ERIC Number: EJ855602
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Feb
Pages: 68
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1466-4208
EISSN: N/A
The Language Situation in Timor-Leste
Taylor-Leech, Kerry
Current Issues in Language Planning, v10 n1 p1-68 Feb 2009
Timor-Leste celebrated its formal political independence on 20th May 2002. The National Constitution of the new nation declared the endogenous lingua franca (Tetum) and the former colonial language (Portuguese) to be co-official. The remaining local languages were given the status of national languages. Indonesian and English were designated as working languages "for as long as is deemed necessary". In this monograph, I consider the origins and implications of these constitutional provisions. The paper consists of five parts: (1) A social and economic profile of the polity. This section also discusses migration, communications and the media in relation to language policy and practice; (2) A language profile of the country, followed by a discussion of diglossia, multilingualism, literacy and official language choice; (3) An account of the sociolinguistic consequences of language contact and an historical analysis of social policies and practices that have shaped the habitus; (4) A discussion and analysis of current language policy development in terms of goals, motives and orientations; and (5) An assessment of the prospects for language maintenance with special reference to policy outcomes and options. I advocate a rights-oriented approach to language management, arguing that in the absence of such an approach, "ad hoc" power relationships between languages will continue to dominate social discourse and language politics. (Contains 4 figures, 10 tables, and 14 notes.)
Descriptors: Language Maintenance, Language Planning, Linguistic Borrowing, Official Languages, Profiles, Bilingualism, Foreign Countries, Social Change, Portuguese, Malayo Polynesian Languages, Indonesian, English (Second Language), Multilingualism, Literacy
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Timor-Leste
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A