunne slippe ubemærket forbi. Det forudsætter, at man både fra børnehavens og skolens side yder børnene, en sprogstøtte, arbejder med andre udtryksformer (drama), etablerer samarbejde med danske børn både 'bagud' dvs. med børnehaver og parallelt med børnehaveklasser og så vidt muligt etablere en klub, hvor fremmedsprogede børn kan komme i kontakt med danske børn efter skoletid i mere frie omgivelser end i klassen. Skolepasningsordning kunne være en god løsning. Det giver en sproglig dimension til verden uden for skolesammenhængen, hvor alle kan møes på samme præmisser. Kodevalg, Interferens, Integration Ved flytning til Danmark er børnenes sproglige udvikling på modersmålet forholdsvis begrænset. Deres socialisation i hjemlandet er baseret hovedsagelig på omgangen med den nærmeste familie og følgeligt ringe kontakt med det øvrige samfund. I det nye land vil hjemmesproget for spædbørnenes vedkommende blive podet ind kun gennem forældrene uden muligheder for større variation. I så fald vil børnene udvikle deres egen form for sprog, som reguleres af mekanismer, der gør, at nogle elementer i hjemmesproget bliver
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systematiseret på fejlagtige præmisser, f.eks. valg af kasus (polsk) i forbindelse med benægtelse eller præpositioner. Mange gange er der også tale om parallelle valgmuligheder f.eks. gen./akk. eller nom/akk. (polsk), men på nuværende undersøgelsesstadie er det svært at afgøre, hvad årsagen er til netop dette fænomen. Desuden er der visse psykologiske mekanismer, der gør sig gældende ved kodeskifte/interferensdet, der ligger 'nærmest', bestemmer valget, uanset hvilket sprog, der nu bruges. F.eks. kan man høre persiske udtryk midt i en dansk talestrøm og omvendt i situationer, hvor begge udtryk er kendt og har været anvendt mange gange. Når børnene bliver spurgt, hvorfor de netop anvender en fremmedsproget vending, er svaret, at den lige var 'ved hånden'. Derfra er der naturligvis langt til definitivt kondeskifte. Sproglige forudsætninger herfor vil være forskellige alt efter aldersgruppen. Spædbørnenes situation er opvækst i danskprogede omgivelser med jævnlig kontakt med danske voksne og evt. børn. Hjemmesproget vil så være tilegnet fra forældre og evt. søskende og en meget begrænset omgangskreds med samme sprog. Mellemgruppen har andre forudsætninger, idet nogle af børnene allerede har et sprog med fra hjemlandet, dog med visse begrænsninger, da det er et meget kommunikativt præget 'lille' sprog, ofte babysprog. I øvrigt vil deres sproglige kontakter på begge sprog være af samme karakter som spædbørnenes. Storgruppen er nok den, der bedst har udviklet sproget fra hjemlandet. Oven i købet har en del af børnene gået i børnehave enten i hjemlandet eller der, hvor de boede (ikke alle børn kommer direkte fra hjemlandet til Danmark). nogle af de ældste børn var begyndt at gå i skole (f.eks. i Iran og Irak og det øvrige Mellemøsten kan børnene starte i femårs alderen). De udviser en betydelig tendens til kodeskifte, men meget lidt interferens. Det sidste kan nok skyldes en endnu minimal påvirkning fra dansk og stor sproglig støtte på modersmålet hos hinanden. Deres sproglige kontakter på begge sprog er forskellige fra spæd- og mellemgruppen. Der er mindre individuel kontakt til de danske voksne, men større til andre børn. Dog er kontakten med jævnaldrende danske børn ofte meget begrænset, fordi de fremmedsprogedes sproglige formåen på dansk er for ringe kvalitativt og kvantitativt. Sproglige Niveauer Flygtningebørnenes udvikling på begge sprog er det, man kalder for naturlig evt. primær tosprogethed (Beardsmore, 1982) i modsætning til sekundær tosprogethed, dvs. tosprogethed opnået ved regulær undervisning. Men om der eventuelt skal ændres på det, diskuteres senere i artiklen.
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Børnenes sproglige udvikling på dansk er hovedsagelig baseret på kommunikation med danskproget personale i daginstitutionen. Det er først og fremmest gruppekommunikation, dog er der ofte tale om små grupper på 2-3-4 børn og 1-2 voksne. Kun spædgruppen oplever mere individuel kontakt, fordi børnenes alder krver individuel behandling, f.eks. bleskift og madning. Der sker en intensiv sproglig udvekslingofte på to sprog. Dette samvær er af stor værdi især for de ældste børn i gruppen, hvis behov for voksenkontakt er fundamental. En af de svenske undersøgelser af tosprogede børns kontaktbehov i begyndelsen af sprogindlæringen viser, at børn i alderen 4-7 år stiller betydelig flere spørgsmål til voksne end til andre børn (Dahlbäck, 1987). Spørgsmålenes karakter er som regel forbundet med tilegnelsen af ny viden og i dette tilfælde også af nyt sprog. De mindre børn fokuserer mest på hinanden og henvender sig hyppigst til de voksne i tvivlsspørgsmål eller konfliktsituationer. Imitationsmomentet er størst hos de små, men hæmmes med alderen. Således kan det være svært at få de store børn til at gentage et ord eller en ytring selv ved en kraftig opfordring. Resultatet er, at småbørn er meget hurtigere til at gentage og genbruge nyindlærte elementer, selv om det skal gøres mange gange, inden barnet kan huske det. De store børns psykiske hæmninger gør, at der kan gå op til et ½ år, før de tør sige noget. Énvejskommunikation bevirker, at det impressive sprog udvikles betydeligt hurtigere end det ekspressive. Man har talt meget om manglende motivation til aktivering pga. isolation fra danske børn, men det har vist sig, at der skal en indkøring til, før de store børn vil være med til fælles aktiviteter, når de er uden sprog, da de fleste i den alder allerede er sprogstyrede. De er heller ikke i stand til at modtage og adlyde en kollektiv besked, f.eks.: 'Nu skal vi vaske hænder'; 'Nu skal vi sætte os ned i rundkreds'. Man skal henvende sig til hvert enkelt barn for at få respons. Dog er indlæringshastigheden imponerende i den aldersgruppe og meget bliver siddende efter blot 2-3 gentagelser (jf. Nielsen, 1984). Med ved sammeligning med den indfødtes sproglige kompetence er der forskel i tilegnelsen af de enkelte sprogelementer i forhold til alderen og graden af beherskelse af modersmålet. Fonetik og Fonologi I adskillige udenlandske undersøgelser peges der på, at den bedste udtale (modersmållignende) og fonetisk diskriminering opnås ved tilegnelse af et fonetisk system i de meget tidlige barneår, medens opholdets længde (dvs. sproglig påvirkning fra omgivelser) spiller en mindre rolle. Dette bekræftes af mine observationer.
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Børnene i spædgruppen har indfødt lydudvikling på dansk både impressivt og ekspressivt; børnene i mellemgruppen larer efterhånden de forskellige lyde, men det ekspressive niveau er i høj grad afhængigt af ekstralingvistiske faktorer (opholdets længde i landet, kontinuerligt ophold på institutionen og påvirkning fra massemedier). Den største variation i lydemæssig produktion udviser storgruppen. Her synes psykomotoriske mekanismer at være årsagen til problemerne, især med vokalsystemet. En måde afhjælpe dem på er hos børnene at skabe psykomotorisk bevidsthed og f.eks. arbejde med spejl. Men der er en del børn, der har svært ved at arbejde på den måde, og de bliver lnge ved med at producere ukorrekte lyde eller undgår dem helt, dvs. lader være med at anvende ord, hvori de forekommer. Disse undvigelsesstrategier er i øvrigt karakteristiske for alle sprogniveauer. Morfologi og Lexis Her er der tale om hurtig tilegnelse af de meningsbærende enheder som bruges til at konstruere 2-3 ords udsagn hos børn i mellem- og storgruppen (f.eks. 'Vaske hænder?; Mor hjem?'). De forbliver temmelig længe på dette stadium, indtil de er i stand til at deducere et system og dets funktion. Det indebærer, at der i starten er en tendens til at udvikle en idiolekt og først derefter, med en del kontrol, at bygge et korrekt system op, (jf. 'Jeg har så' 'Jeg har set') (persisk 6-årig pige). Syntaks og Semantik Hvad angår syntaksen, er næsten alt muligt, men egentlig er det kommunikative indhold ganske tydeligt, måske fordi de sprog, som er repræsenteret i børnehaven, typologisk set hører til SVO-sprog, og fordi sprogbrugernes alder bevirker, at de formulerer sig i korte sekvenser. Semantikken er nok det område, som på nuværende tidspunkt er vanskeligst at diskutere. Børnenes standpunkt i dansk er for svagt til, at de kan udtrykke sig verbalt nuanceret. Dog ses hos de store børn en overførsel af konnotative funktioner (kategorialsemantiske og formelle) fra modersmålet til dansk og det påvirker de syntaktiske strukturer, f.eks. 'Sælen var i vandet. (den var) så stor' (persisksproget barn); 'hun skynder sig til hjem' (polsk barn). Det ser ud til, at begrebsdannelsen og kategoriseringen afhænger meget af opholdets længde, og selv de børn, som har været i institutionen i over ét år, har svært at løse mere krævende intellektuelle opgaver, f.eks. overordnet kategorisering af type: 'bananpæreæble er frugt; havsøvandløb er vand'.
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Afsluttende Bemaerkninger Da projektet er i sin indledende fase, er alle ovennævente observationer så spredte, at der ikke kan drgaes nogle endelige konklusioner og beslutning om midler. Men det ser ud til, at hvis børnene skall kunne klare sig i skolen, må man koncentrere sig betydeligt mere om det ekspressive sprog, og måske indføre en tillempet sprogindlaering med elementer af sprogbevidsthed. De store børn, som ikke altid har tid til at udvikle dansk på en naturlig måde, inden de starter skolen, har behov for sproglig støtte. Støtte på modersmålet betyder meget for børnenes almene udvikling og deres tilegnelse af dansk. Der vil kun i de færreste tilfælde kunne skaffes en kvalificeret voksen, som kan udvikle børnenes hjemmesprog. Derfor er det nødvendigt i højere grad at inddrage forældrene i dette arbejde. De skal gøres bevidste om sprogtilegnelsens og tosprogethedens natur og den betydning, det har for børnenes selvbevidsthed og positive holdning til sig selv og det omgivende samfund. Indtil nu har man i Danmark kun i meget ringe grad betragtet og brugt forældre som sprogbærere, mens man i Israel og andre lande, bl.a. i Sverige til forældrene har udarbejdet særlige programmer, som vejleder dem i sprogstimulering (HIPPY, 1967; Dahlbäck, 1983). De flygtninge, der i dag kommer til Danmark, er socialt og intellektuelt en anden gruppe end de mange indvandrerforældre. Men de kommer fra den del af verden, hvor børnene er en organisk del af familien og der fokuseres ikke så meget på deres aktiviteter. De voksne er ikke altid klar over, hvad der sker, når børnene omgives af en helt anden kultur, og forædrene tror, at de alene kan opdrage deres børn. Som en af fædrene sagde: 'I den danske skole skal barnet lære sprog og ny viden, og jeg skal nok opdrage ham hjemme'. For at undgå de konflikter, der er så velkendte blandt indvandrerbørn, må vi nok se os om efter andre midler i tosproglig opdragelse. Litteratur Baetens Beardsmore, H. (1982) Bilingualism: Basic Principles. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. s. 8. Dahlbäck, H. (1987) Upubliceret rapport. HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Pre-School Youngsters) 1967; (1973). Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Nielsen, L. & Jørgensen, T.L. (1984) Alderens betydning for fremmedsprogsindlæring. Alderens betydning for andetsprogstilegnelse og fremmedsprogsindlæring på grundlag af tidligere studier, samt egne undersøgelser af to 9. klasser med begyndelstidspunkt for engelskundervisning i henholdsvis 2. og 5. klasse. Odense. Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik nr 74/86; 63/87; 76/87.
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Pedersen, K.M. (1986) Mødet mellem sprogene i den dansktyske grænseregion. En-, to- og flersprogede børn i Sønderjylland. Abenrå: Institut for Grænseregionsforskning, s. 10. Rapport fra Socialministeriets udvalg om Indvandrerbørn og deres opvækstforhold. Kobenhavn, 1986 39-67; 67-92; 55. Tokulturel skolestart. Enghojskolen 1984/85 (1985), Gladsakse Kommune.
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23 Tokulturelt Forsøgsprojekt i Børnehaven Svalen Ole Kragh Børnehaven Svalen, Gudrunsvej 36, DK 8220, Braband, Danmark. Abstract. In 1984 the City Council of Arhus decided to transform the kindergarten 'Svalen' in Gellerupparken into an experimental kindergarten concerning the integration of Turkish children. The kindergarten was changed so that it henceforth should contain 20 Turkish and 20 Danish children; furthermore, Trkish assistants were to be employed. The purpose of the experiment was: ¾ to increase respect for foreign languages and cultures; ¾ to strengthen the mother tongue of the Turkish children and reduce the risk that the children would have only partial knowledge of Danish and Turkish; ¾ to stimulate the development of the personality, so that both Danish and Turkish children become equal without losing their culture; ¾ to minimise the situations of failure, and ¾ to give Danish children a broader base of experience. 'Svalen' is the first Danish experiment with bicultural integration in the kindergarten. On the basis of several years' experience, the paper describes daily life in the kindergarten and the development, especially the linguistic development, of the Turkish children. Kort Beskrivelse af Svalen Nogle indledende bemærkninger om børnehaven Svalen. I januar 1984 vedtog Århus Byråd at der skulle være en forsøgsinstitution vedr. integration af tyrkiske børn. Inden da, i 82/83, var der udarbejdet en projektbeskrivelse, med deltagelse af repræsentanter for personale, forældre, Tyrkisk-Dansk Forening og Arhus Kommunes Social- og Sundhedsforvaltning. Heri blev formålet bl.a. fastslået:
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(1) at styrke respekten for fremmed sprog og kultur; (2) at styrke de tyrkiske børns modersmål og mindske risikoen for at børnene lærer dansk og tyrkisk halvt; (3) at stimulere personlighedsudviklingen, således at tyrkiske og danske børn stilles lige uden derved at miste kultur; (4) at minimere nederlagssituationerne; (5) at give danske børn et bredere erfaringsgrundlag. Normeringen blev fastsat til 20 danske børn og 20 tyrkiske i alderen 3-6 år. Samtidig blev der givet en personalenormering og et budget svarende til en 60-børns børnehave. Som udgangspunkt har man fastsat, at 1 indvandrerbarn tæller som 2 danske børn. Dette er begrundet i sproglige, kulturelle og sociale problemer og pga. udvidet forældresamarbejde. Endvidere blev det bestemt, at der skulle ansættes dobbeltsprogede medarbejdere indenfor normeringen. I løbet af sommeren 83 ansatte vi 3 fuldtids tyrkiske medarbejdere, 1 pr. børnegruppe. Så vidt det mere formelle. Dagligdagen i Svalen Hvad angår dagligdagen er det vigtigt at slå fast, at den ikke adskiller sig væsentligt fra dagligdagen i andre danske børnehaver. Naturligvis er der nogle forskelle på os og andre; men man må ikke tro, vi arbejder specielt tyrkisk. Det lovgrundlag, vi arbejder på, er dansk. Hovedparten af medarbejderne-pædagogerne-er danske. Normerne, vi arbejder efter, er danske. Som nævnt er dette vigtigt at huske, fordi det man er tilbøjelig til af focusere på, er de forskelle, der findes. Dem vil jeg nu prøve at komme ind på. Forskellene ligger primært i, at vi i ret høj grad satser på det tyrkiske sprog og den tyrkiske kultur. Hovedsproget i børnehaven er dog dansk. Det er det eneste sprog hele personalet kan kommunikere på. Det er også det eneste fællessprog børnene har, hvilket lægger et pres-en motivation-på de tyrkiske børn, der endnu ikke kan dansk. Men til forskel fra andre børnehaver, med færre tyrkiske børn og ingen tyrkiske medarbejdere, er de tyrkiske børn ikke tvunget til at lære dansk; de kan fungere i børnehaven ud fra deres egne sproglige og kulturelle forudsætninger. Højtiderne er også et punkt, hvor vi adskiller os fra andre, vi er nemlig så priviligerede, at vi har flere. Ud over de traditionelle danske, som jul, fastelavn, Sct. Hans osv. har vi også de traditionelle tyrkiske som Ramadan, Kurban Bayrami (offerfesten) og den tyrkiske børnedag d. 23. april.
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Vi gør meget ud af højtiderne i Svalen, fordi vi mener, det er et af de vigtige steder at søge at lave en kulturformidlingog fordi det altid er dejligt med en fest. Jul fejrer vi med piber og trommer. Vi har pakkekalender på stuerne, vi klipper og klistrer og synger julesange osv. Til sidst tager vi i skoven og henter juletræ og holder en kæmpefest med dans omkring træet, forskellige lege mv. Vi gør sikkert mere ud af det, end man gør i mange børnehaver; f.eks. har vi diskuteret, om det var rimeligt at have juletræ. Er det ikke en oplevelse, som børnene skal have i hjemmet? Jo, det er det i forhold til de danske børn, men i de tyrkiske hjem er der ikke juletrær, derfor er det vigtigt, at vi tager oplevelsen ind i børnehaven. På samme måde søger vi at gøre meget ud af de tyrkiske højtider. Som eksempel herpå kan jeg nævne offerfesten, Kurban Bayrami. Den religiøse baggrund for denne fest er beretningen om Abraham, der tog sin søn Isak op på et bjerg for at ofre ham; men Allah/Gud standsede ham og gav ham et lam at ofre i stedet. Det er en af de store muslimske højtider, som ligger et par måneder efter Ramadan. Tyrkerne fejrer Kurban Bayrami ved at slagte et lam eller lignende. Da det skal ske efter ganske bestemte religiøse forskrifter, foregår det illegalt hos forskellige landmænd. Det kød, man får efter ofringen, bliver derefter spist. Her er det vigtigt, at man ikke holder det for sig selv, det skal deles med andre. Derfor oplever man i de 3 dage festen varer, at alle de tyrkiske familier går på besøg hos hinanden. Så derfor går vi også på besøg med børnehaven. Vi tager rundt med de 12-14 børn, vi har i grupperne, og besøger vores tyrkiske familier. Her bliver vi altid godt modtaget. Først bliver man placeret i sofaen, derefter får man eau de cologne på hænderne, og der bliver disket op med kager og slik. Fr børnene er det gså rene festdage, traditionen forekriver nemlig at de er berettigede til lidt slik eller småpenge, hvis de kysser de voksne på hånden. Det har vi naturligvis også taget til os, så den ene gang om året er vort slikforbud erstattet af, at de voksne går rundt med lommer, der bugner af karameller. For de danske børn kan det være lidt af en overvindelse at skulle kysse en voksen på hånden; men efter kort tid sejrer den almindelige slikmundethed. Også for nogle af de danske voksne har der skullet overvindelse til, de synes ikke om, at børnene skal tiggemen er det ikke det samme, vi har gjort i generationer til fastelavn? Generelt omkring vores fester søger vi at inddrage forældrene mest muligt med fællesspisning, sang, dans osv. Desværre er der ikke tid til at komme ind på denne del af børnehavens liv i denne korte beskrivelse. Traditionelle sanglege, både danske og tyrkiske, er en vigtig og fast del af vores hverdag, også her ud fra tanker om kulturformidling. Sanglegene har fra starten været meget populære hos børnene, måske især sangene på det andet sprog. I kan tro, den 3-årige der kommer hjem og fortæller, at han kan Mester Jakob på tyrkisk er meget stolt!
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Efterhånden har vi udviklet en lang række traditioner omkring sanglegene. Forældrene har lavet skinnende festdragter, det er en fast bestanddel af højtiderne og vi optræder med dem over for fremmede. Ud over kulturformidlingen og den direkte glæde ved sanglegene, har det også givet vores børn en oplevelse af at kunne stå frem og kunne præsentere noget for et publikum. Til sidst omkring det daglige arbejde skal vel lige nævnes, at vi naturligvis har prøvet at lave emnearbejder om Tyrkiet; men her må jeg nok sige, at det har været uden større held. Måske er det os, der har været for dårlige til at få tingene frem, i hvert fald har interessen ikke været ret stor hos børnene. Jeg tror dog ikke, det er fordi vi har været specielt dårlige, men fordi emnet Tyrkiet er fjernt for børnene, og det kan være svært at gøre det konkret, uden det bliver en skolelignende aktivitet. Det, vores børn har brug for at få bearbejdet, er heller ikke forholdene i et fjernt land, hvor de måske kommer på besøg hvert 3. år; i stedet har de brug for at bearbejde, hvad det er at være tyrker i Danmark, eller mere konkrettyrker i Gellerup. Udviklingen med de Tyrkiske Børn Efter disse bemærkninger om børnehaven vil jeg gå over til at beskrive den udvikling, der er sket med de tyrkiske børn. Udviklingen skal ses på baggrund af situationen, inden vi begyndte forsøget. På det tidspunkt var Svalen en almindelig 60-børns børnehave, hvor der var 5-10 fremmedsprogede børn, flest tyrkiske. Af kulturelle og sproglige årsager stod disse børn i en marginal position, hvilket prægede dem i hverdagen. De største, især drengene, reagerede ofte asocialt og uden at føle sig forpligtet af børnehavens normer. Ofte var det svært at fastholde dem, både i beskæftigelsessituationer, men også ved at man ikke kunne være sikker på, hvor de befandt sig. De mindre reagerede ofte indavendt og var temmelig ulykkelige. De tyrkiske børn isolerede sig ofte, uden at man dog kunne sige, at gruppen var stærk nok til at give en tilstrækkelig styrke og identitet. Tværtimod så vi ofte en undertrykkelse af det tyrkiske. Kort fortalt var situationen, at børnene opfattede sig som ''forkerte''de var ikke rigtige danskere, og de kunne ikke bruge deres tyrkiske identitet. Sprogligt var der også store problemer. Jeg er ikke sprogforsker, men pædagog; jeg søger dog at holde mig nogenlunde orienteret omkring sprogforskningen. Et af de punkter, der har været diskuteret en del, er begrebet "dobbelt-halvsprogethed", og hvorvidt det begreb er reelt. Jeg vil ikke blande mig i den diskussion, men blot her rent praktisk konstatere, at vi tidligere i Svalen havde børn, der ikke var i stand til at tale med deres forældre, med mindre de større søskende fungerede som tolk. Det er ikke sværteller måske er det uhyre sværtat forestille sig, hvilke følelsesmæssige, sociale og kulturelle problemer det kan give et 4-årigt barn.
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Det her er måske malet ret sort. Vi havde da også en del fremmedsprogede børn, som fungerede godt, og som ikke havde de samme problemer. På den anden side er de nævnte tilfælde ikke enestående-de er kendt fra adskillige danske daginstitutioner. Efter at vi fik ansat tyrkiske medarbejdere skete der en kraftig udvikling med de nævnte børn. Efter 1-2 mdr. spurgte forældrene, hvad der dog var sket, for nu kunne do jo pludselig snakke med deres børn. Samtidig med den store fremgang med det tyrkiske skete der et lige så stort spring med det danske sprog. Dette hænger naturligvis sammen med, at når man lærer et fremmedsprog, sker det ved sammenligning til det sprog, man kan i forvejen. Tidligere havde der ikke været noget at sammenligne med. Den kraftige sproglige udvikling kom altså, fordi der blev talt tyrkisk i børnehaven. Men det er ikke forklaring nok, for så meget tyrkisk blev der heller ikke snakket. Der skete det vigtige, at sproget ændrede status. Det blev pludselig et sprog, som de voksne i børnehaven benyttede sig afså måtte det jo være rigtigt! Vigtigt for den ændrede status var også, at antallet af tyrkiske børn blev øget. Det var ikke længere et minoritetssprog i børnehaven, det var halvdelen af børnenes sprog. Sprogets ændrede status viser sig på flere måder. Tidligere var det svært at få de større tyrkiske børn til at tolke (hvilket iøvrigt er et urimeligt krav; men det var sommetider nødvendigt), de nægtede simpelthen eller sagde, de ikke kunne. I dag er det ikke nødvendigt at bede børnene om tolkehjælp, men hvis vi kommer i en situation, hvor vi alligevel må bede børnene om hjælp, står de næsten i kø for at fa lov. I dag ejer vores tyrkiske børn en stolthed. De kan noget de danske børn ikke kan: de kan 2 sprog. For nyindskrevne børn i børnehaven har det uvurderlig betydning, at den er tosproget. Der er ingen børn, der er begejstrede for det miljøskrift, en børnehavestart er, især ikke hvis det er første gang de skal passes ude. Det normale billede er, at børnene er usikre/utrygge i en månedstid, hvorefter reaktionerne forsvinder, og barnet blomstrer op. For de tyrkiske børn var reaktionerne som regel mere voldsomme og langvarige end for de danske børn. Rekorden indehaves af en lille tyrkisk pige, som skreg i et halvt år i træk! Arsagerne er enkle og banale, den almindelige utryghed forstærkes af, at barnet bliver placeret i et miljø, hvor der ikke er mulighed for at give en sproglig bearbejdning af problemerne. Trøst kan kun gives via kærtegn, ikke støttet verbalt. Barnet er ude af stand til at meddele så enkle ting, som at det er tørstig eller skal tisse. Alt i alt en urimelig situation at sætte et menneske i. Efter vi har fået tyrkiske medarbejdere, er disse forhold ændrede. Nu er der mulighed for at sætte ind med den nødvendige hjælp og støtte til barnet
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(og forældrene). De tyrkiske børn har det stadig svært, når de begynder i børnehavenmen de har det ikke sværere end de danske børn. Det "normale" billede vi ser idag, når vi far et nyt tyrkisk barn, er, at det starter uden ekstraordinære vanskeligheder og har mulighed for at fungere ud fra dets egne sproglige og kulturelle forudsætninger. Der bliver ikke lagt pres på det for at lære dansk. Efter et par måneder begynder de første dansk ord at komme, som regel mens vi sidder og spiser. Det beder pludselig om mælk eller brød i stedet for süt eller ekmek. Derefter går det slag i slag, og det danske sprog udvides gradvist, uden barnet har større problemer med det. Videre omkring den sproglige side af sagen, så mener jeg, at der kvalitativt lægges op til, at børnene bliver reelt tosprogede. Det er en flot påstand, og jeg ved, at det er en påstand, det er umuligt at bevise idag. Først om 6-10 år, når børnene når puberteten, vil det vise sig, om de også formår at beherske den abstrakte tænkning og ikke kun kan bruge sproget i en konkret sammenhæng. Jeg er dog overbevist om, at de vil klare dette spring til den tid, og at der er belæg for påstanden om, at de tyrkiske børn bliver reelt tosprogede i Svalen. Dette bygger jeg bl.a. på, at børnene fungerer på de 2 sprog uden sprogforvirring. Med dette mener jeg, at børnene ikke blander de 2 sprog sammen, de har en sproglig sikkerhed, der gør at de er i stand til at holde sprogene adskilt. Naturligvis er der tale om, at de bruger en del danske låneord i det tyrkiske, ord som "børnehave", "alrum" osv. Det er et udtryk for at gloseapparatet ikke er tilstrækkeligt udviklet, de vigtigere dele af den sproglige udvikling som f.eks. de grammatiske strukturer holdes adskilt. Børnene er også i stand til at foretage hurtige sprogskift. Dette ser vi f.eks. i legesituationer. Hvis en gruppe tyrkiske børn leger sammen, gør de det på tyrkisk; men hvis der kommer et dansk barn og vil være med i legen, ændres sproget øjeblikkelig til dansk. Hvis det danske barn går ud af legen igen, skiftes der tilbage til tyrkisk. Det hele sker lynhurtigt og uden problemer for børene. Til billedet af de tyrkiske børns sprog skal dog også medtages, at sprogudviklingen er lidt forsinket i forhold til de danske børn. Jeg er i stand til at pege på 2 årsager til dette. For det første begrebet 'timelag', som er kendt fra diverse undersøgelser af dobbeltsprogede børn, altså en forsinket sprogudvikling, som skyldes at barnet skal lære 2 sprog og dermed holde rede på 2 sæt gloser og 2 sæt grammatik. Dette er kendt mange steder fra og har ikke betydning for barnets videre sproglige udvikling. For det andet kan der være problemer med de tyrkiske børns begrebsdannelse. Dette mener jeg hænger sammen med, at hjemmemiljøet hos mange af de tyrkiske børn i Svalen er dårlige i forhold til sprogindlæring. Ikke fordi der ikke snakkes ret meget i de tyrkiske familier, tværtimod mødes barnet ofte af et lydbad, hvor det kan være svæert at skelne, hvad der er væsentligt. Den direkte samtale med det enkelte barn har jeg dermod sjældent oplevet.
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En faktor i forbindelse med begrebsdannelsen er, at forældrene viderefører den opdragelse, de har faet i et bondesamfund, og ikke tænker på, at det er vigtigt at ændre den i forhold til, at de bor i et industrisamfund. I landsbyen videregives erfaringerne fra generation til generation. Børnene deltager tidligt i produktionen eller de huslige gøremål. Det betyder, at de nødvendige begreber stort set kommer ind med modermælken. I vort industrisamfund er tingene ofte mere fjerne, derfor har vi fundet på diverse kompensationsmetoder, f.eks. billedbøger. Alle de danske børn, jeg kender, har siddet på skødet og set billeder af dyr"Se, det er et får, det siger mææ". Det er der ikke ret mange tyrkiske børn der har, for forældrene tanker ikke på, at det er nødvendigt. I Tyrkiet var fårene lige udenfor dørendet er de ikke i Gellerup. Undtagelser Disse opsummeringer om den sproglige udvikling er naturligvis meget forenklede og generaliserede, det er betingelsen, hvis det skal gøres kort. Der er naturligvis undtagelser og afvigelser fra det nævnte mønster. Umiddelbart er der dog kun 2 grupper der skiller sig væsentligt ud fra det nævnte. For det første de børn der har været i vuggestue. Statistisk udgør de en ganske lille gruppe, så der er tale om en ret stor usikkerhed; men mine iagttagelser svarer til, hvad man har set andre steder. Når et tyrkisk barn kommer fra en vuggestue, får det en lettere start, fordi det er vant til at blive passet af fremmede, og fordi det kan noget dansk. Nar det når 4-5 års alderen, sker der dog det, at det bliver kraftigt overhalet sprogligt af de børn, der har været hjemme til de var 3-4 år. Der kan også være tale om sprogforvirring hos de børn, der har været i vuggestue. Der sker en sammenblanding af ordforråd og grammatik på de 2 sprog. Det, der er gået galt er, at de på det tidspunkt, hvor de har skullet opbygge den sproglige basis, er blevet konfronteret med 2 sprog og derfor aldrig har fået en sikker basis i deres modersmål. Jeg ved godt, det kan lade sig gøre at opbygge 2 sprog sideløbendemin egen niece or opvokset med dansk, thai, engelsk og arabisk, uden det har givet problemer. På den anden side kan jeg konstatere, at den sociale og sproglige baggrund ikke er stærk nok til at klare dobbeltsprog så tidligt i de tyrkiske familier, jeg kender fra mit daglige arbejde. Den anden gruppe, der adskiller sig fra det generelle jeg har nævnt, er enkeltbørn, der kommer fra stærkt socialt belastede familier. Der har vi haft nogle, hvor vi har undret os over, at de ikke, som deres kammerater, begyndte at bruge dansk i hverdagen. Når vi så har undersøgt det nærmere, viser det sig næsten altid, at de heller ikke er gode til tyrkisk. Det er heldigvis en lille gruppe, men den er til gengæld meget truet. Så meget om udviklingen med de tyrkiske børn på det sproglige område.
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Børnenes Legemønstre Også på andre områder er der sket ændringer. Således kan vi se en ændring i de tyrkiske børns legemønster, efter at de er kommet i børnehave. Tidligere fik vi en del større børn, som ikke var vant til det store udbud af legesager. De børn var fantastiske til at organisere lege med næsten ingenting. De kunne få hvad som helst ud af en pind og var rene ekvilibrister til at spille med kugler. De havde ikke så meget brug for legesagerne som deres danske kammerater. Dette ændrer sig, efterhånden som de går i børnehaven. Effekten af børnehaveopholdet er bl.a., at de tyrkiske børn bliver lige så afhængige af legetøj som de danskepå godt og ondt. En enkelt forskel på de tyrkiske og de danske børn har dog vist sig at være ret permanent. De leger ofte i større grupper end de danske børn. Man ser tit spontane legegrupper på en halv snes børn, hvor legen er fint organiseret. Det er noget mere end hos danske børn, hvor legegrupper på 3-4 er det almindelige. Forskellen hænger måske sammen med den forskel, der er i socialiseringen. Danske børn udsættes for en høj grad af individuel opdragelse, hvorimod de tyrkiske er vant til en gruppeopdragelse, der refererer til familien. Det er de større søskende, der har ansvaret for de mindre, også i børnehaven. Børnene er altså vant til at lege med en stor aldersspredning, og det mønster bibeholdes i børnehaven. Vurdering af Svalens Model Hvis jeg afslutningsvis skal søge at lave en vurdering af den model, vi kører efter i Svalen, bliver denne vurdering meget positiv. Nogle sprogforskere mener, at det er for tidligt at sætte ind med andetsprogstilegnelse i 3-4 års alderen, det bør vente til et stykke ind i skolealderen. Jeg synes, vores erfaringer viser det modsatte. Hvis man satser på at styrke modersmål og kultur, er der ikke problemer med at lære sprog nr. 2, når blot den elementære sproglige basis er tilstede. Det fremgår ikke ret meget af det, jeg har sagt her; men vi har naturligvis lavet en række fejl hen ad vejen. Også store fejl, som en overgang at læsse hele det udvidede samarbejde med de tyrkiske forældre over på de tyrkiske medarbejderedet var jo så bekvemt, de kunne jo snakke sammen! Eller den gang vi opdagede, at en af vores tyrkiske medarbejdere ikke kunne ret meget tyrkisk. Vi havde focuseret på, at hun var god til dansk, hvilket også er nødvendigt for at kunne fungere i samarbejdetat der kunne være problemer med det tyrkiske, var ikke faldet os ind! De her nævnte, og adskillige andre, fejl har vi naturligvis søgt at rette, men tingene kan sikkert gøres endnu bedre. Det er dog vigtigt at se på, at
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de fejl der er begået ikke ligger i modellen, men i vores små og store menneskelige fejl. Dette er dog ikke ensbetydende med, at tingene ikke kan gøres på andre måder. Tværtimod mener jeg, det er vigtigt at få afprøvet andre modeller, bl.a. fordi Svalens model forudsætter en stor gruppe indvandrere med ensartede sproglige og kulturelle forudsætninger. Hvad gør vi med de små indvandrergrupper? Indtil foråret 1987 var Svalen det eneste forsøg med tokulturel integration i danske børnehaver. Nu er Svalen ikke længere et forsøg, men har fået permanent status. Samtidig blev det besluttet at iværksætte et nyt forsøg i en af vores nabobørnehaver, Mejsen. Her er modellen, at de skal have 1/3 tyrkiske børn i rene sproggrupper i alderen 0-6 år. Jeg har ikke kendskab til andre organiserede forsøg på daginstitutionsamrådet; men jeg har bestemt ikke noget imod at fa at vide, at jeg har uret. Der er brug for en langt større indsats på indvandrerområdet i de danske daginstitutioner. Litteratur Thorning, Inge (1985) Rapport vedrørende forsøgsprojeketet i brnehaven Svalen i Gjellerupparken. Arhus: Fås ved henvendelse til Kommune Information, Arhus kommune, Sønder Alle 8, DK 8000 Arhus C, tlf. 06 13 65 00.
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24 Om de 0-6 Årige Flygtningebørns PersonlighedsUdvikling og Integration Og om Den Internationale Børnehave i Aalborg Søren C. Olesen Dansk Flygtningehjælp i Nordjyllands amt, Kastetvej 26, Postbox 207, 9100 Aalborg, Danmark. Abstract. This paper deals with the conditions of and possibilities for the personal development and integration of the 0-6 year-old refugee children in Denmark, more specifically in Northern Jutland. It is also a description of the work in the international kindergarten in Aalborg. In Denmark there are no specific legislative demands or special integration offers for the 0-6 year-old refugee children, as there are for grown-ups and schoolchildren. On the other hand, there is nothing in the legislation to prevent local arrangements being made. The different needs and phases of personal development of small refugee children will be dealt with, and the different sets of institutions and ways to help these children to a healthy bilingual and bicultural life; and in a wider perspective, the intercultural work is seen as a means of improving international understanding and peace. Børn og Fred De børn, som er flygtninge, har som alle andre børn deres egne glæder og sorger, problemer, tanker og drømme. De er ikke blot vedhæng til de voksne flygtninge. Meget har de fælles med indvandrerbørn og andre børn, der vokser
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op med to sprog og to kulturer, men de har også det særlige over sig, at de er flygtningebørn. I det følgende har jeg forsøgt at belyse nogle af de forhold, som er af betydning for flygtningebrns udvikling. Disse børns skæbne, velfærd og fremtid ligger mig i særlig grad på sinde. Men emnet er alligevel bredere, og perspektivet videre end flygtningsbørns pædagogiske muligheder i Danmark. Interkulturelt arbejde med både børn og voksne er egentlig fredsskabende. Både på det direkte og indirekte område. Og derfor vedkommer det os alle. Integrations- og Udviklingstilbud til Flygtninge Den danske flygtningepolitik er juridisk bestemt af udlændingeloven, og på det sociale, uddannelsesmæssige og kulturelle område stort set bestemt af det integrationstilbud, Dansk Flygtningehjælp på den danske stats vegne kan give over en periode på i gennemsnit 18 måneder. Dette gælder først og fremmest de voksne flygtninge. For børnenes vedkommende gør der sig det gældende, at børn i den undervisningspligtige alder er omfattet af de særlige regler for fremmedsprogede børn. Der kan eksempelvis oprettes særlige modtageklasser, og folkeskolen har en særlig forpligtelse til at tilgodese børnenes modersmål og kulturelle baggrund. For de 0-6 årige er de ingen særlige regler eller krav om særlige tilbud. Det kan forekomme paradoksalt, fordi vi her har det stærkeste potentiale til en integration af og mellem to sprog og to kulturer. Der er i den gældende lovgivning modsætningsvis heller ikke noget, der forhindrer, at der lokalt laves hensigtsmæssige ordninger. Dette har man så forsøgt en lang række steder over hele landet. Der skal i det følgende beskrives, hvad der er gjort i Nordjyllands amt. 1979-87 Det begyndte i 1979, hvor en lang rakke lande, herunder Danmark modtog et ekstraordinaert antal vietnamesiske bådflygtninge. Siden er der kommet flere tilog af mange forskellige nationaliteter. I denne 8 års periode er i Nordjyllands amt modtaget 2-3000 flygtninge. Knap 10%/ er børn i 0-6 års alderen, og det er arbejdet med disse 200 børn, der har resulteret i den pædagogiske model, som er udviklet. Geografisk er det erfaringer fra Hjørring, Frederikshavn, Brønderslev, Hadsund, Hobro, Aars og Aalborg, og de største nationalitetsgrupper er vietnamesere (herunder etniske kinesere), polakker, iranere, irakere, tyrkere, tamiler og statsløse palæestinensere samt libanesere.
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Udgangspunktet i 1979 var 30 vietnamesiske børn i 0-6 års alderen i Aalborg. Kommunerne var dengang ganske overbeviste om, at det ikke var en kommunal opgave at tage sig af disse børn. Der er stadig en tendens til, at man i kommunerne afviser opgavenogså selv om der i dag er 100% statsrefusion på udgifterne. Resultatet var og er, at Dansk Flygtningehjælp laver legestuer til modtagelse af børnene. Dansk Flygtningehjælps Legestuer I alle byer, hvor der er børn, har Dansk Flygtningehjælp etableret en legestue. Nogle steder er den placeret sammen med de voksnes sprogskole, andre steder i de lokaler, der nu måtte være til rådighed. Almindeligvis vil a én højst to nationaliteter være repræsenteret i legestuen, men i Aalborg er der dog efterhånden 5-6 nationaliteter. Det pædagogiske formål med legestuen er for det første at skabe tryghed og sikkerhed for barnet, så man derefter kan medvirke til en stabilisering og 'genoptagelse af barndommen', hvorefter børnene kan forberedes på, at kunne være i en national dagpleje eller en dansk børnehave med specielle nationale foranstaltninger. Personalet i legestuen er ideelt set sammensat ud fra at kunne tilgodese disse behov. Dvs. at der først og fremmest skal være personer med en pædagogisk baggrund eller i det mindste interesse og med samme sprog og kulturbaggrund som børnene. Herudover skal der være danske pædagoger med særlig erfaring og viden om arbejdet med fremmedsprogede børn og børn i krise. Det sidste er nødvendigt for at kunne hjælpe de børn, som er egentlig krigsskadede eller har været udsat for eller har overværet tortur. Undertrykkelse, forfølgelse og usikkerhed under flugten er forhold, som langt de fleste flygtningebørn er præget af. De har et højt angstberedskab og er i den første tid kendetegnede ved at have mareridt, let til gråd, koncentrationsvanskeligheder mm. Specielt har store grupper af vietnamesiske og palæstinensiske børn haft så traumatiske oplevelser bag sig, at legestuens beskyttende rammer har været en klar nødgendighed. Men også af hensyn til helt naturlige krisereaktioner, som flugten og kulturskiftet medfører, er de beskyttende rammer hensigtsmæssige. Alle har angst og viser almindelige krisereaktioner. Resultatet ses i børnenes leg. Legoklodser omdannes til maskingeværer, krigsskibe og bombeflyvere, og børnene ved, hvordan den virkelighed er. Krigslegene tjener her det helt åbenlyse formål at lege krigen ud af børnenes verden, så der kan blive plads til en anden virkelighed, en anden kultur og et andet sprog. Herunder også et andet modersmål, hvor begreber som void og krig kan erstattes af kærlighed og fred. Det tager sin tid, men det er vigtigt, at børnene i legestuen kan falde til ro, få bearbejdet angsten og genskabe troen på, at livet er dejligt. Og så begynder børnetegningerne at
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ændre sig. Krig o ødelæggelse, flugten, flygtningelejren og frelsen erstattes af hele huse, landskaber med køer, flag og solskin. Og så det ved at være tid til at orientere pædagogikken mod fremtiden. En fremtid med to kulturer og to sprog. Almindelig holdningsdannelse omfatter følgende hovedområder: Det kognitive, det emotionelle og det conative. Også ved kulturskift og normskift er disse 3 faktorer aktive. Der skal selvfølgelig elementær viden om både egen og fremmed kultur til. Følelsesmæssige begreber og spørgsmål skal tolkes. Og først og fremmest skal der personlige erfaringer til. Børnene skal lære andre børn at kendeherunder selvfølgelig også danske børn. Den dansksprogede litteratur om pædagogiske foranstaltninger for de 0-6 årige var i 1979-80 yderst sparsom. Vi søgte højt og lavt efter erfaringer fra området og fandt en del inspiration i henholdsvis svenske og canadiske beskrivelser. En Praktisk Teori Arbejdet kom til at bygge på den teoretiske forudsætning, at mennesket skal være velfunderet i sit modersmål og sin egen kultur for at kunne integrere et fremmed sprog og en fremmed kultur. Den svensk/finske sprogforsker Tove Skutnabb-Kangas har formuleret sig herom. Hendes klare og kategoriske holdning til den praktiske konsekvens af teorierne om to-sprogetheden har man i Sverige set realiseret med overbevisende resultat. Imidlertid harmonerer en sådan holdning ikke for godt med dansk pragmatisme. Man vil derfor i det følgende se, at nok er det teoretiske udgangspunkt fælles, men praksis er tillempet danske forudsætninger og mentalitet (mulighed). Medvirkende hertil har ganske givet været, at de mennesker, som vi i første omgang skulle arbejde sammen med om tosprogethed hos børn, var vietnamesere, der som bekendt også kan have et pragmatisk syn på livet. Med respekt for det forhold, at helt basale sprogforudstninger udvikles i løbet af de første 2-3 år, er det vigtigt at sikre, at børn i den aldersgruppe får muligehd for at udvikle deres modersmål uden forstyrrende fremmedsprogselementer. Fra 3 års alderen vil modersmålet almindeligvis være så veludviklet, at et fremmedsprog successivt kan tilegnes. Dette sker dels med den voksne som sprogmodel og dels med jævnaldrende som den målgruppe, man i jævnbyrdigt socialt forhold afprøver, udvider og udvikler sin nyerhvervede kunnen overfor. Det er for de 3-6 årige børn vigtigt med voksenkontakt på både modersmål og fremmedsprogin casu dansk. Og det er lige så vigtigt med en børnegruppe, hvor nogle taler samme modersmål, og andre taler dansk. Fra 6 års alderen træder skolen ind i
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billedet med dens målrettede undervisning og med et system, der giver mulighed for en egentlig to-sproget udvikling. En Praktisabel Model I et samarbejde med forældre, legestuens pædagoger, politikere og kommunens embedsmænd og pædagogiske konsulenter er der søgt udviklet en model, som i praksis kan være levedygtig. Hensigten har været at skabe en model, der både tog hensyn til flygtningebørnenes helt særlige behov som flygtninge, deres mere almindelige behov som to-sprogede og tokulturelle og deres helt generelle udviklingsbehov for personlighedsudvikling. Den ideale model for de 0-6 årige flygtningebørns udviklingsmulighed i personlighedsmæssig henseende, på det sociasle, kulturelle og sproglige område kommer herefter til at se således ud i en grafisk form (Figur 1). Der er i alle led i modellen to formål, som skal tilgodeses: Det pasningsmæssige og det pædagogiske. Deri adskiller de to-sprogede foranstaltninger sig ikke fra, hvad der er sædvane på daginstitutionsområdet i Danmark.
Figur 1
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Pasningsbehovet udspringer af det forhold, at forældrene alle er i gang med deres individuelle integrationsprogram bestående af sprogskole, specialarbejderskoler, HF eller anden form for undervisning og erhvervsforberedelse. Dette kræver både fysisk og psykisk energi, og der kan være en hel del fornuft i, at forældrene ikke behøver at være fysisk ansvarlige for børnenes tarv en del af dagen. Hertil kommer, at de voksnes krisereaktioner sjældent er af positiv værdi for børnene. Tværtimod har vi erfaret, at netop ved at være trygge ved børnenes placering og liv i en legestue, havde forældrene lettere ved at gennemleve nødvendige personlige kriser. I legestuen vil der ofte være børn i fra 0-6 års alderen sammen. Dette skyldes almindeligvis praktiske vanskeligheder med at skaffe nationale dagplejere til de 0-3 årige i begyndelsen af en flygtningegruppes tilstedeværelse. Af hensyn til sammenholdet i en søskendegruppe kan det selvfølgelig også være bedst at holde børnene i samme institution i en periode. Men ellers er det vor erfaring, at børn i 0-3 års alderen udelukkende skal udsættes for deres modersmål, og at den bedste løsning for en pasning uden for hjemmet er den nationale dagplejeordning. Denne etableres på fuldstaendig samme måde som enhver anden kommunal dagplejeordning. Ofte må instruktion og vejledning foregå ved hjælp af tolk, men krvaet om tosprogethed til dagplejemødrene må være et forhold, der kommer i anden række. Vigtigere er det, at de pågaældende har en paedagogisk baggrund eller interesse, at de er velfunderede i egen kultur og eget sprog og ikke mindst, at de er alment respekterede af øvrige forældre. Der må selvfølgelig kun være børn med samme sprog- og kulturbaggrund i samme dagpleje. Det er i den sammenhæng vigtigt at være opmærksom på, at politiske, religiøse og sociale forhold kan have afgørende betydning for, om forældre opfatter en dagplejemor som 'værdig' til at tage sig af deres børn. Dette må der selvsagt tages stærkt hensyn til. Vore erfaringer har vist, at den nationale dagpleje har været den bedste løsning for de 0-3 årige. Den naestbedste løsning vil være ophold i legestuen, hvor børnene først og fremmest fra andre børn vil kunne høre deres modersmål. Andre løsninger har af praktiske grunde været forsøgt med forskellige resultater. Dårligst resultat har det givet at anbringe 5 vietnamesiske børn i en ren dansksproget vuggestue, hvor man nægtede at modtage dobbeltsproget bistand. I løbete af mindre en 3/4 år begyndte børnene at få alvorlige sprogproblemer hjemme, og efter 1 år lykkedes det at få alle børnene optaget før tiden i den narliggende børnehave, hvor man hele tiden havde været glade for den dobbeltsprogede pædagogiske medarbejder. Når børnene ved 3 års alderen almindeligvis skal forlade den nationale dagpleje eller i en anden alder forlade Dansk Flygtningehjælps legestue, hvor de almindeligvis opholder sig ½ til 1½ år efter behov, skal børnene i
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en almindelig børnehave i nærheden af deres hjem. Det har i praksis været muligt i næsten alle tilfælde at etablere en ordning, hvor der på en stue med f.eks. 20 børn er 4-5 flygtningebørn med samme sprog- og kulturbaggrund. Mindst halvdelen af de timer, børnene er i børnehaven, er der en dobbeltsproget pædagogisk medarbejder. Den pågældende, lad os sige palæstinensiske medarbejder, skal selvfølgelig være sammen med de palæstinensiske børn. Tale arabisk, lege nationale lege, fortælle legender, historie, fortælle om geografi mv. fra hjemlandet, men hun skal ikke alene tage sig af de palæstinensiske børn, så de bliver en gruppe i gruppen. Den palæstinensiske pædagog skal også tage sig af de danske børn, lære dem andre skikke, legender etc. Der skal arbejdes egentlig tværkulturelt og interkulturelt med det formål at gøre det forhold, at der er to sprog og to kulturer side om side til et aktiv i det daglige pædagogiske arbejde. Den arabisk -sprogede pædagogiske medarbejder skal således også rådgive sine danske kolleger. Og selv blive vejledt. Hun skal være aktiv og formidlende i forældrekontakten, som der skal gøres ekstra meget ud af. Både organiseret og når lejlighed til hverdag byder sig. Alt dette stiller store krav til såvel den dobbeltsprogede pædagogiske medarbejder som til børnehavens øvrige medarbejdere. Og det stiller krav om planlægning og godt samarbejde. Det er værd at understrege, at disse krav samtidig let kan være medvirkende til at skabe en motivation, der giver energi og inspiration til at udvikle en hensigtsmæssig pædagogik. Det er spændende arbejde. Ved etableringen af fremmedsprogede integrationsgrupper i danske børnehaver har der vist sig en række forhold, som man i særlig grad må tage hensyn til. Det er først og fremmest nødvendigt med en meget grundig forberedelse afmedarbejderne i børnehaven. Der skal gives orientering, evt. i kursusform, om de kommende fremmedsprogede børns kulturelle og historiske baggrund. Både på det konkrete og generelle plan. Der skal orienteres grundigt om kulturforhold og skikke, som man i særlig grad skal være opmærksom på at udvikle og evt. tage hensyn til. Religion og kostregler kan være meget forskellige fra de danske. Samtidig må man være opmærksom på, at børnene ikke må gå hen og blive årets verdensbegivenhed i børnehaven. Det er ikke udstilingsdukker, der kommer. Det vil ofte være nødvendigt med visse ekstraressourcer i forbindelse med modtagelse af flygtningebørn. Almindeligvis bør man undgå at ansætte såkaldte støttepædagoger til at medvirke ved løsningen af opgaven. Der er ikke brug for særlig personlig støtte i de fleste tilfælde. Derimod er der brug for, at personalet i en indkøringsperiode på f.eks. ½ år har ekstraressourcer i form af mere tid til forældresamarbejde og pædagogisk planlægning. Ved forældremøder eller f.eks. skriftligt skal de danske forældre orienteres om, at der kommer fremmedsprogede børn, og hvad
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det betyder for børnehaven. Og så er det, som ovenfor nævnt, kolossalt vigtigt at udnytte den ressource, der ligger i at have to sprog og to kulturer side om side. Det er sket mere and een gang, at en børnehave fra at arbejde temmelig traditionelt har udviklet sig til en blomstrende daginstitution i mødet med den særlige opgave. I forhold til den fremmedsprogede forældregruppe må man på grundlag af den lokale tradition på området udvikle et bæredygtigt forældresamarbejde. Erfaringen har vist, at de fremmedsprogede børns forældre ikke kommer til almindelige forældremøderførst og fremmest af sproglige grunde. Man bør derfor fra starten etablere nogle særlige forældremøder, og så med tiden udvikle disse til almindelige fælles forældremøder. Ofte bliver de fremmedsprogede børn ikke hentet af deres forældre, men af deres søskende eller øvrige pårørende, hvorfor kontakten til hjemmet ofte må etableres på anden vis end den danske kontakt almindeligvis finder sted. Særlig opmærksam må man være på det forhold, at den dobbeltsprogede pædagogiske medarbejder oftest skal arbejde i en slags marginalposition, og ofte i et dobbelt loyalitetsforhold. Vedkommende har brug for konstant støtte til drøftelse af løsninger i dagligdagen. Og vedkommende vil almindeligvis også have brug for uddannelsesmæssige tilbud. Den pgældende medarbejder vil endvidere ofte have suspendereti det mindste midlertidigtsin egen uddannelse. Der er derfor brug for, at man i god tid før vedkommende evt. skal ophøre i børnehaven, fordi børnene forlader den, at sikre vedkommende enten anden beskæftigelse eller en ønsket uddannelse. Selv om mange af disse løsninger kun skal realiseres en enkelt gang i en enkelt børnehave, tegner der sig alligevel et behov for, at danske pædagoger kan være bedre forberedte på tværkulturel pædagogik, end tilfældet er i dag. Det må derfor være et rimeligt ønske at fremsætte, at først og fremmest de socialpædagogiske seminarier og børnehave- og fritidsseminarierne, men også lærerseminarierne indfører egentlig undervisning i tværkulturel pædagogik. Ethvert samfund har brug for den styrke, der ligger i at kunne se livet fra to sider. Den International Børnehave i Aalborg Selv om alle danskere i tidens løb er indvandret til Danmark, så er Danmark ikke noget indvandrerland i samme forstand som de lande, hvor man gennem de sidste loo år eller mere har modtaget mennesker fra mange lande med andre kulturer og andre sprog. De sidste års debat i forbindelse med en forbigående stigning i antallet af spontan-flygtninge, der søgte asyl i landet, har indimellem været voldsom, og kunne antyde, at Danmark ikke engang er særligt egnet som indvandrerland.
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Når sindene er faldet til ro, viser det sig dog almindeligvis, at Danmark udmærket kan modtage en del udlandinge, og at de og danskerne sammen kan have udbytte heraf i både kvalitativ og kvantitativ henseende. Jeg skal ikke her gå ind i hverken de politiske, kulturelle eller demografiske aspekter af dette spørgsmål, men blot påpege, at de sidste åringers erfaring med samarbejdet mellem fremmede børn og danske børn viser, at hvis man blot begynder tidligt nok, er der skabt grundlaget for en udviklet sameksistens. For at lade de gode erfaringer udvikles, at samle nye, og først og fremmest fordi der er et behov, også i Danmark, for en øget tolerance og forståelse for fremmede og evne og vilje til at lære af fremmedealt med det formål at skabe blot en lille smule mere fred i verdener det, at ønsket om en international børnehave er opstået og fremsat i forbindelse med FNs 40års dag. FNs idealer nås ikke med ord og hensigtserklæringer alene. Der skal handling til. Og der skal vi begynde med de små. I det små. Men ellers storslået. En repræsentant for organisationen Red Barnet samlede ideen op, og sammen med repræsentanter fra andre interesseorganisationer, nemlig ASFDansk Folkehjælp, Dansk Røde Kors, FN-forbundet, Dansk Flygtningehjælp, Caritas Danmark og Mosaisk Trossamfund er der etableret en arbejdskomite, der har skabt forudsætning for, at den internationale børnehave i Aalborg kan åbne i august 1987. Den internationale børnehave skal ikke være en dansk børnehave, som modtager fremmedsprogede børn. Børnehaven skal være en egentlig international institution, og et af formålene vil være opdragelse til mellemfolkelig forståelse og tolerance over for anderledes troende og tænkende. Nogle af de udlændinge, som kommer til Danmark, tilhører en minoritet med de minoritetsreaktioner som kan følge heraf. Der er således brug for en opdragelse til tolerance både hos de danske og de udenlandske børn, ligesom en forståelse i forældregruppen skal tilvejebringes. Een af metoderne til dette vil være sprogtræning, som både kan være en pædagogisk støtte på modersmålet og en kontrastiv indlæring. Man kan her forestille sig, at ældre søskende til nogle af børnene må lege med og dermed tilføre børnehaven nogle sprog- og begrebsmæssige kvaliteter. Vi forestiller os også etableret et kulturværksted, hvor børnene kan producere tøj, musik, trykke, lave billeder, teater, og etablere fortællegrupper (med medvirken af forældrene). Kulturværkstedet skal, som den øvrige del af institutionen, vare med til dels at understrege den enkelte kulturs og sprogområdes værdier og særpræg, og også være med til at formidle disse til andre kulturer. På den måde skulle tværkulturelt arbejde i virkeligheden blive fredsskabende. En særlig pædagogisk funktion vil institutionen som helhed få ved at undervise pædagoger og andre interesserede i, hvordan arbejdet gøres.
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Børnehaven påregner at have tre stuer, hver med 18 børn, altså i alt 54. Bygningsmæssigt får den til huse i en ældre, centralt placeret og nyistandsat bygning. Det er hensigten snarest muligt at tilknytte en medarbejder, f.eks. en forskningsstipendiat, der vil kunne beskrive og analysere de indhøstede erfaringer om bl.a. mulighederne for udvikling af to-sprogethed i Danmark. Men det er væsentligt at understrege, at to-sprogethed er et vigtigt og tilsigtet biprodukt af et arbejde, hvis overordnede mål er gensidig forståelse og respekt. Den internationale børnehave i Aalborg er nok den første, men behøver jo ikke at være den eneste.
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25 Olika Metoder Att Förbättra Förskolan för Barn Med Annat Hemspråk än Svenska Britt-Ingrid Stockfelt-Hoatson Projektet Språk och Kultur för Yngre Minoritetsbarn (SKYM), StockfeltHoatson, Dagsbergsvägen 14, S-603 51 Norrköping, Sverige. Abstract. I am the leader of a development project aiming to try out methods of making the pre-school a better learning and developmental environment for children whose mother tongue is not Swedish. This ought to improve the pre-school for other children as well. Today, the project deals with both newly arrived refugees and with groups which for different reasons do not get the optimum development in the Swedish pre-school or at home. Branches of the project are situated partly in the three biggest municipalities in Sweden, Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, and partly in small and medium size municipalities which have recently begun to receive refugees. In the fall of 1986 the following branches existed, some of which have later changed back into ordinary kindergartens, and some have changed in kind; however, they still largely work according to plan. The changes are due to experience and requests during the course of the work. Stockholm - Södertälje: Home-support programme in Fittja, an experiment to improve the cognitive development of the child together with the parents before starting school. Further training of the staff and parents in cooperation with the schools, pre-school and the child health authorities. Göteborg: The development of the language milieu in mother tongue and bicultural groups of children. An improved reception of newly arrived refugee families Malmö: Reception of refugee families in an open pre-school. Further training of Chinese-speaking staff in the pre-school. Improvement of the pre-school's access to material in the children's mother tongue.
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Small municipalities: Reception of refugee families in new recipient municipalities, dissemination of information, experience and education. Documentation will be produced and distributed in different forms, and also made easily accessible. Contacts have been made with universities and colleges of higher education, which have led to a certain, albeit insufficient, level of cooperation. Projektets Bakgrund I augusti 1985 påbörjades ett projekt, som har fått namnet Språk och kultur föryngre minoritetsbarn, förkortat SKYM. Projektet bekostas av Bernhard van Leer Foundaton, Holland, och bedrivs i nära samverkan med Socialstyrelsen och Statens invandrarverk. Projektet planerades för en tid om tre år. Arbetet har någorlunda väl följt de ursprungliga planerna, även om en del förändringar har ägt rum av olika skäl. Projektets målsättning beskrevs i grundplanenganska storstilatså här: at arbeta för aktiv samverkan inom förskolans område mellan lärare, föräldrar, invandrarorganisationer och samhällets olika organ för att möta behoven hos barn och föräldrar; att utveckla föräldrarnas skicklighet för att göra hemmet, familjen och samhället till bättre inlärningsmiljöer, varvid särskild vikt läggs vid barnets kommunikationsfärdighet och föräldrarnas förståelse för sin egen betydelse för att denna ska bli god; att utveckla nya vägar att möta behoven av ut- och fortbildning hos förskolans personal när det gäller språklig och kulturell utveckling för att på så sätt öka deras möjligheter att arbeta effektivt i flerspråkiga områden; att utveckla strategier för att bedöma invandrarbarns språk och inlärningsbehov i nära samverkan med föräldrarna för att därigenom ge dem möjlighet att se positivt på både sin egen och andras kultur och uppnå en fast grund för sin senare utveckling och inlärning; att stimulera nya och kreativa metoder inom barnomsorg och uppfostran i Sverige, som är ekonomiska, användbara inom nuvarande resurserbåde mänskliga och materiellaoch som ger goda bidrag till det rådande tänkandet i landet om lämpliga former för utbildningen av barn med en icke-svensk språklig-kulturell bakgrund; att utvärdera och dokumentera arbetet för spridning inom Sverige. En hel del av ovanstående arbete skulle kräva forskningsstöd för att målen någorlunda skulle uppnås, även om man inte har alltför stora krav. Vi har naturligtvis inte hopp om att i grunden förändra hela den svenska förskolan,
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men vi hoppas och tror att våra olika delprojekt ska bidra till en process, som gradvis förbättrar den som komplement till hemmen. Vi hade också trott att våra delprojekt skulle vara attraktiva för studerande inom universitet och lärarhögskolor, som ju ofta behöver göra undersökningar av olika slag som ett led i sin utbildning. Vi har beskrivit dem i olika sammanhang och tagit en del kontakter, men med ett par undantag har vi mötts av ett slags välvillig likgiltighet, när det stått klart att vi inte kunnat betala för arbetet. Kanske kan denna projektbeskrivning ändå inspirera någon mer forskarstuderande eller ansvarig institutionschef till att ta kontakt med oss. Det skulle verkligen vara på tiden att universiteten började inse sitt ansvar för det numera ganska stora antal barn som växer upp i Norden men har rötterna i en annan kultur än den som traditionellt varit majoritetens. Utvecklingen i Sverige Man kanske inte tänker sig Sverige som ett mångkulturellt land, men var tionde medborgare kan vara invandrare eller barn till en sådan. Ursprungsländerna är mycket varierande. De flesta kommer från något av de nordiska länderna, framför allt från Finland, eftersom det inte finns några hinder för nordbor att bosätta sig i vilket nordiskt land de själva önskar. Arbetskraftsinvandringen var länge dominerande men har avtagit under åttiotalet medan invandringen av flyktingar har ökat starkt. Flyktingarna kommer från nästan hela världen, men i synnerhet kriget mellan Iran och Irak har medfört att många tvingats lämna sitt land. Det talas kanske 150 olika språk i Sverige och skolorna undervisar i och på 60-80 olika språk, varierande beroende på hur många elever det finns för tillfället och på var de bor. Även om skolan har skyldighet att försöka ordna hemspråkslärare kan detta vara omöjligt ibland, eller kan bedömas vara omöjligt eller alltför dyrt. Rätten till hemspråksstöd och undervisning finns fastställd i form av riksdagsbeslut sedan år 1977 och en avsevärd utbyggnad har ägt rum. Tyvärr får de flesta barn fortfarande alldeles för få timmar för att en tillräckligt god grund för tvåspråkighet ska kunna läggas. Det är ett stort problem att de flesta invandrare har kommit att bo i ett relativt litet antal bostadsområden, oftast i större tätorter. I en del områden har balansen rubbats därhän att de genuint svensktalande är i minoritet, vilket medför att barnen inte lär sig svenska spontant av svenska kamrater. Detta innebär inte heller alltid att de lär sig sina föräldrars språk grundligt, eftersom det kan vara omöjligt att bilda homogena grupper eller klasser ens om man ordnar transporter inom kommunen. Det är inte ovanligt med mer än fyra språk i en grupp och det berättas om områden där barnen utvecklar sitt eget
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'byspråk', kanske ett blandspråk, som kan fungera där men knappast någon annanstans. Ett följdproblem är att bla förskolepersonal blir förvirrad och osäker. Det tycks tex vara ganska vanligt att den svensktalande personalende som i sådana områden är nästan de enda som kan lära ut svenska till barnen före skolanblir så försagda att de inte vdgar tala svenska med barnen. Delvis kan detta sammanhänga med att vi i svenska förskolor har en traditionell tvekan inför 'undervisning' i förskolan, en rädsla att trötta ut barnen och ställa för stora krav på dem. Delvis kan det ha samband med att arbetet blir mycket splittrat i grupper där alldeles för många vuxna kommer och går. Hemspråksreformen bidrar i sådana områden till att antalet vuxna kring barnen blir så stort att personalen aldrig riktigt kan lära känna varandra. En del skulle antagligen gå att ändra genom att planeringsrutinerna förbättrades, men det finns gränser. Sedan 1985 har flyktingarnas första bosättning i Sverige målmedvetet spridits till andra områden än de ovan nämnda. Eftersom antalet flyktingar varit mycket högt har numera de flesta kommuner med mer än 5-6.000 invånare tagit emot ett varierande antal. Detta har inneburit att de stått inför behovet att ordna omsorg för barn med annat modersmål än svenska, barn som ofta har haft traumatiska upplevelser bakom sig eller vilkas föräldrar är mycket skakade av både flyktens orsaker och dess följder. Inte blir det bättre av att familjerna ofta maste vänta under lång tid på att fa besked om ifall de får stanna. Personalen i dessa små eller medelstora kommuner har ofta inte alls haft tillfälle att lära sig något om hur de bäst ska stödja dessa familjer, så det finns ett mycket stort sug efter fortbildning. Det hela kompliceras av att begreppen 'barnomsorg' och 'förskola' kan ha mycket skilda konnotationer i olika länder. I en del länder finns ingen kommunal barnomsorg, i andra väntar sig föräldrarna renodlad utbildning och blir besvikna när barnen förefaller att leka mest hela tiden. Det vimlar av möjligheter till missförstånd och felslagna förväntningar. Det är tex synnerligen vanligt att den svenska personalen finner att de mycket strikta svenska tidsbegreppen inte omfattas av föräldrarna, och det kan leda till en hel del frustration i onödan. Det är också vanligt att personalen inte har satt sig in i hur och hur mycket de bör tala med barnen för att ge dem en god mjukstart i Sverige. Det finns undersökningar som tyder på att det är ganska normalt att vuxna talar med andra vuxna och att de inte målmedvetet går in för att utnyttja förskolans många olika möjligheter att stärka barnens begreppsinlärning på ett pedagogiskt och lustbetonat sätt. Detta är till förfång också för många svenska barn och kan beröva invandrares barn den förberedelse inför skolan, som de har rätt att få. Fortbildning kan kanske inte lösa alla problem men det kan förhoppningsvis lösa en del och bidra till att goda processer påbörjas bland personalen.
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Delprojekten inom SKYM Enligt ursprungsplanen skulle delprojekt startas i de tre storstadsområdena och i små eller medelstora kommuner, som nyligen börjat ta emot flyktingar. I Södertälje skulle vi försöka få till stånd projekt bland assyrier och syrianer, som i stor utsträckning kommer från rurala förhållanden och har undanhållits rätten till utbildning på sitt eget språk. Detta har bla medfört att många föräldrar, särskilt mödrarna, är illitterata. Barnen har ganska stora problem i skolan. Vi ville pröva om inte förskolan i samverkan med föräldrarna skulle kunnas råda bot på detta. I Göteborg tänkte vi se vad som skulle gå att göra for och bland de turkiska familjer, som kom redan i slutet av sextio- och början av sjuttiotalet, och som fortfarande har svårt att acceptera det svenska samhällets normer och barnuppfostran. Barnen finner det ofta svårt att klara skolans krav och det skulle antagligen gå att förbättra deras möjligheter genom bättre samverkan med föräldrarna. I Malmö ville vi inrikta verksamheten mot den sinovietnamesiska gruppen, som knappast fått tillräckligt goda möjligheter att bygga upp en gynnsam start för sina barn. Därutöver ville vi bidra till att sprida redan befintlig kunskap, som ofta stannar kvar inom kommunen, eftersom vi saknar systematisk dokumention och spridning på riksnivå. Projektplaneringen inleddes med konferenser i de olika områdena och därefter och förhandlingar med administratörer och politiker för att förändra arbetet med underlätta för lokala projektmedarbetare. Vi började också undersöka vad som redan var på gång och vilka resurspersoner vi borde ta vara på. Nya Flyktingkommuner Det delprojekt som först kom i gång var arbetet i små och medelstora kommuner som nyligen börjat ta emot flyktingar eller kanske stod i begrepp att göra det. Monica Berg, förskollärare och sociolog med lång erfarenhet av flyktingarbete, har lagt upp ett fortbildningsprogram för de tio nordligaste länenen avsevärd del av Sverige: från Södermanland till Norrbottens län. Hon har tillsammans med Kommunförbundets länsavdelningar och Socialstyrelsen genomfört dels länsvisa kontaktseminarier, där administrativ personal och barnomsorgspersonal deltagit, dels fördjupningskurser. Hon samlar personalen länsvis, både för att det är praktiskt och för att de har stort utbyte av att känna varandra. Innehållet i fördjupningskurserna har Monica indelat i kursmoment kring olika ämnen: invandrings- och flyktingpolitik, det lokala flyktingmottagandet, länder- och religionskunskap, barn i krigsdrabbade länder, barnet i flyktsituationen, barnomsorgen och flyktingbarnen, språk, kulturmöte, roller och samverkan personalföräldrar, att tala genom tolk, att starta en studiecirkel etc.
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Det är naturligtvis omöjligt att hinna bearbeta allt detta ordentligt, så Monica försöker inspirera deltagarna till att själva gå vidare, tex i cirkelform. För att underlätta detta har hon sammanställt en litteraturförteckning, som tryckts inom SKYMprojektets rapportserie och kan beställas från Statens invandrarverk. Vår förhoppning är att kommunförbundets länsavdelningar ska fortsätta samla barnomsorgens personal även i fortsättningen till liknande fortbildning. Socialstyrelsen och Statens invandrarverk har fortsatt arbetet i resten av Sverige. Vårt arbete i norra delen av Sverige verkligen mötts av stor uppskattning. Monica har redan skrivit en rapport med beskrivningar av fyra kommuner. Den har vi tryckt och givit namnet 'Vi är här nu!' och den kan beställas från Statens invandrarverk. Monica fortsätter nu med att skriva en rapport om sitt arbete och den trycker vi senare. Stockholmsområdet Av olika skäl kom arbetet i Södertälje inte i gång som planerat men i stället påbörjades ett delprojekt i Fittja, Botkyrka, som har fatt namnet 'Hemstödsprogram' och beskrivs nedan. I Södertälje har man senare arbetat med fortbildning för personal från förskola, lågstadium och barnavårdscentraler samt med cirklar tillsammans med föräldrarna. Under våren 1987 har projektet stärkts genom att ett par personer friställts under några timmar per vecka för att fungera som 'stimulatorer' bland personalen. Meningen är att dessa ska försöka underlätta samverkan mella förskola, skola och barnavårdscentral, inspirera till fortsatt fördjupning av fortbildningen etc. Projektet följs av Gunilla Ladberg, som också är lokal projektledare i Stockholmsområdet. I Fittja arbetar Yvonne Petersson och Rosa Gonzales med att utveckla ett program för begreppsutveckling, där de söker samverkan med föräldrarna. De har tagit intryck från det israeliska HIPPY (Home Instruction Program for Pre-School Youngsters) men anpassar deras ide'er till att passa den svenska förskolan. De håller på med att konstruera ett material, som ska kunna användas för flera språkgrupper. Materialet ska vara sådant att föräldrar ska kunna arbeta med det tillsammans med sitt/sina barn i åldern 4-6 år. Avsikten är att de ska använda 10-15 minuter varje dag och en viktig del av programmet är att göra föräldrarna medvetna om varför barnen behöver lära sig de olika begreppen (tex riktning, lage, form, storlek, färg) mer systematiskt än de normalt gör i hemmet. För att bygga upp ett förtroende har Rosa och Yvonne börjat ta kontakter med både kurder, assyrier/syrianer och latinamerikaner. Som komplement till materialet har en kurdisk författare börjat arbeta med att skriva barnböcker med innehåll, som kan stärka barnens begreppsutveckling och kommunika-
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tionsförmåga. Stöd till detta arbete har sökts från Statens kulturråd. Längre fram ska ett liknande arbete för de assyriska och syrianska barnen eftersträvas, eftersom även de saknar lämplig litteratur för små barn. En tecknare har börjat arbeta för att ta fram bra bilder till både det pedagogiska materialet och barnböckerna. Materialet kommer senare att demonstreras och rapporter om hur det fungerar kommer efter hand. Socialdepartementet ger ekonomiskt stod under 1988. I Huddinge ligger förskolan Korpen, som tagit djupt intryck av den pedagogik som utvecklats i Reggio Emilia, Italien, och som bl a beskrivits i boken 'Ett barn har hundra språk' av Wallin, Maechel och Barsotti. Pedagogiken går ut på att personalen stimulerar barnens kreativa tänkande genom alla slags konstnärligt arbete. Förskolan Korpen ville fördjupa sina kunskaper och reste, med stöd från SKYM, på ett studiebesök till några förskolor i Reggio Emilia. De har bl a dokumenterat sina erfarenheter genom flera utställningar och har beskrivit hur de påverkats i en rapport med namnet 'Fôrskolan Korpens studieresn till Italien'. Malmö I Malmö har ett fortbildningsprojekt för kinesisktalande förskolpersonal bedrivits och kommer att fortsätta under hösten 1987. Personalen har dels fått fortbildning i fackämnen, som de själva framhållit som önskvärda, dels har de tränat svenska med dessa fackämnen som grund. Det har visat sig mycket givande för denna grupp hemspråkslärare, som tidigare inte hade haft särskilt många möjligheter att öka sitt kunnande och som av kulturella skäl ofta har mycket svårt att hävda sig. Vi hoppas att denna fortbildning ska kunna fungera som underlag för fortsatt verksamhet bland hemspråkslärare ur olika språkgrupper och att den ska fördjupas och permanentas. Hemspråkslärarna har ett mycket svårt och ansvarsfyllt arbete arbete och behöver verkligen stödet av vidare utbildning. Fortbildningen leds av Anna Sjöwall och Lena Rubinstein vid Lärahögskolan i Malmö och de kommer att skriva en rapport. Malmö tar emot många flyktingfamiljer och de bor under väntetiden i genomgångsboständer i invandrartäta områden. Det är vanligt att de upplever väntetiden som mycket pressande. Ett av våra delprojekt bestod av arbete för att göra denna tid lättare för hela familjen genom att inbjuda till öppna förskolan, där det under vissa tider fanns tvåspråkig personal. Det blev mycket populärt särskilt bland kvinnorna, som annars inte hade någonstans att gå (en av de stora grupperna var vid denna tid albansktalande muslimer från Kosovo i Jugoslavien, som har mycket stränga normer för kvinnor) och som var
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mycket isolerade. Projektledaren lade ned åtskillig möda på att informera om behoven och till att förmå andra kommunala organ till att samverka för att förbättra flyktingarnas tillvaro. Det har uppstått betydande förbättringar, inte minst i fråga om personalens medvetenhet, och detta leder till att flyktingfamiljernas förutsättningar att klara väntetiden förbättras. Det pågår också ett arbete för att fa fram mer och bättre barnomsorg för familjer, där föräldrarna läser svenska, eftersom det visar sig att dålig eller ingen barnomsorg främst leder till att mödrarna inte kan tillgodogöra sig undervisningen. Ett annat led i arbetet är att underlätta övergången när familjerna lämnar genomgångsbostäderna och flyttar till andra områden. Projektledare var Griselda Borges, själv flykting från Uruguay och utbildad till hemspråkslärare i Sverige. Hon har nu återvänt till Uruguay men arbetet fullfördes av Veronica Seguel, flykting från Chile. Det grundläggande arbetet har nu övergått från SKYM-projektet till ordinarie kommunal verksamhet. En fortsättning med inriktning på kvalitetshöjning har påbörjats tillsammans med den s.k. Ide'banken, en lokal där man kan förvara pedagogiskt material för utlåning, ordna utställningar, samlas för kurser och olika slags samarbete osv. Under några månader har Veronica Seguel undersökt vad som finns av material på olika språk ute i barnstugorna, sett vad som kan anskaffas eller kopieras och vad som kan produceras av och tillsammans med hemspråklärare etc. Hon har påbörjat ett samarbete med ABF i Malmö för att med deras hjälp få i gång work shops. Rapporter kommer så småningom. Göteborg I Göteborg har ett delprojekt inriktats mot att förbättra personalens förmåga att utnyttja förskolans många samtalsmöjligheter bättre. Dramapedagogerna Gunilla Sellersjö och Ludmila Kovalska har arbetat tillsammans med personalen för att ge bra exempel. Fortbildning i cirkelform har pågått sedan 1985 tillsammans med ett försök att använda videofilm för att förbättra den pedagogiska aktiviteten. Projektet avses nå ut till all personal. Dramapedagogerna har arbetat med social fostran, gruppaktiviteter och rutinsituationer för att utveckla personalens förmåga att skapa grupp- och samhörighetskänsla, ta vara på möjligheterna och för att försöka stärka personalens trygghet i yrkesrollen. Området där delprojektet bedrivits ligger i Biskopsgården, Hisingen, och är mycket invandrartätt. Bl.a. bor där många av de tidigare nämnda turkiska familjerna. Huvuddelen av projektet har nu övergått från SKYM till att finansieras av socialdepartementet, men vi bidrar med bl.a. utvärdering och med en viss ökning i inriktning mot ett kulturkompetent arbetssätt, vilket är angeläget i ett område av denna art. Utvärderingen utförs av Ingrid
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Wilgotson från Göteborgs universitet, pedagogiska institutionen och kommer att prsenteras i en rapport. I Göteborg har Alaaddin Erdis intervjuat personal i Västra Frölunda om deras arbete för att förbättra förskolans mottagande av assyriska och syrianska barn. Detta har resulterat i en rapport med namnet 'Förskola för assyriska och syrianska barn i Västra Frölunda'. Rapporten kan beställas från Statens invandrarverk. Ett arbete för att förbättra mottagandet av flyktingfamiljerna i Göteborg har påbörjats. Det kommer i viss mån att likna arbetet i Malmö men utformas för att passa Göteborg, där barnomsorgen är decentraliserad till distrikt och kretsar, och där det finns risk för att den blir ojämn, beroende på respektive kretschefs prioriteringar. En del av arbetet utförs i en särskild flykting förskola, en del inriktas mot mottagandet i det bostadsområde dit familjerna kommer, när de fått sina tillstånd och lämnar genomgångsbostäderna. Den öppna förskolans möjligheter att fungera som både en träffpunkt och ett pedagogiskt centrum kommer att vara ett av våra intresseområden. Projektledare år Gunilla Svensson. Övrigt Utöver ovannämnda projekt och rapporter har vi försökt stimulera till debatt genom att skriva artiklar o d. Vi har deltagit i seminarier och andra arrangemang för att både ta och ge. Ett av SKYM-projektets syften är att ta vara på redan befintlig kunskap och hjälpa till med att sprida den. I maj 1986 ordnades tex ett seminarium för deltagarna i projekt som fått stöd av socialdepartementet för verksamhet med inriktning mot invandrare och minoriteter. Deltagarna berättade där om ett tiotal kommunala projekt och dessutom hölls ett par föredrag om bl a metoder. Inläggen finns nu tillgängliga i bokform under namnet 'Bra start för Nilgün' och kan beställas från Statens invandrarverk. Priset på våra skrifter är så lågt att ingen ska behöva avstå från att beställa våra rapporter. Det går att beställa direkt från: Statens invandrarverk, Distributioner Box 6113, S-600 06 Norrköping, Sverige, skriv 'SKYM-projektet' på kuvertet.
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26 Om Hensynet til Voksne Indvandreres Kulturelle og Uddannelsesmæssige Forudsætninger i Undervisningen Lis Glebe-Møller Dansk Flygtningehjælps Sprogskoler, Enghave Plads 13, 3. th., 1670 København V, Danmark. Abstract. The educational qualifications of the grown-up immigrant student must be considered in the teaching of Danish and Social Subjects. This applies when both obvious teaching advantages can be found and in the solving of conflicts which may arise when the student meets more advanced language teaching. In addition, all the advanced principles of teaching must be maintained. Jeg har gerne villet undersøge, om dansklaereren, som underviser flygtninge og indvandrere i dansk, og her taler jeg altså om voksne flygtninge, bør tage hensyn til elevernes skolemæsssige forudsætninger i deres hjemlande? Efter et studieophold i Tyrkiet i oktober 1986, hvor jeg fulgte klasser på alle trin fra børnehave til universitet, mente jeg, at det var påkrævet. Det var en 'sort skole', som vi kalder det i Danmark, en meget centraliseret, larerstyret skole, meget autoritær. Men efter mange samtaler og stadigt samvær med flygtninge i Danmark og efter en del overvejelser, mener jeg, at der er grænser for, hvor stor et hensyn til denne autoritære skoleform, man skal tage i undervisningen af flygtninge i dansk og danske samfundsforhold. Det autoritære skolesystem er jo en del af det samfund, flygtningene flygter fra. Og det, de flygter til er en drøm om et demokrati, og den drøm kan man forsøge at tilgodese i danskundervisningen, selvom enhver fremmedsprogsundervisning i sit væsen er en autoritær affaire.
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I det følgende vil jeg begrunde, hvorfor man ikke skal give køb som danskog samfundsfagslærer, når det gælder moderne, kommunikativ metodik og avancerede undervisningsformer i øvrigt, herunder elevernes medbestemmelse, hvor det ellers er betimeligt. Ikke Nødvendigt at Styrke Voksne Flygtninges og Indvandreres Identitet En af grundene til, at der er grænser for i hvor høj grad, man skal tage hensyn til de voksne elevers kultur- og skolebaggrund er bl.a., at de som voksne har en udviklet identitet. Når det derimod drejer sig om undervisning af børn, hvis forældre ikke har gået i skole her, er dette problem større. For så skal der tages hensyn til forældrene, og børnene skal have undervisning i deres forældres hjemlands sprog og kultur for ikke at miste forbindelsen til deres rødder og deres forældre. Og måske vender nogle af dem tilbage til deres hjemlandes gymnasier, som jeg f. eks. har set det i Tyrkiet og Palæstina. Og de børn har store vanskeligheder med en tilbagevenden til en anden kultur, et andet sprog og et andet uddannelsessystem, når de ikke har fået en tokulturel undervisning. Men tilbage til de voksne indvandrere og flygtninge: Jeg siger selvfølgelig ikke, at lærerne ikke skal tage ud og studere, hvordan undervisningen foregår i flygtningenes og indvandrernes hjemlande. Det er nemlig den bedste forudsætning for at kunne løse mange af de problemer, der opstår i en mere avanceret undervisning som den danske. I hvert fald bliver det lettere, når læreren forstår elevernes holdning til undervisningen bedre. Det er også en god idé at tage ud og se på, hvordan man underviser indvandrere i de store indvandrernationer: U.S.A., Canada og Frankrig f. eks. Dette insisterer jeg på, fordi danske lærere generelt vurderer andre landes uddannelsessystemer lavt. Men når det gælder indvandrerundervisning er vi i hvert fald bagefter. Og i de nævnte lande har man i mange årtier undervist indvandrere i indvandrerlandets sprog. Ganske vist havde man i 1960s'ernes og endnu i 70'ernes Frankrig en meget autoritær av-undervisning, der byggede på behavioristiske principper, og som afspejlede den centraliserede og autoritære undervisning i hele det franske uddannelsessystem, et system, som i øvrigt minder om flygtningenes hjemlandes uddannelsessytem. Men man har i mange år haft selvstændige uddannelser på de højere læreanstalter i Frankrig, Canada og U.S.A. mhp. undervisning af indvandrere, og det betyder, at man i årevis har arbejdet med og reflekteret over de specielle problemer, som er typiske for den form for undervisning. Og der er givetvis noget at hente på Institut for lingvistik i Besançon, University of Toronto osv., ligesom det kan betale sig at observere to-sproget undervisning på alle niveauer i U.S.A.
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Specialuddannelser Mangler i Danmark Vi priser alle med en vis ret vort liberale skolesystem i Danmark, og lærerne vogter over deres metodefrihed. Men måske er den liberale holdning og et i øvrigt højt læreruddannelsesniveau medskyldig i, at der først for ganske nylig er blevet oprettet uddannelser i dansk som fremmedsprog på læreanstalterne. 'Det går jo nok', har man åbenbart tænkt. Og 'indvandrer- og flygtningeforekomster er så nye i Danmark', har man sagt. Men det er en dårlig undskyldning, for i mere end loo år har vi haft en koloni: Grønland, med en befolkning, der taler et helt andet sprog, og som vi tvang til at gå i dansksprogede skoler med étsprogede, danske lærere, indtil Grønlands uafhængighed i 1978-79. Indtil for nylig var bevidsthedsniveauet og viden om to-sprogsundervisning så lavt, at en undervisningsinspektør fra Direktoratet for gymnasiet og HF kunne udtale, at man ikke kunne undervise børn i to sprog, for det havde vi jo set på Grønland, hvor resultatet blev, at grønlænderne hverken kunne det ene eller det andet sprog. Det skete på et møde i Fransklærerforeningen i 1980. Vi kunne altså forlængst have udviklet studiet af dansk som fremmedsprog til benefice for islaendinge, færinger og grønlændere. Men gjorde det ikke. Og da det gjaldt indvandrerne, som kom til landet i 1960'erne og 70'erne og op til 1986, ja så kunne hvem som helst, der ville, komme til at undervise dem. På et Alment lederkursus mhp. fritidsundervisning, som jeg fulgte i 1985, betroede en uddannet specialarbejder mig, at han var meget bedre end mig til at undervise udlaendinge i dansk. Tilfældet er nok udtryk for den holdning, at til den type undervisning behøves ingen faglige specialkundskaber, men snarere en menneskelighed, som pr. definition er større hos en ufaglært end hos en akademiker. Fra 1986 skal alle ansatte indvandrerlærere, der ikke har permanent godkendelse, samt fremtidige undervisere dog deltage i kurser mhp. undervisning i dansk som fremmedsprog. Og det er stadig en broget flok med og uden sproglig uddannelse, man møder på disse kurser. Lærere med linjefag eller mindst bifag for cand.mag., er i et sprogfag er dog nu det største rekrutteringsgrundlag. Men hvis læreren eller cand.mag.' en er blank eller næsten mht. virkelige sproglige og sprogpædagogiske kvalifikationer, og det ved jeg af erfaring at mange er, er amternes 60-timers-kurser med års mellemrum utilstrækkelige. De opvejer ikke den uddannelse i dansk som fremmedsprog, som forlængst burde have eksisteret. For selvom de har studeret i op til 10-12 år, behøver cand.mag.erne ikke at have beskæftiget sig ret meget med dansk sprog og slet ikke med at undervise i dansk som et begyndersprog. Når man som skoleleder skal ansætte
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folk, viser eksamenspapirene i mange tilfælde, at kandidaterne har beskæftiget sig med kønsrolleproblematik i Danmark i den ene emne- og specialeopgave efter den anden og med tekstanalyse og litteraturhistorie. Men det er ikke områder, som lagger op til undervisning af udlændinge i dansk de første mange måneder. Når sådan en dansklarer begynder at undervise, kommer 'Diderichsen' ned fra hylden. Den har stået der siden han/hun tog det ene obligatoriske sætningsanalyse-kursus. Og der er pga. det nye arbejdes overvældende krav ikke tid til at finde ud af at anvende en af de få grammatikker for engelsktalende, som findes. I virkeligheden er det et helt nyt felt, den pågældende lærer skal uddanne sig i, efter forlængst at have fået stilling som larer i dansk for udlændinge. Og i hvert fald er det sådan, at de fleste veluddannede flygtninge ikke lader sig spise af med søforklaringer om dansk grammatik. For deres uddannelsesbaggrund er netop sådan, at de er vant til undervisning i teoretisk grammatik. Og selvom jeg ikke mener, at man som larer skal undervise i teoretisk grammatik i timevis, så må læreren her have en viden, han/hun kan give fra sig på stedet. Alting kan ikke vente til næste gang, hvor læreren kan have forberedt sig på problemstillingen. For den cand.mag., som kun har ét sprogfag: dansk, der i sin natur er et navlebeskuende fag, vil der også være et stort arbejde med at sætte sig ind i, at folk fra andre lande har værdier og normer, der er forskellige fra vores. De har jo ikke skullet sætte sig ind i en anden kulturs sprog- og værdinormer, som fremmedsprogslærerne har skullet det. Fremmedsprogslærere er Bedre Dansklærere I virkeligheden er fremmedsprogslærerne i spansk, engelsk, fransk, russisk etc. bedre uddannet til at undervise i dansk for udlændinge end de traditionelle dansklærere. De har for det første market på deres egen krop, hvor svært det er at lære et fremmedsprog ordentligt og har derfor været i samme situation som flygtningene. De har ofte i længere tid levet i og med en fremmed kultur og ved, at folk fra andre nationer tænker anderledes, har andre religiøse vaner og ofte et andet hverdags- og samfundsliv end vores. Og det er dem, der først og fremmest er uddannet i at lave en kontrastiv analyse mellem dansk og et andet sprog, mellem dansk kultur og en fremmed kultur, og de lærte den danske grammatik, da de skulle lære det fremmede sprog. Det betyder ikke, at en dansk-lærer ikke kan klare sig over for de voksne elever. Jeg har overværet, hvordan det f. eks. kunne lade sig gøre ved at 'tyre' udlændingene med kønsrolleproblematik i den ene time efter den anden. Spørgsmål som:
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Hvorfor har Jeres gifte kvinder ikke samme status som deres mænd, hvorfor tager mændene sig ikke i samme grad som kvinderne af husførelse og børnepasning, hvorfor arbejder kvinderne ikke altid uden for huset? blev gentaget atter og atter. Man følte sig hensat til kønsrolledebatten i 70'ernes Danmark. Sådan et overformynderisk tyranni finder flygtningene sig ofte i. For de er vant til en autoritær lærer, der står for dem som en moralsk vogter og leder. I de skoler, de kommer fra, efterses om hænder og negle er rene. Og de far karakter i opførsel ligesom morallære ofte er en vigtig del af undervisningen. Et eksempel på disciplinen i de tyrkiske skoler gives i en forældrers råd til de børn og unge, der vender tilbage til det tyrkiske skolesystem efter skolegang i en europaisk skole: ¾ sid helt stille, også selv om din kammerat driller dig, ¾ var fin i tøjet, tag ikke jakken af, ¾ der er mange lektier, ¾ der er mange elever i klassen, måske op til 70, ¾ rejs dig op, når du svarer på spørgsmål, og ¾ svar aldrig læreren igen. (Rapport om studieophold i Tyrkiet, okt. 1984: 67) Der ligger altså en magt hos den autoritære lærer, som kan misbruges over for endnu usikre udlændinge. På den anden side kan det koste unødige problemer at støde alt for meget an mod elevernes lærerrolleforventninger. Det voldsomste elevoprør, jeg har været ude for, gjaldt ikke i så høj grad en lærers faglige kvalifikationer som påklædning og en usikker optræden. Et par plettede joggingbukser med løs elastik i livet, fik eleverne til at flygte i rædsel. Lærerne i Mellemøsten og flygtningenes hjemlande i øvrigt er ulasteligt lædt i jakkesæt, lys skjorte og slips, og kvindelige lærere må ikke bære bukser i arbejdstiden. En på faglig kompetance funderet sikker og unervøs optræden hos en lærer, som er rimeligt klædt, er bl.a. det, læreren må ofre på elevernes normforventninger. Hvordan Skal Laereren Forberede Sin Undervisning af Udlændinge i Dansk? Jeg sagde før, at fremmedsprogslærerne var bedre egnet til vor målgruppe end dansklærerne.
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Men hertil kan man indvende, at for det meste har de ikke uddannet sig i de relevante sprog- og kulturområder. Det er kun nogle ganske få lærere, som er uddannet i persisk, arabisk, vietnamesisk, kinesisk mv. Men de findes. Og de har et stort forspring. Hvis læreren imidlertid arbejder på en skole med 1, 2 eller 3 nationaliteter, er det ikke uoverkommeligt at sætte sig ind i de pågældende flygtninges sprog. Men det er stadigvæk en forudseetning for at kunne gøre det på kort tid at have en viden om sprogstrukturer. Det gælder ikke blot grammatiske, men også i høj grad fonetiske. Vægt på Udtale i Starten Kendskab til vokal- og konsonantsystemer i flygtninges hjemsprog er vigtigt for at kunne rette fejludtale af lyd. Og så er det endda vigtigst at kunne lære eleverne de rigtige tryk eller stød og den rigtige intonation, når de jo som det ofte er tilfældet, aldrig bliver helt gode til at udtale danske enkeltlyd. Udtale er det vigtigt at gøre en indsats i fra starten for at undgå en fastlåsning af dårlige udtalevaner. Der er intet, der fossilerer så hurtigt som dem. Hvis læreren kan overtale eleverne til at lade sig undervise i mundtlig kommunikation fra begyndelsen, uden skriftligt forlæg, ville det være en fordel. Men der skal specialuddannelse til at gennemføre en sådan undervisning. Og der ville være vanskeligheder med at overtale relativt højtuddannede, voksne mennesker til at lade bøgerne, altså skriften, ligge den første måned eller to. Fra deres hjemlande er flygtningene nemlig vant til at betragte bogen som alfa og omega i langt højere grad end vi er her i landet. Og de kender ikke til undervisning i mundtlig kommunikation i fremmedsprogsfagene. Elevernes tro på, at sprog udelukkende læres ved gloseindlæring, tekstlæsning og teoretisk grammatik, skyldes, at uddannelsessystemet fra 1. klasse til afslutningen af en højere uddannelse i deres hjemland bygger på udenadslære af bøger. Der findes altid et fast program, tilrettelagt afUndervisningsministeriet, dvs. 2-3 bøger i et fag. De skal kunnes. Og i hver eneste time i hele uddannelsessystemet indlæres samme pensum i Tyrkiet, Pakistan mv. Derfor tror de voksne flygtninge undertiden, at de kan lære dansk udelukkende ved at læse hjemme med en ordbog til hjælp, ved afskrivning af læssevis af gloser, der forsøges lært udenad fra begyndelsen af ordbogen eller listen. Nogle kommer da også et stykke vej, ved ihærdighed, på denne måde. Men jeg kender flygtninge, der efter 2-3 års ophold her spørger mig, om jeg tror de nogensinde opnår en god udtale. En mere intens indsats på dette område end på læse- og skrivefærdighed lige i starten, ville nok have givet bonus. I øvrigt kan man godt udnytte elevernes evne for udenadslæren ved at lade dem lære dialoger o.lign. udenad, ja til memorisering i det hele taget. Men
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når eleverne beder om at komme til at læse 'Hvad siger du 1?' og '2?' om igen, fordi de ikke kan bøgerne udenad, så må man prøve at overtale dem til at lade være eller repetere på ganske få timer. For der er jo ingen progression i disse meget anvendte lærebogssystemer. De er kedelige og gentager de samme indkøbssituationer i et sprog, der er halv-dårligt og fantasiløst amagerkøbenhavnsk. Men selvfølgelig viser de noget om dansk kultur, når de fremstiller os evigt vrisne over for hinanden, for sådan er mange blevet, og letfærdige i daglig omgang. Det er således ægtemandens ven, der i én af lektionerne tager telefonen, når han ringer hjem til konen. Og at et nærstående familiemedlem er død, modtages i en anden med: 'Det var måske også det bedste, der kunne ske'. Henholdsvis fnisende og hovedrystende møder udlændingene her dansk kultur i fuldt flor dvs. et letfærdigt forhold til venskab, familie og død, forhold som er betydningsfulde for dem. Respektfuld Avanceret Undervisning i et Avanceret Demokrati Med den kult, flygtninge har af bogen, tror jeg ikke på, at den kan afskaffes helt og erstattes af fotokopier eller andet auditivt eller visuelt undervisningsmateriale. Det der først 'forsvinder' på en iranerskole f. eks. er de kommende lærebøger. Kundskaber og lærdom er simpelt hen identisk med bøgerne for dem. Det ville ellers være at foretrække, hvis læreren selv kunne udarbejde materiale i forhold til deres modersmål og behov. For at komme så tæt på en moderne undervisning som muligt, m læreren fra begyndelsen bearbejde elevernes holdning til en avanceret undervisning, som er dem så fremmed. De skal kende fordelene ved gruppesamarbejde, ved av-metoder mv. Men lad os lige først nævne, hvordan lærere kan komme udlændingene imøde i den første fase af en undervisning, der er anderledes end den, de er vant til. Lærerne kan vise de voksne elever respekt ved at kunne sige noget på deres modersmål, og ikke mindst er det vigtigt for undervisningen, at de kan foretage relevante rettelser i målsproget, dansk, i forhold til oprindelsessprogets grammatiske struktur og dets lydsystem. Det er en forudsætning for moderne sprogundervisning, at lærerne har en vis viden om elevernes modersmål. Det samme gælder flygtningenes kulturelle baggrund. Også her scorer lærerne mange points ved at demonstrere en viden om kulturelle og historiskpolitiske forhold i flygtningenes hjemlande. En sådan ballast er endvidere vigtig for at forstå forskellige karakteristika hos eleverne. Man kan f. eks. nævne iranernes selvhævdende individualisme i undervisningssituationen og palæstinenseres og kurderes irritabilitet over for enhver autoritet. Disse træk
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skyldes nemlig ikke blot deres skolemæssige baggrund, men også deres historiske. Det er nok en god idé at lade eleverne selv fortælle om kulturelle emner fra eget land et stykke ind i undervisningsforløbet. Men den vidende lærer kan bedre styre en diskussion og ikke mindst stille relevante spørgsmål med baggrund i en opbygget viden. Derefter kan man behandle tilsvarende, danske forhold. Kvindelige elever er ofte glade for at fortælle om deres bryllupscemoni, f. eks. Jeg husker overdådige, rituelle forløb gengivet af japanske kvinder i U.S.A. og indiske kvinder i Danmark bl.a. ved hjælp af billeder. Vigtigt er det, at læreren ved sin interesse for elevernes oprindelseskulturer viser, at han/hun ikke finder dem barbariske, underudviklede, fattige etc. Den opfattelse kan de godt træffe på i deres nye, danske virkelighed. Og hvorfor skulle vi ikke give udtryk for vor beundring for muslimske bygningsværker, persiske tæpper, indiske danse og elevernes varme familie- og venskabsforhold. De sidste bliver vi jo selv omfattet af, hvis vi ønsker det. Og hvem er nogensinde af danske studerende blevet mødt med et: 'Hvor er du smuk i den kjole i dag'? Ikke jeg. Endvidere er det af betydning at gøre sig klart, at på det politiske niveau er eleverne ofte tilbagestående eller i hvert fald anderledes. De er ikke altid vant til demokratiske tankesæt og opførsel. Derfor kan de godt være politisk vidende i øvrigt. Men I eller flere forsøger sig altid som chefer i en gruppe, og nogle, er så politisk mistænksomme, at de ikke vil arbejde i grupper eller sidde i samme klasse. 'Vi kender jo ikke hinanden' er deres forsvar mod samarbejde om noget så apolitisk som dialoger, lytteøvelser mv. Og de er heller ikke fra deres skoleundervisning vant til at arbejde i gruppersom tidligere berørt. I klassen i Tyrkiet, Iran, Pakistan mv. rejser eleven sig op under overhøringen, dvs. af den udenad lærte lektie eller besvarelsen af spørgsmål fra læreren og kun fra ham. Eller eleven kommer op til tavlen og forelægger det lærte stof på den. Denne uddannelsesvane kan med fordel udnyttes. Hvad er bedre end at lade en elev overtage dele af undervisningen, når det er relevant. Og disse elever har intet imod at skrive skriftlige øvelser på tavlen, som rettes i fallesskab. Det samme gælder transkription af lytteøvelser fra bånd etc. Eleverne Indser Fordelene Ved Avanceret Undervisning Med Tiden På den anden side bevirker elevernes uddannelsesvaner, at de ikke mener, at det er 'rigtig undervisning', når vi beskæftiger os med andet end bogens grammatiske øvelser, udformning og gentagelse af dialoger etc., når de først har indset betydningen af det sidste. Begyndersystemerne er jo som regel bygget op over dialoger.
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'Vi snakkede bare i sidste time', siger de derfor am temaundervisning. Somom fri mundtlig fremstilling af et emne f. eks. ikke var en form for undervisning. Det m læreren altså tage sig tid til at forklare, at det er og hvorfor. Når de er nået videre i uddannelsessystemet her i landet, har eleverne imidlertid ofte forstået at værdsætte fornuftig snak i stedet for udenadslære. Det første er også nemmest for voksne elever. Så kan man høre udtalelsen: Det er meget nemmere end du tror at tage f. eks. lo. klasse eller studentereksamen. For man skal ikke kunne bøgerne udenad. Vi snakker jo bare om tingene. Og her i Danmark ved du, er lærerne næsten altid flinke. Dette er udtryk for en en typisk holdning. Det er i øvrigt meget almindeligt, at de udenlandske elever får meget høje karakterer til disse eksaminer, selv i fag som dansk og engelsk. Jeg mener, at sprogindlaring udmærket kan ske ved emneundervisning. Det er med held bevist i flersprogede nationer som Canada, U.S.A. etc., hvor man ofte har undervisning i fag som matematik, historie, geografi mv. på et fremmed målsprog. Men udlændingenes uddannelsesvaner rammer i særlig grad undervisningen i samfundskundskab. Historie og samfundslære i deres hjemland foregår udelukkende i klassen og består i oplæsning af og udenadslære af bogen. Jeg har flere steder overværet timer i 'revolutionshistorie', hvor befrielseskampen fra de tidligere europæiske kolonimagter beskrives, og hvor befrielsesheltene persondyrkes, som f. eks. Kemal Atatürk i Tyrkiet. Undertiden findes der en lille bog om landets parlament og øvrige statslige forvaltning. Men læreren inddrager ikke andre bøger end de af undervisningsministeriet autoriserede. Der anvendes ikke avisartikler og der finder ikke nogen aktuel politisk diskussion sted. Der er heller aldrig tale om ekskursioner som hos os. Derfor møder den danske lærer ofte den holdning hos eleverne, at politiske og samfundsmæssige diskussioner ikke hører hjemme i skolen, at en video om et samfundsmæssigt emne kun er underholdning (og forresten heller ikke sprogundervisning), og at ekskursioner er anledningen til at tage en fridag. Men jeg mener ikke, at læreren skal give up over for denne holdning. Også selvom det i begyndelsen kan være surt at se halvdelen af klassen forsvinde, lige før filmen sættes i kassen, og selvom det kun lykkedes at få halvdelen af gruppen til at gå over på folkeskolen over for sprogskolen for at se, hvordan kommunalvalg forløber her. Og selvom det var flovt at måtte undskylde overfor borgmesteren eller lægen på sygehuset, at kun 1-2 elever var mødt op til den aftalte tid.
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Vi må insistere på, at viden om institutionerne bl.a. indhentes ved besøg hos dem, der forvalter dem i praksis. Og at undervisningen i både sprog og samfundsforhold har mangfoldige og relevante former, som styrker deres viden. Jeg tror, at det er en god idé at lægge en ugeplan for undervisningen med et overordnet tema, og hvor alle relevante undervisningsformer indgår. Det skal ske i samarbejde med de voksne elever. Men temaundervisningen, som altid samtidig er sprogundervisning via film, ekskursioner, mundtlige oplæg, tekster mv. skal have langt mere plads end den fra skolebarndommen yndede diktat f. eks., som også skal være med. Medbestemmelse og Krav til Eleverne Eleverne skal have medbestemmelse, fordi deres behov skal tilgodeses, og fordi de så er medansvarlige over for undervisningens gennemførelse. Men de behøver ikke bestemme, hvad der skal forberedes til den følgende lektion. I hvert fald må læreren have et bud. Eleverne er vant til, at læreren bestemmer forberedelsesmængden, og de er som oftest ivrige efter at lære noget. Det skal man ikke forholde dem ved at gøre hjemmearbejdet til noget ligegyldigt. Mange flygtninge har fortalt mig, at det er fordi lærerne på sprogskolerne er så 'løse' i strukturerne, at de foretrækker KISS sprogskole i Københaven. Dér er undervisningen nemlig seriøs, siger de. Uden at have overværet undervisningen, forstår jeg, at eleverne pukler løs på behavioristisk vis med øvelser og memorisering. De testes før anbringelsen på et hold og derefter med jævnlige mellemrum. Og i forhold til testresultaterne anbringes de på de forskellige trin. Men det sidste sker vel også andre steder efterhånden. Hemmeligheden ved KISS er måske, at straberne bliver samlet dér, og at konkurrencen og en vis bevidsthed om indlæring giver resultater. Men selv med risiko for udsivning til andre sprogskoler, tror jeg ikke, at man skal renoncere på elevdemokrati og en avanceret undervisningsform. Udlændingene skal lære at arbejde sammen (i grupper), og de skal lare at argumentere for deres synspunkter. Det er evner, som giver indflydelse under vores styreform. Mange af eleverne har endvidere den vision, at de vil tilbage til deres land, når der bliver mere fredeligt, og opbygge et demokratisk styre som det i Danmark. Det er en kompliment, vi ikke må lade hånt om.
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27 Overvejelser over Introduktion af Andetsprog i den Færøske Skole Heri Kragesteen and Karen Skovbjerg Færøernes Seminarium, Frorlsid, 3800 Torshavn, Frerne Abstract. Danish and Faroese arefor political and historical reasons incompatible, a fact which has pedagogical implications. One implication is that problems in the teaching of Danish tend to be avoided, and that discussion, should it take place, often ends with undocumented postulates. Our main aim is thus to look at and discuss pedagogical problems in connection with teaching Danish and Faroese in the public school. Theoretically this introduction will debate the conflict axis: the ideologically acceptablethe pedagogically optimal. Concretely we will look at how teachers practise the teaching of Faroese and Danish when the second language is introduced in the third year of school. There are no Faroese analyses and there is no material specially designed for the introduction of Danish in the public school. Danish material is used (teaching techniques, methodology/didactics); usually material which corresponds to Faroese norms. The areas to be discussed in this paper are as follows. Where does the school place the main emphasis in the teaching of Danish and Faroese? What do teachers and pupils think about teaching in both Faroese and Danish? What kind of relationship exists between receptive and productive teaching activities in Faroese as well as Danish? What is the impact of the materials used on the education and the upbringing of the pupils? How, for example, does the definition given by the material of the needs and knowledge of the pupil harmonise with the situation and needs of the child? Which difficulties do teachers and pupils experience as the greatestand which possibilities do they see to overcome them? After this attempt at describing the actual situation, we shall describe what the situation would be like if the political fences were lowered in order to establish a pedagogical discussion of higher quality. Undersøgelsen, vi har foretaget omkring danskfagets introduktion i folkeskolen, lagde vi omkring de to fag, dansk og færøsk, fordi aktiviteterne her er så
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forbundne. Begge sprogfag er præget af det færøske sprogs situation, der altid har vaeret usikker. Kun få, 45.000, taler sproget, hvorfor den nødvendige kommunikation med omverdenen ofte må foregå på et andet sprog. Det er derfor svært at sige, hvornår den sproglige og kulturelle påvirkning udefra er stimulerende, og hvornår den er af en sådan art, at en ekstra indsats for a beskytte sprog og kultur er nødvendig. Både for skolen og dagligdagen gælder det, at størsteparten af læsestoffet er dansk. Manglen på færøske lærebøger er stor, så børnene må i en tidlig alder orientere sig på dansk. Den færøske sprogdiskussion er kendetegnet af spørgsmålet om det færøske sprogs bevarelse og udvikling til et smidigt redskab i en moderne dagligdag. Det faktum, at vi længe har levet med en tosproget skole, har ikke været genstand for undersøgelser og analyser, bortset fra Bent Søndergaards ene undersøgelse i efteråret 1986 omkring sprogprofiler blandt de 16-18 årige uddannelsessøgende. Spørgsmålene: Hvad vil vi med dansk på Færøerne? Hvilket indhold bør danskfaget have i skolerne? Hvordan kan der undervises i dansk som andetsprog, hvis vi tager udgangspunkt i det færøske sprog og den færøske dagligdag? Ja, de står uafklarede. Vi står uden en pædagogisk forskningstradition, og det kan mærkes. Vi har s-til en begyndelsesøgt at komme rundt om danskfagets introduktion i folkeskolen. Det er et centralt, forholdsvis lille og overskueligt område, og det er her, den diskussion, der overhovedet er, finder sted om danskfaget. Hvornår faget skal påbegyndes -i 3. eller 4. klasse- og med hvor mange timer, er der flere meninger om. I dag får børnene dansk 5 timer ugentlig med starten af 3. skoleår (selv om det er almindelig at et par af timerne bruges til færøsk, hvis dansk- og færøsklæreren er samme person). Materialet er de danske læsesystemer, typisk Søren og Mette. Man begynder med hæfterne beregnet for 1. eller 2. klasse og forventer efter 5. klasse at være på niveau med de danske børn i Danmark. Skolens mål er nemlig, at eleverne med udgangen af 9. klasse skal bestå en afgangseksamen der officielt er lig den danske. Men der stilles ingen særlige krav til lærerne, der underviser i dansk. Vores ønske var at 'kortlægge' den to-sprogede skoles dagligdag. Vi fik ikke mulighed for at gøre observationer i klasseværelset eller interviewe eleverne, men lov til at tale med lærere i alle aldre, fordelt på forskellige skolestørrelser i bygder og byer. Herefter lagde vi det foreløbige resultat ud til diskussion på skolerne via det færøske skoleblad, ligesom vi lagde det frem til debat i den færøske modersmålsforening. Herudfra tør vi sige noget om de kvantitative forhold. Vi snakkede med lærerne ud fra et spørgeskema, hvis spørgsmål især var præget af vores interesse for fagdidaktiske problemer: Hvor lægger skolen hovedvægten i hhv. færøsk og danskundervisningen? Hvilken forforståelse har
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lærere og elever for vejledningen i færøsk og dansk? Hvordan er forholdet mellem de receptive og de produktive aktiviteter i de to fag? Hvilken betydning har det anvendte materiale for undervisningens og opdragelsens form? Hvordan harmonerer materialets definition af elevens behov og kunnen med barnets faktiske situation og krav? Hvilke vanskeligheder ser lærer og elev som de største, og hvilke muligheder ser de for at afhjælpe dem? Således spurgte vi for at kunne gøre rede for de kvalitative forhold omkring den tosprogede dagligdag. Vores udgangspunkt var fagdidaktisk, men samtalerne med lærerne betonede et almendidaktisk perspektiv, som understreger at metode, materiale etc. ikke lader sig diskutere isoleret fra den daglige ramme, skolen tilbyder larere, elever og forældre. Ud fra vores interviews har vi så skitseret tre lærertyper. Hvad vi lægger vægt på i den enkelte 'profil' er: (1) Hvilken undervisningsopfattelse der ligger til grund for de daglige lektioner og (2) Når vi ser på fagene færøsk og dansk (a) hvordan ser den almindelige undervisning så ud? (b) hvilke vanskeligheder hæfter læreren sig ved? (c) hvilke fordele? og (d) hvad kunne man ønske sig ændret? Tre Lærertyper Type 1 Lærerne, som vi kalder type 1., lægger stor vægt på at give børnene gode vaner, f. eks. at de har lektier for til hver dag og lærer at lave dem. At dagen og timen har en fast rytme med lærebogen som undervisningens holdepunkt. Det er en undervisning, der bygger på traditionen, og forældrene kender formen, som indfrier deres forventninger til skolen. Færøskundervisningen er præget af kravet, om at børnene får en god og rigtig sprogbrug, og at de kan stave og skrive korrekt. Ofte bruges halvdelen af tiden til læsning, den anden halvdel til skrivning. Man arbejder efter bogen, og grammatikken med stavning og lydlære kommer ind fra 1. klasse. De vanskeligheder, lærerne hæfter sig ved er, at læsebogen er for svær, ordene især er for lange, og det samme gælder sætningerne. Indholdet føles også for gammelt, hvorfor børnene ofte taber lysten til at arbejde med faget. Det markante krav om korrekthed siges at trække i samme retning, ligesom det kan hæmme børnene i at udtrykke sig. øverst p lærernes ønskeseddel står derfor en ny læsebog med et lettere, mere aktuelt og umiddelbart fængende indhold. Dernast følger ønsket om en bedre brug af specialundervisningstimer, hvor eleven i dag i regelen bliver sendt til ekstra læsetræning udenfor klassen.
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De timer, mener mange, kunne bruges bedre af klasselæreren, også fordi det sociale samvær med børnene siges at tage mere tid end tidligere, hvorfor mange ikke kan holde den ønskede 'årsplan.' Undervisningen i dansk er præget af samme undervisningsopfattelse, og formålet er at lære børnene at forstå et skandinavisk sprog, samt at sætte dem i stand til at læse og skrive dansk. Ofte lægges niveauet efter de svage elever, og tiden bruges til at læse og skrive. Læsebogen er som regel 'Søren og Mette'. Læreren læser for, og alle får mulighed for at læse højt. Man snakker om billeder i bogen eller ud fra Danmarkskortet. Det er læreren der fortæller, og børnene svarer eller lytter. Samtalen, som er knyttet til teksten foregår på dansk, men vejledningen og den øvrige snak, foregår på færøsk. ''Jeg snakker ikke dansk i timen. Jeg synes, det forstyrrer for meget. De er for små i 3. klasse til at bruge det ordentligt.''det er en typisk forklaring på den udbredte brug af færøsk i dansktimerne. At elevernes ordforråd er begrænset, at de har besvær med at udtrykke sig, at de har vanskeligt ved at udtale de danske ord og er generte, når de skal tale dansk, ses af mange lærere som en forhindring for at bruge dansk som samtalesprog i dansktimerne. En anden vanskelighed er den store spredning blandt eleverne i såvel sprogforståelse som læsefærdighed (hvor læsningen er automatiseret hos nogle, mens andre endnu er usikre i alfabetet). Og det er et problem at få gør noget ved det, fordi lærerne er ænstelige for at 'gøre for meget ud af dansk'ved at gå andre veje f.ex. eller blot diskutere andre muligheder med kolleger. Mange føler sig fanget i en fælde, de taler om dansk, og føler at de derved udbreder faget, og det kan ingen lide at have siddende på sig. Alligevel fremhæves det som en fordel at fa dansk af mange af lærerne, hvilket tilskrives det lette begyndermateriale, som øger elevernes læselyst. De føler, at de kan, og det giver et generelt løft i læsefærdigheden, som også kan mærkes i færøsk, ligesom mange ser det som en mulighed at nå det i grammatikken, man endnu ikke har nået i færøsk. Men også i dansk er det nye materialer, der står på ønskesedlen. Især efterlyses lærebøger, som giver mulighed for at arbejde med de sproglige forhold, færøske børn har særlige vanskeligheder med (interferensfejl f.ex. og den danske syntaks, der ikke altid er umiddelbart indlysende for et barn med et grammatisk opbygget modersmål). Men behovet for et bedre samarbejde mellem fagene færøsk og dansk betones også. Type 2 Lærerne her understreger betydningen af, at børnene laerer at læse så hurtigt som muligt, men laegger samtidig vægt på at gøre undervisningen meningsfuld for eleverne. Man arbejder ofte med emner på tværs af fag, og bruger
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forskellige læsemetoder og -teknikker for at øge differentieringsmulighederne. Det er en undervisning, der bygger på en moderne opfattelse af sprogindlæring, hvor forbindelsen mellem ordforråd, udtryksmuligheder og handling understreges. Formålet med færøskundervisningen er at udvide elevernes horisont og udtryksmuligheder. I den daglige undervisning søger man at give barnet oplevelser og erfaringer også udenfor skolen, ligesom man søger at gøre klasselokalet hyggeligt og rummeligt, så man kan 'bevæge sig' indendørs. Man arbejder med sætninger som børnene laver, deres egne rim og remser, med læsebøger og andre småskrifter, men også med almindelig afskrivning for at støtte det visuelle indtryk af den rigtige stavning og det rette ordbillede. Det understreges, at grammatikken aldrig må blive et formål i sig selv, men altid må indgå som et praktisk redskab for sprogbrugen. Og så tillægger man rækkefølgen af undervisningens forskellige elementer stor betydning: Barnet skal lytte og høre historier, tale og opleve og derefter lase og skrive i det tempo, der passer det enkelte barn. De vanskeligheder, lærerne her hæfter sig ved, er først og fremmest, at børnene i stigende grad er uvante med at lytte og også har svaert ved at give udtryk for, hvad de mener. Dernæst at læsebøgerne med deres svære indhold fjernt fra børnenes dagligdag er uegnede til brug i klasser, hvor spredningen blandt eleverne er så stor. Men lærerne fremhæver, at børnenes sprogudvikling som helhed er stor i de første skoleår, især fordi de påvirker og støtter hinanden. For lærere med denne undervisningsopfattelse er formålet med danskundervisningen tilsvarende bredere: Eleverne skal kunne begå sig med og på dansk, og kende det danske samfund. Lærerne er enige om at den samme rækkefølge af undervisningens elementer: lytte, tale, læse, skrive burde præge undervisningen såvel i dansk som i færøsk, men finder det vanskeligt at praktisere af flere grunde. En forhindring er materialet, som ikke umiddelbart fremmer det sproglige samvær, børnene har brug for. Mange har lyst til at bruge av-midler eller tage udgangspunkt i sange og lege, men undlader at gøre det fordi de mangler en lærervejledning, der kan støtte dem i at rette materialet ind mod skolens krav til elevenog hjaelpe læreren med at overvinde den kunstighed, mange føler præger lærerelevsamværet i dansktimerne. For de fleste er det unaturligt at snakke om personlige og følelsesbetonede forhold på dansk, ligesom instruktioner og lignende findes for svære at forklare på dansk (selv om flere mener, at konsekvenserne heraf er, at man ikke får lagt grunden til en analytisk tænkning på dansk). Eleverne er også generte, og det forhindrer dem i at sige og gøre, hvad de har lyst til, især i begyndelsen hvor læreren often er ny. Men det fremhæves, at eleverne forstår meget dansk, at de har lyst til at arbejde med det sprog, de gennem hele deres opvækst har erfaret fylder så
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meget. Og at deres ni-årige lyst til at 'skabe sig' letter udtaleproblemerne. 'Lærer barnet først færøsk, så lærer det også dansk', siger lærerne her, og pointerer behovet for at individualisere undervisningen, hvilket vanskeligt lader sig gøre, så længe barnet får en ny larer, når det far et nyt sprog. I stedet skabes en usikkerhed, der stiller eleven ringere i såvel færøsk som dansk. Type 3 Larerne, vi kalder type 3, prioriterer de fælles aktiviteter: Børnene skal have mulighed for at lytte til hinanden, tale sammen og gøre fælles erfaringer, siger de. Deres undervisning bygger ofte på en aktuel situation og emnearbejde veksler med mere traditionelt betonet undervisning, gerne på tværs af fagene. De bruger forskellige læsemetodiske tilgange, alt afhængig af det enkelte barn, og understreger, at sprogbeherskelsen skal fremstå som det redskab, den er, i samvær med andre. En kommunikativ tænkning omkring sprogbrug giver sig her udslag i et sprogarbejde med vægten lagt på at fortolke og forstå egen livssituation m.h.p. at kunne tage stilling og handle. I den daglige færøskundervisning sørger man for, at børnene kommer udenfor skolen, at de ser og undersøger for senere at bearbejde og fortolke. (Det kan være i form af små historier eller 'dramerier', men også her er man opmærksom på at give barnet det rette ordbillede og den rigtige sætningsopbygning fra starten). Og tingene forlades sjældent helt, men lægges hen for senere at sættes ind i andre og nye sammenhænge. Børnene skal mærke, at det de laver kan brugesog så skal de have lejlighed til at lege med sproget, rime og remse, alene og sammen. Som lærere her ser det, ligger børnenes vanskeligheder i alle led: Nogen har svært ved at sidde stille og lytte, andre er for stille, nogen har besvær med at sige noget, gøre rede for deres tanker, og andre igen kan ikke læse og skrive. Forhold, som viser nogen sammenhænge mellem opdragelse og sprogbrug, mellem hjem og skole. Er barnet vant til at få og følge ordrer derhjemme, ja så er det uvant med at få og stille spørgsmål i skolen, mens det er forberedt på virksomheden i timerne, hvis det er vant til spørgsmål, begrundelser og svar. Udviklingen går her i retning af, at børnene har udtryksvanskeligheder. Stadig flere børn har ikke lært at udtrykke sig verbalt, fordi de aldrig er blevet opfordret dertil. Og det er vanskeligt at lære at lase, hvis man ikke er fortrolig med at lytte og tale; indholdet i fortællingerne kommer let til at svæve i den tomme luft, så barnet ikke aner, hvad det læser om. 'Der er et mønster,' siger lærerne, 'en proces, som børnene skal igennem for at nå derhen, hvor de kan udtrykke sig og lære at læse. Og er de første trin ikke gennemløbne, så nytter det ikke meget at gøre nok så meget ud af de følgende. I stedet kan det blive katastrofalt for de sprogsvage børn at lægge undervisningen tilrette efter, hvad
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børn normalt kan.' Og man pointerer, at afstanden mellem det færøske taleog skriftsprog forstærker dette forhold. Så tager man udgangspunkt i læsebogen, far mangt et barn lagt sten på byrde. Formålet med danskundervisningen er for lærerne her, at eleverne kommer dertil, hvor de kan udtrykke sig ubesværet og naturligt. De skal have lyst til at bruge det danske laesestof, som findes, kunne vurdere det, og så længe det er almindeligt, at færøske børn får en videre uddannelse i Danmark, må de sættes i stand til at tænke på dansk. Det understreges, at dansk skal læres som færøsk: Børnene skal opleve og erfare, tale, læse og skrive i nævnte rækkefølge. Udgangspunktet for undervisningen er ofte sange, lydbånd og billeder og små historier med et indhold, man kan snakke om. Man tager stilling til det, der 'står', snakker om næsten alt. Nogen arbejder komparativt: Hvordan siges tingene på dansk, hvordan på færøsk?og her er det slet ingen dårlig ide at oversætte lidt. Ligesom regnebogen 'Hej matematik' også kan bruges, så regning og dansk til tider hænger sammen. Der er dog vanskeligheder. I begyndelsen er elevernes ordforrådisær på bygdikke stort nok til at kunne bruges af dem selv i en 'fri samtale'. Og også her føler lærerne det unaturligt at snakke om spørgsmål, der har med personen selv at gøre, siger de. En anden forhindring er, at børnene har svært ved at tænke på dansk. 'Hvis de ikke er vant til at formulere sig om teksten på færøsk, så kan de heller ikke på dansk.' De almene vanskeligheder med at tænke og udtrykke sig på færøsk viser sig igen, forstærkede i dansk. Det beklages derfor også, at dansklæreren så ofte er ny og ikke umiddelbart i stand til at tage udgangspunkt i eleven. Men det fremhæves, at børnenes forståelse af dansk i almindelighed er stor, at de har let ved at læse dansk og at den verden, der åbner sig med adgangen til de mange bøger, er en rigdom. ønskerne her koncentrerer sig omkring en anden organisering af skolens dagligdag med et ordentligt skema, sammenhængende og ikke med flere end to lærere i klassen. 'Kan du ikke være andet end formidler af et fag, bliver du en uvedkommende person', mener flere og understreger, at forudsætningen for at lare børn noget er en meningsfuld social sammenhæng. Sammenfatning Ser vi på den samlede danskundervisning', så dominerer lærertype 1., skønsmæssigt findes omkring 75% af larermassen her. Lærertype 2. dækker formodentlig omkring 20%, hvoraf mange praktiserer en mere differentieret færøskundervisning uden at føle det selvfølgeligt at ændre danskundervisningen i takt hermed. Det betyder, at tyngden i danskundervisningen ligger på det
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receptive plan: Læsning først og fremmest, dernæst skrivning og det i form af bundne opgaver som diktat, grammatikøvelser og lasestykkekontrol. Grundene hertil findes flere steder. Dels i den generelle undervisningsopfattelse, som vi finder hos type 1. Dels i materialet, der langt fra lægger op til de færøske børns behov for sproglige handlingsprogrammer og kontrastiv sprogforståelse. Men et system som 'Søren og Mette' har nogle normer og rollemønstre, som falder naturligt ind i det færøske samfundsmønsterog den fremmedhed, lærerne påpeger i læseteksternes indhold (de mange dyr og lokaliteter, børnene ikke kender, f.ex.), føles ikke 'kunstig', fordi den falder indenfor den form for viden -noget fremmed og abstrakt- som man især skal bruge det danske sprog til at tilegne sig, i skolen og senere i livet. En grund er også at finde i de færøske børns omtalte generthed overfor det danske sprog. Vi kan ikke her slutte noget om sammenhængen mellem lærerens ideologi og barnets generthed, men blot konstatere at genertheden tages som en legal begrundelse for ikke at undervise med sproget i dansktimerne af de fleste blandt lærertyperne 1. og 2. Mens alene lærertype 3. lagger undervisningen således til rette, at barnet bringes ud over genertheden netop ved at undervise med sproget. Disse grunde, som kan uddrages af vores rundspørge blandt lærerne, støttes af den officielle færøske sprogpolitiske holdning til dansk, der groft skitseret lyder: Så længe det færøske sprog er så trængt, og det danske sprog fylder så meget (ikke mindst i medierne), skal man især arbejde på at værne og røgte færøsk. Her er ingen reflektioner omkring betydningen af f.ex. passiv eller aktiv sprogbrug; og det fører os frem mod vores bud på en forklaring af den herskende færøsk- og danskundervisning, nemlig den manglende pædagogiske forskningstradition omkring tosprogethed på Færørne. På intet tidspunkt eller sted har man spurgt sig selv, hvad konsekvenserne af en sådan sprogpraksis i folkeskolen kan blive. Sat på spidsen står vi med, hvad der kan ligne en officiel accept af en arbejdsdeling mellem de to sprog, men uden nogen teoretisk tilgang, der kan forklare og forsvare konsekvenserne: Færøsk er modersmålet og hjertesproget, naturbundet, formet af naere livsomstændigheder og konkret handling, og det bruges især konkret, nuanceret og processuelt. Mens dansk er andetsproget og en potentiel trussel, formet af fjerne livsomstændigheder, og det bruges især abstrakt, generelt og reflekterende. Sådan kan vi se, at opsplitningen mellem dansk og færøsk er forbundet med nogen spaltninger af sider i livet, personen og begrebsdannelsen. Og forsøget på at udgrænse dansk til at være et redskab til viden, et begrebsapparat, noget adskilt fra identitet, følelser og hverdag, minder om den opslitning mellem liv og skole, som mange, også i den færøske skole, advarer imod. Spørgsmålet er, hvad der sker med mennesker, når en sådan adskillelse fastholdes gennem generationer? Vi kender ikke svaret, men
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finder at det er uforsvarligt ikke at søge efter det. I forlængelse heraf efterlyser vi den forsøgsundervisning og forskning i den tosprogede skole på Færøerne, som kan korrigere og udvikle den nuværende praksis, og sætte gang i den skoledebat, de enkelte lærere mangler. Der er blokeringer for at gå ind i en sådan diskusison omkring den kvalitative side af danskundervisningen, hvilket understreger at en tosproget udvikling aldrig er let. Medvirkende til vores vanskeligheder har foruden den historiske kamp for færøsk som undervisningssprog været øernes stadige afhængighed af dansksprogede undervisningsmaterialer. For selv om det danske rige definerer sig som multinationalt, så er der ikke mange interkulturelle perspektiver at spore i skolebøgerne. Dér, hvor de færøske børn stadig henter sig viden om verden, dér finder de sjældent meget om sig selv, og det er forsmående. Så en ændring af færøsk sprogpolitik vil formodentlig også være afhængig af en ændring af den danske skolebogspolitikmen det er vel en ændring, man kun kan håbe indfinder sig ikke blot til gavn for os på Færøerne, men også for mange i Danmark!
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28 Indvandrerundervisningsens Behov Per Pinholt and Leif Sand Dansk Flygtningehjælps Sprogskole, Kigkurren 6-8, DK 2300 København S, Danmark. Abstract. This paper deals with foreign immigrants in Denmark as a particularly heterogeneous group of students learning the Danish language. It is necessary to be aware of the various differences among the students learning Danish as a foreign language. The writers of this article are employees of the Danish Refugee Council (Dansk Flygtningehjælp) Language School in Copenhagen. From practical experience in teaching foreign immigrants Danish, the writers stress the particular importance of taking into consideration the students' different educational levels. In this connection it is possible to characterise a particularistic and a universalistic way of thinking. These two ways of thinking among the students have their own specific requirements in language instruction. The prevailing language instruction assumes to a great extent a universalistic way of thinking. With the purpose of improving the teaching of Danish, it is, therefore, necessary to determine which didactic implications a particularly particularistic way of thinking ought to have. We consider this work a desirable challenge for research, even though a number of conditions make practical didactic research difficult. Here, among other things, we are thinking of the general complexity of learning and the teaching situation. An evaluation of particular methods for particular groups of students can only be made if the entire instruction is considered. Hence all activities in instruction must be included in the investigation. At the end of the paper possible research topics are suggested. Indvandreundervisningen i Danmark Denne artikel omhandler undervisning of voksne indvandrere i Danmark i dansk som andetsprog. Udgangspunktet er flygtningeundervisning, som vi selv beskæftiger os med. Men da en væsentlig del af problematikken også har gyldighed ved undervisning af andre indvandrergruppertypisk fremmedarbej-
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dere og tilrejsende familie, men også udlændinge, som gifter sig med danskere og bosætter sig i Danmarkhar vi ladet overskriften være indvandrerundervisning og ikke blot flygtningeundevisning. Selv om der fra slutningen af 60'erne begyndte at komme voksne indvandrere (fremmed arbejdere) til Danmark i større tal, og selv om antallet af flygtninge de senere år har været stigende, kan debatten om undervisning af indvandrere ikke siges at være voldsomt fremskreden. De indvandrere, som kom til Danmark i slutningen af 60'erne, blev stort set ikke undervist i dansk, og hvad angår flygtningeundervisningen, er det først i de sidste 3-4 år, at der er kommet en kvalificeret debat i gang. Denne debat foregår stort set udelukkende internt i Dansk Flygtningehjælp. Denne artikels sigte er dobbelt. Dels er den et forsøg på at gøre den særlige problematik ved indvandrerundervisningen offentligt tilgængelig for en større kreds. Og dels er den en indbydelse til forskning på området. Vores hovedsynspunkt er her i al korthed, at didaktiske områder inden for andetog fremmedsprogsundervisning har forskningsrelevans, og at en sådan forskning kunne bidrage til at udvikle sprogundervisningen. Vigtigste Variabler af Betydning for Indlaering De flygtninge, som får asyl i Danmark, udgør en meget uensartet gruppe. Nogle kommer fra vestligt prægede landef.esk. lande i Latinamerika og østeuropa. Andre kommer fra lande med meget fjerntliggende kulturerf.eks. lande i Asien, Afrika. Nogle flygtninge har en omfattende uddannelsesbaggrund. Andre er analfabeter. Det mest slående karakteristikum er således flygtningegruppens inhomogenitet. Eftersom denne artikel centrerer sig om indlæring og indlæringsprocesser, vil vi her anskue flygtningegruppens karakteristika ud fra nogle variabler, som vi har overvældende empirisk belæg for har umiddelbare onsekvenser for sprogindlæringen. Anskuet bredt er de vigtigste variabler følgende: (1) Graden af kulturel forskellighed eller lighed (2) Graden af sproglig forskellighed eller lighed (3) Sprogevne (4) Alder (5) Motivation (6) Personlige karakteristika (7) Livsforløb (8) Uddannelse (9) Kendskab til andre sprog/kulturer.
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Variablerne 1-6 agter vi at gå let hen over heraf pladshensyn og for at koncentrere os om 7-9. Men for at gøre en lang historie meget kort er det klart, at det er uligt sværere at komme til Danmark fra en meget fjern kultur end at komme fra en kultur, som er præget af vestlig tankegang. Dette handicap for den ene gruppe forstærkes yderligere ved, at deres modersmål som regel er ikkeindoeuropæisk, mens der i den vestligt prægede kultur som oftest tales et indoeuropæisk sprog. For de to grupper er der således i Danmark enten tale om en verden, der ligner, eller 'en helt anden verden'. Det er uden videre klart, at de kulturelle, psykologiske og sproglige vanskeligheder er væsensforskellige for de to nævnte grupper. Variablerne 3-6 slår også klart igennem. Uanset umuligheden af at definere begrebet sprogevne synes det klart, at nogle har et særligt talent for at lære sprog. Det spiller naturligvis også en rolle, om man er gammel eller ung, om man er motiveret eller ej, og endelig synes især åbenhed over for det nyeeller en vis offensiv nysgerrighedat befordre indlæring i forh. til den mere defensive lukkethed, som kendetegner en del flygtninge, og som let kan ses som en naturlig afvaergereaktion over for alt det nye, som i kraft af sin anderledeshed og uforståelighed let kan føles at antage en truende karakter. Variablerne 7-9, som vi vil koncentrere os om i denne fremstilling, er imidlertid de variabler, som erfaringsmaæssigt slår igennem i indlæringsprocessen med størst kraft, og som på flere måder synes at transcendere de øvrige (vi er godt klar over, at de opstillede variabler er mere eller mindre gensidigt overlappende). Elevtyper Eftersom vi herefter centrerer artiklen om undervisning, erstattes termen indvandrer fremover af termen elev. Et par andre vigtige termer bliver begrebsparret universalistisk/partikularistisk. Det var Bernstein (1971), som på de ophedede kodedebatters tid lancerede dette begrebspar, som vi på vores side har haft megen teoretisk og praktisk glade af (Pinholt, 1979; 1986). På baggrund af variablerne 7-9 kan der groft sagt lokaliseres to 'rene' yderpunkter i henseende til indlæringskapacitet i formel sprogundervisning: På den ene side den person, som har haft et akvekslende livsforløb, som har kendskab til andre sprog/kulturer, og som har en høj uddannelse. En sådan person larer hurtigt, alt andet lige. På den anden side den person, som hele sit liv har befundet sig i samme miljø, som ikke har kendskab til andre sprog/ kulturer, måske ikke engang til andre miljøer, og som har få års skolegang bag sig. En sådan person vil tilegne sig det fremmede sprog med yderste besvær i en formel undervisning. Med Bernsteins termer kan man om den person, der lærer hurtigt, sige, at
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han har en universalistisk instilling eller tænkemåde, mens den person, der larer langsomt kan siges at have en partikularistisk indstilling eller tankemåde. Postulatet herefter er, at det er den fundamentale forskel i tænkemåde, som udspringer af meget forskellige livserfaringer, der slår igennem i indlæringen. Partikularistiske betydninger opstår i et miljø med faste værdier. De er relativt hævet over diskussion, derfor er de often delvist ubevidste. Bærere af sådanne betydninger tenderer mod at antage, ubevidst, at sådan ser verden ud. Den partikulære synsvinkel universaliseres. Ved overgangen til et andet miljøfor ikke at tale om en anden kulturer man begyndelsesvis uforstående over for fremmede værdier eller synsvinkler (jvnf. blot nærværende flygtningedebat!), som alene i kraft af deres anderledeshed kan opleves at antage en truende karakter. Man får et chok og har svært ved at integrere det ny i det gamle. Omvendt opstår en universalistisk indstilling i et miljø, hvor værdier og synsvinkler er mere fleksible og kan gøres til genstand for diskusison. Af samme grund opfattes andre værdier og synsvinkler ikke som truendesnarere som velkomne, stimulerende. Forskellen universalistisk/partikularistisk udtrykker da en fundamental forskel i synsvinkel og også i antallet og arten af mulige synsvinkler: Mens en partikularistisk synsvinkel er kontekstbestemt, indeholder en universalistisk synsvinkel muligheden af at antage rækker af forskellige synsvinkler, der distancerer konteksten. Det er en sådan bevægelse, som opelskes ved mødet med andre sprog/ kulturer, ved et afvekslende livsforløb i forskellige miljøer eller ved højere formel uddannelse, som netop betjener sig af sådanne synsvinkelskift. Og det er også evnen til at skifte eller relativere synsvinkler, som er central, hvis man som voksen, i en formel undervisningssammenhæng, skal lære et andet sprog. Universalistisk Sprogundevisning Hermed menes en undervisning, der bygger på hyppige synsvinkelskift. Synsvinkelskift kaldes også 'discipliner' i undervisningen: Lytteforståelse, referat, imitation, udtalekorrektion og -træning, spørgsmål/svar sekvenser, grammatisk teori, grammatiske øvelser, fejlanalyse, rollespil, andre former for kommunikative øvelser, samtaler om billeder, samtaler om fiktive personers humør, hensigter, diktatog stilskrivning etc.Der er tale om en række aktiviteter, som er mere eller mindre vævet ind i hinanden, og som ideelt set støtter hinanden. Ofte glider undervisningen umærkeligt fra den ene synsvinkel til den anden, uden at der gøres opærksom på det: Et spørgsmål til et ords betydning fører til en grammatisk forklaring, der kan føre til nye grammatiske eksempler, evt. med øvelser, der skal sikre, at deg givne princip er forstået og kan bruges i
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praksis. Spørgsmålet til ordets betydning kom under lytteforståelse af en dialog, hvori det havde en perifer betydning.Der kan nævnes et utal af eksempler af lignende art, hvor 'princippet' hele tiden er synsvinkelskift. De to hovedblokke, som der skiftes imellem, er sprogsystemet og sprogbrugen. 'Ude i livet' registreres stort set kun sprogbrugen. Men i formel undervisning må sprogbrugen nødvendigvis kobles sammen med sprogsystemet-'grammatikken'fordi sammenhængen er der, fordi det faktisk er sådan. Men hvis man ikke ved det på forhånd, er det faktisk en temmelig revolutionær ide, at man ikke alene kan bruge sproget som et middel til at meddele sig, men at man også kan se det som et sammenhængende system i sig selv. Partikularistiske Elever: Problemer i en Universalistisk Undervisning I det følgende centrerer vi os herefter om de problemer, som den 'svageste' elevgruppe kan ses at have. Fremstillingen her må nødvendigvis blive summarisk og simplificeret, og virkeligheden er jo i det hele taget mere mangfoldig og mindre entydig, end det fremgår af den hidtidige fremstilling, men hovedtendensen er klar og kan udtrykkes i tre hovedpunkter: MANGEL På EVNE TIL AT FORSTå UNIVERSALISTISK UNDERVISNING, DENS FORM, DER MED MANGE SYNSVINKELSKIFT SES AT PENDULERE MELLEM SPROGBRUG OG SPROGSYSTEM Dette gælder generelt. Mere specifikt på 'grammatikkens' plan er det vigtigt at gøre sig klart, at f.eks. evnen til at operere med satningen som analytisk enhed, at kunne opdele den, forstå delenes funktion både på det vertikale og horisontale plan, på forståelsessiden muliggør en præcis opfattelse af meddelelsers indhold, mens den på kodningssiden muliggør sproglige manøvrer, der består i at rekombinere analytisk adskilte elementer og led og overføre sprogligt materiale fra den ene kontekst til den anden efter de regler, der gælder for sprogsystemet og -brugen. Det er disse synsvinkelskift og denne 'arkitektoniske' vinkel på sprog, der er fremmede for partikularistiske elever. RINGE KULTUREL FORSTåELSE GRUNDET MANGEL På REFERENCE En given kultur, et givet miljø bygger på nogle underliggende antagelser, som ikke ekspliciteres, men som gennemtrænger den kulturelle kontekstet usynligt holdningsog handlingsskema, som mere eller mindre styrer kulturens eller miljøets bærere. Der er regler for, hvad man siger i det hele taget, og hvad man siger til den og den, der er regler for adfærd og for fortolkning af adfærd. Bag samtaler vil man ofte, hvis man analyserer dem, finde nogle
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antagelser, som i høj grad styrer, hvad der bliver sagt, men som ikke selv kan spores. Det kan f.eks. være visse indforståede sociale regler, eller det kan være bredere kulturelle temaer. Sådanne socialt og kulturelt bestemte temaer er ofte delvist ubevidste for sprogbrugerne selv, analogt f.eks. med den grammatik, der ligger 'bag' sprogbrugen og danner sprogsystemet. Da alle sprogbrugere opererer med sådanne usynlige skemaer, gælder det naturligvis også for de flygtninge, som vi underviser. Og jo større uoverensstemmelse der er mellem det indfødte skema og det fremmede, jo flere fejlagtige slutninger vil der blive draget på basis af konkret sprogbrug, jo flere misforståelser vil der opstå. Hvis den kulturelle kontekst med dens livsmåde, normer etc. ligger fjernt fra ens egen, og når de underliggende temaer ikke ekspliciteres, når 'rummet' omkring samtaler og f.eks. tekster er givet, men underforstået, ufortalt, bliver ordene stikkende på overfladen som mere eller mindre tilfældige klumper af betydning. Når dertil kommer den allerede nævnte 'stivhed', hvad angår synsvinkler, står det ret klart, hvorfor specielt denne gruppe har det største besvær med at lære det nye sprog. MANGELFULD KORT- OG LANGTIDSFORANKRING AF SPROGLIGE STRUKTURER Hvis man ikke har midler i hænde til at strukturere sprogligt inputf.eks. at opdele en satning i funktionelle leder det svært at forankre det i den eksisterende kognitive struktur. Vi formoder, at det er den manglende evne til at anskue sproget som system, som bygning, der fører til den form for 'sproglig glemsomhed', som karakteriserer denne elevgruppe. En anden vigtig grund kunne være, at det sproglige udtryk frembærer en kulturel fremmedhed eller fjernhed, som er uforenelig med elevernes psykologiske virkelighed. Sprogindlæringen og kulturformidlingen risikerer på denne måde aldrig at blive 'alvor'. Principper for Metoder og Materialer for Partikularistiske Elever Man kan vælge en anden undervisningsform end den formelle, f.eks. en kombination af værkstedsundervisning og sprogindlaring. Noget sådant har faktisk været forsøgt, jvnf. rapporten 'Projektundervisningen' (1984), som kan rekvireres på Dansk Flygtningehjælp. Eller man kan vælge andre og mere eksperimenterende former for undervisning. Hvad man end gør, vil vi hævde, vil man som lærer hele tiden være stillet i de vanskeligheder, som vi har påpegetog der er ikke noget synderligt håb om at finde nogen mirakelkur, som skulle kunne råde bod på de indlæringsmæssige vanskeligheder, som i sidste instans er et produkt af de enkelte elevers samlede livserfaring. Hermed være ikke sagt at alt andet er lige meget. Naturligvis ikke. Vi skal
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her ganske kort nævne nogle principper for metoder og materialer i formel undervisning, som vi har arbejdet en del med på sprogskolen i København, og som vi selv synes, at vi har haft gode erfaringer med. (1) PRINCIPPER FOR MATERIALER (a) De må tage udgangspunkt i eller kunne henføres til elevernes nuværende situation eller begrebsverden i det hele taget. (b) Deres udformning må gå fra det konkrete til det generelle. (c) De må meget gerne have fascinationskraft (spænding). (d) De må aktivere så mange sanser som muligt. (e) De må trække kulturbestemte antagelser frem i lyste, som af danskere tages for givet og derfor ikke udtrykkes. (f) De må have klart formulerede målsætninger, struktureret i informative, kommunikative og handlingsrettede mål. (g) De må indeholde repetitionssystemer og rekombinationer. (2) PRINCIPPER FOR METODIK (a) Der må opereres med en strategi for synsvinkelskift, som indbefatter kort sigt og langt sigt. Antallet af discipliner og synsvinkler må begrænses i en begyndelsesvis undevisning og langsomt udvides. 'Glidning' af synsvinkler må forhindres, og det vil være en fordel med en fast lektionsopdeling gennem en længere periode, der så senere kan erstattes med en ny. En fast lektionsopdeling danner et genkendeligt mønster, der kan fungere som støbeform for indlaringen. (b) Man må finde veje til at styrke forankringen af sprogligt input. Rekombinerede materialer, en vis grad af udenadslare eller automatisering, repetitioner og dagbogsskrivning er nogle af midlerne. (c) Der må skelnes mlm. bevidst og ubevidst indlæring af grammatik og skelnes mlm. en række midler hertil, som det vil føre for vidt at komme ind på her. (d) Rollespil må vaere konkretemed udførlige anvisninger på hvor, hvem, hvornår, hvordan. Efter dennemeget kortfattedepåpegning af en særlig elevgruppes vanskeligheder, skal vi her til sidst vende os mod de forskningsbehov, som der efter vores mening er inden for vores område. Forskningsbehov Som det er nævnt er vores hovedsynspunkt, at didaktiske områder inden for fremmedsprog- og andetrsprogsundervisningen har forskningsrelevans, da de bidrager til at udvikle sprogundervisningen.
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Vi ser imidlertid nogle grundlaggende problemer netop omkring praktiske didaktiske undersøgelser: ¾ der er often vanskelige at gennemføre ¾ de kræver et omfattende empirisk materiale, helst i form af autentiske materialer såsom video ¾ de giver generelt ikke éntydige resultater ¾ de stiller store krav til præcis beskrivelse af karakteristika for den undersøgte undervisning. Disse vanskeligheder bør efter vor opfattelse mødes med en styrket forskningsindsats på dette vigtige undervisningsområde. På baggrund af vores erfaringer fra undervisning af indvandrere og flygtninge mener vi, det vil være særlig vigtigt at lagge vægt på en elevtypespecifik forskning, hvor der tages hensyn til forskelle mellem mere og mindre boglige elever (jf. de i det foregående nævnte forskelle på universalistisk og partikularistisk tænkemåde). Undersøgelsesgenstanden Efter vor opfattelse kan man som undersøgelsesgenstand for didaktiske undersøgelser frugtbart betragte: (a) totalundervisningsforløb eller (b) undervisningsforløb med undersøgelsesfokus på bestemte delmål. Ved disse for undersøgelsesformer vil vi fremhæve: (c) Hvad der faktisk foregår i undervisningen (herunder kulturelt bestemt lærerattitude) undersøges i forhold til elevtyper (jf. partikularistisk henholdsvis universalistisk tænkemåde), undervisningens udgangsniveau, målsætninger, fastlagt indhold og metode samt det opnåede slutniveau efter endt forløb. (d) Undersøgelser med fokus på delmål inden for et bestemt område i udnervisningen, fx udtale, kraever også inddragelse af det totale undervisningsforløb. Dette skyldes, at de fleste undervisningsaktiviteter har betydning også for andre undervisningsmål end de intenderede mål for den pågældende aktivitet/disciplin. Man kan derfor tale om en skjult og muligvis ikkeintenderet undervisning. Effekten af ikke-intenderet, skjult undervisning kan være enten positiv eller negativ i forhold til undervisningens erklærede mål. Den totale undervisning bør inddrages i didaktiske undersøgelser, netop fordi der i skjult undervisning ka ligge yderligere positive eller negative undervisningseffekter i forhold til et afgrænset delmål, som ønskes undersøgt.
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Undervisningstyper Med hensyn til undersøgelser af delmål i undervisningen i dansk som fremmedsprog kan der skelnes mellem effekten af (1) direkte og intenderet undervisning (2) skjult, men intenderet undervisning (3) skjult, ikke-intenderet undervisning. Principielt er alle former for intenderet og ikke-intenderet aktivitet i klassen af betydning også for mere snævre delmålsundersøgelser. Som eksempel kan anføres: udtaleundervisning. Af betydning for udviklingen af elevernes udtale (enten positivt eller negativt) er klart følgende aktiviteter: elevtale elevoplæsning (med/uden lærerforlæg) samtale læreroplæsning båndlytning skriftlige aktiviteterdette sidste lyder måske overraskende. Men fx diktatskrivning har i høj grad betydning for udtale, i værste fald som en ikkeintenderet udtaleundervisning med negativ effekt, hvis der dikteres med stærkt forvraenget (skriftner) udtale i forh. til almindelig dansk talesprogsnorm. Nogle eksempler på andre områder, hvor man kan afgrænse delmål i danskundervisningen til undersøgelse: samtalefærdighed evne til at stille spørgsmål lytteforståelse kommunikationsstrategier Forslag Vi vil til slut angive nogle forslag til retningslinjer for ønskelige undersøgelser og forskning af pejlende karakter, ud fra vores erfaringer fra undervisning af indvandrere og flygtninge i dansk. Vi finder det vigtigt, at man ved didaktiske undersøgelser specificerer den betragtede elevtypesærlig i forhold til den tidligere nævnte skelnen mellem partikularistisk og universalistisk tænkemåde blandt eleverne. De mest påtrængende behov på indvandrerundervisningens område ligger efter vores erfaring i undersøgelsen/udviklingen af undervisningen af de ikke-boglige, partikularistiske elever. Forslag til metodiske temaer til undersøgelse:
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¾ bevidst/ubevidst indlæring ¾ rekombinerede materialer/betydningen af gentagelse for forskellige elevtyper ¾ varigheden af den enkelte undervisningsaktivet ¾ betydningen af den potentielle risiko ved fokus på flere forskellige aktiviteter på samme tid, fx en samtalefase med samtidig grammatisdk eller udtalemæssig korrektion ¾ varigheden af den enkelte undervisningsgang ¾ taletid for lærer og de enkelte elever ¾ opmarksomheden i klassen ¾ samspillet mellem hjemmearbejde og klasseundervisning Vi forestiller os, at det i forbindelse med en øget aktivitet m.h.t. forskning og undersøgelser af undervisningen i dansk som fremmedsprog ville være muligt at opnå en række praktisk anvendelige resultater, som kunne føre til en styrkelse af dette vigtige undervisningsområde. Forudsætningen for gennemførelse af didaktiske undersøgelser er dels en interesse fra læreanstalternes side for at beskæftige sig med vores område, dels en vilje til samarbejde med erfarne undervisere af udlaendinge og flygtninge i dansk. Referencer Bernstein, Basil (1971) A sociolinguistic approach to social learning. Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 12. The Hague: Mouton Press. Pinholt, Per (1979) Fremmedsprogspædagogik og sociale klasser. København: Dansk Flygtningehjælp, intern udgivelse. Pinholt, Per (1986) Om principper for metoder og materialer for indlæringssvage elever på basis 2. Kobenhavn: Dansk Flygtningehjælp, intern udgivelse.
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29 Lingvistiska Aspekter på Hemspråkundervisningen i den Svenska Skolen Mijo Tomasevic Slaviska Institutionen vid Lunds Universitet, Lund, Sverige. Abstract. This paper contains a thorough reading of the laws passed and political decisions made in connection with the teaching of immigrant children's mother tongue in Sweden, from the mid-1960s onwards. It also describes the differences in the students' ability to use their mother tongue, the varied level of education of the teachers, the teaching material available and models of teaching. The final section contains suggestions for a detailed testing of the students' language ability. The aim of such a test is to provide individually adjusted teaching for the students, in order to help them achieve active bilingualism. Lägesbeskrivning Invandrarbarn i Diaspora I samband med den stora arbetsinvandringen till Sverige mellan mitten av 1960-talet och slutet av 1970-talet ändrades bilden av elevsammansättningen i den svenska skolan på samtliga nivåer (för-, grund- och gymnasieskolan). Då var Sverige ett land utan någon större erfarenhet och tradition beträffande invandrarproblematikeni synnerhet i fråga om skolpliktiga barn och deras situation. I skolan följde man lagstiftningen och menade att även utländska medborgare, under 16-års ålder, bosatta i Sverige skall delta i undervisningen oavsett deras skolsituation i hemlandet. Undantag kunde tillämpas med hjälp av s.k. jämkad studiegång i åk 9 för elever med fullgjord skoplikt i hemlandet. Måga invandrarföräldrar uppfattade detta som tvång för sina halvvuxna barn, som kommit till Sverige för att arbeta (tjäna levebröd), eftersom den obligatoriska skolgången var fullgjord i hemlandet och enligt hemlandets lagar. Denna, något paradoxala, stämning verkade olika på barnens motivation till
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skolarbete. Majoriteten av invandrarbarn hade dock en positiv inställning till skolan och ville både lära sig svenska och av olika anledningar bibehålla sitt modersmål. I skolan var man alltså ställd inför nya problem och nya behov. Den första perioden präglades av ad hoc lösningar på lokalnivå. I första hand anordnades förberedelseklasser där all möjlig hjälp förmedladesmed tyngdpunkt på ämnet svenska språket, vilket i och för sig var riktigt. För att kunna fungera i Sverige (tillgodogöra sig all information, klara sig i vardagen, skolan och senare i yrkeslivet) är det ofrånkomligt att behärska svenskan. Ett försök till lösning (temporär men ändä) i mera organiserad form är ett cirkulär om stödundervisning åt utländska barn i den obligatoriska skolan, som Skolöverstyrelsen (SÖ i fortsättningen) utfärdade den 8 december 1966. I detta cirkulär står bl. a följande: Genom brev har Kungl Maj:t medgivit att statsbidrag till det allmänna skolväsendet må beräknas för stödundervisning under högst sex veckotimmar per undervisningsgrupp för utländska eller statslösa elever samt svenska barn som intagits från utländska skolor. Vidare står det att: ¾ anordnandet av stödundervisning ankommer på skolsytrelsen; ¾ genom en god introduktion, vilken omfattar elementär undervisning i att förstå och tala svenska samt orientering i den nya miljön, underlätta elevens ankomst till skolan; ¾ där så är möjligt genom studiehandledning på elevens modersmål förhindra att elevens studietid förspills på grund av hans bristfälliga kunskaper i svenska; ¾ stödundervisningen även kan innebära studier på modersmålet under ett par veckotimmar med handledning av lärere som behärskar elevens modersmål. Möjligheter till studier på modersmåletäven om i ringa omfattningskapades alltså genom detta cirkulär, men möjtligheter till studier i ämnet modersmål saknades helt för invandrarelever. Politiska Beslut Denna situation ledde så småningom till politikernas engagemang, som år 1968 utmynnade i ett beslut om möjlighet att i grundskolan få undervisning i sitt eget modersmål. I Supplementet Lgr 69:II, Undervisning av invandrarbarn m. fl. (reviderad upplaga från 1973) utfärdades följande anvisningar:
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Alla invandrarbarn i grundskolan som på grund av sin härkomst har otillräckliga kunskaper i svenska språket har rätt att åtnjuta stödundervisning i svenska och studiehandledning. Undervisning i svenska bör ges av en svensk lärare och studiehandledning av lärare som behärskar elevens modersmål. I kommun med även finskspråkig befolkning får skolstyrelsen besluta att ämnet finska kan ingå som modersmål. Undervisningen i finska får omfatta högst två veckotimmar under varje årskurs. Samundervisning skall i möjligaste mån anordnas mellan elever i olika klasser och årskurser. I andra minoritetsspråk än finska far anordnas undervisning efter samma grunder, om behov och förutsättningarna föreligger enligt skolstyrelsens bedömning. Invandrarbarnen fick alltså rätt att åtnjuta stödundervisning i svenska samt studiehandlung på modersmålet, medan kommunen inte hade någon skyldighet att anordna någon undervisning i modersmålet. Genom ett riksdagsbeslut tillsattes år 1968 en parlamentarisk Invandrarutredning (IU) med uppdrag att kartlägga invandrarnas och minoriteternas situation i Sverige samt att föreslå åtgärder på olika områden för dessa grupper. IU lämnade bl a åren 1971 och 1972 två delbetänkanden: det förra med förslag om grundutbildning i svenska för vuxna invandrare och det senare om tolkservice och tolkutbildning. Invandrarbarnens situation i den svenska skolan kartlades intemot allmän förväntanty IU fann frågan för omfattande. IU föreslog istället en översyn av gällande bestämmelser och rekommendationer om modersmålsundervisning. Med anledning av detta förslag om översyn bildades i december 1974 Invandrargruppen för att utreda invandrarelevernas situation i grund-och gymnasieskolan. Gruppen insåg emellertid betydelsen av en tidig språkträning för barnets utveckling och inkorporerade i sitt arbete även frågan om hemspråksträning i förskolan. Redan i september 1975 lade invandrargruppen fram sitt förslag om åtgärder för invandrarbarn i förskola, grundskola och gymnasieskola. Detta förslag utformades till proposition och med utbildningsutskottets betänkande behandlades det i riksdagen den 29 maj 1976. Riksdagen beslutade i enlighet med propositionen och betänkandet och godkände de föreslagna riktlinjerna. På detta vis lades grundstenen till hemspråksreformen som trädde i kraft den 1 juli 1977: hemspråkstjänsterna inrättades 1 januari 1978 och hemspråksundervisning blev en riksangelägenhet.
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Definitioner Och Ansvar (a) Vem är invandrarbarn/-elev? (b) Vem har rätt till hemspråksundervisning? (c) Vad är hemspråk? (d) Vem är ansvarig för hemspråksundevisning? Gallande definition för registrering av invandrarelever i skolsammanhang lyder: Med invandrarbarn/-elev avses barn/elever för vilka ett annat språk än svenska utgör ett levande inslag i deras hemmiljö. Ungefar 8% av grundskoleeleverna berörs av hemspråksreformen och har rätt till hemspråksundervisning. Invandrargruppen har slagit fast i sitt förslag att syftet med hemspråksundervisning är att vidmakthålla och utveckla kunskaperna i det språk som barnet/eleven använder i sin dagliga hemmiljö. Rätt till hemspråksundevisning tillkommer alla barn och ungdomar för vilka ett annat språk än svenska utgör ett levande inslag i deras hemmiljö. Undervisning i hemspråk skall alltså inte vara undervisning i ett främmande språk, men det finns inga regler om till vilken grad ett barn skall behärska hemspråket för att få delta i undervisningen. Bedömning fattas i varje enskilt fall med skolan, föräldrarna och eleven. Varje bedömning av behovet av hemspråksundervisning måste utgå från det enskilda barnets utveckling och sociala, känslomässiga och intellektuella behov av stimulans att utveckla och vidmakthålla hemspråket. Barnets och föräldrarnas önskemål och bedömningar måste alltid stå i förgrunden. (Prop. 1975/76: 118) I och med att det är fråga om undervisning i det språk som utgoör 'ett levande inslag i barnets hemmiljö' (alltså inte nödvändigtvis i det språk som är barnets vanligaste kommunkationsspråk), tyckte man i Invandrargruppen att benämningen hemspråk passar bäst. Det är hemspråksreformens förtjänst att kommunerna ålades ansvaret för: ¾ hemspråksundervisning; ¾ studiehandledning på hemspråk i grund- och gymnasieskolan; ¾ stödundervisning i svenska för varje invandrarelev som på grund
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av otillräckliga kunskaper i svenska har svårt att tillgodogöra sig undervisningen i klassen. Kommunerna är vidare skyldiga att: ¾ informera alla berörda föräldrar om rätten till hemspråksundervisning; ¾ upplysa föräldrarna om hur viktigt det är för eleven att utveckla sitt hemspråk; ¾ anordna hemspråksundervisningen i sådan omfattning att den täcker elevens behov; ¾ organisera undervisningen på ett sådant sätt att elevens allsidiga utveckling främjas; ¾ årligen inventera behovet av åtgärder för undervisningen samt upprätta ett handlingsprogram. Läroplan Lgr 80 Ämnet hemspråk ingår i Läroplan for grundskolan (Lgr 80) med mål och riktlinjer, Kursplaner samt Timplaner. Mål och riktlinjer, ss. 56-57: Hemspråksträning bedrivs för förskolebarn bl a i förskolan. I grundskolan skall denna träning fa en fortsättning genom undervisning i elevens hemspråk. Utgångspunkten skall vara elevernas behov. Syften med hemspråksundervisningen är bl a: ¾ att vidmakthålla och utveckla kunskaper i det språk, som barnet använder i sin dagliga miljö (varigenom främjas barnets känslomässiga, språkliga och intellektuella utveckling samt möjlighet att leva sig in i och känna samhörighet med föräldrarnas/vårdnadshavarnas kulturella bakgrund); ¾ att eleverna senare skall kunna utveckla tvåspråkighet som gör det möjligt för dem att känna sig hemma i två kulturer (de skall få stöd och uppmuntran för att utveckla sin förmåga att lyssna, förstå, tala, läsa och skriva för att vilja, kunna och våga använda sitt hemspråk i olika situationer). Deltagandet i hemspråksundervisningen är frivilligt. På högstadiet kan eleverna välja hemspråk som tillvalsämne Kursplaner, ss. 145-9
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Kursplanen i detta ämne gäller undervisningen i över etthundra språk som sinsemellan är mycket olika. Därför skall tillämpningen av kursplanen anpassas till olika elevgruppers språkförhållanden. Nä hemspråket studeras som tillvalsämne på högstadiet bör tillämpningen av kursplanen anpassas därefter. Kursplaner anger vilka färdighets- och kunskapsnivåer skall uppnås på respektive stadiet. På högstadiet skall eleverna bl a i skrivning lära känna ljud och motsvarande bokstavstecken samt lära sig att skriva ord och meningar. På mellanstasdiet skall eleverna bl a arbeta med grammatiska strukturer. På högstadiet skall eleverna bl a studera eller iaktta det egna språkets (hemspråkets) strukturäven dialekter och slangoch göra jämförelser mellan det egna språket och svenskan. I kursplanen för ämnet hemspråk ingår även kultur- och samhällsorientering, som skall ge eleverna kunskaper om sin kulturella bakgrund omfattande: religion, historia, kulturtraditioner, folk och land. Eleverna skall också få reda på aktuella samhällsföhållanden t.ex. utbildning och arbetsmarknad i de länder de kommer ifrån. Vidare skall eleverna få kunskaper om invandrarnas situation i Sverige och i andra länder samt om invandrarnas rättigheter och skyldigheter. Den kulturförmedlande undervisningen i hemspråk bör kompletteras med kulturorienterande inslag i ämnen som bild, slöjd, musik, hemkunskap. Undervisning i hemspråk som ämne skall erbjudas elever som har ett minoritetsspråk som hemspråk. För samma elever skall erbjudas studiehandledning på hemspråk i annat eller andra ämnen. På högstadiet kan elever välja hemspråk som tillval och det skall behandlas som varje annat valalternativ. Om det inte finns tillräckligt antal elever för sådan undervisning, skall skolan överväga att ta den särskilda hemspråksresursen i anspråk. Rektor beslutar om detta. Som stöd för det lokala utvecklingsarbetet ingår i läroplanen också ett omfattande kommentarmaterial, som utges, förnyas och aktualiseras fortlöpande. Avsikten med kommentarmaterialet är att beskriva aktuella problem och svårigheter och att diskutera olika metoder att lösa dem. Undervisningsmodeller Hemspråksundervisningen i dagens Sverige bedrivs enligt tre olika modeller: ¾ hemspråksklass; ¾ sammansatt klass; ¾ svensk klass.
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En hemspråksklass består uteslutande av invandrarelever med samma språk och undervisningen förmedlas på hemspråk upp till c:a 90%. En sammansatt klass består till c:a hälften av elever med samma hemspråk och till resten av elever med svenska som modersmål. En del av undervisningen i denna modell sker på hemspråk (t ex grundläggande läs- och skrivinlärning och hembydgskunskap) och resten på svenska. Här samarbetar två lärareen svensk och en hemspråkslärarei ett team. Dessa två modeller är ganska sällsynta och förekommer enbart på invandrartäta orter och i mycket fa hemspråk. Svensk klass innebär att eleverna går i olika lasser och bildar en gemensam grupp på 1-5 elever med 1-2 veckotimmar undervisning i ämnet hemspråk samt studiehandledning på hemspråk. Den sistnämnda modellen har fatt den starkaste förankringen inom skolväsendet i Sverige och är oftast förekommande. Ur administrativtorganisatoriska perspektiv (krav på gruppstorlek, lokaler m m) är denna modell bekvämastlättast att hanteramedan didaktiska krav och förväntningar kan diskuteras. Deltagandet i hemspråksundervisningen är frivilligt och i de flesta fallen är det föräldrarna som beslutar för eller emot, vilket rimligen bör säga något om elevernas motivation för dessa studier. Undervisningslokalerna (storlek, utrustning, placering inom själva skolenheten m m) kan ofta klassas som otillfredsställande. Läromedlen Vid inköp av läromedel för ämnet hemspråk finns tre möjligheter: hemlandet, Sverige, tredje land. Ur kvantitativt perspektiv är de två sistnämnda av marginell betydelse, medan det förstnämnda alternativet (läromedel från hemlandet) brukas i de flesta situationerna. De läromedel som är framställda i Sverige och i tredje land är i några fall upplagda med diasporakrav som utgågspunkt, men de täcker ändå inte helhetsbehovet (läs- och skrivinlärningen, grammatiska övningar, litterära texter). Läromedlen från hemlandet (framför allt böcker) harvid sidan om många goda egenskaperäven brister, t ex: (1) Texter i dessa böcker är anpassade för barn med en annan språklig erfarenhet än diaspora. (2) Tematiskt sett representerar inte dessa läromedel diasporabarnens språk i dess dagliga användning; d.v.s. de är inte knutna till deras verkliga omgivning och känns därför onaturliga. (3) Läroböcker tillverkade i invandrarbarnens ursprungsländer fyller ofta inte den svenska skolans objektivitetskrav.
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Lärarna Under årens lopptvå decennier av utveckling och hemspråksreformenhar det tillkommit en lärarkader i ämnet hemspråk, som skulle kunna åskådliggöras med nedanstående tabell. Större delenav dessa lärare saknar i sin utbildninghelt eller delvisen mera organiserad insikt i invandrarbarnens språkliga diasporavillkor. Likaså saknas det en välgenomtänkt lärarutbildning som skulle kunna tillfredsställa diasporabetingade behov i sin helhet. Hemspråkslasrarnas tjänstgöring är förlagd till förskola, grundskola och gymnasieskola samt grundvux- och komvux och i deras arbetsuppgifter ingår: ¾ hemspråksundervisning; ¾ studiehandledning och; ¾ socialt kontaktarbete. Några Utgångspositioner I dagens svenska skolor finns det invandrarelever med både bristfälliga (oftare) och goda (mera sällan) färdigheter och kunskaper i hemspråkets fonologi och/eller morfologi. Deras ordförrådhuvudsakligen det aktivaär som regel ganska begränsat. Tabell 1 Lärarprofiler med lärautbildning utan lärautbildning i hemlandet i Sverige klasslärare; hemspråkslärare annan akad. utbildning ämneslärare (L 22) i heml.; (mer än halv tjänst i hemspråkstränarea utbildning på minst sju terminer - lågstadielärarea; gymnasienivå i SO:s disp. L 22) mellanstadielär.a hemlandet; ämneslärare 16, 17, (mer än 1/2 tj. i åtta 18a; terminer - SO:s disp. adjunkta; L 22) annan utbildn. med goda kunskaper i hemspråk; (lokal dispens i kommunen) termins- eller timanställning a om de har goda kunskaper i hemspråk. Ar 1979 fanns det 3.384 hemspråkslärare, varav 1.140ca 34%med behörighet.
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Det har inte hittats något ofrånkomligt samband mellan färdigheter resp. kunskaper på språkets olika nivåer. Det finns barn med relativt korrekt fonemsystem men med olika avvikelser från skriftspråkets morfologi och vice versa: relativt korrekt morfologi kan men behöver inte nödvändigtvis innebära korrekt S/C fonemsystem och framför allt inte korrekt uttal. Detsamma gäller sambandet fonologi/morfologiordförråd. Naturligtvis finns även barn som talar korrekt S/C. De enda vi kan säga är att det inte finns något samband mellan elevernas färdigheter och kunskaper och deras ålder/årskurs: d v s en 11-årig elev i årskurs 4 kan på ett eller flera områden likna en 7-årig elev i årskurs 1. Eller tvärtom: 11-åringen kan förfoga över ett ordförråd och fonologisk utveckling som är jämbördig med en 15-åring, medan morfologin är på en 7-årings nivå. Den hittills beskrivna situationen kan i korthet sammanfattas enligt tabellen nedan: (1)ÄMNE hemspråk (2)ELEVER med varierande färdigheter i varierande åldrar (3)LARARE med varierande utbildning (4)LAROMEDEL ofta icke ändamålsenliga (5)UTGANGSPUNKT elevernas behov (6)MAL aktiv tvåspråkighet. Denna situation leder onekligen till en rad behov framtvingade av diasporavillkoren som: ¾ utbildning/fortbildning av lärare; ¾ utarbetande av ändamåsenliga läromedel; ¾ individualisering av undervisningen. Lärarutbildningen och läromedelsproduktionen bör betraktas i ett längre tidsperspektiv och kräver beslut på myndighetsnivå, medan individualiseringen av undervisningen bör kunna tillämpas omgående. Tillämpning och Planering Planeringen förutsätter att läraren noggrant sätter sig in i läroplanen för ämnet hemspråk som återfinns i Läroplan för grundskolan (1980:145-9). En mycket viktig punkt i läroplanen är att elevernas olika förkundskaper och förutsättningar skall utgöra utgångspunkten för undervisning i hemspråk. Detta innebär att läraren måste planera undervisningen så att den anpassas till elevens språkliga och kognitiva utveckling, d v s individualiseras.
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För att åstadkomma en sådan anpassning är det nödvändigt att läraren redan från början undersöker varje individuell elevs språk. Denna undersökning görs med hjälp av någon form av testning. Testningen Leder Fram Till Två Slags Överväganden (a) Den ger en uppfattning om elevens allmänna kommunikativa färdighet i hemspråket, som är av avgörande betydelse för gruppindelningen. Eftersom den kommunikativa färdigeheten har avgörande betydelse för valet av undervisningsstoff bör denna vara vägledande vid indelningen av eleverna i undervisnings grupper och inte i första hand elevens ålder elle årskurs. (b) Testningen bör utföras så att den vid sidan av den allmänna kommunkativa färdigeheten också ger en bild av speciella brister i elevens språkbehärskning på systemnivå, d v s inom fonemsystem, morfologi och syntax. Denna del av testningen kommer här att kallas diagnosticeringen. Genom denna skaffar sig läraren underlag för individualisering av undevisningen inom gruppen och särskilda stödåtgärder för enskila elever. Både gruppindelning och diagnosticering bör i princip kunna göras med hjälp av ett och samma test. Vissa faktorer som testet belyser utnyttjas således som hjälpmedel för den övergripande fördelningen av undervisningen på olika elevgrupperna, medan andra faktorer ligger till grund för val av övningar inriktade på speciella språkliga företeelser och speciella elever. I många fall kan diagnosticeringen vara svår att genomföra och tilläggstest som prövar specifika språavvikelser kan bli nödvändiga. Testets Utformning och Genomförande Testet skall vara så utformat att det innefattar de olika delkomponenterna i kommunikativ färdighet: ¾ hörförståelse; ¾ läsförståelse; ¾ talfärdighet; ¾ skrivfärdighet. Analysen av testet skall vidare ge upplysningar om: ¾ elevens fonemsystem; ¾ behärskning av grammatik.
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Eftersom ordförrådet har grundläggande betydelse för förståelsen av det stoff som används i undervisningen och återverkar på alla sidorna i den kommunikativa färdigheten kan det vara lämpligt att låta ett särskilt vokabulärtest ingå. I sin enklaste form kan testet därutöver bestå av en bandinspelning av elevens spontana tal med utgångspunkt från en stimulus (ett tema, en berättelse, en film etc) och en skriftlig berättelse över ett på samma sätt givet tema (självklart under förutsättning att eleven i fråga kan skriva). Den inspelade talade texten bör läraren skriva ner från bandet så exakt som möjligt. Utskriften av texten skall återge elevens uttal och således inte göras i enlighet med den kodifierade ortografin. Helst bör fonetisk transkription användas. Utan uppgifter om elevens verkliga uttal kan nämligen inga slutsatser dras om hans fonemsystem, likaså kan tolkningen av morfologiska företeelser bli osäker om inte uttalet anges på ett entydigt satt. En fritt producerad talad resp skriven text kan ge ganska god förstahandsuppfattning om avvikelser i elevens språksystem. Det är emellertid inte säkert att de företeelser som är viktiga blir tillräckligt exemplifierade i en fritt talad text. För att bedömma en företeelse noggrannare kan ett särskilt styrt test vara nödvändigt. Ett tillfälle då en speciell typ av styrt test behövs är då avsaknad av en viss fonemopposition misstänks hos eleven. Det kan i den situation inte vara meningsfullt att starta uttalsövningar innan man blivit klar över huruvida eleven med hörseln uppfattar den aktuella fonemoppositionen (t ex /s/:/z/; eleven uppfattar i så fall inte skillnaden mellan kosa och koza). Vokabulärtest Ett mått på elevens ordförråd kan enklast fås med hjälp av en standardiserad bildserie (som kan hämtas ur bilderböcker och läseböcker för nybörjare). Varje bild bör innehålla ett föremål eller en företeelse ur elevens vardagslivfamilj, skola etc. För att kunna jämföra olika barns ordförråd är det viktigt att läraren har en fastställd bildserie till förfogande som kan användas för alla elever, att bilderna är entydiga och därför kräver ett entydigt svar och att bildserien har ett varierat innehåll. Det bör i bildmaterialet ingå både föremål, levande väsen, naturföreteelser, situationer och abstrakta begrepp som färger, former, släktskap etc. Då testresultatet bokförs bör uppgifter ges om antalet rätta svar på hemspråket och också om det antal frågor där eleven angett den svenska benämningen i brist på hemspråksordet eller inte alls gett något svar. En annan metod att genomföra vokabulärtestet går ut på att läraren ger ett temaord (t ex badrum) och ber eleven nämna så många företeelser som
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möjligt som hänger samman med ett badrum. Testet genomförs med några olika temaord, hämtade från olika områden i vardagslivet. Ett test av detta slag kan vara något svårare att utvärdera kvantitativt och kan ta längre tid att genomföra. Om temaorden valts omsorgfullt kan det emellertid avslöja svagheter i ordförrådet inom vissa ämnesområden och god utveckling inom andra och därigenom ge en mera nyanserad bild av elevens ordförråd. Talproduktion I denna del av testet görs en inspelning av elevens fria talproduktion. För att texten skall bli någotsånär löpande utan alltför många avbrott för frågor och dyl, är det svårt att åstasdkomma en sådan talad test utan någon form av stimulus i form av en text eller att händelseförlopp som återberättas. Som stimulus kan man t ex tänka sig: en uppläst berättelse, en bild, en film eller diaserie, ett TV-program, en sång, ett temaord. En uppläst berättelse som stimulus har den fördelen att testet automatiskt även kommer att innehålla komponenten hörförståelse. A andra sidan kommer självfallet inte den muntliga återberättelsen att bli lika spontan som när en bild eller bildserie (ickeverbal stimulus) används. Eleven kommer ofrånkomligen att minnas vissa fragment ur uppläsningen och ur denna kopiera en och annan form, använda ett och annat ord som inte hör till det språk han själv använder. Oavsett vilken sorts stimulus som används är det viktigt att den är lättförståelig för eleven och att den är intresseväckande. När en verbal stimulus väljs är det särskilt viktigt att tänka igenom textens svårighetsgrad så att den inte innehåller för sammanhanget viktiga ord som kan vara obekanta för eleven, vilket skulle kunna omöjliggöra ett återberättande av den. Eftersom meningen med testet bl a är att spåra upp de punkter i elevens grammatiska system, där han har svagheter och gör fel då han talar, är det viktigt att han får möjlighet att tala spontant utan avbrott för rättelser från lärarens sida. Med hjälp av talproduktionstestet skall läraren fastställa elevens fonemsystem genom iakttagelser i hans uttal. Det är självfallet därför av stor betydelse att inspelningen har god kvalitet och är gjord i en bullerfri miljö. Skriftlig produktion Den skriftliga produktionen kan testas med samma stimulus som utgångspunkt som i taltestet. efter inspelningen av elevens berättelse gör läraren en kort paus och ber eleven skriva ner samma berättelse. Eleven skall naturligtvis skriva självständigt och utan lärarens hjälp. Inget hindrar i och för sig att en annan stimulus används för den skriftliga delen av testet,
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men det torde vara tidsbesparande att låta eleven utföra samma uppgift muntligt och skriftligt. Bearbetning (Analys) Den inspelade talade texten skrivs ned noggrant av lärarenhelst bör fonetisk transkription användas eftersom detta är det enda sättet att ange uttalet tillräckligt entydigt. (Under alla omständigheter måste nedtecknandet baseras på uttalet och inte skriftspråkets ortografi.) Läraren går därefter igenom den nedtecknade versionen och fyller med ledning av den i ett formulär med individuella karakteristika för eleven i fråga om fonemsystem, morfologi och syntax samt ett generellt omdöme om de kommnikativa talfärdigheterna. Formuläret innehåller en skiss över hemspråkets fonemsystem. Fonem som klart konstaterats hos eleven ringas in. I vissa fall kan osäkerhet uppstå: atingen finns det i texten inte klara belägg för en viss fonemopposition eller så förefaller elevens fonemsystem att vackla (t ex särskiljer han ibland /s/: /, ibland inte). I sådana fall bör ett tilläggstest göras som är baserat på s k minimala par. I texten gör läraren därefter en markering av alla ordformer som är felaktiga i jämförelse med det normerade språket. Var och en av dessa former förs in i formulärets morfologiska avdelning tillsammans med en notering av den rätta formen och en angivelse av felens art (t ex A/L = ackusativ i stället för lokativ). Det är inte säkert att de morfologiska fel som upptäcks i texten ger en helt klar bild av vilken del i barnets regelsystem som det finns brister iberor en sådan form som 'od majku' på att eleven felaktigt förbinder prepositionen 'od' med ackusativ eller saknas former för genitiv helt hos eleven? Sådana oklarheter kan redas ut med tilläggstest inriktade på den ifrågafarande morfologiska företeelsen som kan ges som individuella övningar i undervisningen, varvid de nya slutsatser som läraren drar systematiskt förs in i elevens formulär. På det syntaktiska området bör först och främst sådana ställen i texten markeras som innebär att ett för hemspråket främmande satsmönster använts. För varje sådant fall bör först och främst konstateras huruvida satsen konstruerats i enlighet med ett svenskt satsmönster, om det således är fråga om en kopiering från svenskan. Liksom vid morfologiska felaktigheter bör iakttagelserna beträffende syntaxen läggas till grund för riktade övningar, som dels ger läraren noggrannare information om elevens språksystem (och som införs successivt i formuläret), dels så småningom gör att eleven tillägnar sig det rätta satsmönstret i hemspråket. Om den felaktiga satsbyggnaden innebär en kopering fran svenskan, ket det vara viktigt att låta eleven jämföra svenskans och hemspråkets olika sätt att uttrycka sig.
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Den skriftliga produktionen utvärderas på liknande sätt som den muntliga, med den skillnaden att nedteckningen bortfaller som arbetsmoment. Det gäller nu att som första etapp spåra upp stavningsfel i stället för uttalsavvikelser som fanns i den talade texten. Beträffende stavningsfelens art måste flera olika överväganden göras: i stället för därför att (1) motsvaras stavningsfelet av en analog lucka i fonemsystemet hos eleven, d v s skriver eleven han i uttalet inte särskiljer [ ] och [ ], eller rent av inte hör skillnaden mellan dessa två ljud? Ett sådant konstaterande har utomordentlig betydelse för undervisningsmetodiken, eftersom det inte kan vara särskilt meningsfullt att lära eleven stavningen så länge han inte lärt sig uttala (eller åtminstone uppfatta) rätt; (2) är stavningsfelet en påverkan från svenskans stavningsregler (framför allt torde det vara aktuellt vid förväxlingar av bokstäverna och ? I ett sådant fall krävs säkerligen speciella övningar som visar skillnaderna mellan de svenska stavningsprinciperna och hemspråkets; (3) kan stavningsfelet rättas till med hjälp av någon generellt gällande stavningsregel i hemspråket eller är det fråga om lexikalisering d v s ett ord som måste läras in speciellt?
Figur 1 Utvärdering är i sig en form av testning, vilket innebär att proceduren upprepas kontinuerligt.
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I fråga om morfologiska och syntaktiska felaktigheter är arbetssättet vid utvärderingen av den talade och skrivna texten i princip det samma. Förutom de uppgifter om elevens fonemsystem och klart definierbara grammatiska (morfologiska och syntaktiska) avvikelser som nämnts här ovan bör på formuläret noteras även andra karakteristiska drag i elevens språk, som t ex dialekttillhörighet om den framgår markant av texten, framträdande svensk färgning av talet, t ex i intonation eller speciella ljud o s v. Den bild man genom formuläret skapar av varje elevs språksystem blir lärarens viktigaste hjälpmedel för att bestämma vilka speciella åtgärder som bör sättas in för att minimera tendenserna till nedbrytning av elevens hemspråkssystem och därmed ge honom de bästa möjligheterna att även på längre sikt bibehålla sina kommunikativa färdigheter i hemspråket. Sammanfattningsvis kan vi säga att en hemspråkslärares arbete bör bestå av: Litteraturförteckning Durovic, L. (1983) The case systems in the language of diaspora children. Lingua in Diaspora (= Slavica Lundensia) 9, 21-94. Friberg, A.-C. (1983) The vocabulary test. Lingua in Diaspora (= Slavica Lundensia) 9. 95-105. Lgr 80: (1980) Läroplan för grundskolan. Stockholm: Skolöverstyrelsen. SOU 1974:69: (1974) Invandrarutredningen 3. Stockholm: Arbetsmarknadsdepartement. Morfiadakis, E. (1981) Invandrarna och hemspråksreformen. Stockholm: Liber. Paulsson, T., Stankovski, M. & Tomasevic, M. (1985) Elever med språk och kulturbakgrund från andra länder. Stockholm: Skolöverstyrelsen.
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30 Workshop om Tosproget Undervisning Ulla Varming Foreningen af undervisere af fremmedsprogede elever Abstract. During the 5th Nordic Conference on Bilingualism, the Danish organisation for teachers of linguistic minority children (UFE) arranged a workshop on present and future conditions for linguistic minority children in Danish schools. The ways in which different school districts, cities or counties organise the instruction of immigrant and refugee children were illustrated by means of posters, slides and videos in the workshop room. This exhibition formed the basis for exchanges of teaching experiences and open group discussions on attitudes visions and reservations with regard to different educational programmes. Through contributions from minority teachers and parents, Danish and Norwegian teachers, representatives from the teachers' union and the ministry of education the workshop focussed on the following two themes: What is culture? and Education of minority children in the future. Beskrivelse og referat af 'Workshop' for undervisere af sproglige mindretalselever. Arrangeret af Ufe (den faglige forening af undervisere af fremmedsprogede elever). Arrangementet bestod af en udstilling, som havde til formål at vise udviklingstendenser inden for undervisningen af minoritetsbørn i forskellige kommuner i Danmark, g en work-shopdag, hvor man i åbne diskussionsgrupper kunne udveksle holdninger og erfaringer vedr. denne undervisning. Udstillingen var åben i konferencens pauser og workshopdagen var opdelt i en formiddag med temaet 'Hvad er kultur?' og en eftermiddag med temaet 'Fremtidens undervisning af minoritetsbørn'. Resumé af Formiddagens Forløb Morten Hansen, repræsentant fra Døveskolen, indledte med spørgsmålet: 'Hvad er kultur?' Fra de ca. 30 deltagere var der mange svar:
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¾ vaner ¾ livsstil og religion ¾ viden om og medvirken i en livsform ¾ associationer, kultur på et indre plan ¾ social arv inden for en given gruppe, ideer og normer som bl.a. udvikles ved opdragelse. Flere søgte at splitte begrebet kultur op i en fin- og folkekultur, i en officiel og uofficiel kultur eller en udvendig og indvendig kultur. Repræsentanter for indvandrerne havde forberedt korte indlæg. ¾ Mehmet Olgunkurdisktyrkisk lærer i folkeskolenfortalte om den 2-sprogede lærers rolle og om tyrkisk opdragelsesmønster. ¾ Dzeladin Memedialbansksproget jugoslavisk lærerfortalte om modersmlslærerens rolle, om minoritetsbørns utryghed, når de ikke kan tale deres eget sprog og understregede behovet for, at disse børn også lærer om deres egen kultur. ¾ Busra Sameen Baripakistansk modersmålslærerkoncentrerede sig om religionens betydning for de muslimske børn og satte en diskussion igang om seksualundervisning. ¾ Zeki Caleskabtyrkisk farunderstregede nødvendigheden af at børn lærer at klare sig i begge miljøer på begge sprog og at sprogindlæringen (dansk) starter allerede i BH-klassen. Den efterfølgende diskussion berørte bl.a. følgende problemstillinger: ¾ Påduttes indvandrerbørnene en fordanskning, som kan medføre store identitetskriser? ¾ Anbringer vi børnene i et pædagogisk vacuum? ¾ Er vi som lærere og opdragere for tilbageholdende? og gør vi vores arbejde godt nok? ¾ Bør vi ikke som lærere og pædagoger betragte det som vores opgave at udvikle vores viden og vores evne til at sætte os i indvandrerbørnenes og deres forældres stedd.v.s. at arbejde for at udbedre mangler i hele vores uddannelsesforløb, mangler som vedrører en langt bedre kulturforståelse? Er det det, der er vigtigt for fremtidens undervisning af indvandrerbørn? Resumé af Eftermiddagens Forløb Denne del af workshoppen var arrangeret som en åben diskussion med bidrag af 4 personer, som kunne anskue temaet 'Fremtidens undervisning af
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minoritetsbørn' fra vidt forskellige synsvinkler. Det følgende er korte citater fra disse indlederes oplæg. Kamil OzerkKonsulent på Skolesjefens Kontor i Oslo og Nordman fra Cypern I Danmark glemmer I at tage udgangspunkt i indvandrerelevernes oplevelser her i landet. Det er en selvfølge, at I skal tage udgangspunkt i det bør ved og kanmen åbenbart ikke når det gælder indvandrerne. Hvorfor overhovedet sætte spørgsmålstegn ved modersmålet? I skal bruge børnenes naturlige forudsætninger og dansk er ikke nok. Der snakkes for meget om identitet. Sverige og Norge er kommet længerehar formaliseret to-sproget undervisning. Inger ClausenLærer fra Hvidovre Kommune, Underviser i Tokulturel Klasse I Danmark har kodeordet hidtil været 'tilpasning'i dag er det 'samling af sprogligt homogene grupper'. Målet for minoritetsbørn må være to-kulturel og to-sproget kompetence. Skolen skal afspejle de miljøer der findes. Der er behov for UV-materialer med mulighed for identifikation og det er nødvendigt med forældrekontakt på indvandrersprog. Vi skal lære de danske elever at tage afstand fra de racistiske tendenser, den kan opstå, forbedre de to-sprogede læreres ansættelsesvilkår og gøre elevernes modersmål til en integreret del af skolehverdagen. Det medfører, at vi må ændre undervisningens indhold, læseplaner og hele uddannelsesområdet. Arne MikkelsenRepræsentant fra Danmarks Lærerforening (DLF) Et rimeligt imponerende udviklingsarbejde er sat igang i Hvidovre og Taastrup kommune. Det er ideelt men umuligt med to-sprogede/ to-kulturelle klasser på grund af mangel på to-sprogede lærere. DLF har prøvet at lave aftaler vedr. tosprogede lærere i ansættelsessystemet, men der laves aftaler uden om DLF. Myndighederne fejer problemerne ind under gulvtæppet. Det bør være en målsætning, at folk bor rimeligt spredt og der tages afstand fra en ghettoisering af eleverne.
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Johannes BangPædagogisk Konsulent i Undervisningsministeriet, med Sproglige Mindretalselever som Sagsområde Ministeriets holdningsom Folketinget vedtagerer at 'indvandrerbørn skal klar sig på lige fod med de danske børn og at indvandrerbørnene bevarer og udvikler sit eget sprog'. Vi skal være lykkelige for vores modersmålundervisning, her er vi forud for andre lande, men det er ønskeligt med bedre kvalifikationer hos modersmålslærerne. Modersmålsundervisningen kan ikke erstatte engelsk, tysk eller fransk, fordi dansk er et minoritetssprog. Følgen kan blive, at der lukkes for indvandrernes videre uddannelsesmuligheder. Vi skal fremme den interkulturelle forståelse (starte med børnesange, illustrerede børnebøger m.m.) Det store problem er de børn, som ikke kan dansk og som har et mangelfuldt modersmål. Vi er nødt til at sætte ind i førskolealderen og samarbejde med børn, mødre og institutioner. Nøgleordet er tillid. I den efterfølgende debat diskuteredes ressourcer, behov for initativer og hvor disse initiativer skal komme fra, de to-sprogede læreres ansættelsesvilkår, kvalifikationskrav til de to-sprogede larere og de lærere som underviser i dansk som andetsprog, og forskellige holdninger og opfattelser kom til udtryk, da begreber som 'integration' og et 'multikulturelt samfund' skulle defineres. Deltagere fra Norge understregede, at ansvaret for at der tages initiativer og sikres økonomiske muligheder for udviklingen af undervisningen af minoritetsbørn er statens. Frivillighedsprincippet passer ikke her i systemet. De gjorde opmærksom på, at det er nødvendigt at udforme klare målsætninger, at målet skale være funktionel to-sprogethed og indholdet to-sproget undervisning, at navn på klassetyper er underordnet og at det er vigtigt at definere, hvad sprog er. Både formiddagens og eftermiddages debat bar præg af fremlæggelse af problemstillinger (ingen konklusioner), af lærere og pædagogers behov for udveksling af erfaringer og diskussion af holdninger og nye pædagogiske metoder i minoritetsundervisningen, og det var opløftende, at mange deltageres markante holdninger styrkede diskusisonen. Formiddagen var karakteriseret ved at det i høj grad var indvandreres egne holdninger og meninger, der kom til udtryk, eftermiddagen ved at laerere og pædagoger ønskede at gøre repræsentanterne fra ministeriet og fagforeningen ansvarlige i forhold til vilkårene for minoritetsundervisningen. Og det var et frisk pust med repræentanter fra Norge, som kunne fastholde diskussionen omkring de pædagogiske aspekter vedr. udvikling af to-sprogethed og sammenhængen mellem sprog og kultur.
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Appendix This volume is one of three which comprise the Proceedings of the Fifth Nordic Conference on Bilingualism, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, 22-25 June 1987. The other two volumes are also published by Multilingual Matters Ltd, their titles and contents being as follows: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Vol. 9, Nos 1 & 2.
Contents Jørgen Gimbel, Elisabeth Hansen, Anne Holmen and Norman Jørgensen: Preface Jørgen Gimbel, Elisabeth Hansen, Anne Holmen and Norman Jørgensen: Introductory Note Bertel Haarder: Opening Address Anna Uhl Chamot: Bilingualism in Education and Bilingual Education: The State of the Art in the United States Gabriele Kasper: Bilingual Education and Bilingualism in Education: A Comment J. Michael O'Malley: The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) Hans Vejleskov: Social and Intellectual Functions of Language: A Fruitful Distinction? Kenneth Hyltenstam: Lexical Characteristics of Near-Native Second-Language Learners of Swedish Anne Holmen: Syntax and Information Structure in Learner Language Maria Bolander: Is There Any Order? On Word Order in Swedish Learner Language Mirjana Vilke: Some Psychological Aspects of Early Second-Language Acquisition Ulla-Britt Kotsinas: Immigrant Children's SwedishA New Variety? Sigrid Luchtenberg: Language Varieties and Intercultural Education Andrina Pavlinc-Wolf, Karmen Brcic and Nadezda Jeftic: Supplementary Mother-Tongue Education and the Linguistic Development of Yugoslav Children in Denmark Sonja Novak-Lukanovic: Bilingual Education in Yugoslavia: Some Experiences in the Field of Education for National Minorities/Nationalities in Yugoslavia Aquigssiaq Møller: Language Policy and Language Planning after the Establishment of the Home Rule in Greenland Euen Reid: Linguistic Minorities and Language EducationThe English Experience
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Klaus-Erich Gerth: Latest Developments in Early Bilingual Education in France and Southern Europe John Edwards: Bilingualism, Education and Identity Where Do We Go Grom Here? Concluding Panel Discussion Appendix. Contents of Companion Volumes Index HOLMEN, ANNE, HANSEN, ELIZABETH, GIMBEL, JØRGEN AND JØRGENSEN, J. NORMANN (EDS) (1988) BILINGUALISM AND THE INDIVIDUAL. COPENHAGEN STUDIES IN BILINGUALISM, VOL. 4. CLEVEDON: MULTILINGUAL MATTERS.
Contents Anne Holmen, Elisabeth Hansen, Jørgen Gimbel and J. Normann Jørgensen: Introductory Note Interactional Analysis Karen Margrethe Pedersen: Second Language Learners in the German Minority in Denmark Hans Dahlbäck: Children's Questions to Children and Adults in a Second Language Tuula Hirvonen: Monolingual and Bilingual Children's Foreigner Talk Conversations J. Normann Jørgensen: Turkish Children's Communication Strategies in Danish Jehannes Ytsma: Bilingual Classroom Interaction in Friesland Elizabeth Lanza: Language Strategies in the Home: Linguistic Input and Infant Bilingualism Hans Vejleskov: A Critique of the Distinction Between 'Academic' and 'Communicative' LanguageFrom a Pragmatic Point of View Lenore Arnberg: Assessing Comprehension Skills in Preschool Bilingual Children Gisela Håkansson and Inger Lindberg: What's the Question? Investigating Questions in Second Language Classrooms Maija Kalin: Metalinguistic Knowledge and Understanding in Adult Language Learning Linguistic Structure and Variation in Bilinguals Barbara J. Boseker: Bidialectalism in the United States Gunnel Melchers: Bidialectism and the School with Special Reference to the Shetland Experience
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Miodrag Stankovski: Obstruents and their Development in the Population D07. In the Archive for Diaspora Languages Ulla Laurén: Tvåspråkiga barns ordförrådinterferens och integration Solveig Strömman: Fackslang i Tvåspråkiga FöretagSvensk eller Finsk? Niels Haastrup: Spelling Errors in Danish Loan Words or on the Changing Linguistic Dominance and Consciousness of Language History Different Backgrounds and Second Language Learning Edith Mägiste: Leaning to the Right: Hemispheric Involvement in Two Immigrant Groups Christopher Stroud: Literacy in a Second Language: A Study of Text Construction in Near-Native Speakers of Swedish Raymond Mougeon and Edouard Beniak: Minority Language Schooling without Home Language Maintenance: Impact on Language Proficiency Anne Hvenekilde: Elevene fra språklige minoriteter og matematikkfaget Peter Berliner: Cognitive Style and Attitudes in Bilingual Inuits Bent Søndergaard: Motivationsprofilen ved indlæring af L2 med henblik på dansk p Færøerne Literature and Bilingualism Marie-Alice Séférian: Kan en digter være tosproget? Tilfældet Kateb Yacine Harald Gaski: Joik, Etno-Poesi og Majoritetens Forståelse Kjell Herberts: Språkmöten i Minoritetslitteraturen Inge Kleivan: Børnebøger i Grønland: Sprog og indhold
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Index A Active bilingualism 189-199 Advanced education 285-294 Applied sociolinguistics 45-54 Armenian 55-68 Attitudes to languages 69-85 B Background of the pupils 119-133 Biculturism 55-68 Bilingual/bicultural 179-187 education 33-44, 189-199 identity 201-220 kindergarten as an experiment 255-263 staff 265-274 upbringing 241-253 Bilingualism 1-10, 55-68, 69-85, 105-109, 147-166, 179-187, 201-220, 227-231, -in Greenland 111-118 Breton 19-31 Brittany 19-31 C Canada 105-109, 147-166 Canadian French 167-177 Catalan 33-44 Catalonia 33-44 Central African Republic 69-85 Characteristics of learning 305-314 Clash of norms 221-226 Class differences 233-240 Classroom research 305-314 Cultural background of the immigrants 285-294 Cultural incongruity 221-226 Culture 331-334 and language 275-283 Curriculum 315-329 D Danification 119-133 Danish as a second language 285-294 in the Faroese School 295-303 Day care in national groups 265-274
nursery of the Danish Refugee Council 265-274 Democracy in education 285-294 Diaspora 315-329 Didactics 295-303 E Education 285-294 of minority children 331-334 Educational background of the immigrants 285-294 model for Greenland 119-133 Ethnic identity 227-231 Ethnicity 19-31 Ethoglossia 45-54 F Faroe Islands 87-92 Faroese spoken language 87-92 written language 87-92 Finland Swedish 135-146 Finnish as a minority language 189French immersion 167-177 G Game theory 1-10 Greenlandification 119-133 H Historical perspectives 87-92 History 93-103 I Identification 55-68 Immersion programmes 33-44 schooling 147-166 Immigrant policy 189-199 Instruction in Faroese 87-92 International Kindergarten, The 265-274
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L Language acquisition 45-54 and action 111-118 and communication 111-118 and culture 275-283, 295-303 and identity 227-231, 255-263 and policy 295-303 and politics 19-31 and socialization 111-118 contact 1-10 cultivation 93-103 development in bilingual children 255-263 distribution in school 135-146 maintenance 167-177, 189-199 planning 1-10, 11-17 policies 33-44 policy 93-103 recovery 33-44 shift 105-109 spread 69-85 status 167-177 teaching, universalistic 305-314 tests 315-329 use 147-166 Languages attitudes to 69-85 in contact 241-253 Linguistic identity 201-220 levels 241-253 minorities 179-187 minority pupils 241-253 M Malecite Indians 105-109 Minorities 55-68 Minority French-Canadian education 167-177 languages in education 19-31 Minority/majority languages 45-54 Moslem children 221-226 Mother-tongue teaching 315-329 N
Norwegian as a second language 179-187 O Objects and present situation in education in Greenland 119-133 P Patterns of play 255-263 Persian 55-68 Planification 45-54 Prediction of attitudes 11-17 of measures 11-17 Pre-school children 275-283 Problems in translation 93-103 R Refugee children 241-253 Research, didactics 305-314 S Sango 69-85 School achievement 135-146 Second language learning 233-240 research 179-187 Sexual differences 233-240 norms 221-226 SKYM-project 275-283 Societal bilingualism model 11-17 Sociocultural environment 135-146 Sociolinguistics 55-68 Sprachpflege 11-17 Standardization 45-54 Structural changes 93-103 Sweden 275-285 Swedish as a second language 189-199 school legislation 315-329 T Teacher education in teaching 285-294 types 295-303 Teaching models 315-329 programmes for immigrants 305-314 Traditions 255-263 Turkish children in kindergarten 255-263 Types of pupils 305-314
U Universalistic language teaching 305-314
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