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ERIC Number: EJ1074576
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1747-7506
EISSN: N/A
Constructions of Bilingualism in Finnish Government Programmes and a Newspaper Discussion Site Debate
Pöyhönen, Sari; Saarinen, Taina
Current Issues in Language Planning, v16 n4 p392-408 2015
The concept of bilingualism in Finnish political discourse is predominantly used in the meaning of official or state bilingualism, focusing on the two constitutionally defined "national languages;" that is, Finnish and Swedish. Legally, both Finnish and Swedish-speakers have a right for public services, such as schooling or health care, in their first language. On the other hand, several language ideological debates have taken place in recent years, challenging especially the status of Swedish in administration and education. These debates have reshaped the discourses on what counts as bilingualism. This paper analyses on one hand the historical discursive development of the "official will" presented in the Finnish Government programmes on the concept of bilingualism and the current language ideological debates that take place in an Internet discussion site, offered by a Finnish newspaper, on the other. These two discourses seem to operate on separate fields and among different actors. We show that language policy discourses are essentially multi-sited: they confirm, contest and challenge views that are produced by various stakeholders over time.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A