Interaction Through Language

Published quarterly by Unesco
Vol. X X X V I , N o . 1, 1984
Editor: Peter Lengyel

Associate editor: Ali Kazancigil
Design and layout: Jacques Carrasco
Picture research: Florence Bonjean
Correspondents
Bangkok: Yogesh Atal
Beijing: Li Xuekun
Belgrade: Balsa Spadijer
Buenos Aires: Norberto Rodriguez
Bustamante
Canberra: Geoffrey Caldwell
Cologne: Alphons Silbermann
Delhi: Andr Bcteille
Harare: Chen Chimutengwende
Hong Kong: Peter Chen
London:
Cyril S. Smith
Mexico City: Pablo Gonzalez Casanova

Moscow: Marien Gapotchka
Nigeria: Akinsola A k i w o w o
Ottawa: Paul L a m y
Singapore: S. H . Alatas
Tokyo: Hiroshi Ohta
Tunis: A . Bouhdiba
United States: G e n e Lvons
Topics of forthcoming issues:

Industrial democracy
Migration
Epistemology of social science
Cover and right:

Semeiology immediately understandable to all for
public areas and mass events has become a
professional specialization. Signs shown were
devised for the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 (front
cover and above right) and the Expo Montreal of
1967 (below right) to form the elements of modular
systems which allow for different combinations of
symbols.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL
SCIENCE JOURNAL
s,
INTERACTION THROUGH
LANGUAGE
99
Editorial: the ISSJ in Chinese, Arabic and Turkish
Sociolinguistic theory and research
Thomas Luckmann
Language in society
Yunus D . Desheriev
Social progress and sociolinguistics
21
Shirley Brice Heath
Oral and literate traditions
41
Dorothy E . Smith
Textually mediated social organization
59
Cases
Nelson E . Cabrai
Portuguese Creole dialects in West Africa
77
Robert L . Cooper
A framework for the description of language spread:

the case of modern Hebrew
87
Rainer Enrique H a m e l
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
Socio-cultural conflict and bilingual education: the case

of the Otomi Indians in Mexico
113
S o m e aspects of linguistic variation in one-language

societies
129
Applications
Jean-E. Humblet
The language problem in international organizations
143
Mary-Louise Kearney
Sociolinguistics and language teaching
157
Lachman M . Khubchandani
Language modernization in the developing world
169
Books received
189
Recent Unesco publications
191
Editorial:
The ISSJ in Chinese,
Arabic and Turkish
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Editorial
W e wish to express our gratitude to Professor
Richard Grathoff of the University of Bielefeld, Federal Republic of G e r m a n y , Secretary-Treasurer of the Research C o m m i t t e e
for Sociolinguistics of the International Sociological Association from 1974 to 1982, for his
advice and assistance in putting together the
present issue.
P. L.
Language in society
Thomas Luckmann
social fact. But the recent rapid accumulation
of detailed knowledge about language, in
anthropology, sociology, psychology and
Looking at the remarkable achievements in
' m o d e r n ' linguistics, is not primarily attrithe study of language during the last years and
butable to the theoretical soundness of this
decades, and noting that a simple (or, perhaps general point but to the painstaking exploonly seemingly simple) insight c a m e to be ration of its far-flung implications. It is due to
widely acknowledged during the earliest
years of concentrated research into the social
phases of this development, one is strongly
construction, social transmission, social functempted to conclude that the connection
tions and social change of language.
between these two facts
In any case, the genmight not have been
eral point today seems
Thomas Luckmann is President of the
purely coincidental. Is
so obviousnot to say
International Sociological Associthere, perhaps, a causal
trivialthat it is diffiation's Research Committee for Sorelation?
cult to credit it with
ciolinguistics and Professor of Socihaving produced such
T h e point that lanology at the University of Konstanz,
P . O . B . 5560, D-7750, Konstanz 1,
considerable effects even
guage is a communicatFederal Republic of Germany. H e
in an indirect w a y . In
ive and thus a social
is the author of The Sociology of
the present climate of
phenomenon
was,
of Language (1975) and Life-world
scholarly opinion it takes
course, not n e w . M o r e and Social Realities (1983) as well
as several other authoritative contria distinct effort to reover, even if it had been
butions to the sociology of language
call the following minor
n e w , it does not seem
in German and English.
but interesting historical
likely that a single infact: the notion that
sight,
although u n language is social, aldoubtedly shedding an
though of ancient origin,
unexpected light upon
only recently gained ground against other
the nature of language, would have been in
itself capable of producing such a sudden and partly even olderideas about the
surge in the study of language. T h e advances essential nature of language. N o w a d a y s w e
in the various disciplines which, in contradis- tend to forget that thinking about language
tinction to the traditional limitation of the was long dominated by biological theories that
were first specifically creationist and theoseveral philologies to language as it was
logical, then specifically idealist, subjectivist
embodied in literary texts, took up the sysand philosophical, and later specifically m a tematic investigation of 'living' language, of
terialist and reductionist.
language in use, might indeed have been
predicated on the notion that language is a
T h e insight into the social character of
The study of language in society
Thomas huckmann
WBP-
Hl
August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845), w h o

translated Shakespeare and Caldern into German,
founded Sanskrit and Oriental literature studies in
Germany and was a major disseminator of R o m a n tic ideas throughout Europe. Etching by G . Z u m p e
in the Bibliothque Nationale, Paris. Roger-vioiiet.
language m a y be old, but the systematic study

of language in society is anything but ancient.
But, then, of course, the systematic study of
anything whatsoever in society is of fairly
recent origin. T o be sure, o n e m a y think of
philosophy as the true beginning of rational
and systematic thought from which m o d e r n
science ultimately developed, thus making a
case for, say, Aristotle's Politics and Ethics as
the beginning of social science. A n d if one is
unwilling to go back quite that far, one still
cannot miss the foreshadowing of things to
c o m e in the writings of Vico and, somewhat
later, in the political e c o n o m y of A d a m Smith
and the social doctrines of Saint-Simon. Social
science as w e k n o w it today is none the less n o
older than a hundred and fifty years; the
customary dating of its beginning is with the
publication of Auguste C o m t e ' s Cours de

philosophie positive, 1830-42. Neither in its
prehistory, with the partial exception of Vico,
nor in the early history of m o d e r n social
science is there m o r e than a trace of a
'sociological' approach to language. T h e possibility of communication in society was evidently taken to b e essentially unproblematic,
whereas the study of language as a separate
entity was left to others.
T h e study of language, taken as an
autonomous structure in and by itself, had a
different yet in certain respects parallel prehistory and history.1 Until the early nineteenth century little progress had been m a d e
beyond the (not in all respects inconsiderable)
linguistic knowledge of classical antiquity.
Only then did European scholars 'discover'
Language in society
Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835). diplomat and

philologist, translator of Pindar and Aeschylus into
German, scholar of Basque and the ancient Kawi
language of Java, most of whose important work
appeared posthumously between 1836 and 1876.
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), the Swiss linguist, who published his only book at 21 years of
age. His wide influence was based on his teaching in
Paris and Geneva and on the collection of his lectures, published by his disciples in 1916 as Cours de
Keystone.
linguistique
Sanskrit and, perhaps even m o r e important,

the highly developed Indian tradition of
rational, systematic study of language. With
slight overdramatization one m a y say that
m o d e r n comparative linguistics began with
these twin 'discoveries'. It m a y not be as easy
as in the case of sociology to settle o n one
date and a single scholar in order to m a r k this
beginning. H o w e v e r , after making due allowance for the attention paid to Sanskrit by,
a m o n g others, Sir William Jones late in the
eighteenth century, and the von Schlegel
brothers, August Wilhelm and Friedrich,
early in the nineteenth, the most important
figure in the formation of m o d e r n linguistics
was undoubtedly Franz B o p p and w e m a y well
note the publication date of his ber das
Conjugationssystem der Sanskritsprache in
Vergleichimg mit jenem der griechischen, persischen und germanischen Sprache ( O n the
System of Conjugation in Sanskrit, compared
to that in Greek, Persian and Germanic), to
wit, 1816. T h e fascination with etymological
reconstruction and the impressive successes of
the comparative method overshadowed any
consideration of the basic social function of
language and its structural consequences. It
was a long time before anyone even suspected
that key elements of the structure of language
m a y derive from its use, from social interaction. With the Y o u n g Grammarians of the
following generation the model of physical
science prevailed in their confident search for
immutable laws of language. A n d despite the
growth of significantly different ideas o n the
nature of language in the second half of the
gnrale.
Coll. prive nvel
Photo
Acschimann.
nineteenth and then in the twentieth century,

the orientation to this model prevailed well
into Bloomfield's time.
It was noted that the early development
of the social sciences, especially of sociology
and anthropology, showed some parallels with
the development of modern linguistics. T h e
similar direction taken by the several budding
sciences of h u m a n affairs was due in great
measure to the effect of certain intellectual
and ideological paradigms which came to the
fore during this period. T w o particularly
influential ones a m o n g them, physicalism and
biologism, their m a n y differences notwithstanding, jointly left a legacy of pervasive
reductionist attitudes. In consequence, even
in the disciplines involved in the study of
h u m a n affairs, the specifically h u m a n constitution of social reality was ignored or taken to
be a matter of surface appearances rather
than the profound nature of society. Thereforeso went received opinionthe laws of
economic, political and other kinds of social
(including communicative) behaviour had to
be sought beneath. that surface. Another
paradigm which exerted a certain influence on
the social sciences from the late nineteenth
century onward, historicism, was not reductionist but seemed to deny the very possibility of a genuine science of h u m a n affairs,
not excluding language. In place of the aim of
science to explain h u m a n behaviour n o m o thetically, it offered the modest goal (to some
it seemed a disappointingly modest one) of
ideographic reconstruction and understanding
of h u m a n action.
Thus it is hardly surprising that the
parallels in development led neither to a close
relation between the n e w sciences nor to a
mutual interest in their respective subjectmatters. Remaining true to their nature, the
parallels did not meet. Little serious attention
was given to language in the social sciences,
just as there was little well-informed concern
with society in linguistics. For the sake of
accuracy one must acknowledge that there
were exceptions, even significant ones. It is
noteworthy, however, that a m o n g the three
major figures w h o m a y be n a m e d as the
Thomas huckmann
foremost examples, only one was placed in

the 'mainstream' of his discipline, whereas the
other two were outsidersalthough it must be
added that they were not outsiders in quite
the same sense. Wilhelm W u n d t was indeed a
major figure in hisfield;the sensitivity to
linguistic and, generally, communicative
issues in his main works in psychology and
ethnology was, however, exceptional as late
as the turn of the century. Karl M a r x was, of
course, anything but a recognized academic
figure; in any case, the passing remarks on
language in his early writings, although potentially important, were not developed further.
Another academic outsider, Wilhelm von
Humboldt, completes the list; his essays on
language (among which there is, for example,
one on language and its 'national characteristics') and the introduction to his major
treatise o n the Kawi language were remarkably 'sociolinguistic' in spiritbefore the
event, to be sure.
In sociology, ethnology and linguistics
this situation began to change during the first
decade of the present century. W h a t in former
times had been an exception to prevailing
notions, at that time became the cornerstone
of an ambitious theoretical and methodological programme. Originally restricted to one
sociological school of thought, in due course
this programme led to a pervasive change in
the approach to the study of language.
If one were to yield once again to the
temptation to symbolize a complex process of
change by a single n a m e and date, one is
certain to select without hesitation Antoine
Meillet's deservedly famous essay ' C o m m e n t
les mots changent de sens'. T h e date:
1905-1906. A n d the place of publication:
L'anne sociologique] T h e veryfirstsentence
establishes the main point of the programme:
' L e langage a pour premire condition
l'existence des socits humaines dont il est de
son ct l'instrument indispensable et constamment employ . . . le langage est donc
m i n e m m e n t u n fait social.' ('The fundamental condition for language is the existence of
h u m a n societies, of which it is the indispensable instrument, and in constant use . . .
Language in society
'Sociality refers to the regulation of whatever in a species has the function of communicative behaviour by
means of a code": Liverpool football supporters displaying ownership of a section of a grandstand and
transmitting the group image. Ray Green.
D u r k h e i m . de Saussure and Meillet language

language is thus an eminently social fact.')2
was a social institution, irreducible to psyMeillet thus placed himself in sharp
chological circumstances or physiological subopposition to the various reductionist views of
strata. It differed from other social instilanguage and society which were dominant in
tutions only by its relatively autonomous
linguistics and the social sciences at that time.
semiological structure. Henceforth the 'socioH e fully aligned himself with Durkheim and
logical' approach to the study of language
asserted, in full awareness of the theoretical
steadily gained ground. It was diffused far
and methodological implications of this posbeyond the boundaries of the Durkheimian
ition, that linguistics is, or at any rate should
be, a social science. His teacher, Ferdinand de school and the nascent semiotic m o v e m e n t .
A s was indicated before, the view of language
Saussurewho together with Charles S.
as the highly structured core of c o m m u n i Peirce was one of the founders of modern
cation in society had already been developed
semioticshad suggested as m u c h at approxiin relatively ' m o d e r n ' terms by Wilhelm von
mately the same time. In his case, too, the
H u m b o l d t ; it had appeared aphoristically in
influence of Durkheim is unmistakable.3
the writings of M a r x and, towards the end of
Semiotics or, as he preferred to call it,
semiology, was to be 'une science qui tudie la the nineteenth century, it informed the psyvie des signes au sein de la vie sociale; elle chology and ethnology of Wilhelm W u n d t .
N o n e the less it m a y be said with justice that it
formerait une partie de la psychologie sociale'
('a science which studies the life of signs withinwas D u r k h e i m , his followers in sociology and
social life; it is to be part of social psy- ethnology and the major linguists upon whose
thinking he had exerted a strong influence
chology'emphasis in the original).4 For
10
Thomas Luckmann
w h o decisively changed the general (and

of past investigations. I shall not report on
international) climate of opinion in the study
specific findings6 but I would like to s u m up
of language. This change affected sociology,
those general points about the nature of
linguistics, ethnology and psychology at
language in society which seem to be most
varying speed and in unequal measure, but
strongly supported by the findings accumueventually it affected them all. Most imlated in the sociology of language since its
portantly, in the aftermath of this change a
programmatic beginnings almost three-quarn e w discipline was born which came to e m ters of a century ago.
body the 'sociological' approach to the study
of language, the sociology of language.
Evolution of communication
Dating back the inception of the sociand
the historical formation
ology of language to Meillet's article, I definiof language
tely do not wish to imply that the n e w discipline
emerged overnight, nor do I want to suggest
that it was developed exclusively by D u r - W e r e one to accept the term in its widest
kheim and his school. Progress in thefieldw a s sense, all communication would have to be
relatively slow during thefirstdecades and considered 'social'. After all, w h y should the
transmission of information from one cell to
increased rather slowly in the 1950s. T h e most
another not be called an elementary form of
productive period started in the late 1960s.
B y that time m a n y quite different kinds of social communication? B u t communication
influence on the study of language could be that is social in a strict sense of the word is
communication that takes place between orregistered, s o m e of them of a passingly
ganisms and not within themand perhaps
fashionable character, s o m e of more lasting
consequence. Only a few were linked to the one should add, between fully individuated
organisms. T h e elementary forms of c o m Durkheimian tradition in sociology and that,
as in the case of the several structuralisms and munication such as genetic coding, information processing in physiological feedback
of renascent semiotics, indirectly. The view of
systems, etc., are adaptive in the evolution of
language as a system of communication with
social functions, constructed, maintained and life-forms. Social communication in the narrower sense m a y no doubt also be regarded as
modified in social interaction and as an
an adaptive process, even if o n a more
intrinsic part of the social stock of knowledge
complex level of the organization of life.
(of the reprsentations collectives), which is at
H o w e v e r , such considerations of adaption and
the heart of the paradigm of the contemporevolution are so general and abstract as to be
ary sociology of language, none the less still
ordinarily of remote interest in the social
exhibits significant traces of the original
sciences. T o them, time-spans of an entirely
Durkheimian imprint.
different order of magnitude, and events with
In the space allotted I cannot undertake
quite different kinds of consequences are
to review in detail the various important
threads of theory and research which are relevant. Social communication is of interest
inasmuch as it determines in a significant w a y
w o v e n into the present pattern of the soci5
the everyday conduct of the m e m b e r s of our
ology of language. Instead I should like to
species and insofar as it constitutes the fabric
describe in general outlineI hope without
of h u m a n social organization. A n understandundue simplificationwhat to m y mind is n o w
ing of h u m a n communication m a y neverthethe paradigm of this discipline 'between'
less benefit from a brief consideration of
sociology, ethnology, psychology and linguisthe most important dimensions of social c o m tics. I want to show which assumptions are
taken to be theoretically sound and internally munication in general.
These dimensions are sociality, reciconsistent, productive of hypotheses for fuprocity, abstraction and intentionality. Socialture research and consonant with the results
Language in society
ity refers to the regulation of whatever in a

species has the function of communicative
behaviour by means of a code which is
establishedwhether by genetic programming, learning or a combination of the two
in a species or groups within the species.
Reciprocity is constituted in a continuous
alternation of 'feedback' from one organism
to another; it presupposes that one organism's
ability to observe (and to 'interpret') the
behaviour of other organisms is imputed by
that organism to others and that its o w n
behaviour is correspondingly adjusted to anticipated observation (and interpretation) by
them, and vice versa. Abstraction is the
faculty to refer in communication not only to
the concrete components of the actual c o m municative situation but also to elements
transcending it in space and time. A n d intentionality refers to the awareness on the part of
an individual organism of the communicative
repertoire of his species or group, and his
ability to use it or, under circumstances, not
to use it.
Social communication in different species
is evidently characterized by different kinds of
sociality, different forms of reciprocity and
unequal degrees of abstraction as well as
intentionality. A n d it is, of course, characterized by different combinations of these dimensions of social communication. Sociality,
for example, is programmed for the individual
m e m b e r s of most species in a rather rigid
fashion; but with the m a m m a l s and especially
with the primates it begins to depend in
increasing measure upon experience and
learning, although it unquestionably continues
to be based on genetically more directly
determined elements. O r , to take another
example, it is well k n o w n that abstraction is
highly developed in the social communication
of the honey bee but is absent or low in most
other species, including most m a m m a l s ; it
reappears significantly with the higher primates. Intentionality has, of course, extremely
complex physiological presuppositions and
its adaptive value is probably linked to the
individualization of social relations in certain
m a m m a l species (perhaps most pronouncedly
11
in hunting species?); it undeniably does not
appear until late in the evolution of life-forms.
W h e n flexible ('individualized') sociality,
full reciprocity, high abstraction and advanced
intentionality have evolved, their systematic
combination allows for the development of
the most complex and most highly differentiated form of social communication. W h a t ever the conditions for the separate developm e n t of these faculties and, m o r e specifically,
whatever the conditions for their systematic
combinationfull consensus on these questions has not been reachedit seems obvious
that they obtained in hominid evolution,
although their combination in a fully fledged
system of social communication m a y be limited to homo.
Another m o o t question is
whether the development of such a system
presupposed, or was co-ordinated with, a shift
to vocal expression. T h e evolutionary advantages of vocal language must undoubtedly
have been considerable.7
With the mention of language w e step
over a threshold in the development of social
communication. It divides 'natural' systems of
social communication from 'historical' ones. It
is a threshold of considerable importance
although, in a metaphorical sense, history
itself m a y be said to have emerged from
nature while, at the same time, having remained part of it. Putting it differently, systems of social communication are products of
natural selection, and languagesbeing the
main elements of h u m a n social c o m m u n i cationare therefore unquestionably the result of evolutionary processes. But languages
are very peculiar systems of social c o m m u n i cation and they are products of evolution in
a less direct w a y than social communication
in other species.
T o be sure, language cannot be understood except as having evolved from some
prior and m o r e primitive system of social
communication.
A n d the
functions
of
language m a y be considered analogous to the
functions of social communication in other
species, at least in a formal and abstract
sense. Yet languages cannot be understood
adequately only in simple analogy to older
12
forms. W h e n it comes to language, there is a
qualitative change in the method of production, transmission and use of the system
of social communication. In other words,
language is an evolutionary emergent. T h e
elementary presuppositions for the production, transmission and use of the linguistic
codeincluding a cognitive 'depth-structure'
that must presumably be present in the h u m a n
organism if any of these processes are to work
properlycontinue to be genetically transmitted, as part of the h u m a n biogram. 8 But the
linguistic codes themselves are the result of
social interaction. M o r e precisely, they are
the cumulative historical result of communicative acts; the transmission of the code consists
of intentional communicative acts, too, and so
does the ordinary everyday use of the code.
Before taking a closer look at this n e w
level of social communication it should be
noted that languages as historical linguistic
codes did not entirely replace the phylogenetically older elements of social communication.
Thus a situation of unprecedented complexity
arose. Language became the main and most
important system of social communication
and was substituted for what m a y have been
its primitive predecessor as the main code.
But elements of the phylogenetically older
components of social communication, most
importantly those linked to gesture, posture
and facial expression, continued to coexist
with language. They filled partially independent communicative functions and were ordinarily used by instinct. But a certain measure
of conscious control and intentional use also
became possible. In face-to-face c o m m u n i cation the use of language recombined with
the partly instinctive, partly intentional e m ployment of other means of social c o m m u n i cation. Moreover, the development of abstract codes based on other than the vocal
modality became possible in analogy to the
development of a linguistic code. A n d all
this does not even take into account the additional historical complexity and richness of
h u m a n systems of social communication
which obtained after the introduction of
notational systems and of writing.
Thomas huckmann
T h e immediate antecedents of languages

as historical sign systems were none the less
probably rather rudimentary communicative
codes which arose from uncodified or weakly
codified social communication. T h e beginnings of the construction of communicative
codes must be traced back to a stage in which
phylogenetically older elements of social c o m munication could be used with considerable
flexibility and in which, at the same time,
highly individualized social interaction w a s
possible. Highly individualized social interaction is characterized by full reciprocity and
thus allows for effective intersubjective mirroring.9 In such interactions those elements
that were relevant to the other participants in
the situation could be communicated to them
by typical expressive forms of a vocal, gestural, postural and mimetic natureand the
expressive forms could be reproduced and
imitated. T h e most important items of intersubjective relevance were no doubt subjective
action projects which played a role in the coordination of social action such as, for
example, big-game hunting, marriage exchanges, ritualization of aggression, coping
with the dead, etc.
It seems obvious that atfirstthe objects
and events to which communicative acts
referred successfully had to be in the c o m m o n
reach of the participants in the communicative
situation. But the importance of deixis very
likely decreased and therefore this limitation
could be overcome after the faculty of abstraction reached a certain level of development. (It should be noted in parentheses that
this development need not have been directly
and exclusively linked to social c o m m u n i cation; another important factor m a y have
been the adaptive value of certain kinds of
generalization for subjective m e m o r y and the
planning of individual action.) In the process
of intersubjective mirroring the production of
expressive forms became standardized, and
the interpretation of the meaning of an
expressive form by its producer, the interpretation of it by the addressee, and this interpretation (by the addressee) as anticipated
by the producer became congruent for all
Language in society
13
'Highly individualized social interaction is characterized by full reciprocity and thus allows for effective
intersubjective mirroring." Henri Cartier-Brcsson/Ma gnum.
control from the beginning, that is, with the

practical purposes. Thus once m o r e a relatively fixed code could be established, n o w intersubjective construction of proto-signs.
W e m a y speak of an institutionalization of
however for intentional use. In the full reciproto-signs and thus of their shift to full sign
procity of the communicative situation, with
status as soon as such control w a s also
an increasing degree of abstraction and growexercised in the transmission of the elements
ing intentional control of production and
of the code to others, especially to another
interpretation of expressive forms, contextual
generation.
ellipsis became possible. In other words.
communicative acts could refer to elements of
In s u m : languages are historical sign
the everyday reality of speaker and listener
systems. T h e bare bones of the h u m a n system
which transcended the communicative situof social communication are shared by the
ation in space and time. T h e expressive forms
m e m b e r s of the species; all the rest is the
became proto-signs.
product of social construction and historical
They became signs in the full sense of the
sedimentation.
word w h e n the relation between the significans, the vehicle, the incorporation of
Language, social reality
meaning, and the signification, the intended and social structure
meaning, became socially obligatory. T h e
congruence of meaning in decoding and enT h e point w a s m a d e that language is an
coding w a s of course of extreme social sigevolutionary emergent, whereas languages
are formed historically in specific chains of
nificance. It must have been subject to social
14
communicative acts over the long course ofgenerations. Language thus 'originates' phylogenetically as well as ontogenetically, in the
evolution of mankind and in the life-history of
every h u m a n being, in a particular form of
social interaction: in acts of social c o m m u n i cation. In general terms this defines the
relation between language and society.
People ordinarily do .not communicate in
order to establish a communicative code.
They d o not talk a m o n g themselves in order
to maintain language. People communicate in
order to do something, with one another,
against each other and, o n occasion, by
themselves. In communicative acts people
prepare to cope with the diverse problems of
everyday life in society. A n d they often also in
fact cope with them in communicative acts.
Evidently communication is not all there is to
it and there are m a n y kinds of social interaction that are not communicativeunless, in a
severe bout of pansemioticism, one unduly
extends the meaning of that term. It m a y be
said with justice, however, that communicative
acts define reality inasmuch as they define
ways by which to act upon it. T o a certain
extent these ways are predefined in language;
and language is the repository of past c o m m u nicative acts in which people coped with
problems of everyday life. Languages are the
core of social stocks of knowledge. They are
not only ways of looking at reality but also
ways of dealing with reality and thus, even if
indirectly, ways of making reality.
Language and society stand in a dialectical relationship to one another. Language is
the product of an initially pre- and protolinguistic sequence of h u m a n coping with life
and the world in social communication. Life
and the world m a y be thought of as predetermined by 'nature' as well as by a set of m o r e
or less 'natural' social relations, a primitive
social structure. Coping with reality in c o m municative acts, people begin to construct a
coherent world and at the same time to build
up a language 'unintentionally'. W h e n a
language develops as the core of social c o m munication and gains a certain autonomy as a
system of signs, as a comprehensive inventory
Thomas huckmann
of significations, it determines the main dimensions of the acts of social communication.

Therefore it proximately also codetermines
the way in which people deal with everyday
problems. Languageswhich are products of
the social construction of realitymost significantly contribute to the social construction
of reality. Thus a historical social product
becomes an important factor in social production and reproduction.
Social interaction, including specifically
communicative acts, is only in part a matter of
objective spontaneity and situation-bound and
concrete intersubjective negotiation. In large
part it is predetermined socially. T h e proportion of interactional freedom to structural
constraint varies historically from society to
society, and within a society in any given
epoch from one type of action or situation to
another. Communicative acts are of course
predefined and predetermined,firstand foremost, by the social code of communication
and the core of that code, a language, in its
'inner' phonological, morphological, semantic
and syntactic structure and by its 'external'
stratification in versions, styles, registers,
socio- and dia-lects. In addition, c o m m u n i cative acts are predefined and predetermined
by explicit and implicit rules and regulations
of the use of language, most importantly
by everyday (and literary) communicative
genres, forms of communicative etiquette
(forms of address and the like), etc. M o r e over, communicative acts, as a form of
social interaction, are prefined and predetermined by non-communicative rules and regulations: by institutions, a set of social
relations, a system of production and reproduction, in short, by a historical social structure. This is a matter which is to be
considered n o w in somewhat less general
terms. 10
Social communication is determined by
the social structure both diachronically and
synchronically. Languages originate, develop
and change under varying social circumstances. Social circumstanceswhich m a y remain relatively stable or change slowly or
swiftlydetermine the conditions under which
Language in society
15
Overcoming unequal access to language: the experimental melograph, a machine to re-educate deaf
children. B y visualizing sound, it enables speakers to control the pitch of their voices, CNET: Centre de Traitement
de l'Oue et de la Parole Fougres, France
language is used in communicative acts. It

hardly needs to be repeated that c o m m u n i c a tive acts are instrumental in changing social
circumstances. M o r e o v e r , they influence the
development of the external stratification of
language; less directly and, ordinarily, also
less swiftly, they influence the maintenance
and the change of the elements in the inner
structure of language. In view of these c o m plex, many-layered and many-directional relations it would be impermissible to use a simple
(materialistic or idealistic) m o d e l of causation. Social conditions, social communication
and language influence each other in various
w a y s , in h u m a n space and in social time. T h e
events in which these influences are concretely manifested are communicative acts. In
other w o r d s , the 'causes' 'interact' (it is
necessary to put both terms in inverted
c o m m a s ! ) in social interaction.
A particular historical social structure
thus determined a particular chain of c o m municative acts. These acts stabilized s o m e
elements of social communication, linguistic
as well as non-linguistic ones, and modified
others. Thereby they contributed to the maintenance or to the change, whether slow or
swift, of the external stratification and inner
structure of a particular language. A particular language determined the linguistic core of
communicative acts, under conditions of use
which were codetermined partly by m o r e or
less obligatory rules for the use of the various
m e a n s of social communication (rules for the
most part e m b e d d e d in the external stratification of language), partly by n o n - c o m m u n i cative rules of social interaction. A n d particular communicative acts had specifiable direct
or indirect consequences for the social structure as well as an aggregated long-term effect
u p o n the structure of language itself.
Looking at the relation between society
and language in a slightly different perspective, w e see that both an individual's access to
the m e a n s of communication as well as his
actual use of t h e m is socially determined. In
the first place it is the child's and the young
person's initial chance of access to the repertoire of the m e a n s of social communication
which is predetermined by a historical social
16
structure. T h e chances of access are socially
distributed. T h e distribution derives from the
prevailing system of social stratification
which, depending o n time and place, m a y be
an archaic kinship system, a traditional caste
or feudal society or any of the m o d e r n class
societies. Socializationwhich is by definition
a communicative processthus represents the
biographical dimension of social inequality. In
addition to the unequal distribution of goods,
the structure of inequality consists of an
uneven distribution of the social stock of
knowledge, and in particular of the means of
social communication. There m a y merely be
moderately decreased chances of access or
there m a y be outright barriers, economic
discrimination or legal or religious prohibition.11
In the second' place, the social structure
regulates in different ways and by various
procedures the actual employment of the
m e a n s of communication in concrete social
interaction. A s was indicated earlier, the elements of social communication consist both
of the internally structured and externally
stratified language, and of the less systematically and intricately structured (and generally
less strongly conventionalized) mimetic,
gestural, postural, etc., expressive forms.
Furthermore, there are composite m e a n s of
social communication which m a y be called
communicative genres. These are obligatory selections and combinations of the
linguistic and non-linguistic elements of
social communication which serve specific
communicative functions in socially defined
typical situations, by socially defined typical producers, for socially defined typical
addressees. T h e use of communicative genres
is thus clearly also determined by social
structural conditions.12
T h e terms 'social conditions', 'social circumstances' and similar expressions have
been used so far in an encompassing sense to
refer to a variety of social facts. These facts
have in c o m m o n that they are characterized
by a certain degree of intersubjective constraint. Whereas this would customarily also
include everything connected with social c o m -
Thomas huckmann
munication, it is clear that in the present

context only non-communicative social facts
were considered. B u t w h e n w e speak of
'determination' by social structure, a narrower and m o r e precisely defined part of
social reality is meant, the part that is marked
by the highest degree of social control. Such
control is based on sanctions that are backed
by organized power and considered legitimate
by the m e m b e r s of a society, at least in
general principle, permitting m a n y exceptions
in fact. This part of social structure consists of
a m o r e or less coherently arranged set of
social institutions. Institutions are obligatory
'solutions' of the most c o m m o n problems of
the social organization of life. Institutionalized social interaction is m o r e rigidly controlled with respect to m e a n s and has more
clearly defined ends than other kinds of social
interaction. This area of social life, therefore,
exhibits a low degree of tolerance for deviations from established procedure. Institutions organize the central functions of social
life, such as production and distribution of the
m e a n s of life reproduction, the exercise of
power, and the construction of 'meaning',
that is, of legitimacy for the social order and
of cognitive coherence for individual life in
society. Institutions have a specific location in
social space and time and they m a y , of course,
be also seen as a specific aggregation of
personnel. B u t essentially they are a code of
action.
T h e regulation of communication is o b viously an elementary prerequisite for the
day-to-day working of institutions. T h e flow
of communication in institutional settings is
channelled according to the functional requirements of the institution. Frequency and
direction of communicative acts are subject to
normative regulation. Special communicative
networks m a y b e c o m e established and segregated in order to prevent outside, 'nonfunctional' interference. There is, of course,
considerable variation in the level of c o m plexity and degree of specialization which
characterizes different institutions in the same
society, and the ' s a m e ' institution from one
society to another.
Language in society
17
For the purpose of communication within

an institution, available elements of social
communication such as styles, registers and
even entire communicative genres are selected from the general social stock of knowledge and put to m o r e or less specialized use
such as the organization of work within
institutional settings, recruitment and socialization of personnel, etc. U n d e r the differentiated functional requirements of institutional
communication available elements m a y not
suffice and n e w special styles, registers and
genres m a y be formed. Selection from the
reservoir of social communication and additions to it are, however, only partly determined by basic functional requirements of institutional communication. Such processes
are also motivated by other than the purely
semiotic functions of communication. It is
well k n o w n , for example, that indicative
('marking') and phatic ('solidarizing') functions play an important role in the developm e n t of institutional jargons.13
A society, however, is not only a system

of institutions that organize the basic functions of social life in an obligatory fashion.
Society is also a set of (potentially or actually)
c o m m o n and (potentially or actually) antagonistic interests. U n d e r certain conditions
such interests will be organizedmore or less
effectively. In the organization of interests the
formulation of programmatic versions of the
social stock of knowledge, of ideologies, is
instrumental. It is a trivial observation that
such formulations must use the available
elements of social communication. B u t they
not only use them, they also change them,
and such changes m a y initiate or accelerate
changes in language and other parts of
social communication. In the organization
of c o m m o n and antagonistic class-based,
ethnic, national and religious interests the
marking (perhaps o n e should say 'demarcational') and the solidarizing functions
b e c o m e m o r e important than the semiological one.
Notes
1. For a pleasantly and reliably
old-fashioned account of the
development of modern
linguistics in the nineteenth
century see Holger Pedersen,
The Discovery of Language:
Linguistic Science in the 19th
Century, Bloomington, Indiana,
Indiana University Press, 1962
(Indiana University Studies in
the History and Theory of
Linguistics); originally
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 1931;
translated from Danish by John
Webster Spargo (original title
Sprogvidenskaben i det nittende
aarhundrede: metoder og
resultater, Copenhagen,
Gyldendalske Boghandel, 1924).
O n Jones see also Hans
Aarsleff, The Study of Language
in England, 1780-1860,
Princeton, N e w Jersey,
Princeton University Press.

1967. For a brief general review
of the development of linguistics
in relation to other sciences see
R o m a n Jacobson, Main Trends
in the Science of Language,
London, George Allen
& U n win, 1973.
2. Reprinted in Antoine
Meillet, Linguistique historique
et linguistique gnrale, Paris,
18
Edouard Champion, 1948

(1921). T h e quotation is to be
found there on page 230.
similar publications are

available. See m y 'Soziologie der
Sprache' Vol. 13 of Ren Knig
(ed.), Handbuch der
3. See W . Doroszewski,
empirischen Sozialforschung,
'Quelques remarques sur les
pp. 1-116, Stuttgart, E n k e ,
rapports de la sociologie et de la
1979, which contains an
linguistique: Durkheim et F . de
extensive bibliography. ( A
Saussure', in Pierre Janet and
briefer and n o w outdated
Georges D u m a s (eds.),
contribution to thefirstedition
Psychologie du langage, Paris,
of the Handbuch (1969) was
1933.
published in an English version
as The Sociology of Language,
4. Ferdinand de Saussure,
Cours de la linguistique gnrale, Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill,
1975.)
Paris, Payot, 1955. The original
edition, written up from student
6. For that I m a y again refer to
notes of de Saussure's lectures
the book mentioned in the
between 1907 and 1911, was
preceding footnote.
published by his disciples
Charles Bally and Albert
7. Instead of providing an
Sechehaye in 1916 and the first
inadequately brief bibliography
revised edition appeared in
I m a y refer to the
1922. It should be noted that de
documentation in the following
Saussure's influence on the
two essays: T h o m a s L u c k m a n n ,
development of modern
'Elements of a Social Theory of
linguistics depended atfirston
Communication', Life-World
his teaching at the University of
and Social Realities, London,
Geneva and later on the
Heinemann, 1983 (originally in
posthumous publication of the
Lexikon der Germanistischen
book mentioned above. During
Linguistik, Tbingen,
his lifetime he had published
Niemeyer, 1973); and T h o m a s
only one important linguistic
L u c k m a n n , 'Personal Identity as
essay, in 1878 at the age of 21! It
an Evolutionary and Historical
was on the vowel in Proto-IndoProblem', Life-World . . . ,
European; Meillet's o w n
op. cit., pp. 95-109 (originally
Introduction l'tude
in M . v. Cranach et al. (eds.).
comparative des langues indoHuman Ethology: Claims and
europennes (1st ed. as Les
Limits of a New Discipline,
dialectes indo-europens, Paris,
Cambridge, Cambridge
1903; rev. 2nd ed., Paris,
University Press, 1980).
Edouard Champion, 1907),
which was reissued in the
8. See E . W . Count, Dos
Alabama Linguistic and
Biogramm, Anthropologische
Philological Series (University,
Studien, Frankfurt am Main,
Alabama, University of
S. Fischer Verlag, 1970. See
Alabama Press, 1964) was
also his ' O n the Phylogenesis of
fittingly dedicated to the master. Speech', Current Anthropology,
Vol. 15, N o . 1, 1974,
5. I have tried to do this
pp. 14-16.
elsewhere; few reasonably
comprehensive and concise
9. Cooley's looking-glass effect!
reviews of thefieldexist;
See Charles H . Cooley, Human
although m a n y excellent
Nature and the Social Order,
volumes of readings,
N e w York, Schocken, 1967 (first
introductions, textbooks and
published N e w York, 1902).
Thomas
Luckmann
Credit for the discovery of the

workings of this principle in the
genesis of self and
communication must of course
go to George H . M e a d . See
especially Mind, Self and
Society, Chicago, Chicago
University Press, 1967 (first
published 1934). Compare also
m y 'The Constitution of
Language in the World of
Everyday Life', in Lester
E . E m b r e e (ed.), Life-World
and Consciousness: Essays for
Aron Gurwitsch, Evanston, 111.,
Northwestern University Press,
1972; and 'Elements of a Social
Theory of Communication', in
L u c k m a n n , Life-World . . . ,
op. cit., pp. 61-91.
10. But of course not in the full
detail provided by a review of
research. For that see
Luckmann, 'Soziologie der
Sprache', op. cit., pp. 23-39.
11. For a discussion of pertinent
studies, see m y 'Soziologie der
Sprache', op. cit., pp. 35 et seq.
12. Research into this set of
phenomena is of relatively
recent origin and the main
contributions stem from the
ethnography of communication
and relatedfields.See, for an
early collection, John Gumperz
and Dell H y m e s (eds.), 'The
Ethnography of
Communication', American
Anthropologist, N o . 66, 1964;
see also Richard B a u m a n and
Joel Sherzer (eds.),
Explorations on the
Ethnography of Speaking,
London, Cambridge University
Press, 1974, and Luckmann,
'Soziologie der Sprache', op.
cit., pp. 54 et seq.
13. For a review of relevant
studies, see Luckmann,
'Soziologie der Sprache',
op. cit., pp. 41 et seq.
19
Language in society
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if-;;A;'a3!HK :
Social progress
and sociolinguistics
Yunus D . Desheriev
O f all the acquisitions of h u m a n beings and of

the interactions between its social and biologih u m a n society, the earliest, the most imcal elements and its uninterrupted organic
portant and the most indispensable were
links with the emergence and development of
w o r k , language and consciousness, which
h u m a n thought and social consciousness dedeveloped in a process of continual interserve close attention. Language must thereaction. T h e y will retain this significance for as
fore be studied from all angles, taking as
long as humanity exists. M a r x stated that
points of departure the various branches of
'Language is as ancient as consciousness;
knowledge. This work deals principally with
language is . . . active consciousness, . . .
the social aspect of language.
like consciousness, language arises only from
It is well k n o w n that the development of
the pressing need for
society encourages intencommunication
with
sive differentiation
in
Professor Yunus Desherievich Deshother people' [1, p . 29].
every branch of knowleriev is head of the Section of
According to Engels the
edge, and the birth of
Social Linguistics at the Institute of
two main factors which
n e w disciplines at the
Linguistics of the Academy of Scistimulated the formation
junctures of other sciences of the U S S R , Moscow, chairman of the Scientific Council on the
and development of the
ences is a feature of our
relationship between the developh u m a n brain were firstly
age. This is as true for
ment of national languages and the
w o r k and then, in conthe
science of linguistics
development of socialist nations, and
junction with work, aras
for
any other. Just as
author of more than 250 works on
general linguistics, social linguistics
ticulated
speech
[2,
biophysics arose from the
and the Caucasus.
p . 490]. It should also be
juncture of biology and
emphasized that language
physics
and
physical
and consciousness are a
chemistry from the juncproduct of society. A
ture of physics and
fundamental proposition
chemistry, social linguisof M a r x and Engels, which states that contics arose at the juncture of sociology and
sciousness 'was from the very outset a product
linguistics.
of society and will remain so for as long as
In any attempt to determine the role of
people exist' [1, p . 29], applies equally to
social factors in the operation, development
language. T h e study of the social nature of
and interaction of languages at various historilanguage and of the w a y in which the discal periods, it is essential to r e m e m b e r that w e
tinguishing features of a society manifest
are dealing with a very complex process in
themselves in language is very complex.
which all the varied facets of the social,
Although its social role is paramount, language
economic, political, cultural and scientific life
is nevertheless a very complex p h e n o m e n o n ;
of society interweave and interact. W e are not
22
going to try to unravel this intricate w e b that

has evolved with the historical development of
society, but simply, at a very general theoretical level, to define some of the most important
ways in which social factors have influenced
the operation, development and interaction of
languages.
T h e problem is m a d e even more complex
by the fact that the components of language
and their functions, which are determined by
various social factors associated with the logic
of social development, spontaneous change
and the conscious influence of society, themselves combine and interact in n e w ways,
concealing, in the process, the primary cause
of other phenomena and their modification or
transformation in the course of time; in other
words, the chain reaction of linguistic evolution often obliterates all trace of its initial
cause. T h e social factors that play such an
important role in the development of a
language can, of course, be extremely
varied in nature and include the emergence
of agriculture in some tribes and of cattlefarming in others; the emergence of the state,
of primary and secondary schools, and of
institutes of higher education; the development of various branches of the economy
and industry; literacy, which is the fruit of
the mental activity of mankind; the emergence and development of science, various
aspects of culture and the arts; the appearance of periodical publications, the cinema
and television.
T h e social approach to the facts of
language, like the structural approach, is not
n e w in the history of linguistics. T h e social
approach has a tradition behind it, as evidenced by works of M a r x and Engels such as
The German Ideology (1845-46) [1], AntiDiihring (1876-78) and The Origin of the
Family, Private Property and the State (1884)
[3]. Great attention has been devoted to both
these aspects by writers on philosophy and
traditional linguistics (cf. R . O . Shor) [67].
Great progress was thus m a d e in the nineteenth century in the investigation of language
as a social phenomenon: representatives of
philosophical movements that were diametri-
Yunus D. Desheriev
cally opposed recognized the social nature of

language. T h e classics of Marxism-Leninism
noted that the notion of language as the
product of the individual had no basis in fact;
language was the product of society.
In the words of J. Vendryes, one of the
most outstanding m e m b e r s of the French
sociological school, 'only by studying the
social role of language can w e form an
impression of what language is' [5, p . 221].
Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest thinkers
of our time, says: 'Language, our sole means
of communicating scientific knowledge, is
essentially social in its origin and in its main
functions' [43, p . 17].
Being a product of h u m a n community
living, language reflects social progress and
develops with society. M o d e r n science, recognizing that the development of language
depends on social development, has argued
convincingly against the view that primeval
languages were more expressive and refined
than modern languages, and that languages
become impoverished as society develops.
Language is a kind of barometer of social
development. A modern language reflects
the social life of its speakers as faithfully
as a mirror. T h e most developed modern
languages reflect all the scientific, technical
and cultural achievements of humanity. This
is w h y the level of development of such
languages differs from that of primeval
languages as m u c h as the present level of
development of humanity differs from that of
primeval society.
In recent years sociolinguistic studies
have burgeoned throughout the world. This is
quite in keeping with the significant increase
in the status and significance of sociolinguistic
studies and of social linguistics as a whole in
modern social development [69].
W e shall attempt to adumbrate the principal stages in the development of sociolinguistic research, as well as the present state
of sociolinguistic theory in the U S S R , what it
has achieved, and what it has yet to resolve.
This will necessarily involve at least a rapid
comparative analysis of sociolinguistics in the
U S S R and in other countries. Here w e should
23
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A contribution to the debate on whether language is innate or socially produced: frontispiece and title page
of a book by D r Itard on Victor, a 'wild boy' found in the Aveyron forest in France in 1799. D . R.
note that all the major trends in the developm e n t of m o d e r n sociolinguistics in the United
States of A m e r i c a and Western E u r o p e have
been surveyed in greater or lesser detail by
R . T . Bell [75]. A s w e chart the course of
Soviet sociolinguistics, w e shall inevitably
touch o n the general theoretical conception of
the subject e x p o u n d e d in our studies.
Historical background
T h e study of language from the social (or
sociological) point of view (which, broadly,
m e a n s the interrelations between language
and society) goes back at least to the French
sociological school of the end of the nine-
teenth and beginning of the twentieth century

[55]. T h e w o r k of A . Sommerfel't [56] refers
to the concepts of the French school. Lafargue adopts a sociological approach to his
analysis of the historical development of the
French language during the French Revolution, which is set in a broad cultural, historical and philosophical context [36]. T h e
role of the French school of linguistics in the
history of sociolinguistic research has not,
unfortunately, been given due recognition
even by s o m e French scholars (cf. inter alia
Marcellesi and Gardin [83]).
T h e next important stage in the developm e n t of the sociolinguistic study of language
w a s the w o r k of linguistic construction undertaken in the U S S R in the 1920s. This n e w
24
departure in Russian linguistics emerged from

the triumph of the October Revolution. T h e
n e w social order gave rise to a host of
sociolinguistic problems in the multinational,
multilingual Soviet Russia: the provision of
written forms for the languages of previously
non-literate peoples; definition of the dialectal
base of newly literate languages; establishment of orthographical rules; development of
terminological systems; enlargement of the
scope of application of national languages;
development of established written languages,
etc. (Shor [67]; Selishchev [54]; Larin [35];
Zhirmunskii [17]; Karinskii [24]). In these,
and in other works published in the 1920s and
1930s, theoretical and practical aspects of the
functioning and development of languages
under the influence of social factors were
analysed. Thus A . M . Selishchev [54] charts
the ongoing influence of revolution on
language, in turn influenced by P . Lafargue.
R . O . Shor's short monograph Language and
Society [67] is a sociolinguistic study of
a m o r e theoretical nature. Special attention
is devoted to the influence of social factors
on the development of the lexicosemantic
system of a language, and to the emergence of n e w concepts and the creation of
terminological systems that correspond to
the formation of n e w spheres of social life
and the development of existing spheres.
The title of the book by V . M . ZhirmunskiNational Language and Social Dialects [17]makes it clear that it is a sociolinguistic study. T h e author considers the
problems of national languages and social
dialectics in a broad, theoretical and culturalhistorical context. N . M . Karinski's study
of the dialect of the village of Vanilovo [24]
represents 'a unique attempt to give a c o m prehensive sociolinguistic account of the
development of a dialect over a period of
thirty years (1902-32), showing h o w it functions in various social groups, and under
various socio-economic conditions' [49,
p. 109]. Its subject and some of its
methods of approach are echoed by certain
pieces of field research conducted m u c h
later by American and likeminded scholars,
Yunus D. Desheriev
in India and in Africa, for example, in the

1960s and 1970s.
F r o m the sociolinguistic point of view
there is m u c h of interest in the works,
innovatory for their time (1928), of the Lithuanian B . A . Larin [34, 35], w h o 'posed the
problem of the sociolinguistic study of the
language of individual groups in the populations of town and village' [49, p . 122]. In
their themes and objectives, these works
are, to s o m e extent, echoed by those of the
American sociolinguist Labov [82], carried
out in the 1960s and 1970s.
Soviet linguists have played a most significant role in language-building (outside the
U S S R 'language-building' is usually called
'language-planning'). Language-building is
an application of social linguistic or sociolinguistic studies that is of great social importance. In fact, it was one of the most
effective instruments used to implement the
great programme of education of the peoples
of Soviet Russia that w a s adopted at the
Tenth Congress of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union, under the leadership of
V . I. Lenin [26, p . 559]. Language-building
as a sociolinguistic concept dealt, a m o n g
other things, with the sociological apparatus
used to implement socio-political, organization, scientific, administrative, financial, cultural and educational measures. Languagebuilding in the U S S R was a unique example
on the grand scale of the implementation of
Lenin's ideas on the use of the mother-tongue
for the education, as a matter of urgency,
firstly of the backward peoples of Soviet
Russia and subsequently of peoples with
ancient or well-established written languages.
The burden of resolving the pressing
theoretical and practical problems of applied
sociolinguistics that arose in the course of
language-building lay on the shoulders of
Soviet linguists. M a n y programmes of sociolinguistic research were carried out, and wideranging scientific and practical measures were
taken to ensure the creation and realization
of alphabets for more than fifty national
languages that had not previously been
written d o w n , to eradicate illiteracy and to
25
Daughters of reindeer raisers at a school 100 kilometres from Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula
in eastern Siberia reading English and Russian editions of Moscow newspapers, L. Garkavy/APN.
improve reading skills, and to develop

the various national languages. M a n y publications of the 1920s and 1930s bear witness
to this: collections such as Culture and
Written Language
in the East [30, 31],
The
Written Word
and Revolution [40],
Revolution and Nationalities [48], Cultural
Construction in Kirghizia [33] and Cultural
Construction in Adigei [32].*
The original Russian titles of works referred to in

the text are to be found in the listing of
references at the end of this article.
It m a y b e helpful to describe s o m e of
these w o r k s in m o r e detail in order to d e m onstrate the m a n y angles and aspects of the
theoretical and practical research conducted
by Soviet linguists during that period. W e
could take, for example, N . F . Yakovlev's
study ' A Mathematical F o r m u l a for the C o n struction of Alphabets' [73] which gives the
first theoretical demonstration of the sociallinguistic nature of the p h o n e m e . T h e author
notes that scholars h a d not, until then, explained the linguistic essence of the p h o n e m e ,
that is to say its 'social basis, seeing it as a
26
psychological phenomenon, a manifestation
of the individual consciousness of each separate speaker'. H e further points out that
'phonemes are distinguished and understood
by speakers, and that in language, viewed as a
grammatical system produced by society,
these sounds perform a grammatical function'
(p. 46). Yakovlev's general theoretical conclusion is that 'a practical system of writing
should render all the phonemes of a given
languageand nothing else' (p. 48). Other
interesting works are those of B . M . Grande
(Towards a Classification of the N e w Alphabet from the Point of View of Unification')
A . A . Reformatski ('Linguistics and Polygraphy') and V . A . Artemov ('Technographical Analysis of the Combined Letters of the
N e w Alphabet'). Similar problems exercised
American and other Western linguists, w h o ,
considerably later (in the 1950s and 1970s),
became interested in the sociolinguistic aspect
of th problems of giving a written form to
languages of certain peoples of Asia and
Africa, and encouraging their development.
For a variety of reasons, Soviet linguists paid
less attention to sociolinguistic studies in the
1940s and in the first half of the 1950s,
although such studies did not altogether
cease, as the following works show: R . A .
Budagov, The Development of French Political Terminology in the Eighteenth Century
(1940); F . P . Filin, The Vocabulary of the
Russian Literary Language in Ancient Kiev
(1949); and the collection Questions on the
Theory and History of Language (1952). This
book contains a variety of articles which
examine such problems as the interaction of
ancient written languages, recently alphabetized languages, and languages without written
form, from a sociolinguistic point of view.
Even in studies of specific problems, some
general conclusions were drawn on the basis
of propositions that originated in social-linguistic theory: for example, the division into
periods of the development of bilingualism
(Desheriev, 1953).
This all goes to show that it would be
wrong to suppose that sociolinguistics first
emerged in the United States in the first half
Yunus D. Desheriev
of the 1960s and subsequently spread from

there to other countries (Nikol'skii, 1976,
p. 9). Furthermore, one should not forget the
part played by the American William Dwight
Whitney in establishing the social nature of
language, an idea which gained wide currency
after the publication of a French translation of
his book The Life and Growth of Language
[64; 55, p . 63].
Sociolinguistic research work in the
U S S R was already being intensified in the
second half of the 1950s. W o r k s of a sociolinguistic nature published in the U S S R
during this period include Y . D . Desheriev,
The Development
of Newly Alphabetized
Languages of the Peoples of the USSR (1958),
the collection Newly Alphabetized Languages
(1959) and Y . D . Desheriev, ' T h e Development of Languages of Peoples of the U S S R '
(1959). This last work was thefirstto address
itself to the problem of the functional development of languages (i.e. the development of
the social functions of language as used in
different spheres of social life), and which
became one of the crucial problems in the
linguistic development of mankind.
W e have charted the history of the
subject not to establish the priority of one
country or another, although this is important, nor for considerations of prestige, but in
order to establish the worth of objective and
expedient use of whatever is of value in any
country's experience in dealing with sociolinguistic problems, in the interests of the
world community.
The present state of the general

theory of social linguistics
Here w e mustfirstand foremost examine the
general theoretical propositions on the interrelationships of social development, the world
linguistic process, and the state of the art and
current trends in sociolinguistics. Let us begin
with the established theoretical propositions
of Soviet sociolinguistics.
Soviet sociolinguistics is based on the
premise that contemporary social development is an all-embracing social process that

involves the whole of mankind, and that one
of its most important components is the
scientific and technical revolution. T h e sociallinguistic aspect of research in our day involves consideration of the entire range of
problems of modern social development, not
only the scientific and technical aspect of this
process. Global and local social-linguistic
problems, complex and specific questions o n
diverse branches of knowledgeall these
spring from global social progress and are
both intricate and very wide-ranging. O u r
interest is not in the technical side of all these
questions, but in their social essence.
A s one of the factors of the social process
of the whole of humanity, the scientific and
technical revolution is defined (in Pravda,
2 M a r c h 1974) as
the restructuring of the entire technical basis,
the whole technology of production . . . and
the place and role of m a n in the process of
production. This revolution provides the necessary conditions for drawing the most important
h u m a n activities into a single system: sciencetheoretical knowledge of the laws of
nature and society; technologythe system
of experience and material means for the
transformation of nature; productionthe
process of creation of material goods; managementthe means of rationally interrelating
expedient, practical activities in production or
in other fields.
All this is but one side of the social life of
humanity, the entirety of whose content and
concepts is reflected in language. In view of
this w e can see n o legitimate grounds for the
tendency, observed in the work of certain
scholars, to belittle the significance of the
social factor in interpretation of the facts of
language and thought. O n the basis of the
methodological propositions outlined above,
w e posit the primacy of the social factor
over language and thought, seeing them
as a product of society, and w e refute the
unacceptable theoretical assertions, of N .
C h o m s k y in particular, that linguistics is a
branch of the psychology of the h u m a n
thought-process [66], and that generative
27
g r a m m a r is the theory of innate linguistic c o m petence (Chomsky, 1965).

T h e vast majority of Soviet sociolinguists
recognize the need for a combination in
sociolinguistic studies of a methodology that
takes a global view of language, specific
sociolinguistic theory, and methods of sociolinguistic research. H o w e v e r , this should not
be taken as a hard and fast rule, especially
w h e n w e are dealing with particular facts that
might require purely theoretical or methodical
interpretation.
T h e present state of language science and
the key requirements of social development in
our day call for in-depth examination of the
interrelations of the social and structural
approaches to the languages of the world,
their functioning, development and interaction. With the development of modern society
and the scientific and technical revolution,
a process of apparent 'emancipation' of
language and consciousness has been gathering m o m e n t u m , whereby they become
abstract, 'removed' from the material. This
has led to a considerable diffusion of idealistic
concepts in linguistics, and to attempts to
view language and its structure as 'purely
structural relations', without the necessary
consideration of its social nature and material
substratum.
There are n o grounds for bestowing
absolute value o n the 'ideal', and o n dematerialized 'pure' relations. The central idea
of L . Hjelmslev, one of the founders of glossematics, was 'the understanding of language
as pure structural relations, as a scheme,
something which is opposed to that chance
realization in which the scheme manifests
itself (Hjelmslev, 1950-51, p . 61). O f course,
it is possible to study the relations between
elements in a language to a certain extent, but
it would be wrong to reduce everything in
language to such relations. T h e social nature
of language must also be given its due,
without exaggerating the role of social factors,
and without underestimating the role of internal factors in the development of a language.
In a sense it m a y be asserted that language
is entirely social, because it could neither
28
appear, nor function, nor develop outside society. Nevertheless, it is unwise to exaggerate
the role of various social factors in the life of a
language. It must be borne in mind that the
nature of language permits it to be studied
and used in various ways in the interests of
society. A n y natural language m a y be studied
in its various aspects as a particular scheme or
structure that has developed in the course of
time, that functions according to its o w n
internal laws in s o m e social unit or other, and
that develops in response to the development
of its native speakers. Thus the social aspect,
that lies at the basis of sociolinguistics, is the
most complex of all in the study of language.
This aspect is organically linked with the
internal, structural aspect. They are interrelated and complementary. In the history of
language science, underestimation of the internal laws of the functioning and development of language has led to oversimplification
of the problems, while ignorance of the social
essence of language has led to various distortions.
A s is well k n o w n , the ever-increasing
specialization of knowledge has effected an
increase in the social and professional differentiation of language. T h e need has thus
been felt for yet another aspect of language
studythat of the formalization of language.
Language, in fact, represents a 'natural'
means of formalizing a social p h e n o m e n o n .
T h e formalization of language, with the aim
of creating artificial languages to mediate in
the system ' m a n - m a c h i n e - m a n ' [84], represents a deliberate social intervention in the
structure and functioning of language. T h e
formalization of language, taken in the broad
sense of deliberate changes in linguistic
structure, is actually effected by society, by
people. T h e formalization of language is,
to s o m e extent, a 'technification' of language
a working-out of ways of using its structure and structural elements in the solution of
technical problems, such as in cybernetics,
machine translation and the automation
of certain linguistic operations. N o n e of
this entails a change in the social nature of
language, its structures and main functions.
Yunus D. Desheriev
W h e n w e c o m e to consider the social

nature of language, efforts to determine the
limits of the formalization of language are of
great importance. In our opinion, this problem should be studied from three points of
view: the sociolinguistic, the structural and
the technical (by means of mathematical
apparatus). Here, w e shall consider only the
first two. F r o m the social-linguistic and structural points of view, the question of the limits
of the formalization of language must be
studied o n two levels: (a) articulation of the
limits of formalization in terms of the smallest
to the largest structural unit (phoneme, m o r p h e m e , phrase, sentence); (b) definition of
the limits of formalization of linguistic structure as regards m i n i m u m and m a x i m u m information content (in connection with the problem of languages capable of communicating the
m i n i m u m and m a x i m u m of information). In
definition of the limits of formalization of a
language the problem of structural relations
within a language is of great importance.
Looking at the problem of relationships
in linguistic structure from a broad, philosophical standpoint, it must be remembered
that an infinite n u m b e r of different relationships obtain in the functioning of language
and between its structural unitsfor example,
the relations between different elements o n
the phonetic, morphological, syntactical and
lexico-semantic levels. B u t only those relations that are socially necessary and
meaningful are considered as a product of
social consciousness, or as h u m a n linguistic
communication. Consequently social nature is
the main criterion by means of which particular relations are distinguished in language and
social consciousness from all the m a n y relationships that evolve in the functioning and
development of language (even 'pure' relations are essentially relations between m a terial, phonic elements). B y the same token,
relations in a language become linguistically
significant through their social essence.
Underestimation of the evolution of
the social essence of language in the 'pure'
relations studied w a s one of the methodological and theoretical errors committed by
29
A n Arabic lesson at a secondary school in Tashkent, L. i.othakova/APN.
the founders of certain trends in structuralism that attempted to eliminate the " h u m a n
factor', the social essence, from analysis of
language. T h e y 'overlooked' the principal
reference-point in the precise analysis of
language, even w h e n it is considered as 'a
structure of pure relationships'.
It is clear from the above that it would be
w r o n g to assert that, in its definitions of the
methodological and theoretical bases of sociolinguistics, Soviet linguistics exaggerates the
importance of social factors in the functioning, development and interactions of
languages (the error of N . Y . M a r r in
Novoe uchenie o yazyke ( N e w Teaching o n
L a n g u a g e ) , nor does Soviet linguistics underestimate these factors, as structural linguistics
did. There are n o scientific grounds for a
return to such untenable, inaccurate notions
as those expressed in New Teaching on
Language and in structural linguistics. O n the
basis of the fundamental methodological and
theoretical propositions w e have discussed,
w e define sociolinguistics as a scientific disci-
pline w h o s e purpose and place are not confined to the range of linguistic disciplines, but
which is an interdisciplinary subject arising at
the junction of other disciplines.
Soviet sociolinguistics offers a variety of
definitions of the object of sociolinguistics.
According to o n e of these, sociolinguistics is
the study of general laws, and especially of
socially conditioned laws governing the functioning, development and interaction of
languages. In other words, the sociolinguistic
aspect of the study of languages embraces the
whole range of problems connected with the
characterization of all linguistic p h e n o m e n a
conditioned b y the development of society,
and with societal influence o n the interaction
of languages as a w h o l e , and o n the interaction of linguistic elements in the functioning of each individual language [77, p . 7].
While basically accepting this definition,
A . D . Shveitser considers it necessary to
supplement it with the statement that "the
field of sociolinguistic research includes both
study of the influence of social factors o n the
30
functional use of language in the process of

verbal communication, and analysis of the
effect of these factors o n the structure of the
language itselftheir reflection in the structure of the language' (Shvetser, 1976, p . 69).
W e had all of this in mind w h e n w e wrote of
the whole range of problems connected with
the characterization of all linguistic p h e n o m ena conditioned by the development of society, and with social influence o n the interaction of languages as a whole, and o n
the interaction of linguistic elements in the
functioning of each individual language.
A . D . Shvetser 's addition helps clarify and
improve the suggested definition, just as any
other addition and clarification do. T h e social
life of h u m a n beings, their spiritual life, the
inner world of the individual, the ways in
which social factors influence the functioning,
development and interaction of languages,
none of these things can be contained in any
definition of language or sociolinguistics. For
this reason, the w o r k of clarifying and refining
the definition of sociolinguistics must continue.
T h e key to any discussion of the place of
sociolinguistics a m o n g the other linguistic
disciplines is the relationship between sociolinguistics and structural linguistics. According to C h e m o d a n o v (1975, p . 5),
it seems possible, at present, to distinguish
between two relatively independent sectors of
linguistics as components of language science:
structural linguistics and social linguistics. The
former studies the functioning and development
of the main components of the structure of
language, which is regarded as a specific system,
while the latter studies the social conditionalities
and functions of the extant forms, as well as the
links between language and the social processes,
the language's dependence on these processes,
and their reflection in the articulation and
structure of the language.
In our opinion, the basic idea of this definition
is well founded: namely, the idea of a broad
distinction between internal linguistics and
social linguistics. It is corroborated by the
following propositions set d o w n by the author
of the definition ( C h e m o d a n o v , 1976, p . 6):
Yunus D . Desheriev
Although they deal with one and the same
object, the social and structural aspects of
linguistics approach the material in different
ways, defining different problems and using
different methods to solve them. Even such
concepts as the model or the typology of
language that is selected vary from one branch of
linguistics to another. N o n e the less, these two
sectors of language science form an organic
whole. . . .
This organic unity of the two parts of
language science is burst asunder by the
attempt to define the limits of sociolinguistics
and the sociology of language. Such attempts
also result in a narrowing of the field of
sociolinguistics, and the sociology of language
loses part of its ability to investigate the inner
world of its object of studythe functional
and conceptual reflection of the external
world (i.e. social factors, social life) in the
inner world of language (in its inner structure). A t the same time, a strict delimitation
of the field of sociolinguistics and the sociology of language does cause serious
problems, and this can lead to duplication and
m a n y other misunderstandings. This is w h y
w e consider it unhelpful to delimit and oppose
sociolinguistics and the sociology of language.
Soviet sociolinguistics pays particular attention to the elaboration of a general theory
of sociolinguistic research (Desheriev, 1977;
Nikol'skii, 1976; Stepanov, 1979; Shvetser,
1976), and of theoretical and practical problems in the development of the social functions of languages [10, 12, 13, 15]; to
bilingualism and polylingualism [41, 4 4 , 6];
to the interaction and mutual enrichment of
languages [8]; and to linguistic contacts
(Il'yashchenko, 1970); while general sociolinguistic theory is considered in Stepanov
[59], S F D L Y a (1977) and Zhuravlev [18].
T h e problem of the development of the
social functions of languages, which is of great
scientific, practical and general sociological
significance, was discussed by Soviet linguists
for thefirsttime as early as 1958. This is an
important national problem for every country.
Linguistics throughout the world is therefore
concerning itself m o r e and m o r e with the
31
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TEWJ1V1CH
TBILISI
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wuDnn
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. KAMO
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800 M
R o a d sign in the Cyrillic, Latin a n d A r m e n i a n alphabets, j.-p. Durand/Atias.
Yunus D. Desheriev
32
theoretical and practical aspect of the

development of the social functions of the
world's languages. Fundamental works o n
the development of the social functions of
languages were published, for thefirsttime
anywhere in the world, in the Soviet Union.
T h e y give a cogent account of Soviet experience of the functional development of
national languages [15]. O n the basis of
theoretical generalizations of this experience,
the social functions of language are characterized as specific manifestations of the c o m municative function of language.
A fairly large n u m b e r of works are
devoted to the study of various kinds of
bilingualism, a m o n g which Russian national
bilingualism has special social significance.
Soviet sociolinguists are also engaged in
evolving methods of bilingual research [37].
H o w e v e r , not enough work has yet been
done o n the methods of sociolinguistic
research, the correlation of the functions of
language with the social sphere, and the typology of social functions.
Main aspects of sociolinguistic

research
T h e most important branches of sociolinguistics are connected to the main aspects
of sociolinguistic research. Social linguistics
constitutes a special department of knowledge. But, as w e k n o w , all spheres of h u m a n
activity and all areas of the life of society
are reflected in language. Therefore sociolinguistics is connected with all spheres of
h u m a n activity, and the problems of sociolinguistics are correspondingly complex and
varied. T h e nature of these problems requires
them to be divided into two sections. T h e
basic problems, those of thefirstsection,
are basically sociolinguistic problems. T h e
second section embraces a complex series of
problems that are dealt with by sociolinguists
working with representatives of other disciplines.
F r o m this, w e can see that Soviet sociolinguistics divides into the following branches:
(a) general (theoretical) sociolinguistics; (b)
synchronic sociolinguistics; (c) prospective

sociolinguistics; (d) retrospective (diachronic)
sociolinguistics; (e) applied sociolinguistics, including experimental sociolinguistic research;
(f) specific sociolinguistic projects: the study
of a particular branch of sociolinguistics in
connection with a specific aspect of the use
of language; and (g) interlinguistics, which
deals with the creation and use of artificial
languages.
T h e tasks of general (theoretical) sociolinguistics are: the study of the ontological
bases of social linguistics; the establishment
of its purpose and methodology, and the
creation of a general theory; the elaboration
of a conceptual apparatus, and methods
of sociolinguistic research; definition of the
place of sociolinguistics a m o n g the other
branches of language science; the study of the
issues that link sociolinguistics with other
sciences, and the solution of composite sociolinguistic problems.
This is not the place to characterize all
the branches of sociolinguistics. They are
discussed m o r e fully in m y 1977 monograph
[16, pp. 341-63].
In the U S S R today, research is being
conducted in almost all the above-mentioned
branches of sociolinguistics. Special attention
is being paid to the problems of general
(theoretical), synchronic, applied and prospective sociolinguistics. W e are only beginning to devote special studies to retrospective (diachronic) sociolinguistics.
Linguistic policy and

the development of
national relations
It is well k n o w n that, until the U S S R succeeded in implementing a language policy,
m a n y linguists considered it an impossibility.
E v e n F . de Saussure did not admit of the
possibility of successfully carrying out a
language policy.
M a n y countries in the world at present
are studying the theoretical and practical
problems of language policy. T h e Soviet
33
Union, in particular, has contributed a great

of Languages in Soviet Society (1966);
deal in this field. W e posit that language
M . M . Isaev, Language-building (1980); and
policy as the realization of the aims and
K . M . Musaev, The Alphabets of the Peoples
objectives of a given ideology can even influof the USSR (1965). These works deal with
ence the elements of a language at the various
the basic questions of the functional and
levels of its internal structure (Voloshinov,
innerstructural development of the languages
1929). Ideology and language policy exert a
of the peoples of the U S S R , and of languageparticularly strong influence, however, in the
building in the U S S R .
area of the freedom of a language and its
T h e connection between the developunimpeded functioning and growth, as well as
ment of national languages and that of nationon the scope of a language's social functions.
al cultures is another focus of attention for
S o m e authors assert, and not without reason,
Soviet linguists: National Language and Nathat the concept of 'ideology' corresponds to
tional Culture (1977); The Interrelation
the traditional term 'language policy' (Khubbetween the Development of National Cultures
chandani, 1977, p . 33).
and the Development of National Languages
Problems of language and ideology have
(1980), etc. T h e most significant feature of
been studied in the Soviet Union (Voloshithese and other works, in which the m a n y
nov, 1929; Zhluktenko, 1981; Kryuchkova
aspects of the interrelation between culture
[28]; I B P Y a , 1983), and in other countries
and language are studied, is the examination
{Sprache und Ideologie [84]; Kress, H o d g e ,
of the development of national cultures on the
1979). But in our country, particularly great
basis of the various mother-tongues. The
attention has been paid, and will continue to
following are further examples of such
be paid, to implementing Lenin's national
studies: Interrelations and Interactions in the
language policy. M a n y works have been
Development of the Cultures of the Languages
devoted to this problem: Laws of the
and Cultures of the Peoples of the USSR
Development of the Written Languages of the (1976); Kostomarov (1973).
Peoples of the USSR in the Soviet Era [19,
The Soviet Union was the first to pro20], Laws of Development of the Written
duce collective studies of all aspects of the
Languages of the Peoples of the USSR in
processes of development of mass communithe Soviet Era (1969, 1973), etc. Questions
cation in the languages of the peoples of
of language policy have been widely discussed
the
USSR:
Language
in a Developed
in works of philosophy (Fedoseev [65];
Socialist Society. Language Problems in the
Il'ichev [21]; Kaltakhchyan,
1976) and
Development of the Systems of Mass
Comhistory (Kulichenko [29]).
munication in the USSR (1982); Sociolinguistic
Problems in the Functioning of the System
The Land of the Soviets has done much
of Mass Communication in the USSR (1983);
to develop and study the national languages,
S. I. Treskova, The Functioning of Mass
as attested by the following works, among
Communication in the Multilingual Community
others: Laws of Development of the Written
of the Kabardino-Balkarian
Autonomous
Languages of the Peoples of the USSR in the
Soviet Era [13]; The Languages of the Peoples Soviet Socialist Republic [62] ; and other works.
of the USSR, in five volumes (1966-68); The
A t present, specialists in the field are
Development of the Written Languages of the working on such sociolinguistic problems as
Peoples of Siberia in the Soviet Era (1965); the implementation of language policy in all
Questions of the Development of the Written
areas of education: the use of national/
Languages of the Peoples of the USSR in the
Russian bilingualism in primary, secondary,
Soviet Era (1964); I. K . Beloded, Lenin's
general, secondary specialized, higher and
Theory of National Language Construction in vocational Soviet education (Laws of Devela Socialist Society (1972); Y . D . Desheriev, opment of the Written Languages of the
The Laws of Development and Interaction Peoples of the USSR in the Soviet Era, 1976;
34
The Formation and Development of Bilingualism in Non-Russian Schools, 1981; The Development of National Languages through Their
Functioning in the Sphere of Higher Education, M o s c o w , 1982). T h e development of
education in the languages of the peoples of
the U S S R has already been discussed in
Unesco publications. T h e most distinctive
feature of the Soviet educational system is the
widespread use of bilingualism and multilingualism. Theoretical and practical work as
well asfieldresearch is being conducted in this
area of sociolinguistics. Soviet scholars are
studying the sociolinguistic problems of other
countries: V . N . Yartseva [74]; The Sociolinguistic Problems of Developing Countries
[60]; The Language Situation in the Countries
of Asia and Africa [71]; Language Policy in
Afro-Asian Countries [70]; M . M . G u k h m a n
[9]; M . V . Sofronov [57]; S. V . Neverov [38].
O u r country has resolved complex sociallinguistic problems connected with the development of the social, natural and technical
sciences in the languages of the union republics. O n e such problem is the development of
terminology. All the union republics, autonom o u s republics and autonomous regions have
state terminology commissions and committees, which have contributed a great deal in
the ongoing task of devising terminological
systems for various branches of science. This
work involves the participation of linguists,
sociolinguists and specialists in the relevant
branches of science and technology. M o r e
than eighty terminological dictionaries have
been compiled in the Kirghiz language, which
acquired a written form only in 1924; and the
ancient Georgian language has more than
100 bilingual and monolingual dictionaries for
the various branches of science. M u c h attention is being paid to theoretical and practical
questions of terminology (Kulebakin, 1968;
Kandelaki [23]; Akulenko [4]).
Soviet sociolinguists are also studying
Russian as the national language of the
Russian people, as a c o m m o n language of the
Soviet nationalities and as one of the most
highly developed international languages,
one of the official languages of the United
Yunus D. Desheriev
Nations. Their m a n y works on these themes

include, Russian Language
and Soviet
Society. The Vocabulary of Modern Russian
[51]; A Statistical Picture of the Russian
Language [52]; Vinogradov [7]; Filin (1967);
Kostomarov [25]; Krysin [27]; and Protchenko [39].
T h e organization of
sociolinguistic research
in the U S S R
Because of the multinational, multilingual
character of the Soviet state, and given the
immense amount of work involved in developing and teaching the national languages, great
importance is attached to the organization of
sociolinguistic research, as well as to scientific
and administrative measures.
In the linguistic research institutes of the
A c a d e m y of Sciences of the U S S R and Academies of Sciences of the Union Republics
there are special departments, sections and
groups that deal with sociolinguistic problems.
Since 1968 there has been a Department of
Sociolinguistics in the A c a d e m y of Sciences of
the U S S R , and it contributes a great deal to
theoretical and applied sociolinguistic research, also organizing all-union and regional
conferences, symposia and meetings to discuss
sociolinguistic questions. This department
also trains sociolinguists. There are other
departments that deal with sociolinguistic
problems, for example the Institute of Russian
Language of the A c a d e m y of Sciences of
the U S S R carries out valuable research in a
number of areas, having a department that
deals with such problems as the Russian
language as a c o m m o n language of the Soviet
peoples, the Russian language and Soviet
society, the functioning of Russian in the union
republics, Russian as a m e d i u m of mass communication, and sociolinguistic study of the
lexical and semantic system.
The Institute of Oriental Studies of the
A c a d e m y of Sciences of the U S S R also
contains a Department of Social Linguistics,
35
A message on birch bark in Yukaghir, one of the Palaeo-Asiatic languages spoken in the extreme northeast of Siberia which contain features reminiscent of many American Indian languages. The message reads
'Everybody finds a wife, only I a m condemned to think of him w h o already belongs to another and must
console myself knowing that he has not yet completely forgotten m e . ' From Kramer, ber Yukaghirische
Briefe, 1896, p . 2 1 0 . Muse de l'Homme. Pans.
which works with the languages of Asia and

Africa.
Corresponding research institutes in
m a n y union and a u t o n o m o u s republics have
their o w n sociolinguistic departments, sections
and groups. Their m a i n concern is with local
sociolinguistic questions, a n d they furnish the
republics with valuables information o n these
matters. A t the s a m e time, general theoretical
research is carried out in the local higher
educational establishments a n d academic institutes. T h e Scientific Council of the A c a d e m y of Sciences of the U S S R is responsible
for overall union co-ordination of research
into all aspects of the 'laws of development of
the national languages in the context of the

development of socialist nations', together
with the Institute of Linguistics a n d the
Institute of Russian Language of the A c a d e m y of Sciences of the U S S R . Soviet linguists a n d sociolinguists are helping in the
execution of the special international prog r a m m e 'National Languages in Developed
Socialist Societies'.
A t present, Soviet sociolinguists are
drawing u p the plans for the next important
stage of sociolinguistic research. A collective
w o r k entitled The Influence of the Languages
of the Peoples of the USSR on the Russian
Language
is being concluded. W e plan to
36
Yunus D. Desheriev
examine the 'Methodology a n d M e t h o d s of
ning stage. W e shall b e glad to collaborate
Sociolinguistic Research', ' T h e Influence of
in
Social Factors o n L a n g u a g e
countries.
Development'
this w o r k
with
sociolinguists of other
and 'Diachronie Sociolinguistics'. Other sociolinguistic research projects are in the plan-
{Translated from Russian]
Note
The titles referred to in the text above have, in principle, been given in English translation.
Unfortunately, not all the references are to be found in the list below and it was impossible to
consult the author on the numerous
omissions before this issue went to press. Figures in square
brackets identify references listed; others are usually identified by year of publication only.Ed.
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61. Stanovlenie i razvitie
dvuyazychiya v nerusskikh
shkolakh [The Formation
and Development of
Bilingualism in Non-Russian
Schools]. Leningrad, 1981.
62. TRESKOVA, S. I.
Funktsionirovanie massovoi
kommunikatsii v usloviyakh
mnogoyazychno auditorii
KB ASSR
(sotsiolingvisticheski aspekt)
[The Functioning of Mass
Communication in the
Multilingual Community of
the Kabardino-Balkarian
Autonomous Soviet
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Aspect)]. M o s c o w , A K D ,
1976.
63. FILIN, F . P . Russkil yazyk.

Sovetskoi rusistike 50 let
[The Russian Language. T h e
Fiftieth Anniversary of
Soviet Russian Studies].
Sovetskoe yazykoznanie na
50 let [Soviet Linguistics
over Fifty Years]. M o s c o w ,
1967.
64. W H I T N E Y , W . The Life and
Growth of Language. Paris,
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65. F E D O S E E V , P . N . Dialektika
sovremennoi epokhi [The
Dialectics of the M o d e r n
Era]. M o s c o w , 1978.
66. C H O M S K Y , N . Language and
Thought, 1972. (Russian
translation.)
67. S H O R , R . O . Language and
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68. Y A K U B I N S K I , L . P. F. de
Saussure o nevozmozhnosti
yazykovo politiki [F. de
Saussure on the
Impossibility of Language
Policy]. Yazykovedenie i
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Materialism], Part II.
69. Yazyk i obshchestvo
[Language and Society].
M o s c o w . 1968.
70. Yazykovaya politika v
Afroaziatskikh stranakh
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[Language Policy in
Afro-Asian Countries].
M o s c o w , 1977.
71. Yazykovaya situatsiya v
stranakh Azii i Afriki [The
Language Situation in Asian
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M o s c o w , 1979.
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N e w York, 1966.
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N o . 113, October 1978.
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une sociologie du langage.
Paris, 1971.
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[Linguistics and
Materialism].
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Sociolinguistics. Rowley,
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Matematicheskaya formula
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Mathematical Formula for
the Construction of
Alphabets]. Kul'tura i
pis'mennosf Vostoka
[Culture and Written
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M o s c o w , 1928.
74. Y A R T S E V A , V . N . Problema
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v sovremennom
zarubezhnom yazykoznanii
[The Problem of the
Relation between Language
and Society in Modern
Linguistics Abroad]. Yazyk i
obshchestvo [Language and
Society]. Moscow, 1968.
Thesen zur marxistischleninistischen

Soziolinguistik. Beitrge zur
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1974.
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83. MARCELLESI, J. B . ;
G A R D I N , B . Introduction
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nistischen SprachwirkungGoals, Approaches and
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EH
rwr0^
mrnmmmmsiF; &%mm
Shirley Brice Heath
In recent decades, sociolinguists and sociol- analysts, text linguists and literary theorists.
ogists of language, i.e. linguists and other
T o the folklorists' collections of texts and
social scientists w h o study language in social societies' valuations of these texts, social
contexts, have begun to focus on oral and
anthropologists have added the contexts of
written texts and their forms and uses across oral poetry, oratory, and the use of proverbs
contexts. Macrosociolinguists w h o focus on
and riddles across cultures. There studies
language and literacy planning at national emphasize the different roles oral forms of
levels compare the spread of different types of
knowledge transmission play in societies of
writing systems and language uses across large different social organizations and cultural
groups and nations, and study planning, patterns and illustrate ways in which literate
implementation, co-ordiforms are incorporated
nation and evaluation of
into the communication
Shirley Brice Heath is Associate Prolanguage
programmes.
networks of societies that
fessor of Anthropology and LinguisMicrosociolinguists, o n
have formerly been pritics in the School of Education,
the other hand, focus on
marily oral. Social hisStanford University, Stanford, Califace-to-face interactions
torians have raised quesfornia 94305. She has published
widely on cross-cultural uses of
in small groups within
tions about the societal
oral and written language (Ways with
cultures, institutions and
consequences of the inWords: Language, Life, and Work
situations. Current sociotroduction and extension
in Communities and Classrooms)
linguists of both types
of literacy, often conand
language Policies (Telling
Tongues: Language Policy in Mexico,
have m o v e d far away
testing
time-honoured
Colony to Nation).
from the infamous statenotions about the benment
of
Bloomfield
eficial effects of literacy
(1933) that 'writing is
for both individuals and
not language, but merely
groups. Text linguists,
a
w a y of recording
discourse analysts and litlanguage by m e a n s of visible marks'. They
erary theorists have also spurred linguists to
have also profited immensely from the focus look again at connections between the writacross disciplines o n the forms and functions ten text and the reader's response, raising an
of oral and written communication. Socioissue central to linguistic and anthropological
linguists n o w find their interests linked with
study of language: to what extent d o spoken
others w h o also examine the relations beand written versions of the same information
tween written and oral uses and structures of differ in linguistic form, measures of approlanguage: anthropologists, especially folkpriateness and m e m o r y retention a m o n g relorists and social anthropologists, cognitive
ceivers of the information? Cognitive psypsychologists, social historians, discourse
chologists examine oral performances for
42
their revelations about the patterns of organization of h u m a n m e m o r y . All these current

threads of research in oral and literate traditions m a y help bring sociolinguists closer to
what is needed for a coherent theory of
literacy which 'will have to account for the
place of written language, both in relation to
the forms of spoken language and also in
relation to the communicative functions served by different types of language in different
social settings in our culture' (Stubbs, 1980).
Most sociolinguists today would add that
ideally w e should attain this goal across
cultures, which will have to result from
co-operative research a m o n g the numerous
fields of the social sciences concerned with
oral and literate traditions.
This article is based upon the view that
sociolinguists can and should draw m o r e from
other social scientists in their study of oral and
written language structures and uses; if they
do so, they can improve their descriptions and
analyses of patterns of the co-occurrence of
oral and literate traditions with each other
and with other societal features. If this
approach is taken, the full range of language
as it is spoken and listened to, read and
written in sociocultural contexts will b e c o m e
the focus of researchers' attention. But let us
examine past assumptions, findings, and
methods of literacy research and propose
s o m e n e w directions and potential contributions of literacy research so conceived to
social scientific knowledge. Past work falls
most readily into three types: that which
concerned itself primarily with the teaching
of literacy, that which examined the societal
contexts of oral and written language uses,
and that which considered the cognitive and
linguistic aspects of, and relations between,
speech and writing.
T h e teaching of literacy
Social scientists and teachers of literacy have,
until very recently, described literacy in
instrumental, additive and replacive terms:
literacy is a tool for knowledge acquisition
Shirley Brice Heath

and socio-economic mobility, and newly
acquired written language skills supplement
or replace oral language habits. Studies of
literacy throughout most of the twentieth
century have been evaluative, measuring the
degree to which particular programmes in
either formal or non-formal education have
enabled former non-literates to achieve
skills in reading and writing. T h e focus o n
this acquisition has, for the most part, been
short-term, and only rarely have researchers
systematically traced, for either individuals
or societies, the retention and extension of
the habits of reading and writing over longer
periods.
T h e view of literacy as the key to individual and community development has dominated formal and non-formal education prog r a m m e s around the world for most of the
twentieth century. Formal schooling systems
spread literacy to the masses in Europe and
the United States during periods w h e n both
industrialization and urbanization increased
rapidly. In the twentieth century, developing
nations have followed a similar pattern of
linking formal schooling and literacy with
economic and social development. M a n y Latin
American, African and Asian nations established large-scale primary education systems
and set basic literacy as an initial entry point
to the narrowing funnel of access to secondary
and tertiary education. Behind these institutional structures lay the view that reading
and writing fulfilled 'basic needs of individual well-being, economic betterment and
civil competence' (Neijs, 1961). International
support organizations as well as transnational
corporations have upheld this view, as they
have spoken and written in terms of literacy
being a m e a n s by which individuals and
communities accelerate their acquisition of
knowledge, ability to participate in increased
productivity and industrialization, and participate in an informed manner in social and
political change.
Both national and international organizations produced materials that spread these
views as well as certain teaching practices
within nations and around the world. T h e
43
H u t for palavers over evening meals or o n ceremonial occasions in the Pool region north of Brazzaville,
Congo.
Jacques Richard/Atlas.
teaching of literacy has been based on breaking d o w n reading and writing skills into small,
discrete components for teaching purposes.
Stages and levels of skills considered necessary in the learning of reading and writing
dominated the thinking behind textbook and
primer construction and m u c h teaching
methodology. F r o m letter to word level to
sentence to primer, those w h o would be
literate were led through their training by
teachers and materials that asserted that
newcomers to literacy, children and adults
alike, had to m o v e through certain steps and
stages of skills to acquire literacy. T h e focus
was on the written word, producing it and
recognizing its power to represent meaning
symbolically; almost no attention was given to
the contexts of literacy or to the extension of
skills or knowledge gained through script

manipulation to debating and making use of
information.
B y 1964, w h e n the General Conference
of Unesco initiated a five-year experimental
world literacy p r o g r a m m e , there was recognition of the need to provide information on
the relationship between literacy and social
and economic development. Those historically
involved primarily in literacy teaching began
to look closely at the effects of the acquisition
of literacy on groups and individuals in developing nations: reading and writing should
lead to increased opportunities for acquiring
m o r e information, improved training for work
and better understanding of the environment.
But were n e w literates actually retaining their
reading and writing skills for these or any
44
other purposes? A Unesco-sponsored conference in 1964 took u p this question in an

examination of adult literacy education in
sixty-two nations; the results indicated that
increased attention to retention must accompany literacy programmes which had formerly focused primarily on the acquisition of
literacy skills. T h e Agency for International
Development ( A I D ) of the United States
Department of State convened a special conference in 1964 to examine the 'precise place
of literacy work in the total context of
national development' (Hayes, 1965). This
conference issued numerous sceptical statements about the consequences of learning
simple reading and writing skills; m a n y literacy programmes had seemed to generate
unfulfilled promises for both individuals seeking economic gains and nations striving for
political and economic development. T h e
conference recommended that planners consider the fundamental purpose of literacy to be
the setting of the stage for the learner to
continue to learn. N e w learners had to reach a
'self-sustaining level of achievement' before
the acquisition of literacy would be rewarded
with economic, cognitive or social benefits
for the individual or political and socioeconomic development for the nation (Hayes,
1965).
Shirley Brice Heath
tions of literacyand consequently the contexts into which literacy might gowere
emphasized in m a n y literacy programmes in
developing nations from the early 1970s. T h e
focus shifted to the illiterate 'in a group
context in relation to a given environment,
and with a view to development' (Experimental World Literacy P r o g r a m m e , 1973). This
n e w w a y of looking at the illiterate brought an
integrative approach, linking reading, writing
and training in vocational skills for use in
industrialization and the modernization of
agriculture and other m o d e s of production.
T h e purposesto enhance the opportunities
for individual socio-economic mobility and to
contribute to national developmentremained the same, but the n e w emphasis w a s on
literacy retention as well as acquisition
( G o r m a n , 1977). T h e goal n o w was to enable
n e w literates to apply their knowledge within
their o w n environments and thus to slow the
rapidly increasing pace by which people were
leaving the rural areas to migrate to urban
centres.
A few scholars examined the retention of
literacy skills taught in specific programmes.
For example, R o y and Kapoor (1975) traced
630 students, rural and urban, male and
female, w h o had finished a basic literacy
programme in L u c k n o w , India, between 1958
and 1966, and examined the relationship
T h e period since the mid-1960s has seen
multiple re-examinations of processes and between literacy retention and twenty-five
products of the teaching of literacy. B y the independent variables by using multiple correlation techniques. They found that time
early 1970s, the developed nations, especially
elapsed since terminating studies and family
the United States and the United K i n g d o m ,
size were negatively correlated for all samconfessed that the functional use of the basic
ples, and the number of trips outside L u c k n o w
literacy skills of millions within their nations
and the farthest distance travelled showed the
was so minimal as to be insignificant. Indistrongest positive correlation with literacy
viduals in both nations w h o had completed
retention. In the rural areas, those w h o had
secondary education had not retained sufficient literacy skills to read and execute achieved sufficient literacy skills to write a
letter and read a newspaper and books were
basic daily tasks, nor could they produce
those w h o best retained their literacy, prewriting of coherent extended prose.
T h e previously unquestioned processes of sumably in part through the practice they
received in carrying out these tasks for themlearning to read and write in decontextualized
selves and others in their daily lives. Neither
situations c a m e under examination. 'Funcsex nor age was a differential factor in literacy
tional literacy' became the term used by
retention. In the urban samples, motivation to
Unesco to shift the teaching of literacy skills
m o v e ahead, to develop the self, and to
to a heavily contextualized focus. T h e func-
45
Transition to literacy: voting paper in Mexico on which the parties are identified by text as well as symbols.
Omar Marcus/Camera Press.
inspire occupational a d v a n c e m e n t for the

oldest m a l e child w e r e the best predictors of
literacy retention, but motivation w a s not a
significant factor a m o n g the rural samples.
There the best predictors w e r e the n u m b e r of
b o o k s read, the a m o u n t of mass-media exposure, a n d the ownership of a radio or
transistordirect stimuli rather than deferred
rewards. Rural schools also stood out for their
effective training, which s e e m e d to produce
higher literacy retention rates than urban
schools. Studies similar in purpose, but rarely
so thorough, have b e e n carried out by rural
sociologists a n d language planners attempting
to evaluate the effect of literacy p r o g r a m m e s
o n social change in villages. Such research has
highlighted three major factors in literacy
retention: the close links necessary between
language a n d literacy planning, the i m portance of opportunities for oral use of the
k n o w l e d g e gained through literacy, a n d the
critical support of institutions b e y o n d the
family.
T h e issue of whether or not reading a n d
writing should initially b e taught in the
mother-tongue has b e e n m u c h debated since
the historic U n e s c o axiom in 1953 that the
best m e d i u m for teaching is the mothertongue of the pupil. Since that time language
planners a n d teachers of literacy in developing
nations have tried to co-ordinate efforts to
provide a writing system for languages that
have previously been unwritten, to standardize a form of the language to be used in
writing, a n d to prepare primers suitable for
local speech communities (Engle, 1975).
Shirley Brice Heath
46
The writer as specialist: modern version of the public scribe. Josephine Powell, Rome.
Usually, these efforts have been carried out

by institutions beyond the family, such as the
church, rural education groups or vocational
education m o v e m e n t s , which have given n e w
literates continuing support a n d materials.
For example, a recent study (Giesecke and
Elwert, 1982) of a 'grass-roots', peasantorganized literacy m o v e m e n t in southern
Benin revealed that this m o v e m e n t , unlike the
formal school or formalized adult literacy
p r o g r a m m e s , provided language codification
in the form of freshly written material based
on local cultural needs as seen by the peasants

themselves, a n d opportunities for novice literates to talk about their knowledge acquired
from written sources. Without any o n e of
these supports, the retention of literacy began
to slip a w a y . A m o n g an adult population with
a literacy rate of less than 1 per cent, a selfhelp group decided to produce its o w n literacy
materials to exist side b y side with oral and
graphic forms indigenous to the society. For
centuries, the local people h a d handed d o w n
elements of knowledge in proverbs, songs
Al

and stories, summarized in a proverbial sentence, the loo. This sentence could also
be symbolized through a drawing which represented its essence in symbols, forming a
loo-wema. T h e self-help literacy group produced leaflets which contained the proverbs in
both drawn and written forms. All m e m b e r s
of the group had copies, thus making the
leaflets 'public'. Traditionally, certain types of
information had been controlled through a
hierarchical organization, such as the religious
vodun groups, and most recently through
formal schools. This talk in a non-hierarchical
institutional setting enabled n e w learners to
overcome their earlier fears that learning from
books brought power for doing harm to
others. Talk surrounded both the production
of texts (leaflets with proverbs and tables of
words for study), and in this talk group
m e m b e r s linked the written parables to traditional knowledge, making clear the shared
background brought to the interpretation of
autonomous texts and making a c o m m o n basis
of comprehension possible. T h e group also
took steps to standardize the several dialects
of the area.
Simultaneously with such microexaminations of literacy programmes around the
world by sociolinguists and other social scientists has c o m e increased attention to the
relationships between oral and written forms
and uses of language. Methods of teaching
literacy evolved in m a n y locations in patterns
most appropriate to both the structures and
the uses of local languages; linguists and
educators m a d e decisions regarding orthography, types of illustrations and content of
primers with increased knowledge of the ways
of speaking and behaving of local speech
communities. Gudschinsky (1962) had proposed that approaches to devising orthography, planning primers and instructing would-be
literates had to be based on the structural
characteristics of the specific languages involved. H o w e v e r , by the 1970s sociolinguists
reported that the discourse features, oral
language uses and ways of viewing language in
specific speech communities had considerable
effect on the reception of literacy. For exam-
ple, Hollenbach (1979), reporting o n one

language group in Mexico, observed that the
group considered language as a m o d e of
communication and did not believe it could be
taken apart. They did not focus o n the
linguistic form of an utterance as opposed to
its content, and they did not engage in
language play. Thus the usual methods of
teaching reading by focusing on letters, syllables and words, and varying word order for
pattern practice, were ineffective in teaching
this group. Instead, short connected narratives based on the daily life of the group had
to be used as initial reading materials, instead
of the usual 'simple' materials prepared for
primers.
A familiar plea in current literacy and
language work is the linking of theory with
practice. In the past decade, sociolinguists
and other social scientists re-examining the
teaching of literacy have m a d e several important theoretical advances in understanding the links between oral and written
language structures and uses. Such advances
have m o v e d far beyond pedagogical practices
in classrooms to analysis of the retention
of literacy, the functions of reading and
writing beyond the classroom, the relevance
of materials and practices in teaching to
those of the daily life, oral habits and institutional affiliations of n e w literates. M a n y of
these advances have been fed back into the
improvement of instructional practices and
materials and the integration of language
planning with literacy development and
maintenance.
The societal context

Reassessment of the societal meaning of
literacy programmes has c o m e from both
within and outside agencies and groups traditionally involved in spreading literacy in
developing nations. For example, in 1976
Unesco and the United Nations Development
P r o g r a m m e jointly issued a critique of a
dozen literacy programmes undertaken within
the framework of the Experimental World
Literacy P r o g r a m m e , initiated in the late
48
1960s. T h e analysis of these projects pointed

out that, in s o m e nations, the literacy work
had reinforced the status q u o and had not led
to any improved status of the masses; m a n y
projects had seemed to regard illiterates as
marginal beings not integrated into their
society; and far too m a n y nations had failed to
consider the structural causes of illiteracy
(Experimental W o r l d Literacy P r o g r a m m e ,
1973). In short, the promises of literacy had
gone unfulfilled for both individuals and
nations.
Simultaneously, both social historians
and teams of psychologists, anthropologists
and linguists began to look for n e w methods
to assess the societal antecedents and consequences of literacy. Historians lookedfirstat
early societies which h a d m o v e d from agricultural and cottage industry m o d e s of production to industrialization and urbanization.
Almost all such studies were conducted in
developed nations with a focus o n either the
period before they achieved full political
nationhood or w h e n the nation m o v e d into a
heavy c o m m i t m e n t o n public secondary and
tertiary schooling for the preparation of an
industrial workforce. Combining the perspectives and the methods of the social sciences
and information sciences, Engelsing (1973)
studied the spread of literacy in G e r m a n y
from the late Middle A g e s to the twentieth
century. Furet and Ozouf (1977), in a review
of the spread of literacy from the time of the
Reformation to the end of the nineteenth
century, showed that, contrary to widespread
belief, the French Revolution w a s not an
important landmark in the history of literacy.
People had gradually learned to read and
write between the time of Jean Calvin and
Jules Ferry (French Minister of Public Instruction, 1879-80, 1882), impelled by two
needs: salvation through access to the Scriptures and modernity, increasingly marked by
the use of written contracts. Literacy spread
'from the top d o w n ' , from lites to peasants,
from urban to rural areas, and from the north
and north-east to other parts of the country.
Eisenstein (1979) traced the history of c o m munications and cultural transformations in
Shirley Brice Heath

early m o d e r n Europe and concluded that the
changes wrought by printing helped shift the
confidence of m e n from divine causes to
mathematical reasoning and cartography. T h e
rise of m o d e r n science w a s fostered by the
help printing provided for translation problems, linguistic divisions and former schisms
between university scholars and artisan craftsm e n . Both the intellectual and the spiritual
life of early m o d e r n Europe were transformed by access to print, and by the
extended opportunities artisans, printers and
parishioners h a d for debating the ideas
and images presented in print. Cressy
(1980), in an examination of the effects of
print o n Tudor and Stuart England, showed
however that the acquisition of literacy skills
did not necessarily increase rationality, or the
ability to acquire and digest information and
to m a k e political and religious decisions.
Moreover, illiteracy w a s not necessarily a bar
to economic advancement. People were n o
wiser and n o m o r e in control of their environm e n t with literacy than without it.
For the United States, a score of historians re-examined forms and functions of
literacy in the colonial period and nineteenth
century. Lockridge (1974) pointed out that in
the colonial era, distinction in occupational
status in N e w England w a s neither created
nor reinforced by differences in literacy. In
nineteenth century C a n a d a , Graff (1981) illustrated that those w h o b e c a m e literate were
n o m o r e likely to subscribe to benevolent
causes, control criminal impulses or m o v e u p
the social ladder than those w h o did not.
Moreover, in both England and the United
States, during those periods in which literacy
and industrialization were in peak growth
spurts, the economic laws of supply and
d e m a n d of job opportunities dictated levels of
literacy and secondary education, and there
w a s n o direct relation between skills achieved
in secondary education and job success (Soltow and Stevens, 1981).
T h e calling into question of the correlationcausal, accidental or non-existent
between literacy and moral judgements and
behaviours, between literacy and changed
49
Ethnography of communication: contact by radio in A m a z o n i a . Yves Billon/Atlas
patterns of social behaviour, came not only

through the work of social historians, but also
through the research of teams of social scientists w h o began to use n e w methods and
combinations of methods to look carefully at
the various forms of coexistence of oral and
written language uses in cultures around
the world. Anthropologists found that the
Western development-oriented assumptions
about literacy were not borne out in crosscultural settings. For centuries, societies
with the knowledge of the possibility of
written language had not adopted reading and
writing; moreover, even in societies in which
reading and writing existed, the uses were
often limited, circumscribed either by the
limited sets of purposes to which it was put or
by the small liteusually either religious or
economicwith access to literacy. Moreover,
limiting the proportion of the literate within a
society did not restrict the functions to which
written language was put. A society which has
restricted access to literacy for the bulk of the

population could have a wide range of
functions and uses of literacy a m o n g the
literate lite or literacy specialists. Moreover,
anthropologists w h o examined societies in
which literacy had been introduced found,
upon re-examination, that w h e n the purposes
that had c o m e as part of the promises of literacy did not materialize, individuals dropped
literacy as they would any other social invention which had b e c o m e functionless with
changed social circumstances ( G o o d y , 1968,
1977).
Perhaps the most important of such
studies has been the research of Scribner and
Cole (1981) a m o n g the Vai of Liberia. Psychologists, linguists and anthropologists, by
detailed descriptions of the contexts of the
uses of the indigenous literacy of the Vai and
by adaptations of standard tests of cognitive
abilities, demonstrated the importance Of
society-specific situations for uses of literacy
50
and the institutional and social networks for
which literacy served critical purposes. T h e
researchers also showed that the purposes,
effects and types of literacy a m o n g this group
were quite different from those previously
described for schooled populations, and their
research methods enabled them to separate
literacy effects from schooling effects.
A n ethnographic approach, first reco m m e n d e d by H y m e s (1964), termed ethnography of communication, has been used by
several sociolinguists to study oral and written
traditions in specific communities. A n ethnography of communication describes for the
specific group the boundaries of the physical
and social community in which c o m m u n i cation is possible, the limits and features
of communicative situations, the patterns of
choice of speakers, listeners, writers and
readers, and the values the choices a m o n g
styles, occasions and content of written and
spoken language carry within the speech
community. Heath (1983), in an examination
of the oral and written uses of language in two
working-class communities in the southeastern part of the United States, showed the
deep cultural differences between the two
communities in their oral and literate traditions. Basic differences existed between the
two groups in almost all aspects of their uses
of language, from early reading and writing
experiences of children to adults' ways of
viewing information given in written and oral
forms. In the black working-class community,
written materials were most often used to
support m e m o r y or confirm information
already established through oral channels.
Reading and writing were public social activities, the meanings of which were shared
and negotiated socially: one person read,
while others interpreted by contributing their
experiences to reach a consensual agreement
on meaning. In the white working-class c o m munity, reading was a private activity, and
only certain persons were designated to read
aloud and interpret for others the meaning of
the written words. Both communities read
only a few minutes a day, and most of this
reading focused on instrumental or con-
Shirley Brice Heath

firmational goalsto gain information for
practical needs or to check or confirm certain
facts, such as dates, addresses, etc. Almost n o
writing was done in either community, except
lists or jotted notes used to support the
m e m o r y of certain isolated bits of information. Writing in both communities w a s
regarded as an activity by groups outside the
working-class community, and people felt that
writing, unlike reading, did not need to be
done by them. O n those special occasions in
which writing was needed, they could go to
certain individuals within the community or to
professionals outside their social group. For
neither community were there occasions to
read or write extended prose in their work
settings. F e w jobs required any but the most
minimal reading and writing; instead, e m ployers wanted logical thinking, rapid interpretation of oral directions, and predictability in performance of basic mathematical
skills. N u m e r a c y , organizational skills and the
ability to stick to a job were far more often
required in m a n y working-class jobs than
reading and writing skills per se. M a n y institutions had unconsciously adopted the policy
of having within their midst 'scribes' w h o
carried out most of the writing tasks of the
organization, while others bore most of the
responsibility for interpreting written m a terials.
T h e two working-class groups differed as
strikingly from each other as either did from
the pattern of the townspeople, the mainstream blacks and whites w h o held power in
the schools and workplaces of the region. T h e
mainstream families oriented their children at
an early age into both reading and writing,
focusing on isolated discrete parts of texts and
leading their children through teaching-questions to talk about the arbitrariness of pictures and words, the decontextualization of
information in books from 'real' life, and the
autonomous authoritative status of written
materials. O n their jobs, m a n y m e n and
w o m e n of these communities served as
scribes, reading and writing for the institution as a whole or for specific individuals
within the institution. A t h o m e , m a n y often
read and wrote extended prose, and they

frequently used written materials for recreational or critical purposes.
All studies of the social contexts of
literacy have examined the two basic premises
that have guided literacy programmes in developed and developing countries alike in the
twentieth centurythe replacive and instrumental value of literacy. These studies have
n o w established that strict dichotomization
between oral and literate traditions does not
accurately represent the uses of oral and
written language across cultures or situations.
Furthermore, the role of literacy as a factor in
changeeconomic, social or individualis
highly dependent u p o n numerous other
factors, such as distance from urban centres,
family size, regional economic growth and
community institutional support in matters
related to oral and written language uses.
A further consequence of studies of the
societal contexts of literacy has been renewed
attention to the question of h o w n e w information and processes of storing and critically
reviewing information affect other behaviours
(Tannen, 1982). These questions are relevant
for societies initially receiving literacy, as well
as for those currently receiving printed
materials in any considerable quantity in
indigenous languages; these questions are
n o w also being asked of computer literacy
in several nations. H o w do groups around
the world exchange knowledge and incorporate n e w information into their speech c o m munities? In particular, what happens w h e n
information that w a s formerly transmitted
only in oral forms is committed to writing in
an indigenous language? T h e transition from
oral to written forms for information m a y
shift the conception of knowledge from
being a constant body of information that
can be learned through story-telling, interactions and communication with either a
spirit world or face-to-face interactants, to
encompassing a limitless base of information
always being developed and acquired in incremental stages (Goody, 1977). Furtherm o r e , the differing conceptions imply n e w
m o d e s of transmission: the former reliance
51
o n face-to-face responses is replaced by the
formalization of learning. Children and adults
in formal literacy programmes face decontextualized information in situations that
require composition-centred tasks, decontextualized repetition and often verbatim
memory.
For m a n y nations, a central concern,
once formal schooling and adult literacy
programmes promise reading and writing
skills, is indigenous literature. Particularly
since the 1960s, both developing nations and
minority groups within the United States and
European nations have wished to preserve
their traditional literary texts and to spread
current forms of their oral texts. Authors
from these groups are n o w publishing m a terials and are calling for the collection of
the living traditions of their groups in order
that future authors m a y k n o w and incorporate their o w n indigenous patterns of discourse in their writing. In two volumes of
African prose, Whiteley (1964), a language
planner, presented a selection of traditional
oral texts and written prose, consisting of not
only folk tales and legends, but also oratory
and conversations in which proverbs and
riddles played critical stylistic and substantive
roles in revealing the layers of meaning of the
speaker's words as well as the particular style
of oral performance of the speaker. In these
volumes, Whiteley outlined differences in
status of tellers and writers of stories, differences in forms of oral and written literature,
and variations in the kinds of skills required
for the performance or production of each.
Currently, numerous literacy programmes in
Africa are using oral history texts collected
from elders in the community as introductory
reading material. In addition, numerous
educated Africans are n o w urging that
African writers, such as A m o s Tutuola,
D . O . Fagunwa, C . O . D . Ekwensi and
C . Achebe, be included in literature and
history courses in secondary and tertiary
education, in order that the young m a y not
grow up totally diverted by an education
based upon European literary models. Perhaps more important is the increase in the
52
recognition that certain traditional ways of

talking, such as using proverbs for illustration,
reminding listeners of shared background
experiences, and building to a peak argument
by redundant, multiple metaphors, should be
k n o w n for their relevance to understanding
patterns of thinking or relating pieces of
knowledge to one another.
Cognitive and linguistic features

In further pursuit of an understanding of the
links between literacy and cognition, sociolinguists have not only carried out long-term
studies of language use in community and
institutional settings, but have also joined
with psycholinguists and cognitive psychologists in examining the differences between
the processes and products of oral and
written language. T w o foci of attention have
dominated this research in recent years: (a)
differences between written and oral discourse and (b) the role of m e m o r y , attention
and consciousness on the organization of oral
and written texts.
T h efirstgroup of researchers has examined in both laboratory and naturalistic settings the telling and writing of textsusually
storiesby adults and children. These studies
illustrate the wide differences between judgements cross-culturally on appropriate styles
for presenting the same information either
orally or in written form. For mainstream
m e m b e r s of highly literate societies, oral texts
tend to be longer than written texts, and
spoken texts fragmented and convoluted by
comparison with written texts, which are
m o r e integrated and cohesive. Units of m e a n ing carrying different functions occurred with
different frequency in the two types of texts;
for example, English speakers used m o r e
adverbs and m o r e temporal and subordinating
conjunctions in written versions; in oral versions, they used m o r e verbs and adjectives
and co-ordinating and contrastive conjunctions. Moreover, the occasions for the uses of
oral and written texts and the rules for talking
about writing are highly rule-governed in
each society, and in societies with a heavy
Shirley Brice Heath

reliance o n formal schooling, written texts
bear authority, are separated from daily
contexts and emphasize the generalization of
rules.
For societies which did not have writing,
a sense of appropriate styles for written
information as distinct from those used for
talk develop quickly. Oral texts transcribed to
written form are often not acceptable to the
newly literate; they can r e c o m m e n d ways to
edit texts to m a k e them acceptable in a
written form. False starts, loan words, imperatives, repetitions, and elision of vowels
and consonants are often noted as inappropriate for written language by m e m b e r s of
speech communities w h o have only recently
learned to write their language.
Sociolinguists studying the organization
of oral texts across cultures have joined with
literary theorists and cognitive psychologists
to focus on the role of m e m o r y in narrative
recall in oral and written forms. Early literary
theorists wanted to understand the ways in
which oral epics were composed and transmitted. Lord (1960) posited that the singers
remembered and recomposed the epics, not
word by word, but by formulae. Subsequently, linguists, anthropologists and sociolinguists have considered the structures of
formulae and their combinations to explain
oral texts from H o m e r to current African
societies (Stolz and Shannon, 1976; Finnegan, 1970). Certain researchers have also
considered the effects that providing a
written form of these texts has on the
singers; in s o m e societies, spontaneity and
loss of ability to recall long passages seems
to m a r k those w h o k n o w a written version
of the text; in other societies, knowledge
of a written version seems to m a k e n o
difference.
In societies in which children hear bedtime stories from an early age and are asked
teaching-questions about these stories, they
recall stories according to a basic schema and
develop in their telling and writing of stories
towards matching the well-formed models of
narratives read to them before school and
read by them in school. Formulaic openings,
53
Access to print: selecting material from a vendor in Allahabad, India.
Henri Cartier-Bresson.
54
Shirley Brice Heath
Cartoon strips on display in Xian, China. T h e y can be read on the spot against a small payment. Jean-Louis
Boissier.
orientations to characters and settings, and

evaluations of the content develop with the
narratives. T o learn to write expository style
successfully, children must have not only
sufficient knowledge of the content, but also
sufficient opportunities to practise removing
their personal voice and generalizing evidence
given within the narrative to situations
beyond the specifics of the current exposition.
Conclusions
T h e next decades are sure to see widely
increased research o n oral and literate habits
through the co-operative efforts of a variety
of social scientists. T h e specific contributions
of sociolinguists in the past two decades have
been m a r k e d primarily by an attempt to place
texts within their contexts and to examine
these across social groups, situation and
institutions. B y the mid-1970s, the familiar
dichotomized notion of oral and literate

societies had been revised; in the words of
H y m e s , 'it is impossible to generalize validly
about "oral" versus "literate" cultures'
( H y m e s , 1973). T h e subsequent decade has
seen sociolinguists w o r k , using methods ranging from text linguistics and discourse analysis
to ethnography of communication, to describe
in increasing detail for specific settings the
forms and uses of oral and written language.
This research has not only indicated that there
are continua of oral and literate habits across
cultures, but also that there is n o unilinear
model of development in the acquisition of
literacy for individuals. Social historians, such
as Graff (1979, 1981) have also argued against
a unilinear path of development for societies or
nations acquiring and developing literacy.
Future decades m a y enable sociolinguists
along with other social scientists to answer
s o m e of the questions raised at a 1964

conference on literacy (Hayes, 1965) which
included researchers representing experience
and research in all the areas discussed here
the teaching of literacy, the study of societal
contexts, and the cognitive and linguistic
features which co-occur with the forms and
uses of written language. These questions and
their subcomponents were:
W h a t is meant by literacy, and h o w can the
degree of literacy be measured?
W h a t linguistic and pedagogical considerations must first be taken into account
in dealing with basic problems of literacy
education? W h a t is the 'language situation', i.e. has the area been linguistically
m a p p e d ? W h a t linguistic considerations
affect the choice of the language of
instruction? W h a t linguistic considerations should be observed in designing
teaching materials? W h a t pedagogical
criteria can guide the choice of the
language of instruction? Should m o n o lingual speakers of a minority language
be m a d e literate directly in the official
language? Should a highly specialized
literary form of a language be used in
initial teaching materials?
After people have acquired the basic skills of
literacy, what steps should be taken to
maintain these skills?
W h a t is the relationship between the goals
and operations of adult literacy programmes and the goals and operations
of school systems?
W h a t place does literacy have in a total
community development programme?
W h a t supporting services does a large-scale
adult literacy programme require?
W h a t factors should influence the selection
and training of literacy teachers?
55
H o w can you evaluate the effectiveness of a
literacy programme?
W h a t are the principal alternative instructional strategies in an adult literacy
programme?
W h a t are the desirable stages of a large-scale
literacy programme and what are the
principal problems?
W e have indicated that in certain places
around the world, s o m e if not all of these
questions have been at least partially answered, and in m a n y programmes and centres
of research, researchers n o w have a m u c h
better understanding of the kinds of information needed to answer these questions than
either teachers or researchers had twenty
years ago. H o w e v e r , before w e can have
satisfactory answers and sufficient information
for programme planning in m a n y locations
around the world, sociolinguists and other
social scientists must continue to pursue longterm work in diverse communities and situations. Moreover, social historians, cognitive
psychologists, and literary theorists must increase their consideration of language structures and uses in their studies of literacy and
the linkage of its features to oral traditions.
Sociolinguists must also continue to learn
from other social scientists as they search for
answers to such basic research questions as
h o w w e can distinguish between the antecedents and consequences of literacy for individuals and h o w surface grammatical features and story and retrieval processes of
h u m a n m e m o r y are linked. The primary mark
of any significant research development in
literacy thus has to c o m e from an increased
long-term co-operation between social scientists and a spread of research focus to n e w
sites across cultures.
Shirley Brice Heath
56
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Ablex.
Textually mediated
social organization*
Dorothy E . Smith
T h e purpose of this article is to m a k e a processes is n o w being extended by the

p h e n o m e n o n to which w e have in the past technology of computers. A s the textual
been extraordinarily blind sociologically vis- process is thus radically modified and exible. This p h e n o m e n o n is ubiquitousat least panded in its organizing scope, w e have
in contemporary society. W e are constantly b e c o m e aware of it as a political issue affectimplicated and active in itindeed this ar- ing personal privacy. B u t sociologists have
ticle, this journal, your reading, are a m o n g its rarely attended to the documentary or textual
process as such. In the study of c o m m u n i manifestations. It is the p h e n o m e n o n of texcation the dominant model has been that of
tually mediated communication, action and
face-to-face communication, even w h e n the
social relations. A s intellectuals w e take it for
object of investigation
granted m u c h as w e take
has been large-scale orfor granted the ground
Dorothy E . Smith is Professor in the
ganization. O r it has
w e walk on, or the air w e
Department of Sociology of Edubeen based on the natubreathe. Yet it not only
cation at the Ontario Institute for
ral scientific model of the
constitutes both arena
Studies in Education, 252 Bloor
communication of inforand m e a n s of our proStreet, W . , Toronto, Ontario M 5 S
IV6. She has written and published
mation, which takes for
fessional work, but pera number of scholarly papers on the
granted precisely what
meates
our everyday
topic of documents and texts as
in
the context of texworld in other ways. W e
features of social organization and
tually mediated
comget passports, birth ceron the sociology of w o m e n . A book
on The Social Organization of Knowlmunicationcannot be
tificates, parking tickets;
edge is in preparation.
taken for granted, n a m e w e fill in forms to apply
ly the social construction
for jobs, for insurance,
of the message or inforfor dental benefits; w e
mation as such.
are given grades, diploSince m y interest is
m a s , degrees; w e pay
in making documents or texts visible as
bills and taxes; w e read and answer advertiseconstituents of social relations, I have not
ments; w e order from m e n u s in restaurants,
attempted a comprehensive survey of sociotake a doctor's prescription to the drugstore,
logical studies of textual materials. It is m o r e
write letters to newspapers; w e watch television, go to the movies and so o n and so o n . important at this stage to expose in this brief
space the potential richness of this field of
O u r lives, to a m o r e extensive degree than w e
care to think of, are infused with a process of investigation. A s will be seen, it overlaps
inscription, producing printed or written
traces or working from them. T h e omni* This article has benefited greatly from discussions
presence of these documentary or textual
with Nancy Jackson.
60
considerably with a n u m b e r of other fields,
notably with ethnomethodology, in which,
indeed, it has its origins. M y intention is not
to define another exclusive and competing
enclosure; it is rather to expand our capacity
to investigate a p h e n o m e n o n which is necessarily though generally invisibly present in
other areas of sociological investigation.
Moreover, there are overlaps with other
disciplines, as there must be in anyfieldof
sociology concerned with language. The vocabulary used here overlaps but does not
coincide with that used currently in other
areas of investigation, notably with the metaepistemological work of Foucault and with the
impressive and rapidly expanding structuralist, post-structuralist and hermeneutic explorations of literary texts represented by the
work of Barthes, Iser, Kristeva, Derrida and
others. I have avoided precise definitions here
precisely because the p h e n o m e n a of textuality
bid fair to break us out of our disciplinary
enclaves and w e cannot yet see what n e w
relations will crystallize in our terminologies.
S o m e elementary considerations
T h e simple properties of the documentary or
textually mediated forms of social organization involve their dependence upon, and
exploitation of, the documentary capacity to
crystallize and preserve a definite form of
words detached from their local historicity.1
T h e appearance of meaning as a text, that is,
in permanent material form, detaches m e a n ing from the lived processes of its transitory
construction, m a d e and remade at each m o ment of its course. In pre-literate or pre-print
societies, the concentration of meaning in a
form not subject to the essential temporality
of the lived social process was vested in ritual,
megalith and image. In our time, by contrast,
extra-temporal m o d e s of meaning are created
in written or printed form. 2 T h e vesting of
meaning in such permanent of semi-permanent forms has been routine and c o m m o n place, and has transformed our relation to
language, meaning and each other. Texts
speak in the absence of speakers; meaning is
Dorothy E. Smith
detached from local contexts of interpretation; the ' s a m e ' meaning (Olson, 1977) can
occur simultaneously in a multiplicity of
socially and temporally disjointed settings
(Benjamin, 1969). In the distinctive formation
of social organization mediated by texts, their
capacity to transcend the essentially transitory
character of social processes and to remain
uniform across separate and diverse local
settings is the key to their peculiar force
(though that transcendence is itself an accomplishment of transitory social processes).
The ethnomethodological
discovery
T h e discovery of the document as a significant
constituent of social relations must be credited to ethnomethodology. M u c h of Garfinkel's initial formulation insists that organizational records cannot be understood as
objective accounts which can be treated (by
social scientists) as independent of their organizational uses and the contexts of their production and interpretation. Rather, the sense
and rationality of such documentary practices
are and must be accomplished in local historical settings (Garfinkel, 1967). Ethnomethodology has insisted o n the view that sense,
rationality, facticity, etc., are essentially
products of, and accomplished in, local historical settings. This has opened the w a y to
the
investigation of reasoning, facticity,
rationality and sense-making not as processes
going o n in people's heads but as social
practices. These discoveries are grounded, I
believe, in the emergence of forms of social
organization not characteristic of the societies
of a hundred years ago. They are forms
that externalize social consciousness in social
practices, objectifying reasoning, knowledge, m e m o r y , decision-making, judgement,
evaluation, etc., as the properties of formal
organization or discourse rather than as
properties of individuals. T h e y are, of course,
accomplished by persons in everyday local
settings, w h o thereby enter into and participate in objectified forms constituting organizational and discursive relations beyond
61
Transcendence of local historical time by text: Sumerian administrative clay tablet circa 2040 B . C . ,
concerning the distribution of a barley ration to w o m e n and children prisoners-of-war working as slaves for
the king of U r . Muse du Louvre. Pans.
themselves. Such objectified and objectifying

forms of relations are essentially textual.
The documentary character of

the ruling apparatus: objectified
social forms
A d v a n c e d contemporary industrialized societies are pervasively organized by textually
mediated forms of ruling. T h e organizational
processes that execute, control, regulate,
inform and order, in the various sites of
governing, m a n a g e m e n t , administration, dis-
cursive relations, professional organization,

etc., form a loosely co-ordinated apparatus
that w e will call the ruling apparatus. These
forms have in general been k n o w n in sociology as systems of rational action. T h e y
display in characteristic ways the capacity to
reproduce the s a m e forms, relations, courses
of action, etc., in the varieties of local settings
that they embrace. Essential to this capacity
are the documentary bases that objectify
knowledge, organization, and decision-processes, distinguishing what individuals d o
for themselves from what they d o organizationally or discursively, thereby constituting
62
properties of formal organization or of discourse that cannot be attributed to individuals.
Let m e clarify the notion of objectified
social consciousness as a property of organization and its relation to documents with an
example. O n e set of textual materials I have
worked with consists of two accounts of the
same eventa confrontation between police
and people o n the street which took place
during the 1960s in the United States (Darrough, 1978; Eglin, 1979; Smith, 1982). O n e
version tells the story from the point of view
of a witness to the scene. It is limited to what
he could see from where he was and to the
time-frame of the events themselves as he
beheld them. T h e second version is a response
to thefirstissued by the office of the mayor
and containing the result of the police chief's
investigation of the affair. T h e second account
is put together entirely differently from the
first. It is an organizational account. T h e
events are viewed from no particular location. T h e tellers and their points of observation cannot be identified. Furthermore,
and particularly relevant here, the time-frame
is of a different order.
O n e paragraph of the witness's account
described a young m a n being searched rather
roughly by the police. T h e mayor's account
redescribes this same episode in a rather different w a y . It identifies the young m a n using
the organizational and legal category of 'juvenile''the young m a n was a juvenile'and
tells us that he was later charged with 'being
a minor in possession of alcoholic beverages'
and found guilty. T h e latter description lifts us
immediately out of the locally observed sequence of events and into organizational
time. T h e continuities of the course of action
involved in charging persons with an offence
and of their being found guilty represent an
extended organizational process. T h e work of
various professions is involvedpolice, court
officials, lawyers perhaps, social workers or
probation officers. Co-ordination is achieved
by inscription in a record which makes up 'the
record' for this young m a n , under which his
actions o n particular occasions can be inter-
Dorothy E. Smith
preted. Through the use of this language and

these references w e are at once located in a
temporal structure extending beyond the present of the observer whereby the local events
b e c o m e an instance, a mere m o m e n t , in an
extended social course of action. T o have a
record, to be ' k n o w n ' to the police, is an
organizational accomplishment creating a
special character for whoever is located in
the records of an organization. This is a form
of social consciousness that is a property
of organization rather than of the meeting
of individuals in local historical settings.
These, of course, were the forms of social
relations that W e b e r analysed as rational legal
forms of domination, focusing in his time
particularly upon the bureaucratic process.
For bureaucracy is par excellence that m o d e of
governing that separates the performance of
ruling from particular individuals, and makes
organization independent of particular persons and local settings. W e b e r saw documents
as an essential part of the bureaucratic
process. In his time the transfer of functions
of social consciousness from individuals to the
documentary practices of formal organization
had not yet reached the degree of technical
elaboration attained with the development of
the computer. Today, large-scale organization
inscribes its processes into documentary
m o d e s as a continuous feature of its functioning. For example, multiple copies of forms
in which entries to a course of organizational
action are inscribed exercise a co-ordinating
function supplanting the older co-ordinations built into a 'role' structure and sets of
(written) rules. Such developments render
organizing functions increasingly independent
of individuals. Progressively over the last
hundred years a system of organizational
consciousness has been produced expressing
knowledge in a documentary m o d e and transposing what were formerly individual judgements, hunches, guesses and so on into
formulae for analysing data or making assessments. Such practices render organizational judgement, feedback, information or coordination into objectified
documentary
rather than subjective processes.
63
''Wit
'The documentary character of the ruling bureaucratic apparatus', n. Roger-vmiict.
The documentary character of

the ruling apparatus: discourse
In our discussion of the documentary practices of the ruling apparatus the term 'discourse' has been used occasionally. It is used
here to describe those forms of c o m m u n i cation and interrelation that are mediated
by documentsjournals, magazines, newspapers, books, television, movies, etc. These
are distinctive contemporary forms of social
organization which intersect with the largely
hierarchical structures of state, business
and other administered formal organizations.
T h e y include scientific discourse, as well as
the public textual discourses of the mass
media. Their ideological processes serve to
co-ordinate sites of the ruling apparatus
coming under different jurisdictions. W h e n

w e locate these practices in the social organization of textually mediated discourse w e can
begin to specify as actual social practices and
relations what are otherwise perceived rather
amorphously as culture or ideology. Discourse creates forms of social consciousness
that are extra-local and externalized vis--vis
the local subject. E v e n those ideological
forms that d o not suppress the presence of the
subject have the effect, as Foucault has
pointed out, of suspending the actual subject
so that the subject in such a text 'is a
particular, vacant place that m a y in fact be
filled by different individuals' (Foucault,
1972). T h u s television advertisements that
s h o w the housewife, her gleaming floors
and the floor w a x provide an ideological
64
Dorothy E. Smith
"
'
&&
~ -
'Passport' on stamped paper delivered by a secret society of Haitian sorcerers for the safe conduct of the
bearer b y d a y a n d night. From A . Mtravix, Le voudou hatien.

co-ordination of the social relations of consumers and producers. W h e t h e r or not a given
housewife 'identifies' with the image of the
housewife in the commercial, the textual housewife's floors b e c o m e a visual standard in
terms of which hers m a y b e appraised and
found wanting. Discourse develops the
ideological currency of society, providing
schemata a n d methods that transpose local
actualities into standardized conceptual and
categorical forms. Ideological practices bind the
local to the discursive through interpretative
circles whereby local instances index the 'text' . 3
Discourse itself is a textually mediated
social organization. Notions such as that of
intertextuality direct us to an investigation of
the ways in which a given text depends u p o n
others. In recognizing h o w texts function
as constituents of social relations or social
courses of action, however, our interest is less
in tracing back to the determinations of its
meaning structure through a given text than in
explicating discourse as an active social process. T h u s investigation cannot be confined to
the text alone, but must take into account the
social processes, including sequences of talk,
which are integral parts of the discursive
process. Garfinkel et al.'s (1981) discussion of
a tape-recorded sequence leading u p to the
'discovery' of a pulsar indicates an essential
relation between the lived order of local
historicity and the textually mediated discourse. A series of observations as a feature
of that lived order has as its intention the
'possibility that it could b e c o m e an atemporalized collection of measurable properties of
pulse frequency and star location that . . .
are independent of the local practice' constituting the collection of observations. This
m o v e m e n t between the locally historic and
the textually mediated discourse is characteristic of m a n y contemporary social forms, in
addition to sciencelaw, formal organization,
the public textual discourse of the mass
media, etc. M u c h of our ordinary language
refers to the recurrent accomplishments of
their social organization. T h e notion of 'fact',
for example, indicates a recurrent orderliness
of m o v e m e n t from locally ordered observa-
65
tions to the textually mediated discourse they
intend, the intertextuality of that discourse
and further locally historic usages (Latour and
W o o l g a r , 1979).
T h e m o v e m e n t between the local historical order and document time is also typical of
the public textual discourse of the mass
media. It is misleading to treat n e w s , for
example, as arising in a simple relation in
which information given o n o n e side is received b y the other. Rather different kinds
of n e w s have different uses and are e m b e d d e d
in (and structure) different kinds of discursive
relationsfor example, sports news enters
and is e m b e d d e d in conversation a m o n g m e n
in particular and as m u c h between strangers
or casual acquaintances as between friends.
T h e distinction between 'fan' and 'spectator'
at a football or ice-hockey match differentiates the participant in this textually m e diated discourse from s o m e o n e merely
going to watch the g a m e . Similarly, political
n e w s can be investigated as a constituent of
complex relations of textually mediated discourse a n d local historic processes (Chua,
1979; Smith, 1982).
Inscription
In exploring the objectified forms of social
consciousness as documentary practices, it is
important to recognize that there is not initially an event or object that is subsequently
given objective record. O f course there are
instances of that kind. B u t the most general
and m o r e significant process is that for which
Latour and Woolgar (1979) have used the
term 'inscription', namely, the production of
an event or objects in documentary form.
Their ethnography of a scientific laboratory
describes the appearance of experimental
results in computer print-outs. These documentary forms constitute the observables.
Lynch's (1983) analysis of 'perception' in the
context of scientific discourse demonstrates
that the mediation of the document is an
essential constituent of scientific 'perception'.
H e describes h o w the local actualities of
observation are geometricized in a series of
66
graphic abstractions on paper. Each step of

the series takes the process a stage further in
rendering the object measurable. H e argues
that this graphic work constructs from the
actualities in their raw or savage form those
measurable abstractions that are the currency
of scientific discourse. Frankel has examined
the construction of clinical reality in a medical
setting, showing h o w the text-making processa m o v e m e n t from talk to record-taking
influences the production of 'facts' (Frankel and B e c k m a n , 1983). Suicide as a legally
determinate event does not emerge 'naturally'
from the local historical process. Coroner and
police intervene to inscribe a particular death
in the documentary forms that enunciate its
final character as a suicide (Atkinson, 1978;
Smith, 1983). P h e n o m e n a arise as observables
in processes mediated by documentary forms.
T h e process of inscription is of special
significance at the boundaries of organization
or discourse, where 'environing' actualities
are 'converted' into the conceptual and categorical order of organizational or discursive
courses of action. T h e production of factual
accounts of all kinds is an important part of
this process. Facticity itself m a y well be a
distinctive property of documentary processes; it certainly plays an important role in
the constitution of objectified forms of social
consciousness characteristic of the ruling apparatus. W e have already noted it as an aspect
of the social organization of scientific discourse. In his study of h o w facts are derived in
a welfare agency, Z i m m e r m a n (1969) investigates the work of inscription at the boundaries of local actualities and their organizational conversion. H e shows h o w welfare
workers assemble factual accounts of their
clients' financial status, etc. T h e welfare
worker's investigation is informed by a
'stance' which never takes the client's word
but relies on external documentary sources
(bank statements, birth certificates, etc.) or
h o m e visits. Substitution on the 'investigative
stance' for the case-worker's 'subjective'
judgement is essential to the constitution
of organizational facticity. A n d , although
Z i m m e r m a n does not describe this phase of
Dorothy E. Smith
the process, it is the accomplishment of the

facticity of these accounts that permits them
then to be entered into the further organizational courses of action leading to decisions
about the award of funds to clients.
Discourse and objectified organization acquire their transcendence of local historicities
in such inscriptive processes. Ideological
practices are an important form of inscription.
They begin with the transcendent schemata of
discourse or formal organization. A n interpretative schema is used to assemble and
order a set of particularsdescriptions or
instances of actualities. These aim at and
can be interpreted by the schema used to assemble them. T h e particulars become indices
of an underlying pattern, corresponding to the
schema in terms of which they m a k e sense.
T h e ordering of events, objects, etc., is thus
pre-informed by the schema of discourse
or formal organization. This is the ideological process at the boundaries of discourse or formal organization. It is of
considerable significance in the exercise of
power by the ruling apparatus (Smith, 1983).
The formality of formal

organization as a documentary
process4
T h e investigation of documentary practices
makes visible m a n y phases of the organizational and discursive process that are otherwise inaccessible. In particular the formality,
the designed, planned and organized character of formal organization depends heavily on
documentary practices, which co-ordinate,
order, provide continuity, monitor and organize relations between different segments and
phases of organizational courses of action.
Organizational documents order and coordinate the practices of dispersed organizational settings. Hence they will be read and
interpreted differently on different organizational occasions.5 A job description, for
example, is misread by sociologists if they
expect to be able to treat it as an account of
an actual w o r k process. In fact, its organiz-

ational force is in part achieved precisely
because it does not describe any particular
w o r k process but can enter into a variety of
settings and order the relations a m o n g them.
It is first of all an element in a set of such
descriptions organizing the internal relations
and labour market of a large-scale organization. This will have been devised by a personnel department, possibly with the aid of
professional managerial consultants. It will
have been authorized by thefinancialdepartm e n t and have passed through whatever other
processes are required to establish its organizational warrant. It m a y then enter in a
variety of ways into organizational courses of
action. For example, in developing the w o r k
of a n e w unit, the person in charge (a
documentary reference in itself) must operate
with a set of job descriptions defining the
possible array of positions, relations a m o n g
t h e m , qualifications of personnel, salaries,
etc. A n y actual distribution of tasks must be
mandated b y such descriptions. T h e question
is not whether this job description describes
this person or this task allocation, but whether
w o r k can be described by, or subsumed
under, assigned job descriptions and is
thereby organizationally authorized.
W h e n actually hiring, a job description
functions as a schema ordering selective
attention to an individual's qualifications
and
experiencethemselves documentary
products. T h u s the job description represents
a m e t h o d of interpreting the particulars of an
individual's record. Personnel evaluations are
another context in which an analogous procedure is at w o r k . For example, considerable
overlap has been observed between the work
of executives and their secretaries or administrative assistants in a government departm e n t . 6 But the tasks that accrue to executives
as a basis for their advancement do not play
the s a m e role in the career of the secretary.
T h e latter's job description and the appraisal
categories derived from it define the administrative and executive w o r k which she does as
ancillary to, and delegated by, the executive
for w h o m she works; its descriptive categories
m a k e the tasks of the secretary observable as
67
'secretarial' rather than as executive of administrative w o r k . H e n c e , performance evaluations do not build up for secretaries' accounts
of their w o r k experience, which would establish a basis for advancement to executive
positions. Their records s h o w n o documented
experience in executive w o r k , which does
not fit with the systems of representations
ordering the internal labour market of the organization (Reimer, 1983). Through such
documentary practices organizational processes are co-ordinated without the direct
interpositions of a chain of c o m m a n d or similar directly communicative process. This is
the substance of bureaucracy or objective
organization, the formality of formal organization being an integral feature thereof.
T h e documentary practices constitutive
of the formality of formal organization are
not idiosyncratic but are e m b e d d e d in and
articulated with those of the extended social
relations of the ruling apparatus. T h e standardization of job descriptions or methods of
generating job descriptions across firms facilitates the functioning of extended labourmarket relations; it is indeed integral to their
organization. For example, documented (certified) skills constitute competence as a labour
market commodity. T h e y correspond to occupational categories formulated and warranted
by government agencies, such as departments
of labour. Categories such as mining engineer,
mechanical engineer and so forth specify determinate packages of skills. Such categories
have been used by formal organizations to
articulate their internal division of labour to
the external labour market. Increasingly n o w
this documentary function is passing from
government to m a n a g e m e n t consultants with
important accompanying changes in the documentary technologies of large-scale m a n a g e m e n t . T h e person-sized packages of occupational categories are being broken d o w n
into standardized dimensions of tasks which
are used to assemble job descriptions rendering jobs widely comparable. 7 This n e w standardization represents the interposition of a
professional managerial discourse originating in firms of managerial consultants as well
Dorothy E. Smith
68
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as in universities and can b e expected to be

increasingly
significant for skill certification. But whether w e look at the old or
the n e w , the standardization and co-ordination of internal divisions of labour and
external labour markets are organized textually. Formal organization is permeated
with documentary practices tying its internal
process to extended social relations intersecting government, management and professional organization.
This, however, is only one instance of a
very general process in which documentary
practices tie the internal processes of 'formal'
organization to the extended social relations
of the ruling apparatus. For example, in
organizations concerned with processing
people, characteristic forms of co-ordinating
work processes focused o n individuals are
documentary. In the psychiatric context, the
notion of the individual 'case' refers to a
documentary practice. Indeed 'cases' as organizational elements exist as continuous (locally accomplished) relations between individuals and their records. T h e latter include
reports of interviews with physicians, observations by nurses of the patients' behaviour o n
the ward, records of medications, the social
workers' investigations of patients' families,
etc. Individuals are k n o w n as 'cases' under the
interpretative aegis of their records. W h e n
decisions are to be m a d e , their 'current status'
is located in the documentary traces of their
past contained in them. T h e phrase 'current
status' itself refers to this documentary order. 8 But the method and categories of the
records are not idiosyncrasies of a particular
hospital or clinic. Standardized methods of
observation and investigation, categories,
interpretative schemata and practices and the
like have been evolved in the discourses
of psychiatry and related professions. Professional discourse has in its turn been influenced by the local documentary accomplishm e n t of 'cases' and hence incorporates the
local documentary practices of psychiatric
organizations as its presuppositions. Here, as
in the previous example, unveiling the
documentary process displays relations be-
Dorothy E. Smith
tween the local social order and the larger

social structure as practices in language that
can be directly investigated.
Making the documentary dimension of
formal organization visible potentially eliminates the conceptual isolation of organizational process. T h o u g h organizational theory
has been increasingly interested in h o w formal
organization is e m b e d d e d in an environment,
its conceptualizations preserve the isolation of
the organization itself as the primary unit of
investigation. T h e investigation of documentary practices enables us, by contrast, to
explicate the extended social relations of the
ruling apparatus. Formal organization is n o
longer seen as isolated but as permeated with
relations co-ordinating it with other phases
and forms of the process of ruling.
Research
T h e foregoing discussion implies an approach
to documents or texts that situates them in
social relations. It thereby avoids presupposing the very practices of detachment fundamental to the documentary m o d e . Similarly, it
avoids accepting the conventions of documentary time, but rather recognizes documents as
constituents of a social course of action in
which they arefirstproduced and then bec o m e active in the ordering of subsequent
phases and the relations a m o n g them (remembering, of course, that the activity of a
document is a function of its reading). This
m e a n s , a m o n g other things, that hermeneutic practicesconcepts, categories, codes,
methods of interpretation, schemata and
the likemust b e understood as active
constituents of social relations and social
courses of action rather than merely as constituents or indices of that amorphous designate, 'culture'. Interpretative practices which
'activate' a text are viewed as properties of
social relations and not merely as the c o m petences of individuals (Smith, 1983). Thus
our interest in the interpretative m o m e n t
is not in the idiosyncrasy but in those
practices presupposed by the idiosyncrasy
which belong in a given discursive or
Activation of a text b y readers. Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magrr
71
72
organizational setting and which individuals
enter w h e n actually reading. Further, recognizing document or text as a constituent of
social relations also m e a n s being interested in
the social organization of its production as a
prior phase in the social relation rather than
as the work of a particular author.
I wish to emphasize the linearity and
temporality of the concept of social relation.
A s I have c o m e to use it, it analyses contexts
of texts, speech or acts not as limited by a
time-bound framesetting, occasion, etc.
but as constituents of a sequential social
course of action through which various subjectivities are related. A given locally historic
instance is explored as a constituent. It is an
analysis that seeks to disclose the non-local
determinations of locally historic or lived
orderliness. In thefirstsection above, it was
pointed out that an important effect of the
document is to transcend local historical
time. Such possibilities as multiple simultaneous
occurrences of a text, or its repeated uses o n
a n u m b e r of occasions o n which it is treated
as the ' s a m e ' , are to be seen as organizing extra-local relations a m o n g the different settings.
T h e replicable or recurrent character, the
'patterning' of the social relations of the ruling
apparatus, depend upon this m o v e m e n t between the documentary and the locally historic.
T h e earlier discussion of inscription has
given s o m e idea of the research being done
into the conversion of the locally historic into
the documentary m o d e . T h e other central
focus of investigation into textual relations
and forms of action must be the reader-text
relation. Specialized methods of research are
needed here. Textual analyses must be a primary but not, of course, exclusive method of
investigation. T h e notion of a social relation
or extended social relations as sequential
and replicable courses of social action involving m o r e than one individual should not be
conceived as subject to examination as such.
Rather it offers an analytic procedure enabling local instances to be situated in terms
of their role in the m o v e m e n t of such a social
course of action. Thus the investigation of the
Dorothy E. Smith
text-reader relation must preserve the m o v e m e n t and sequence of the social relation.
Analytic strategies that begin in document
time, treating the text as an internally deter-*
mined structure of meaning, will not serve this
purpose, semiotic and structural analyses
being for this reason generally inappropriate.
A n d though very different, the ethnomethodological investigations of Morrison (1981)
into textual order suffer from the same
limitation. O n the other hand, Eglin's (1979)
study of h o w readers resolve contradictions
between two versions of a single episode,
while it does not situate readers' practices in a
specific relation, none the less explicates
m e m b e r s ' methods of reading a text as an
actual social practice. A n d M c H o u l ' s (1982)
ethnography of the reader's work in making
sense of a news item preserves the active
text-reader relation. Both the latter, h o w ever, isolate the text-reader relation as a unit
in itself so that they d o not situate the
m o m e n t of reading, in Eglin's case, in a
political discourse intersecting with the social
organization of a university course (his analysis is of students' written responses to reading
the two versions) and in M c H o u l ' s case in the
news-reader relation with its o w n distinctive
properties. T h e argument here is that the
text-reader relation must be explored as a
part of a sequence of social action which
includes interpretative practices. H e n c e textual analyses must reveal h o w the text as
petrified meaning structures the reader's interpretation and hence h o w its meaning m a y
be entered into succeeding phases of the
relation.
T h e text does not appear from nowhere.
Its detachment from the social relation which
it organizes is a product of the intervention of
the sociologist w h o wrenches it out of its local
context as a collocation of meaning directly
available for analysis in itself. This is the basic
presupposition of the above methods of analysis. T h e text, however, should rather be
understood as having been produced to intend
the interpretative practices and usages of the
succeeding phases of the relation. T h e textreader m o m e n t is contained as a potentiality

in the text itself. For example, in an analysis
of a factual account of s o m e o n e becoming
mentally ill, it w a s possible to show h o w
the descriptions of behaviour were structured
to create normative anomalies which could
not b e restored to a normal form. Given the
reader's competence in the use of mental
illness as a schema of interpretation, mental
illness could be 'seen' to emerge from the
normatively anomalous behaviour (Smith,
1978). T o k n o w h o w to produce an account of
mental illness that invokes such methods of
reading, a n d h o w to m a k e such a reading,
unites reader and writer as practitioners of an
extended social relation of psychiatric discourse (including as it does its extension into
public textual discourse). Such interpretative
practices are properties of social relations.
This does not exclude or invalidate other
kinds of interests in a text. B u t if w e are to
analyse textual materials for their properties
as organizers of social relations, methods of
textual analysis are required that explicate the
active p o w e r of the text as it is realized by the
competent reader. T h e analytical ability to
investigate the text and to discover the ways
in which it has aimed at its analysis (this
provides the methodological grounding for
the analysis) depends u p o n competence in the
practitioner of those relations. Thus the analyst does not have to pretend to withdraw as
73
a m e m b e r of society and culture in performing
analytic w o r k . O n the contrary, the analyst
depends precisely o n such membership to
perform the analytical w o r k ; if the analyst
does not already c o m m a n d the interpretative
m e t h o d of the relational process being investigated it will have to b e learnt.
I d o not envisage the study of d o c u m e n tary or textually mediated social relations as a
distinct field, developing its o w n theories and
methods of research. Apart from the s o m e what specialized character of textual analyses,
the uncovering of this level of p h e n o m e n a
provides an approach to grasping the ubiquitous and generalizing relations of the ruling
apparatus. T h e intention is not to supersede
investigations of formal organization, of the
state, of mass media, or of other elements of
the ruling apparatus. Rather, it is to bring into
view a very significant dimension of those
practices structuring the daily relations that
organize and exercise p o w e r in contemporary,
advanced capitalist society. It is to identify an
aspect of the substantive ground of these
relations and hence to anchor research in the
actual ways in which they w o r k . Thus the
apparent modesty of the disclaimer conceals a
m o r e grandiose enterprise, that of transforming our understanding of the nature of
p o w e r w h e n power is vested in a documentary
process.
Notes
1. The conception of local
historicity is to be found in
Garfinkel et al. (1981). It
expresses the localized and
irreversible movement of the
social process as it is lived.
2. See m y discussion of
'document time' in Smith
(1974). It is a concept that
analyses the social
accomplishment of the fixity
of a text.
3. This is a special case of

Garfinkel's 'documentary
method of interpretation'
(Garfinkel, 1967). Garfinkel's
use of the term 'documentary' in
this phrase does not refer to
Dorothy E. Smith
74
documents or texts in the sense

that is used in this article. It
refers to the relation between
instances that 'document' or
index an underlying pattern,
where that pattern is a
cumulation of such 'instances'.
The notion originates in
M a n n h e i m (1952).
4. For the content of this
section, I a m very m u c h
indebted to discussions with
Marguerite Cassin.
5. Cassin's term. Cassin's

organizational study of
documentary processes is
reported in a P h . D . dissertation
in progress in the Department of
Sociology in Education, Ontario
Institute for Studies in
Education.
6. This example was given to
m e by George Smith and is
based on his researches into the
governmental production of
occupational categories and
their role in the organization of
the labour market. This is

reported in a P h . D . dissertation
in progress in the Department of
Sociology in Education, Ontario
Institute for Studies in
Education.
7. I a m indebted here again to
Cassin and also to Nancy
Jackson for this observation.
8. Similar processes are
observed by Cicourel and
Kitsuse (1963) in the context
of a high school.
References
A T K I N S O N , J. M . 1978.
Discovering Suicide: Studies in

the Social Organization of
Sudden Death. London,
Macmillan.
B E N J A M I N , W . 1969. The Work
of Art in the Age of Mechanical

Reproduction. Illuminations.
N e w York, Schocken Books.
C H U A , B . H . 1979. Democracy
as a Textual Accomplishment.
The Sociological Quarterly,
N o . 20, pp. 541-9.
C I C O U R E L , A . ; KITSUSE, J.
1963. The Educational DecisionMakers. Indianapolis, BobbsMerrill.

D A R R O U G H , W . D . 1978. When
Versions Collide: Police and the
Dialectics of Accountability.
Urban Life, Vol. 7 , N o . 3,
pp. 379-403.
E G L I N , P . 1979. Resolving
Reality Disjunctures on
Telegraph Avenue: A Study of
Practical Reasoning. Canadian

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 4 ,
N o . 4, pp. 359-75.
L A T O U R , B . ; W O O L G A R , S.
1979. Laboratory Life: Social

Construction of Scientific Facts.
N e w York, Sage Publications.
F O U C A U L T , 1972. The
Archaeology of Knowledge.
L o n d o n / N e w York, Pantheon.
F R A N K E L , R. M . ; B E C K M A N ,
H . B . 1983. Between Physician

and Patient: The Medical
Record and the Construction of
Clinical Reality. (Paper
presented at the Annual
Meeting of the Society for the
Study of Social Problems,
August 1983, Detroit.)
G A R F I N K E L , H . 1967. Studies in
Ethnomethodology. Englewood
Cliffs, N . J . , Prentice-Hall.
GARFINKEL, H . ; L Y N C H , M . ;
L Y N C H , M . 1983. Discipline and
the Material Form of Images:

A n Analysis of Scientific
Visibility. (Paper presented at
the Annual Meeting of the
Canadian Sociology and
Anthropology Association,
Vancouver, 1983.)
M C H O U L , A . W . 1982. Telling
How Texts Talk: Essays on

Reading and Ethnomethodology.
L o n d o n , Routledge & Kegan
Paul.
M A N N H E I M , K . 1952. Essays in
the Sociology of Knowledge.

Oxford University Press.
LIVINGSTON, E . 1981. The
W o r k of a Discovering Science
Construed with Materials from
the Optically Discovered Pulsar.
Philosophy of Social Science,
N o . 11, p p . 131-58.
M O R R I S O N , K . L . 1981. Some
Properties of 'Telling-order
Designs' in Didactive Inquiry.
Philosophy of Social Sciences,
N o . 11, pp. 245-62.
75
O L S O N , D . 1977. From
S M I T H , D . E . 1974. The Social
Utterance to Text: The Bias of

Language in Speech and
Writing. Harvard Educational
Review, Vol. 47, N o . 3.
Construction of Documentary
Reality. Sociological Inquiry,
Vol. 44, N o . 4 , pp. 257-68.
R E I M E R , M . 1983. The
Organization of a Genderdifferentiated Work Force: The

Case of Clerical Work in the
Public Sector. (Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the
Canadian Sociology and
Anthropology Association,
Vancouver, 1983.)
. 1978. K is Mentally 111:

The A n a t o m y of a Factual
Account. Sociology, Vol. 12,
N o . 1, pp. 23-53.
. 1982. T h e Active Text:
Textual Analysis of the Social
Relations of Public Textual
Discourse. (Paper presented at a
sociolinguistic session of the
World Congress of Sociology,

Mexico City, 1982.)
. 1983. N o O n e Commits
Suicide: Textual Analyses of
Ideological Processes.
(Forthcoming in
Human
Studies.)
Z I M M E R M A N , D . H . 1969.
Record-keeping and the Intake

Process in a Public Welfare
Agency. In: Stanton Wheeler
(ed.), On Record: Files and
Dossiers in American Life. N e w
York, Russell Sage Foundation.
Portuguese Creole dialects

in West Africa
Nelson E . Cabrai
In W e s t Africa, Creole, derived from Portu- onial powers linked the fate of Creole to the
guese, is spoken in the Cape Verde Islands,
project for the union of the archipelago with
Guinea-Bissau and, to a lesser degree, in
Guinea-Bissau. T h e coup d'tat o n 15 N o Casamance, the southern province of Senegal vember 1980 put paid to this experiment,
which, until 1886, was linked to Bolama, the
unique in the annals of modern African
former capital of Guinea-Bissau.
politics. In fact, Guinea-Bissau and C a p e
T h e outlook for this tropical Portuguese
Verde were governed by the same political
idiom is a subject of very considerable current
party, the P A I G C (Parti Africain de l'Indinterest. O n the continent what is at issue is
pendance de la Guine et les les du C a p the future of a popular language spoken by
VertAfrican Party for the Independence of
minorities within ethnic
Guinea and the Cape
groups in states or reVerde Islands) founded
Nelson E . Cabrai, from Cape Verde,
gions. In Cape Verde,
by Amilcar Cabrai. 1 T h e
is currently a member of the Unesco
Creole
is
the
only
Cabrai brothers and their
Secretariat. H e has published nulanguage spoken by the
friends
in the P A I G C
merous articles and studies in Porentire population, and
had sought to promote
tuguese and French including an
anthropological essay. Le Moulin et le
yet the official language
the
use
of
Creole
Pilon (1980).
of the republic is Portuthrough the de jure esguese. T h e local authtablishment, in the light
orities
are
endeavof idiolectal features, of
ouring to bring about
a standardized written
acceptance of the idea
language
for
both
of
Creole
becoming
countries, which together
the
country's
official
had
a population of
language in the near fusome 900,000 people.
ture, but they are faced
The failure of their prowith the usual difficulties encountered in
ject for union is likely to be a serious blow to
promoting national languages w h e n it comes
any regional approach as regards the use of
to the question of the demands of diplomatic
Creole. Nevertheless, it must be recognized
relations and technological training needs. A n that despite the different social and geoadditional factor is the heterogeneous nature
graphical contexts in which each of the three
of C a p e Verde Creole, for it varies con- variants of Creole is evolving, their future
siderably from island to island.
m a y be linked, for they have c o m m o n lexical
roots and are all developing in the actual or
After the accession of Guinea-Bissau to
artificial insularity such as the Portuguese
independence in 1974 and of Cape Verde in
trading posts succeeded in imposing on the
1975, the authorities that succeeded the col-
Nelson E. Cabrai
78
Pedro Monteiro Cardoso, one of the pioneers of written Creole in the 1920s, D. R.
coasts of Africa, America and Asia from the

fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries.
T h e case of Casamance, although a
special one, is none the less revealing. In this
Senegalese province French is the exclusive
language of instruction for general education
and Creole is not even one of the six African
national languages taught in specialized institutions; however everything points to the
increasing use of Creole a m o n g Catholics.
Tania Maria Alkmin of the University of So
Paulo in Brazil has observed that Creole is
becoming increasingly widely spoken a m o n g
the Dyolas. In addition there are the Creolespeaking immigrants from Guinea-Bissau
w h o , for political and military reasons, have
been arriving in Senegal on a massive scale
over the last twenty-five years.
According to official statistics, in GuineaBissau 44.3 per cent of the population speak
Creole and 4.37 per cent speak only Creole.2
The Creole spoken on the continent has

historical links with that of Cape Verde. In
addition, the m a n y Creole dialectseach of
the C a p e Verde islands has its ownneed not
be an insuperable barrier to the conceptualization of a written language. This is part of
the general difficulty that exists throughout
Africa where a great m a n y dialects springing
from the same roots are spoken in different
regions, often within borders. Mention m a y
be m a d e here of the study by Grard Galtier,3
whose stated aim is to propose some improvements in the current written form of M a n dingo, as used in various West African
countries (Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the
G a m b i a , Senegal, Ivory Coast and Upper
Volta) with a view to establishing a single
written form. In Europe also there are
examples of languages spoken by large population groups which have not become systematized from the standpoint of language
79
Teaching Portuguese in a village school of Monte Trigo, Santo Anto Island. Yves Giadu/Atias
technique. This is particularly true of Provenal French. Pierre Bee's w o r k 4 o n the

m o d e r n langue d'oc takes the same line as
that of Grard Galtier.
Everything would seem to indicate that
while the three variants of W e s t African
Creole should preserve their specific characteristics, they would stand to gain if there
were a single written form for them all.
Probably exported from the C a p e Verde
Islands b y slave traders and compradores,
continental Creole has evolved in its o w n w a y
and been enhanced b y existing side by side
with 'purely' African languages. 5 Nevertheless the vocabulary, both o n the continent and
in the archipelago, is essentially Portuguese.
T h e originality of W e s t African Creole lies in
the gradual symbiosis of dialects from different parts of Africa and Portuguese. It is a
specific sociolinguistic p h e n o m e n o n that could
well embrace all three variants.
T h e Creole of the C a p e Verde Islands,

despite the m o r e m a r k e d 'Lusitanian' influence, jealously preserves its African-inspired
conceptual structure. In C a s a m a n c e . Creolespeakers are subject to various influences,
including that of French, but for all that, they
are still a separate linguistic and cultural
group like so m a n y others within Senegal. In
Guinea-Bissau it seems very probable that
Creole is progressing and consolidating its
position as a language linking different ethnic
and even social groups.
Continental basilects and

the Cape Verdean continuum
O n the continent Creole is developing in
multilingual societies with extremely precise
linguistic demarcations and a m o n g which the
physical presence of the Portuguese and the
media of their influence have long been
Nelson E. Cabrai
80
limited, or even totally absent. Everything
points to the fact that, of the three, the
Casamance basilect is the least affected by
diglossia, since Portuguese has not been
spoken in the region since the second half of
the nineteenth century.
In Guinea-Bissau, the Creole spoken in
Bissau and Bolama (the former capital) differs considerably from that of other regions
which are very little urbanized. Quite obviously, the Creole spoken by the 'whitecollar' segment (the assimilados) is more
'Lusitanian' from all points of view than that
of the rural dwellers, w h o are, for the most
part, illiterate. T h e former presence of an
important Cape Verdean colony necessarily
had a significant influence on local speech in a
country where things are often changing with
the fluctuating m o o d of political psychology
and shifts in trends.
For a long time Creole was the only
concrete sign of the Portuguese cultural presence on the coast. This is still the situation in
Casamance, particularly in the town of Ziguinchor, where, because of a phenomenon
of transculturation, Creole still shows signs of
Portuguese influence. A s early as 1688 'Sieur
la Courbe' mentioned a certain jargon in use
in Senegal, which, although bearing only 'a
faint resemblance to Portuguese', was none
the less felt to be related to it and served as a
language of communication with the Europeans, like the lingua franca of the Mediterranean. 6 Creole was probably spoken in other
regions of Senegal and disappeared in m u c h
the same w a y as certain dialects, derived from
Portuguese, in the old trading posts in India.7
T h e Creole currently spoken in Cape
Verde cannot be considered to be a completely independent form, having regard
to the domination of Portuguese with which
it coexists.
Nevertheless, if indeed there is a continu u m , account must be taken of the influence
of the social structure on the development
of the language, reflecting both objective
situations and the psychological and social
values acquired by subgroups. T h e acrolectal Creole spoken in each of the nine
inhabited islands would clearly appear to be

closer to the fundamental c o m m o n character of
what is generally termed a continuum. O n the
island of So Tiago, where more than onethird of the population has long been concentrated, the structure of the language has
been studied from the point of view of two
extremes: the crioulo fundo (basilectal),
which is regarded as being spontaneous and
further removed from the position of inferiority deriving from the origins of its formation, and crioulo limpo (acrolectal), which
evolves under the influence of the relatively
standardized local Portuguese.
Between these two extremes are interacts whose importance varies from island to
island; in recent years, especially since independence, the emergence of a mesolect seems
to be increasingly marked. This tendency will
probably develop and eventually attenuate
the effects of diglossia.
Genesis and evolution

Cape Verde is the h o m e , if not the cradle, of
Portuguese Creole in West Africa.
A fact to be noted is that all Cape
Verdeans are Creole-speaking; Portuguese is,
for the most part, learnt at school. Moreover,
there are m a n y Cape Verdeans w h o can
neither read nor write, have no c o m m a n d
of Portuguese and are, consequently, m o n o lingual Creole-speakers. However, caution is
needed in determining this category since,
because of the more marked 'Lusitanian'
influence in some islands, Portuguese is
readily accessible even to crypto-illiterates.
The appearance of Creole in the archipelago goes back to the earliest days of colonization; in order to understand each other,
masters and slaves slipped into the use of a
lingua franca comprehensible to everyone.
T h e slaves w h o had c o m e from different
regions did not speak the same language and
had to learn a few functional words of
Portuguese which they used in their radical
form to communicate a m o n g themselves
and with their masters. Gradually, as a dialectical process, the masters also adopted the

language of their subjects. This is hardly
surprising w h e n w e r e m e m b e r that the
slave-holders were not exactly m e n of letters
and that there were probably non-Portuguesespeaking m e m b e r s of the European colony.
T h e Creole that accordingly c a m e into being
was composed of lexical elements from Portuguese conveyed through varied linguistic
structures originating from all over Africa.
T h e widespread use of Creole w a s not to
everyone's taste and there were endless protests from those w h o defended the purity and
development of the Portuguese language in
the tropics.
In 1884 Jos Joaquim Lopes de L i m a
described Creole as a ridiculous language and
advocated the establishment of schools entrusted to European teachers with a 'pure'
and faultless pronunciation of Portuguese. 8
A m o n g other things, Lopes de L i m a blamed
the whites for speaking Creole and the Church
for teaching the Christian doctrine in Creole
to the detriment of Portuguese. Lopes
Phonetic
81
Lima's statements reflect a certain intolerance
at the emergence of a n e w 'Creole' society,
which w a s certainly to fuel the smouldering
differences between the colony and the h o m e
country.
After independence the n e w authorities
advocated the adoption of a Creole that
would one day b e c o m e an official language.
T h e Creole of the island of So Tiago w a s
chosen since, according to government experts, it w a s closest to that of Guinea-Bissau.
T h e split between the two countries put paid
to this experiment, leaving the problem of
the choice of a standard written language
unresolved. T h e promotion of Creole is
h a m p e r e d by the fact that an appreciably
different version of Creole is spoken in each
of the inhabited islands.
Eugenio Tavares, a C a p e Verdean
author, wrote in 1924 in the journal Manduco that 'the character of the C a p e Verdean
people is expressed with varying degrees of
picturesqueness depending o n the tonal
iption
So Nicolau Creole:
Cosa sabe ta cab depressa
Csa runh ca ta cab!
Ks sb t kba dprss
Ksa rn k t kba
Santo Anto Creole:

Csa sb ta cab dpressa
Cos runh enn'ta caba
Ks sb t kba dpress
Ks rue t kba
Fogo Creole:
Cusa sabe ta cab dipressa
Cusa fde c ta cab
Kssa sb t kba dipressa

Kssa fd kt kba
So Tiago Creole:
Cussa sabi ta caba fachi
Cussa fdi c ta caba
Kssa sb ta kab fx
Kssa fd k ta kba
Portuguese version:
O b e m dura
Tanto pouco quanto perdura o
English version:
Sorrow is as enduring
A s happiness is fleeting
Nelson E. Cabrai
82
Santo Anto /
L
C - . S . Vicente
L/Sal
S. Nicolau
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Boa Vista
S. Tiago
0 Maic
Brava o
Praia
Fogo
Cape Verde Islands and, opposite, continental West Africa where Portuguese Creole dialects are spoken.
quality of its dialects which vary from island

to island just as the physical features of the
inhabitants d o ' . 9
This linguistic difference appears to be
less marked as a result of certain improvements in transport, which have facilitated
internal migration. A t present, more than onethird of the population lives on the island of
So Tiago, where the capital of the archipelago is located. A t the same time, similarities
exist between the dialects of the islands that
are relatively close to one another. However,
there are still comprehension problems according to the extent to which 'Creolization'
has been maintainedin other words, accord-
ing to the resistance to the influence of

Portuguese.
The examples given by Pedro Cardoso in
Folclore caboverdano amply illustrate the
variants, if not the anarchy, of the Creole
spoken in these islands. These are set out in
the table, accompanied by versions in Portuguese, English and So Tiago Creole, with
phonetic transcriptions:
It can be seen, then, that there is greater
similarity between Sao Tiago and Fogo, on
the one hand, and between So Nicolau and
Santo Anto, on the other. However, the
difference between the Creole of So Tiago
and Santo Anto could pose problems of
83
MAURITANIA
comprehension for the uninitiated. This little

exercise gives an idea of the extent of the
difficulties in the w a y of the conceptualization
of a standardized written C a p e Verde Creole.
Conclusion
Cape Verde clearly wishes to promote Creole
but, apart from the internal difficulties, it has
to c o m e to terms with the need for a language
in which to conduct its diplomatic and trade
relations. Given its vital links with Portuguese-speaking countries, it is likely that
Portuguese will continue to be the country's
official language for a considerable time to

c o m e . 1 0 H o w e v e r , the fact remains that
Creole would be the best vehicle for mobilizing the island's inhabitants to combat poverty
and technological underdevelopment. T h e
situation on the continent is different. B e cause it is in a minority vis--vis the rest of
Senegal, Casamance is a separate case.
In Guinea-Bissau Creole is being used
m o r e extensively and presents fewer problems
as regards systematization than in Cape
Verde, since a m o r e or less standardized
basilect exists; the place of Creole a m o n g
other national languages is still to be determined.
Nelson E. Cabrai
84
Despite the variations and vicissitudes
they have experienced throughout history, the
three examples of Creole (Cape V e r d e , Casam a n c e and Guinea-Bissau) represent one
linguistic family, the outcome of the early
contacts between Europeans and Africans in
circumstances of which w e are all well aware.
Continental Creole probably c a m e from
C a p e V e r d e ; in any event, it w a s greatly
influenced from the outset by assimilated
blacks and mixed-race groups w h o had c o m e
from C a p e Verde to assist the Portuguese w h o
were in difficulty in the region.
T h e structure and conceptual basis of the
embryonic language of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries developed according to
the environment in which it grew u p . H o w ever, to the s a m e extent in Casamance in

Senegal as in the island of Brava in C a p e
V e r d e , Creole is linked with well-defined
cultural and social situations.
It is to be hoped that in the near future
there will b e an organization capable of
promoting and co-ordinating w o r k o n the
future evolution of Portuguese Creole in
western Africa, concerning as it does over a
million people. T h e International Committee
of Creole Studies plans to organize a round
table o n the status of Creole in western Africa
s o m e time in 1984.
[Translated from French]
Notes
1. Amilcar Cabrai. A Cape
Verdean guerrilla leader in the
Guinea-Bissau underground
movement, he was responsible
for the liberation of a part of
Guiean territory prior to the
fall of the Portuguese colonial
government and the accession to
independence by the former
African colonies. Cabrai was
assassinated at Conakry on
20 January 1973 in
circumstances that have never
been clarified.
2. According to the same
sources, the other languages
spoken are: Balanta, 24.4 per
cent; monolingual Balanta 14.2
per cent; Fula, 20.03 per cent;
monolingual Fula, 16.4 per cent;
Portuguese 11 per cent; and

monolingual Portuguese 0.15
per cent. The proceedings of the
Council of Ministers are
occasionally held in Creole.
3. Grard Galtier, Problmes
dialectologiques et
phonographmatiques des
parlers mandingues (doctoral
thesis, University of Paris, 1980).
4. Pierre Bec, Manual pratique
de l'occitan moderne, Paris,
Editions Picard, 1973.
in Les croles franais, p. 12,

Paris, Fernand Nathan, 1979.
7. In his study Esquisse d'une
dialectologie portugaise, Lisbon,
1901, Jos Leite de Vasconcelos
listed nine Portuguese dialects in
India. See pp. 29 et seq.
8. See Nelson Eurico Cabrai,
Le moulin et le pilon, pp. 87, 115
et seq., Paris, Editions de
l'Harmattan, 1980.
9. Pedro Cardoso, Folclore

Caboverdeano, pp. 25-8,
Oporto, Edicies Maranaus,
5. Balthazar Lopes da Silva, O
dialecto crioulo de Cabo Verde, 1933.
p. 31, Lisbon, 1957.
10. Nelson Eurico Cabrai,
tudes croles, Vol. III, N o . 1,
6. 'Voyage de la Courbe',
1980, pp. 34, 41.
quoted by Robert Chaudenson
85
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Capverdienne en France, 1974.
F R U S O N I , S. Textos crioulos
caboverdianos. In: Miscelnea
luso-africana, pp. 165-203.
Lisbon, JIU, 1975. (Presented
by Valhoff-Marius.)
Cape Verdean Dialects of

Portuguese. Boletim de Filologa
(Centro do Estudos Filolgicos,
Lisbon), Vol. 20. 1963.
. Padas de scritura sagrada
na crilo de Dja-Braba.
Edinburgh, National Bible
Society of Scotland.
T A V A R E S , E . Momas, centigas
crioulas. Lisbon, 1932.
V I E I R A , L . F . (alias Dambara).
Noti. Lisbon, 1964. (Text
entirely in Creole.)
. Ka-Manch.
(Forthcoming: Creole with
introduction in Portuguese and
French.)
Guinea-Bissau and Casamance
LEITE D E V A S C A O N C E L O S , J.
Esquisse d'une dialectologie

portugaise. Lisbon, 1901.
A L K M I N , T . M . Le crole
portugais de Casamance dans le
contexte francophone.
(Forthcoming.)
C A B R A L , N . E . Le moulin et le
pilon: Les les du Cap-Vert.
Paris, ditions Harmattan, 1980.
. Reflexion autour du crole
ou croles parls dans l'archipel
du Cap-Vert. tudes croles,
Aupelf-Montreal, Bibliothque
Nationale du Qubec, 1980.
CHTAIGNIER,
R . L e crole
portugais du Sngal. Journal of

African Languages, 1963,
pp. 44-71.
C H A U D E N S O N , R . Les croles
franais. Paris, Fernand Nathan,
1979.
G A L T I E R , G . Problmes
dialectologiques et
phonographmatiques des
parlers mandingues. (Doctoral
thesis, University of Paris, 1980.)
M A R G R I D O , A . Estudos sobre
literaturas das naoes africanas
de lingua portuguesa. Lisbon,
1980.
M A S S A , J . - M . Chiquinho: Un
'Bildungsroman ' exemplaire.
(Forthcoming.)
P I N T O , B . B . Le crole de la
Guine-Bissau, structures
grammaticales, philosophie et
sagesse travers les surnoms, les
proverbes et les expressions.
Dakar, University of Dakar,
Faculty of Letters and H u m a n
Sciences, 1975.
R I V A S , P . Dialectique de la
littrature capverdienne:
Vocation ocane et
enracinement africain.
L'Afrique littraire (Paris),
Nos. 54-55, 1980, pp. 65-8.
L O P E S D E L I M A , J.J. Ensaios
sobre a estatistica das possesses B E C , P . Manual pratique de

portuguesas no ultramar.
l'occitan moderne. Paris, Picard,
Lisbon, 1844.
1973.
T E I X E I R A , N . A . GuinePortuguesa. Vol. 1, pp. 227-33.

Lisbon, A G U , 1954.
* The reader will realize that the word 'Creole' is written either as crioulo or creoulo, and that 'Cape
Verdean' is written either as caboverdeano or caboverdiano. W e have kept to the original spellings.
A framework for the description

of language spread:
the case of modern Hebrew
Robert L . Cooper
W e can define language spread as an increase,

for the description of language spread. W e
over time, in the proportion of a communiapply it here to the case of modern H e b r e w .
cations network that adopts a given language
While each case of language spread is
or language variety for a given communicative
unique in s o m e respects, and thus of interest
function. There are numerous examples, inin its o w n right, the case of modern H e b r e w is
cluding Sumerian, Accadian and Aramaic in
perhaps of particular interest. First, H e b r e w
ancient Mesopotamia (Paper, 1982), Greek,
is the only language to have been successfully
Latin and Arabic in the empires associated
renativized, i.e. to be spoken again as a
with those languages (Brosnahan, 1963),
mother-tongue and used for all the ordinary
Amharic in Ethiopia (Cooper, 1976), Arabic
communicative purposes of a speech c o m in the southern Sudan
munity, after a long peri( M a h m u d , 1982), Malay
od during which no one
Robert L . Cooper is Associate Proin the Malay archipelago
spoke it as a vernacular.
fessor of Sociology at the Hebrew
(Asmah, 1982), M a n Second, its re-establishUniversity of Jerusalem, Mount Scodingo in West Africa
ment as a vernacular and
pus, Jerusalem, Israel. H e co-edited
(Calvet, 1982), Russian
its status as the chief
(with B . Spolsky) Case Studies in
Bilingual Education (1978), edited
in the Soviet Union
lingua franca a m o n g the
Language Spread: Studies in Dif(Lewis, 1972), Swahili in
Jewish
population
in
fusion and Social Change (1982) and
East Africa (Mazrui and
Israel survived an enorhas published articles on theoretical
Zirimu, 1978; Scotton,
mous,
utterly unpreand applied sociolinguistics. H e is
1983; Whiteley, 1969),
cedented wave of immion the editorial boards of the International Journal of the Sociology of gration, which s w a m p e d
and
English
globally
Language and Applied Linguistics.
(Fishman et al. 1977).
the H e b r e w speech c o m Indeed, it is likely that
munity in a sea of other
few languages remain in a
languages.
state of equilibrium with
While most of the
respect to the relative degree to which they data on which the present article relies have
are used. Languages spread and contract. been published elsewhere (particularly Bachi,
Usually the spread of one language occurs
1956, 1977; Fishman et al., 1977; G o l d m a n ,
at the expense of another, but not necess1980; H o f m a n and Fisherman, 1971; Rosenarily.
b a u m , 1983; Schmelz and Bachi, 1974), this is
thefirstattempt to place these data within the
The questions asked by students of
framework mentioned above for the descriplanguage spread can be collapsed into a single
tion of language spread. It is also the first
summarizing question (Cooper, 1982): Who
attempt to use this framework for the descripadopts what, when, where, how and why? This
tion of a single case, and thus the article
summarizing question provides a framework
88
provides one test for the usefulness of the

framework.
Historical background to the

spread of Hebrew
Before describing the spread of Hebrew
according to the rubrics provided by our
summarizing question, a brief historical introduction is in order. Following Bachi (1977,
p. 2), the term 'Palestine' is used to refer to
that part of the land west of the Jordan river
which came under the British Mandate (192248) or to an equivalent territory in preceding
periods. T h e term 'Israel' is used to refer to
the state of Israel in its 1949 borders. This
territory is about 77 per cent of that of
Mandatory Palestine, but in the Mandatory
period the Jewish population was almost
completely concentrated in what is n o w the
state of Israel (Bachi, 1956, p . 179).
Although the ravages of the R o m a n Judaean wars substantially depleted the Jewish
population of Palestine, and although there
was a large-scale conversion to Christianity by
the remaining Jews during the Byzantine
period, a remnant of Jewry survived and lived
continuously in Palestine until modern times.
Their number was augmented by Jews from
other communities w h o returned to Palestine
either because they sought asylum from wars
or from persecution or because they wanted
to study, pray or be buried in their ancestral
land, to which the daily prayers of their
religion refer. Until the nineteenth century,
however, immigration was small and sporadic,
and re-emigration, due to poor economic
conditions and to poor conditions of health
and personal security, was probably substantial (Bachi, 1977, p . 77).
W h e n local conditions improved somewhat in the mid-nineteenth century, Jewish
immigration became continuous, with perhaps
25,000 Jews immigrating between 1850 and
1880. This was a substantial number in comparison with the small size of the total
population which, around 1890, is thought to
have been about 532,000, of w h o m about
Robert L. Cooper
43,000 are thought to have been Jews

(Bachi, 1977, pp. 32, 77).
T h e developing Jewish population of midnineteenth-century Palestine was divided into
several communities, each speaking its o w n
language. Jews from Eastern Europe spoke
Yiddish, Jews from Balkan countries and
the Ottoman empire spoke Ladino (JudeoSpanish) and Arabic, and Jews from Africa
and Asia spoke Arabic, which was often
a Jewish communal variety (Bachi, 1977,
p. 286). T h e only language that united
them all was Hebrew.
Although H e b r e w had been abandoned
as a language of everyday communication by
about A . D . 200, it continued to be used as a
written language, not only in prayer and in
the study of sacred texts, but also in the composition of legal, scientific and philosophical
texts and secular belles-lettres. The number
of H e b r e w books written between the abandonment of H e b r e w as a vernacular and the
founding of the state of Israel (1948) is immense, reaching the tens of thousands (Rabin,
1973, p . 9). Until the nineteenth century,
a large proportion of the Jewish male population in most countries of the Diaspora
could read and understand Hebrew, and
m a n y could express themselves in writing as
well (Rabin, 1983, p . 42).
While it is true that between its abandonment and its revival as a vernacular it was
used principally as a liturgical and literary
language, it was occasionally spoken as a
lingua franca by Jews w h o shared no other
language. It appears to have been used by
Jews in mid-nineteenth-century Palestine as a
lingua franca, although in limited contexts
such as the market. It is possible, moreover,
that in the Ladino- and Arabic-speaking
Jewish communities a gradual transition to
H e b r e w as an all-purpose lingua franca was
taking place (Rabin, 1973, p . 70). Thus, as
Blanc (1968), Fellman (1973, 1974), Rabin
(1973) and others have pointed out, the term
'revival' is a misnomer. Hebrew is no exception to the rule that once a language has
passed out of all use whatsoever, it remains
dead. T h e 'revival' of Hebrew refers to its
89
A framework for the description of language spread: the case of modern Hebrew
-,-
*
*
^
*
i
**" ****
""T*
',
'*
--. . ; * * \ v \ ^ \ v - C x \ \ \ X , , \*VC<i\v*
H e b r e w letters animated into h u m a n and animal forms in a manuscript liturgy for the Haggadah (Passover)
eve service. Horse with rider is an allusion to the Exodus. F r o m Spain, thirteenth century. Preussische
Staatsbibliothek.
Robert L. Cooper
90
resuscitation as a vernacular, a language of
everyday life.
T h e movement for the revival of H e b r e w
began in Palestine and in Eastern Europe in
the 1880s, under the influence of European
national movements, which viewed the
language of a people as inseparable from
its nationhood. A s Rabin (1973, p. 69) has
pointed out, however, the H e b r e w revival
m o v e m e n t differed from m a n y of the
language movements associated with European
nationalism. Whereas m a n y of the latter
attempted to extend the range of a vernacular's functions to include those of literacy, the
task of the Hebrew revival movement was to
extend the range of a written language
to include spoken functions. Whereas the
peoples mobilized by European national
movements could often be united by a
c o m m o n vernacular, the Jews were divided
by their vernaculars. But they could be unified through Hebrew.
A series of pogroms and repressive
measures in Russia following the assassination
of Czar Alexander II (1881) started a wave of
mass emigration of Jews, a small number of
w h o m came to Palestine, then part of the
Ottoman empire. M a n y of those w h o arrived
in those years were young intellectuals, influenced by European ideas of nationalism and
imbued with the desire for a life better than
and different from the one they had k n o w n in
Russia.
T h e young idealists w h o started coming
to Palestine in the 1880s welcomed the idea of
using H e b r e w as an all-purpose vernacular, an
ideafirstpromoted by Eliezer B e n Yehuda, a
young Russian Jew w h o arrived in 1881. A n
indefatigable promoter of the H e b r e w revival,
he was thefirstto speak H e b r e w at h o m e and
to raise his children in Hebrew!
Between 1881 and 1903, from twenty
to thirty thousand Jews arrived (Bachi,
1977, p . 79). They adopted B e n Yehuda's
idea of introducing H e b r e w as the language
of instruction in the schools of the
settlements they founded. A system of
H e b r e w schools was established, including
kindergartens (from 1898) and high schools
(from 1906).
p. 73),
According to
Rabin
(1973,
Between 1900 and 1910 young couples began to

enter into matrimony who had gone through the
Hebrew school and whose Hebrew speech was
fluent and natural. At that time were born the
first children in families w h o spoke nothing but
Hebrew in the h o m e , and those babies grew up
in Hebrew without anyone making a special
effort to assure this. They were thefirstpeople,
after a lapse of 1,700 years, w h o knew no
language but Hebrew.
D u e to conditions caused by the First World
W a r , immigration came virtually to a halt, but
it began again under the British, w h o had
captured Palestine from the Ottoman empire
in 1918. T h e British accepted a mandate from
the League of Nations in 1922 to administer
Palestine and Transjordan, with Palestine
defined as the territory west of the Jordan
River in the former Turkish sanjaks of Acre,
Nablus and Jerusalem. The Mandatory
government declared H e b r e w , along with
Arabic and English, an official language.
During the period of British rule, the
population of Palestine almost tripled, from
about 676,000 in 1919 to 1,970,000 in 1947
(Bachi, 1977, p . 40). Both Jews and Muslims,
the two major groups, showed the same absolute increase in population, 600,000 each,
but in relative terms the increase was m u c h
greater for the Jews, w h o grew eleven times in
size, from about 56,000 in 1919 to about
650,00 in 1948 (Bachi, 1977, p. 40). This high
rate of increase a m o n g the Jews was due
mainly to immigration. During this period,
most of the immigrants came from Eastern
Europe and from Central Europe, initially for
political and economic reasons and later due
to Nazi persecution. There was also, however,
a substantial immigration from the Y e m e n
and other Asian countries at this time.
The establishment of the state of Israel in
M a y 1948 resulted in an enormous wave of
immigration, as restrictions on immigration,
imposed in 1939, were abolished. Survivors of
the Holocaust, unwilling or unable to remain
in Europe, were n o w able to enter Israel. A t
91
Il j ^ - ^ ?
H
j\
XX
i V?
K>
ttM
^'
Page from a three-volume H e b r e w Bible with the Massorah (commentaries) of an early fourteenth-century
G e r m a n type. T h e text of the Bible is in relatively large letters, that of the Massorah in smaller letters to
yield a Composite i m a g e Of H o l y W r i t . Bibliothque Nationale. Paris.
92
the same time, a growing sense of insecurity
among the Jews of Asia and Africa, combined
in some cases with messianic expectations, led
to a mass exodus from those continents.
During the three and a half years after the
establishment of the state of Israel, close to
700,000 Jews immigrated, more than doubling the Jewish population (Bachi, 1977,
p. 79). During the remainder of the 1950s,
to the end of 1960, almost 300,000 more Jews
arrived (Bachi, 1977, p . 79). Altogether, between 1948 and the end of 1978 more than
1,600,000 Jews came to Israel (Goldman,
1980, p . 47), about two and a half times the
number of Jewish inhabitants at the time of
independence. In 1950, the proportion of the
Jewish population in Israel that had been born
abroad was close to 75 per cent, since when it
has been declining. B y 1978 it was about 45
per cent (Goldman, 1980, p. 13).
Roben L. Cooper
and personality, students of language spread

typically study demographic characteristics,
such as age, sex, number of years of formal
education, and occupation.
Demographic characteristics
Studies of societal bilingualism have not
shown a universal set of demographic characteristics associated with persons w h o are quick
to adopt the spreading language. For example, a study of Amharic-Oromo bilingualism
in two Ethiopian provinces suggested that
among O r o m o s , younger persons were more
likely than older persons to know Amharic,
whereas among Amharas, older persons were
more likely than younger persons to k n o w
O r o m o (Cooper et al., 1977). Whereas there
was no relationship among the Amharas
between school attendance and knowledge of
O r o m o , the O r o m o s were more likely to
k n o w Amharic if they had gone to school.
Similarly, a study of lingua francas in K a m The spread of Hebrew
pala found that whereas knowledge of English
With the very brief description given above as
was related to school attendance, knowledge
background, w e can n o w discuss the spread of
of Swahili was not (Scotton, 1972).
Hebrew under each of the rubrics suggested
W h a t studies of societal bilingualism
by our summarizing question: Who adopts
suggest is that if demographic characteristics
what, when, where, how and why?
are related to language spread it is because
they reflect differences in the adopters' incenWho
tives and opportunities to learn the spreading
language. Thus younger Oromos were more
Who refers to the individual adopters themlikely to k n o w Amharic because they were
selves as well as to the communications netmore likely to have gone to school, where
work within which they interact. With respect
Amharic was the m e d i u m of primary-school
to individual adopters, w e want to k n o w the
instruction. Older Amharas were more likely
characteristics that distinguish adopters from
to k n o w O r o m o because greater length of
non-adopters and early adopters from late
adopters. This question is similar to one asked residence in Oromo-speaking communities
had given them a greater opportunity to learn.
by students of second-language acquisition
Similarly, whereas in Kampala Swahili can be
w h o want to k n o w what characteristics dis'picked up' via the ordinary routines of work,
tinguish good language learners from poor
market-place and neighbourhood, English
ones. Indeed, language spread and secondlanguage acquisition overlap asfieldsof in- must typically be learned through formal
quiry inasmuch as language learning can be study at school. Whereas it is hard for most to
do without knowledge of Swahili, more can
viewed as one type of adoption. However,
whereas those students of second-language manage without knowledge of English.
acquisition w h o are interested in the characW h a t can w e learn from the demographic
teristics of good language learners typically
variables that have been associated with
study individual differences in attitude,
adoption of Hebrew? W e can turn to analyses
aptitude, cognitive style, learning strategies
carried out by Bachi (1956, 1977), Hofman
and Fisherman (1971), and Schmelz and Bachi
(1974) of censuses or sample surveys carried
out in 1948, 1954, 1961, 1966 and 1972 by the
Central Bureau of Statistics. (At the time of
writing, the returns from the 1983 census have
not been tabulated.) Since 1948, the Central
Bureau of Statistics has asked respondents
what languages they speak every day and, if
they use m o r e than one, to indicate the
relative frequency with which these languages
are used. E a c h respondent is classified according to an 'index of H e b r e w speaking' whereby
100 m e a n s that H e b r e w is the only language
spoken, 75 that H e b r e w is the principal
language spoken, 25 that H e b r e w is spoken as
an additional language, and 0 that H e b r e w is
not used at all. T h e following generalizations
can be m a d e about the relationships between
demographic variables and the index of
H e b r e w speaking.
First, a m o n g immigrants age at arrival is
negatively related and length of residence in
Israel positively related to claimed usage of
H e b r e w . A s H o f m a n and Fisherman (1971)
point out, this not surprising finding indicates
that 'natural' causes were sufficient to explain
variation in these immigrants' use at this point
in the revival of H e b r e w .
Second, with respect to the immigrants,
country of origin, w e find that a m o n g those
w h o immigrated during the Mandatory period, relatively high indices of H e b r e w usage
were obtained for persons from Arabic-speaking countries and for persons from Eastern
Europe and lower than average indices for
persons from Austria, G e r m a n y , Hungary
and Turkey. A m o n g those w h o arrived after
1948, the index of H e b r e w speaking remained
high a m o n g Jews from Arabic-speaking
countries but the index for persons from
Eastern Europe declined. Schmelz and Bachi
(1974) suggest that the decline could probably
be explained by the collapse of organized
Jewish education in Eastern Europe during
and after the Second World W a r and by the
greater tendency for immigrants w h o c a m e to
Palestine before the Holocaust to have a
Zionist ideology. T h e high indices a m o n g
persons from Arabic-speaking countries they
93
explain in part by the relationship between

Arabic and H e b r e w , two Semitic languages,
an affinity which presumably helps a speaker
of one to learn the vernacular, at least, of the
other. T h e lower indices a m o n g immigrants
from Austria, G e r m a n y , Hungary and Turkey
can be explained in part by the generally
poorer knowledge of H e b r e w found a m o n g
immigrants from those countries and by the
relatively strong cultural ties with the G e r m a n
and Hungarian languages o n the part of m a n y
G e r m a n and Hungarian Jews, whose c o m munities had been assimilated for a long time
(Bachi, 1956, p p . 230-1), as well as by the
greater ability of German-speakers to use
their mother-tongue or cognate English in
order to earn a living than w a s the case for
speakers of other languages (Hofman and
Fisherman, 1971).
Third, a m o n g the Jewish population as a
whole, age, sex, the n u m b e r of years of
formal education, occupation and participation in the workforce are all related to
H e b r e w usage.
Younger people claim H e b r e w usage
m o r e than older people both because they are
m o r e likely than older people to have been
born in Israel and because, on average, they
have had m o r e years of formal education than
older people. T h e n u m b e r of years of formal
education is also related to H e b r e w usage, in
part because immigrants have a lower level of
formal education than native-born Israelis.
H o w e v e r , a Central Bureau of Statistics
sample survey of immigrants w h o had been
in the country for two years, which was
carried out in 1950-51, showed that immigrant groups with a higher educational level
also had a higher proportion of persons w h o
k n e w H e b r e w abroad, w h o were studying
H e b r e w formally in Israel, and w h o used
H e b r e w in Israel (Schmelz and Bachi, 1974,
p. 774). Perhaps the skills acquired as part of
one's formal education help one to study a
second language both formally and informally. But formal education is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for H e b r e w
usage, as can be seen, on the one hand,
from the m a n y highly educated G e r m a n
94
immigrants w h o resisted the adoption of
H e b r e w and, on the other, from the m a n y
poorly educated or illiterate immigrants from
Africa and Asia w h o adopted H e b r e w with
alacrity.
Perhaps the chief reason for the link
between education and H e b r e w usage is the
connection between education and those occupations that require or tend to require a
working knowledge of H e b r e w . Thus m a n a gerial and clerical workers and those in liberal
professions, especially teachers, show c o m paratively high indices of H e b r e w use, whereas
workers in service occupations, traders and
salesmen, tailors and shoemakers, and unskilled workers show relatively low indices
of H e b r e w use (Schmelz and Bachi, 1974,
pp. 778-9). T h e influence of occupational
pressures upon the use of H e b r e w can be seen
from the 1961 census. A m o n g Jews w h o were
at least 14 years old, the index of H e b r e w
speaking w a s higher for labour-force participants than for those not in the labour force,
for those w h o worked at least thirty-five hours
a week than for those w h o worked fewer, and
for those w h o had worked more weeks in the
year than for those w h o had worked fewer
(Schmelz and Bachi, 1974, p . 778). Occupational pressures provide incentives to learn
H e b r e w , in order to obtain and retain a job,
as well as the opportunity to learn H e b r e w ,
through interactions with other workers,
customers, suppliers, and so forth. T h e importance of participation in the workforce
can also be seen from the difference between
male and female Hebrew-usage indices. Males
claim more usage of H e b r e w than females,
but this difference tends to disappear w h e n
participation in the workforce is taken into
account (Bachi, 1977, pp. 291-2).
While age, sex, education, occupation
and participation in the labour force are all
individually related to H e b r e w usage, they are
also related to each other. Thus younger
people are more likely to have more education, more educated people are more likely
to have a job that requires H e b r e w , males are
more likely than females to work outside the
h o m e , and so on. T o the extent that these
Robert L. Cooper
variables are related to one another, their

joint, pooled or cumulative ability to explain
variation in the use of H e b r e w is limited. This
is so because, to the extent that predictor
variables are unrelated to one another, each is
measuring something different and thus can
add n e w 'information' about the criterion,
contributing to the cumulative explanation of
variation. B y use of multiple-regression analysis, it is possible to see h o w m u c h of the
variation in usage can be explained or accounted for by all these predictor variables
taken together as well as h o w m u c h variation
each predictor can explain w h e n added to
others. Rosenbaum's (1983) study provides
just such an analysis.
A s part of a continuing sample survey
which has been conducted since 1969 by the
Central Bureau of Statistics in collaboration
with, a m o n g others, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, a survey of adults w h o
immigrated to Israel between 1970 and 1972
was carried out. During this period, approximately 66,000 adults (aged 18 or over) immigrated and were present in the country
three years later. These were the starting
years of a n e w wave of immigration from the
Soviet Union, and Soviet immigrants constituted the single largest national group in the
sample. Each respondent was interviewed
three times: two months, one year and about
three years after immigration. Rosenbaum
applied a multiple-regression analysis to four
measures of adoption, all based on the respondent's self-report. Three of these were
measures of usage (the index of H e b r e w
speaking mentioned above, listening to the
Hebrew-language news on the radio, and
reading H e b r e w newspapers) and one was a
measure of proficiency (the ability to participate in a simple H e b r e w conversation).
A m o n g the predictor variables were age,
sex, education, occupation (coded as follows:
professional or white-collar worker, bluecollar worker, does not worka scale presumably reflecting occupational demand for
H e b r e w ) , past or current participation in a
formal course of H e b r e w study in Israel, and
the ability to carry on a simple conversation in
Children of various origins learning to write Hebrew.
H e b r e w before arrival in Israel. About 40 per

cent of the respondents studied H e b r e w formally during theirfirstfew months in Israel,
while almost none studied H e b r e w formally
after thefirstyear in the country. It was the
younger, more educated, less religiously observant, and, to a lesser extent, females w h o
tended to study H e b r e w formally once in
Israel.
In the multiple-regression analysis, the
predictor which contributed most to the explanation of variation (variance) in the index
of H e b r e w speaking two months after arrival
was, as might be expected, prior knowledge of
H e b r e w . But three years after arrival, the
variable accounting for the most variation in
the index was occupation.
Whereas occupation was of first importance with respect to the daily use of spoken
H e b r e w three years after arrival, it con-
95
Alex Agoi7C;unr;i Prt
tributed very little to the explanation of variation in the other measures of adoption. Even
three years after arrival, the formal study of
H e b r e w in Israel was the most important
predictor both of claimed speaking ability and
of listening to the Hebrew-language news,
and it was the second-best predictor of reading a H e b r e w newspaper. Together, formal
study of H e b r e w in Israel and prior knowledge of H e b r e w accounted for most of the
explained variation of these three measures of
adoption.
Personal characteristics
Thus far, w e have considered the d e m o graphic characteristics of adopters, the data
supporting the notion that these characteristics are related to the adoption of H e b r e w
to the extent that they reflect the opportunity
and the incentive to learn the language. W h a t
96
about the personal characteristics that are
investigated by students of second-language
learning? With respect to the personal
characteristics of immigrants w h o have
learned H e b r e w well or w h o use it a great
dealcharacteristics from the domains of
attitude, aptitude, cognitive style, personality
and learning stylewe have virtually no
empirical studies designed to find out, though
there is at least one such study with respect to
the adoption of H e b r e w by Arab high-school
students in Tel-Aviv (Reves, 1983).
W e can perhaps learn something about
the relationship between individual differences in attitude and H e b r e w adoption on
the basis of Rosenbaum's data. O n e of her
predictor variables was an attitudinal measure,
'feels Israeli'. Respondents were asked to
indicate the extent to which they felt Israeli or
a national of their country of origin. In the
twelve multiple-regression analyses in which
this variable was entered (four criterion
measures for each of three points in time),
it contributed to the explanation of variation
in only one of them, reading a Hebrew
newspaper three years after arrival, and
there it was responsible for only 3 per cent
of explained variation. These results suggest
that attitudinal differences do not contribute
greatly to the explanation of variation in the
adoption of H e b r e w by modern immigrants.
Characteristics of interaction networks
In our summarizing question, who refers not
only to individual adopters but also to the
communications networks within which they
are found. There is as yet virtually no
research directed towards determining what
factors of communications networks promote
or retard language spread. However, it is
reasonable that the linguistic heterogeneity of
a network will promote the spread of a lingua
franca. Indeed, Brosnahan (1963) cites
linguistic heterogeneity as one of the four
conditions that promoted the spread of
Greek, Latin and Arabic in the empires
associated with those languages.
The influence of linguistic heterogeneity
can be seen in a survey of 190 adults in
Robert L. Cooper
80 Romanian-speaking families living in three

communities in Israel (Hofman and Fisherm a n , 1971). About half had been in the
country for m o r e than twenty years and the
other half from three to six years. A m o n g the
newcomers, those w h o lived in Jerusalem,
where they were scattered all over the city,
k n e w more H e b r e w than those w h o lived in
the town of Nahariya, where they were more
homogeneously concentrated. A m o n g oldtimers, those w h o lived in Nahariya, in which
m a n y ethnic groups are represented, knew
more H e b r e w than those w h o lived in a
nearby rural settlement populated mainly by
Romanian speakers.
Linguistic diversity has long been a feature of the Jewish community in Palestine and
Israel. With respect to the principal language
claimed by respondents during the censuses of
1916-18, Bachi (1956, p . 197) estimates that
if any two Jews met at random during that
period the chance that they would share the
same principal language was only about one in
three.
Even then, the most c o m m o n principal
language was H e b r e w (40 per cent), followed
by Yiddish (36 per cent), Arabic (18 per
cent), and Ladino (4 per cent) (Bachi, 1956,
p. 194). It is likely that Hebrew was also the
chief lingua franca a m o n g the Jews of Palestine. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that the language most likely to be shared
by interlocutors w h o did not speak the same
mother-tongue was H e b r e w , if only in its
literary form. While the hypothesis is
reasonable that H e b r e w was the language
most likely to be chosen as a lingua franca, it
remains a hypothesis which must be checked
by the analysis of archival material and by
interviews with octogenarians and nonogenarians w h o can tell us what they remember of
those days. This is a task which Ezri Uval, of
the H e b r e w University, has undertaken.
W h e n the state of Israel was established
in 1948, the probability that two speakers
drawn at random from the Jewish population
would share the same principal language had
increased from 32 per cent, at the close of the
Ottoman period, to 58 per cent (Bachi, 1956,
A framework for the description of language spread: the case of modern
Hebrew
97
Advertising in H e b r e w and English, P.-F. Dcsgeorges/Atia:
p. 197). H e b r e w was by then the principal

language of the bulk of the Jewish population. While the linguistic homogeneity of the
Jewish population increased, the linguistic
homogeneity of those not using Hebrew
decreased (Schmelz and Bachi, 1974, p . 762).
That is, the population claiming languages
other than H e b r e w as principal language
became ever more heterogeneous linguistically. T h e increasing heterogeneity of those
not using Hebrew as principal language was
due, on the one hand, to the increased variety
of languages spoken by immigrants w h o arrived during the British Mandate and particularly during the period of mass immigration
after the establishment of the state and, on
the other, to the marked erosion of Yiddish.
Whereas in the censuses of 1916-18 close to
60 per cent of all Jews w h o did not speak
H e b r e w as principal language spoke Yiddish,
by 1972 that figure had dropped to 19 per

cent for those aged 14 or older (Bachi, 1977,
p. 290). O f the eight languages listed by
Bachi (1977, p . 290), Yiddish is the only
language whose percentage among nonH e b r e w speakers has declined in each of the
five periods reported from 1916 to 1972, even
between 1948 and 1954 w h e n large numbers
of Yiddish-speaking immigrants arrived.
Perhaps the precipitous decline of Yiddish has stemmed in part from its decreasing
usefulness as a lingua franca. A s Greenberg
points out, the more persons w h o use a lingua
franca, the more useful it becomes and the
more it exerts pressure on others to learn it
too. H e also points out that nothing stops the
spread of a lingua franca more surely than the
existence of a rival lingua franca. If our
hypothesis is correct that Hebrew was the
chief lingua franca a m o n g Jews by the end of
98
the Ottoman period, then its spread created
pressure on others to learn it and prevented
the spread of its chief rival, Yiddish. T h e
potential of Yiddish as lingua franca was
probably undermined, in addition, by the fact
that where opposition existed to the use of
H e b r e w for secular purposes, it was found
a m o n g 'old-fashioned' ultra-orthodox persons
of Eastern European background. Almost all
of these spoke Yiddish and thus had no need
of a lingua franca with one another. If the
opponents to H e b r e w for secular purposes
had been linguistically heterogeneous, Yiddish would have been their probable choice of
lingua franca because Yiddish was spoken by
the greatest number of persons w h o did not
claim H e b r e w as principal language. A s it
was, the opponents to H e b r e w were linguistically homogeneous whereas those not opposed to H e b r e w were linguistically heterogeneous. So thefieldwas left clear for Hebrew.
Adoption
Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) propose five
stages of acceptance of an innovation: awareness (knowledge that the innovation exists),
interest (gaining knowledge about the innovation), evaluation (gaining a favourable or
unfavourable attitude towards the innovation), small-scale trial, and decision to adopt
or reject the innovation. There seems to be no
single set of stages widely accepted by researchers in the diffusion of innovation.
T h e following have been proposed for
language spread (Cooper, 1982):
1. Awareness. T h e speaker learns that the
language or language variety exists and
can (or must) be used for a particular
function.
2. Evaluation. T h e speaker forms a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the
personal usefulness of the language for a
particular function. Evaluation here is not
equivalent to favourable or unfavourable
feelings towards speakers of the language.
English, for example, spread throughout
Ireland in spite of Irish antipathy towards
the English (Macnamara,-1973). Rather,
Robert L. Cooper
evaluation refers to speakers' opinions
that knowledge of the n e w language for a
given function will or will not help them in
attaining valued goals. If the language will
not help speakers to attain such goals, they
are unlikely to learn it or, having learned
it, to use it. 'It is worth remembering', as
Whiteley (1969, p . 13) pointed out, 'that
the desire to learn another's language
springs only very rarely from a disinterested wish to communicate with one's
fellow h u m a n s . '
3. Proficiency. T h e speaker is able to use the
language for a given function. T h e criterion of spread here is defined not in
terms of grammatical or phonetic accuracy,
nor in terms of richness of vocabulary, nor
in terms of fluency, but rather in terms of
the extent to which speakers can use the
language for a given purpose. Knowledge
implies the ability to use the language with
the right person at the right time and at the
right place, as defined by norms of c o m municative appropriateness.
4 . Usage. T h e speaker uses the language for a
given function.
Not all w h o become aware of a language for
a given purpose form positive evaluations of
its personal usefulness; not all w h o form
positive evaluations learn it; and not all w h o
learn it use it. For example, in the Ethiopian
survey cited earlier, a substantial proportion
of Amharic mother-tongue speakers m e n tioned English as a language they would like
to k n o w , although the opportunity for learning
it was small and the opportunity for using it
smaller still. T o cite another example, it is not
possible to d o without knowledge of written
French in France, but 'it is possible to have
only a few opportunities for its practice'
(Tabouret-Keller, 1968, p . 109).
Although awareness, evaluation, proficiency and usage have been proposed as
stages of adoption, with awarenessfirstand
usage last, in fact these behaviours m a y
overlap and reinforce one another. A s one's
proficiency improves one is freer to use the
language, but as one uses the language one's
proficiency improves. Positive evaluation m a y
J4 framework for the description of language spread: the case of modern Hebrew
impel one to learn the language, but as one's

proficiency and usage increase, one is more
able to see the benefits accruing from usage
and thus one's evaluation m a y become more
positive, and so on. For example, in a survey
of the language attitudes of a group of highschool students, most of w h o m were native
speakers of H e b r e w , it was found that those
w h o believed knowledge of English could help
them attain personally valued goals spoke
English better and used it more than those
whose evaluation of the language was less
positive (Cooper and Fishman, 1977). In this
instance proficiency and usage on the one
hand and evaluation on the other probably
reinforced one another.
Most of the indices of H e b r e w adoption
that appear in the literature refer to use, with
two exceptions: the continuing survey of
immigrant absorption, from which Rosenb a u m (1983) took her data, which in addition
to criteria concerning language use employs
a measure of proficiency as well, and Central
Bureau of Statistics surveys and censuses,
which ask about H e b r e w literacy, defined as
the ability to write a simple letter in Hebrew.
Because the survey of immigrant absorption employs several indices of adoption, w e
can ask what relationships exist among them.
Rosenbaum's summary for the years 1970-72
gives us these correlations. That the criteria of
adoption should be positively related to one
another is reasonable and this was found.
However, these criteria also displayed a
substantial degree of independence. For
example, there were m a n y w h o used Hebrew
as a language of everyday life w h o did not read
a H e b r e w newspaper, and there were m a n y
w h o used H e b r e w w h o did not report themselves as proficient. This lastfindingsuggests
that m a n y immigrants are dissatisfied with
their H e b r e w proficiency, an inference supported by data from the continuing survey of
which Rosenbaum's data form a part. In
197475, for example, immigrants questioned
three years after their arrival expressed considerable dissatisfaction with their Hebrewlanguage proficiency. Slightly more than half
expressed dissatisfaction, about twice as m a n y
99
as w h o said that they were dissatisfied with

their work, housing or social life.
Just as most measures of H e b r e w adoption have been measures of usage, most
measures have been obtained via self-report.
The probable bias towards overreporting the
use of H e b r e w , which has been noted before
(e.g. Bachi, 1956, p . 184), makes it imperative that data obtained via other methods be
employed as well. Relatively few such studies
exist, however. A m o n g these is a survey of
public language usage (Rosenbaum et al.,
1977). This study employed the 'transaction
count' procedure (Bender et al., 1972), in
which the number of persons heard speaking
in each of various languages is counted. These
transaction counts were m a d e inside the shops
and offices and outside on the sidewalk of a
busy street in Jerusalem. This street is an
urban microcosm inasmuch as it contains
almost all the stores and services needed by
the people w h o live within its immediate
vicinity as well as several institutions which
serve a wider public. Near the commercial
centre of town, the street is surrounded by a
heterogeneous collection of neighbourhoods,
which vary with respect to their residents'
ethnic origin, degree of religious observance
and economic status. However, it is unrepresentative in that the neighbourhoods surrounding it are characterized by a relatively
low proportion of new immigrants. Hence the
proportion of public interactions observed in
H e b r e w m a y have been higher than for the
city as a whole. Over a three-week period in
1973, more than 900 persons where overheard talking. Almost three-quarters of them
were heard speaking Hebrew. This figure is
only slightly lower than the proportion of the
Jewish population aged 14 or older claiming
H e b r e w as principal language (77.5 per cent),
according to the 1972 census (Bachi, 1977,
p. 288).
Another study of language usage which
depended upon direct observation is that of
Bentolila (1983), w h o investigated variation in
pronunciation a m o n g the residents of a rural
community which had been founded and
settled by immigrants from Morocco in 1957.
100
A s part of the background for this study,
Bentolila described the residents' patterns of
bilingual usage. N o ordinary participant observer, the investigator was himself a m e m b e r
of the community. Thus not only was his
presence maximally unobtrusive, but his background knowledge of the community was
excellent. Bentolila reported widespread use
of Arabic within the community, particularly
a m o n g the elderly, whose fluency in H e b r e w
was poor, and a m o n g those males aged 13 to
21 w h o did not continue their studies beyond
elementary school. Bentolila attributed the
latters' use of Arabic to the value of covert
norms which convert a non-prestige vernacular into a symbol of within-group solidarity.
Bentolila checked the 1961 census returns
for this rural community and found that
aboi?+ three-quarters of the respondents indicated that H e b r e w was their primary daily
language, and this only five years after their
immigration to Israel. Bentolila was told by
an anthropologist w h o had worked in the
community between 1965 and 1969 that during this time general meetings of the c o m munity and part of the discussions of the
community's steering committee were held in
Arabic. A n d Bentolila pointed out that fifteen
years after the census the use of Arabic in the
community for everyday purposes was substantial. H e reports that he has reason to
believe that at the time of the census respondents wanted to present themselves as immigrants whose linguistic integration had ended
successfully. Whether or not H e b r e w was in
fact the villagers' principal language, there
was n o doubt that in the eyes of the villagers,
writes Bentolila, the reigning language was
H e b r e w , not only because it was widespread
in essential public contexts but also because it
was an inherent part of their deeply felt
religious and Zionist identity.
T h e village studied by Bentolila probably
represents an extreme example of divergence
between claimed and actual H e b r e w usage.
M o s t citizens live in towns and cities, not
villages; most communities are not as h o m ogeneous with respect to the inhabitants'
Robert L. Cooper
country of origin, mother-tongue and length

of residence; and few communities can be
characterized by such a low average number
of years of residence in Israel.
Bentolila's observations remind us of the
pitfalls involved in making inferences about
language proficiency and language use on the
basis of official censuses and sample surveys
alone (Lieberson, 1966, 1980). W h e r e possible, such data should be supplemented by
data obtained by other means. O n the basis of
Bentolila's observations, it seems likely that
these villagers' claims about their use of
H e b r e w can be taken as evidence for adoption
at the stage of evaluation rather than at the
stage of actual use.
What
W h a t does the adopter adopt? This question
can be approached from two points of view:
form and function.
F o r m refers to the structure of the
language being adopted. T h e characteristics
of most concern to students of language
spread are perhaps (a) the extent to which the
spreading language is similar to languages
already k n o w n by the potential adopter and
(b) the extent to which the spreading language
is homogeneous.
With respect to structural similarity, it
seems safe to assume that, all things being
equal, potential adopters will adopt a
language more quickly if it is similar to those
they already k n o w . Thus one reason c o m monly offered for the rapid spread of Swahili
is that it advanced initially a m o n g speakers of
other Bantu languages. It is claimed not that
similarity is a pre-condition for language
spreadthe diffusion of H e b r e w a m o n g
speakers of eighty or ninety different
languages provides ample disconfirmation of
this claimbut that structural similarity facilitates adoption. W e have already seen that the
similarity between Arabic and H e b r e w has
been cited as one reason for the relatively
rapid adoption of H e b r e w by Jews from Asia
and Africa.
With respect to structural homogeneity,
w e find, on the one hand, relatively little
Black Hebrews rehearsing spirituals. Mich;)
101
Bar-Am/Nfagn
differentiation a m o n g speakers in the register

used for everyday, informal conversation and,
on the other, relatively great differentiation
between formal and informal registers.
Unlike Palestinian Arabic, which varies
from village to village, there is virtually no
geographic variation in modern Israeli H e brew, save for a few minor shibboleths such
as Jerusalemites' pronunciation of the term for
two hundred. With respect to social dialects,
w e find mainly a few differences in pronunciation. T w o major variants of modern Israeli
H e b r e w are usually recognized, 'general'
H e b r e w and 'oriental' H e b r e w , the latter
identified primarily by the existence of three
speech sounds, which are stereotyped markers
of membership of African and Asian ethnic
communities. M o r e and more Jews from these
communities are adopting the general pronunciation (Bentolila, 1983; Blanc, 1968), but in
any case the differences are very slight w h e n
compared to the differences in, say, socialclass dialects in England. T h e relative lack of
differentiation found in the informal H e b r e w

speech of different social groups m a y be due
to the sense of c o m m o n history, identity and
fate shared by most Israeli Jews, no matter
what their ethnic background, position on a
scale of socio-economic status, or political
views. B e that as it m a y , it is plausible that
lack of marked social or geographical differentiation has simplified the learning process and thus has contributed to the speed
with which the informal vernacular has
spread. T h e learner's task is presumably
increased to the extent that the dialects which
serve as input vary from one another.
If the homogeneity of the informal vernacular has simplified the learning task, the
substantial differences which exist between
informal and formal and between spoken and
written varieties has complicated the task of
learning the more 'elevated' varieties. While
it is difficult to measure the distance between
informal and formal varieties, it appears that
this distance is m u c h greater for H e b r e w than
102
it is, say, for English, although not so great as
for Arabic. Whereas knowledge of the informal vernacular can be 'picked u p ' by interactions in the everyday rounds of market place
and workplace, knowledge of the more formal
varieties depends primarily upon formal education. T h e importance of formal education in
the acquisition of formal varieties is due to
Hebrew's status as a renativized language. A s
Rabin (1975) has pointed out, its tradition as
a literary language is ancient and continuous,
whereas its tradition as a vernacular is discontinuous, having suffered an interruption of
1,700 years. During this very long period,
literacy in H e b r e w meant literacy in a classical
language. Vernacular literacy is something
n e w . T h e H e b r e w grammar which Israeli
children study in school, for example, is not
the grammar of the modern vernacular but
rather a normativized systematization of biblical H e b r e w carried out in the thirteenth
century (Rabin, 1983). Formal H e b r e w varieties, the immediate heirs of this ancient
literary tradition, exhibit substantial differences from everyday H e b r e w in vocabulary
and grammar. Thus the news one hears on the
radio, for example, is presented in a variety
somewhat remote from the variety heard in
everyday speech. T h e language of news items
in the press is similarly quite different from
the language of speech. That the language of
the news as presented on both the radio and
in the press should be harder for immigrants
to learn than the language of ordinary speech
can be inferred from the language usage data
presented by Rosenbaum (1983) in the survey
of immigrant absorption described above. T h e
increase in usage, from two months to three
years after arrival, was far greater for speech
than it was for newspaper reading or for radio
news listening. Consistent with these differences is the greater importance, cited above,
for formal study as a predictor of newspaper
reading and of news listening than of the use
of H e b r e w as a daily language.
O f course, immigrants can manage without reading H e b r e w and without listening to
the Hebrew-language news m u c h more readily than they can manage without speaking
Robert L. Cooper
H e b r e w . Still, other sample-survey data also

indicate that immigrants encounter relatively
great difficulty in learning to read H e b r e w . In
the survey of Romanian immigrants cited
previously, for example, H o f m a n and Fisherm a n (1971) found that whereas about onethird claimed either no knowledge or poor
knowledge of spoken H e b r e w , almost threefifths claimed either no knowledge or poor
knowledge of written H e b r e w . If one c o m pares the claimed proficiency of those w h o
had been in the country for more than twenty
years with that of those w h o had been in
Israel less than seven years, one sees that
there was a big difference in claimed oral
H e b r e w proficiency, with more old-timers
than newcomers claiming proficiency, but
hardly any difference at all in claimed H e b r e w
literacy. T h e investigators found that H e b r e w
literacy rose with age and with formal education. In another survey, Nir et al. (1978),
w h o tested the reading comprehension of n e w
immigrants enrolled in thirty-two classes at
twenty-one residential H e b r e w courses, found
that after five months of intensive study the
average student could read simplified H e b r e w
texts with good comprehension but was not
yet able to understand an ordinary news
article in the daily H e b r e w press without the
assistance of a teacher.
According to the 1972 census, about 91
per cent of all Jews aged 14 or over were
literate. However, of these, almost one in
eight was not literate in H e b r e w (Goldman,
1980, p . 162). Adding to the difficulties in
becoming functionally literate in H e b r e w , for
immigrants w h o have not had a traditional
Jewish education, is the uniqueness of the
H e b r e w script, and, for those w h ofirstbec a m e literate in a system which indicates
vowels as well as consonants and which is
written from left to right, its partial indication
of vowels and its being written from right to
left. It must be admitted, however, that w e
do not k n o w just h o w m u c h these differences
in script and in spelling contribute to difficulty
in becoming functionally literate in H e b r e w
as an additional language.
T h e differences between formal and in-
Russian village mementoes on afloatduring Purim Parade in Tel Aviv.
formal varieties probably represent a more

acute problem a m o n g those w h o immigrated
from the 1930s and thereafter, at least a m o n g
males. Earlier male immigrants were more
likely to have had the benefit of formal
religious education and thus were more likely
to k n o w at least literary Hebrew. Those w h o
came later were less well-prepared. While the
earlier immigrants struggled to turn literary
H e b r e w into a spoken vernacular, it is doubtful that the differences between formal and
informal varieties were as great as they later
became, although this is a hypothesis that
must be tested.
In short, the form of H e b r e w whose
spread has been most pervasive has been the
informal vernacular, and the form that has
spread most slowly, at least a m o n g people
immigrating from the 1930s onwards, has
been formal and literary varieties. It is likely
that stmctual homogeneity has facilitated the
103
Leonard Freed/Magnum,
spread of the vernacular and that structural

heterogeneity has impeded the spread of
formal and written varieties.
Whereas form refers to the structure of
the language that is adopted, function refers
to the purposes for which it is adopted.
H e b r e w is n o w used for all communicative
purposes. It is the m e d i u m of instruction from
nursery school to university; it is used for all
the mass media; it has developed a lively
register for sports writing; it is the medium for
cookbooks, technical manuals and scientific
textbooks; it has a special register considered
appropriate for speaking to babies (Zeidner,
1978), as do all mother-tongues; H e b r e w
permits football fans to shout at the referee,
political opponents to debate with one
another, and lovers to whisper endearments.
W e will consider function in more detail
under the rubric of where in our summarizing
question.
104
Robert L. Cooper
indices rise m o r e quickly during thefirstfew

years after immigration and more slowly
Katz et al. (1963) point out that, strictly
thereafter. T h e shapes of the curves differ,
speaking, it is time of adoption rather than
however. T h e younger the immigrants upon
adoption itself which is the dependent variarrival, the steeper the initial rise in the index.
able of interest to researchers in the diffusion
T h e older the immigrants upon arrival, the
of innovation. If time of adoption can be m o r e gentle the gradient. This can be seen
determined, then the characteristics of early
from figures which have been published for
and late adopters can b e compared and
the 1961 census. For example, the index of
diffusion curves, showing the number of
H e b r e w usage for persons w h o had been in
adopters as a function of time of adoption,
the country for two years was three times
can be drawn. Because the communications
what it was for persons w h o had been in the
network through which H e b r e w has spread
country for less than a year, if those persons
has been continually augmented by immiarrived between the ages of 15 and 29,
gration, and because the demographic c o m whereas for those w h o arrived at ages 30 to 44
position of succeeding waves of immigrants the index slightly m o r e than doubled.
has changed from wave to wave, w e cannot
W e can see the influence of age at arrival
learn m u c h about speed of H e b r e w adopon speed of adoption if w e see h o w m a n y
tion by tracing indices of adoption over time
years immigrants had been in the country at
a m o n g the population as a whole. T o learn
the time of the 1961 census before they
about speed of adoption, w e must trace the
reached a Hebrew-speaking index of 50. For
progress of adoption indices a m o n g persons
those w h o were under age 15 upon arrival,
w h o have arrived in Israel during the same
this figure was reached after one year; for
period. Schmelz and Bachi (1974, p . 772),
those between 15 and 29, it was reached after
for example, report that the index of H e b r e w
five years; for those between 30 and 44, it was
speaking for people w h o arrived between
reached after about fifteen years; and for
1948 and 1954 rose from 38 in 1954 to 54 in
those 45 or older, it was not reached at all.
1961 to 59 in 1966. Thus, ten years after
H o w m a n y years of residence appear to be
arrival, the average immigrant reported
necessary before H e b r e w is claimed as the
using H e b r e w either as a principal language
main language of everyday life (an index of
(index = 75) or as an additional language
75)? According to the 1961 census, for the
(index = 25), with very little gain in the average person w h o arrived under the age of
period between 1961 and 1966. In fact, the
15, this degree of usage was attained after
index m a y not have risen at all during the
about twelve years in the country (although
latter period if mortality figures are taken into
an index of 70 was attained after five years).
account. A s Schmelz and Bachi point out,
For the average person w h o arrived between
mortality should increase the index over time
the ages of 15 and 29, about eighteen years
because those w h o are older w h e n they
were required. For the average immigrant
arrive use H e b r e w less than persons w h o are
in still older groups, this index was never
younger.
reached. Thus for younger people, half a
generation tends to b e required before
T h e analyses of Central Bureau of StatH e b r e w becomes the principal language of
istics census and sample-survey figures by
daily life. For older people, H e b r e w tends
Bachi (1956) and by H o f m a n and Fisherman
never to become their principal language,
(1971) show that the index of H e b r e w speakalthough they use it m o r e and more with
ing rises steeply during thefirstfew years of
increased length of residence.
residence n o matter what the immigrants' age
at arrival. For all ages, the relationship
A s stated above, a m o n g the criteria of
between length of stay and the index of
adoption analysed by R o s e n b a u m (1983), the
H e b r e w speaking is roughly the same. T h e
criterion that showed the most rapid increase
When
in adoption was the ability to carry on a
simple conversation, and the criterion that
showed the slowest rate of increase w a s
listening to the radio news in H e b r e w and
reading a newspaper in H e b r e w . For all four
of R o s e n b a u m ' s criteria, the rate of advance
was greater between the first two points in
time that were sampled (two months and one
year) than between the last two points sampled (one year and three years), even though
the second period was m o r e than three times
as long as the first. These results are consistent with earlier census and sample-survey
data concerning the index of H e b r e w speaking, which rises m o r e sharply during the first
few years of residence than thereafter.
All in all, the data with respect to the
speed of H e b r e w adoption suggest that the
rate of adoption is a function of the age of
arrival and the type of adoption criterion
which is employed. Younger immigrants
adopt H e b r e w m o r e quickly than do older
immigrants. According to
Rosenbaum's
data, the speed of adoption is greatest for the
ability to conduct a simple conversation and
slowest for the use of mass media.
Where
T h e question of where the language is
adopted refers not to the location of the
adopter (answered by the question who ?) but
rather to the socially defined location of the
interactions through which the language
spreads. Thus location is defined here not in
terms of physical or geographical space but
rather in terms of social space.
Fishman's work o n language maintenance
and language shift has emphasized the societal
domain as a crucial locus for the study of
societal bilingualism. A domain, according to
Fishman, represents a constellation of social
situations which are constrained by the same
set of behavioural norms. Examples of d o mains are those hypothesized for the Puerto
Rican speech community of N e w York:
family, neighbourhood, religion, work and
school (Fishman et al., 1975).
W h a t domains are associated with the
105
spread of H e b r e w ? F r o m the beginning,

H e b r e w seems to have spread from public to
private domains. In 1902, twenty years after
B e n Y e h u d a arrived in Palestine, there were
only ten families in Jerusalem w h o spoke
H e b r e w at h o m e (Rabin, 1973, p . 70). Jerusalem w a s , of course, m o r e conservative than
the m o d e r n settlements. Still, it is likely that
in Jewish Palestine as a whole, there was
greater acceptance for the use of H e b r e w in
public settings, particularly the schools, than
at h o m e . It is likely that only w h e n the
graduates of these schools married did
H e b r e w enter a substantial n u m b e r of h o m e s
as principal language.
It would be of great interest to k n o w the
extent to which persons sharing the same
mother-tongue used H e b r e w in public settings
in the early days of the revival m o v e m e n t . Did
H e b r e w spread as a lingua franca before it
spread as a language for communication in
public a m o n g persons w h o had n o need of a
lingua franca? O r did H e b r e w spread as a
lingua franca after people w h o were ideologically committed to H e b r e w as a national
language began using it in public? It is to be
hoped that Ezri Uval's research will help us
answer these questions.
A m o n g immigrant families, H e b r e w
often penetrates the h o m e via the children,
w h o learn it on the street and at school; w h e n
they c o m e h o m e , they chatter a m o n g themselves and with their friends in H e b r e w and
insist on using it with their parents. O n e
mother of three, for example, w h o arrived
from G e r m a n y as a young w o m a n in the
1930s and whose children were born in Jerusalem, reported to this writer that she spoke
G e r m a n to her first child, w h o answered in
G e r m a n ; she spoke G e r m a n to her second
child, w h o answered in H e b r e w ; and she
spoke H e b r e w to her third child.
That H e b r e w is dominant in public settings is beyond dispute. In the survey of
language usage on a Jerusalem street referred
to above (Rosenbaum et al., 1977), about
half of those heard speaking H e b r e w did so
with a non-native accent. Public language
usage on that street could be predicted by
106
the following rule: speak H e b r e w unless your
mother-tongue is English and you are speaking to another mother-tongue speaker of
English (a language which enjoys high status
in Israelsee Cooper and Fishman, 1977).
Although most of the shopkeepers k n e w
English, most native speakers of English
switched to H e b r e w to carry out their transactions. Between Jewish Israelis w h o do not
share the same mother-tongue, Hebrew is the
unrivalled lingua franca.
Immigrants' adoption of H e b r e w , then, is
greatest for public functions. In Hofman's and
Fisherman's (1971) survey of Romanian
immigrants, 70 per cent of those interviewed
reported that they used only or mainly H e brew at work. T h e use of Hebrew at h o m e ,
while substantial, was less frequent. Half the
parents w h o had been in Israel for at least
twenty years reported using only or mainly
H e b r e w with their children. A m o n g the
younger generation, all reported speaking
only or mainly Romanian with their grandparents and more than two-fifths reported
speaking only or mainly Romanian with
their parents. But whereas the older generation reported using Romanian or Yiddish
exclusively during evenings with friends, the
younger generation reported almost always
using H e b r e w .
How
H o w does the potential adopter come to hear
about, positively evaluate, learn and use the
spreading language? These questions refer to
the social mechanisms involved in adoption.
T h e classical model for the diffusion of
innovation emphasizes the channels of c o m munication along which information and persuasion flow. In this paradigm, A knows
about the innovation and B does not, and the
social relationship between A and B determines in part whether A will tell B about the
innovation and what the outcome of this
telling will be (Rogers, 1962, p p . 13-14).
While this model m a y be appropriate for
innovations which must be accepted consciously (e.g. hybrid corn, birth-control prac-
Robert L. Cooper
tices, kindergartens, a n e w toothpaste), it

seems inappropriate for the language spread,
which often operates unconsciously.
Although the classical model for the diffusion of innovation m a y be inappropriate for
language spread, w e have not developed one
to take its place. In this connection, the work
of investigators of the characteristics of successful language learners, mentioned above
under the rubric who, m a y be useful.
Although most of these scholars have concentrated on psychological characteristics,
some have begun to look at the social strategies that learners employ to learn the language, e.g. w h o m learners select for interactions in the target language and h o w they
prolong interaction in the target language in
order to increase their exposure to it. Learner
strategies are perhaps socially determined in
part. Sorensen (1967), for example, reports
that a m o n g Indians of the north-west A m a zon, where knowledge of three or four languages is a cultural feature, adults learn a n e w
language by listening to people w h o speak it,
reciting paradigms to themselves, and finally,
after a few years, beginning to speak it, but
not until fairly competent.
W e have n o systematic research on the
social strategies employed by immigrant
learners of H e b r e w nor on the adaptations
which fluent speakers m a k e to adult learners.
In a nation of immigrants, it is not surprising,
perhaps, that m a n y native speakers have
become expert in speaking a simplified H e brew to learners. Just as simplified input
is thought to help babies learn their first
language, so is simplified input likely to help
adults learn an additional language.
Organized efforts to help newcomers
learn H e b r e w are considerable. T h e state
subsidizes H e b r e w courses for n e w immigrants and a substantial proportion of n e w
immigrants enrol. A m o n g the Romanian
immigrants studied by H o f m a n and Fisherm a n (1971), for example, as well as among the
immigrants in Rosenbaum's (1983) sample,
about 40 per cent had studied Hebrew formally in Israel. Id addition, news is broadcast
several times a day in simplified H e b r e w
A framework for the description of language spread: the case of modern
Hebrew
107
Ulpan school for the accelerated teaching of modern H e b r e w , here by acting out a play. Leonard Freed/Magnum.
108
spoken at a slower rate, and a weekly newspaper is produced in simplified H e b r e w .
Whereas organized efforts to promote the
spread of H e b r e w are n o w confined chiefly
to helping immigrants learn the language,
organized efforts in the early part of the
century were of a different character. There
were at least three types of activity. First,
there was an effort to modernize the language
and to standardize n e w terms. This is an
effort which continues today but which was
especially important w h e n the lack of vocabulary for everyday items and activities
was keenly felt. While w e cannot be sure, it is
reasonable that equipping H e b r e w to serve
as an all-purpose m e d i u m encouraged people
to use it.
Second, there were the efforts of teachers
to promote H e b r e w as a language of instruction, which culminated in the 'Language
W a r ' , which Rabin (1973, p . 75) has called
the 'first national struggle' of modern Jewish
Palestine. A German-Jewish foundation for
the advancement of Jews in technologically
underdeveloped countries, the Hilfsverein der
deutschen Juden, planned to set up a technical high school in Haifa. T h e foundation
operated a number of schools in Palestine, all
of which used H e b r e w as the m e d i u m of
instruction. N o n e the less, the Hilfsverein felt
obliged to promote G e r m a n as a language of
culture and its promotion of G e r m a n in the
curriculum of its schools aroused resentment.
W h e n the Hilfsverein announced in 1913 that
its n e w Technikum was to use not H e b r e w but
G e r m a n as the language of instruction, on
the grounds that H e b r e w was not sufficiently
developed for work in the sciences, resentment boiled over. T h e teachers left the
organization's schools and took their pupils
with them. T h e boycott prevented the implementation of the Hilfsverein's decision.
In Rabin's words (1973, p . 75):
Robert L. Cooper
Palestine a modern Jewish nation, on a predominantly linguistic basis.

The third type of organized effort involved
encouraging people to use Hebrew. For
example, a youth organization, the G e d u d
Meginnei Hasafah (Language Protection
Legion), w a s founded in 1923 to combat
the use of languages other than Hebrew and
remained in existence until the late 1930s
(Wigoder, 1972, p . 1000). A m o n g its activities was the distribution of posters bearing
the legend Ivri, daher Ivrit! (Hebrew [person],
speak Hebrew!).
T o what extent have modern efforts to
teach H e b r e w and early efforts to promote its
use advanced the spread of Hebrew? There
seems to be general agreement that the
promotion of H e b r e w as the language of
instruction in the schools of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was
crucial for the victory of Hebrew as the
vernacular of Jewish Palestine. However, the
linguistic diversity created by the 'ingathering
of the exiles' might ultimately have led to the
same result. B e that as it m a y , once H e b r e w
became established as the principal language
of public life, it is likely that newcomers
would have learned it whether or not there
were organized efforts to help them to do so.
Indeed, Schmelz and Bachi (1974, p . 769)
suggest that the number of adult immigrants
w h o have become H e b r e w speakers exceeds
any reasonable estimate of the direct output,
quantitatively or qualitatively, of public
instruction.
Why
W h y do people adopt a n e w language? In

order to answer this question, w e would want
to k n o w the incentives of those w h o consciously promote the language as well as the
incentives of potential adopters to accept it. In
each case w e would want to k n o w the importThe Jewish population of Palestine acted on this ance of the goals, for both promoters and
adopters, to which the spreading language is
occasion according to the patterns of national
relevant, and the usefulness of the spreading
struggle, and w e shall hardly go wrong if w e
consider the Language W a r episode as the first language as a facilitator of such goals.
proof that indeed there had come into being in
A t least until the victory of H e b r e w in
the Language W a r and probably continuing

through m u c h of the Mandate period as well,
the goals of H e b r e w promoters were the goals
of the Jewish national movementthe return
of the Jewish people to the land of its
yearning. H e b r e w was a central symbol for
the awakening and maintenance of nationalist
sentiment. T o promote H e b r e w was to remind its users of the glorious tradition which
was their ancestors' and of the self-determination which the Jewish people might win
once m o r e . In principle, any c o m m o n
language can serve to mobilize the masses,
but an indigenous language, carrier of a great
classical, religious and historical tradition,
which can be claimed as the heritage of the
entire group is a particularly powerful symbol
around which to rally.
O n c e the ascendancy of H e b r e w as the
chief Jewish lingua franca in Palestine was
assured, there was a change in emphasis in the
national goals served by the promotion of
H e b r e w . A vehicle of mass communication
was needed to integrate the diverse ethnic
groups which were drawn together, particularly after the mass immigration following the
establishment of the state, and to facilitate the
administration of national institutions. This is
not to say that H e b r e w lost its role as a
symbol of national identity. Indeed, one could
argue that it grew more important as a
national symbol the more ethnolinguistically
diverse the population became. W h a t is
suggested here is that efforts that were at
first directed towards exploiting the symbolic
value of H e b r e w , in order to mobilize the
Jews in their struggle for self-determination,
were redirected, once the struggle was w o n ,
towards strengthening Hebrew's position as a
vehicle of mass communication, in order to
integrate and control a diverse population.
Initial efforts at language planning were
directed chiefly towards modernizing H e b r e w
and encouraging people to use it. Subsequent efforts were directed chiefly towards
encouraging people to learn it.
A s for the motivation of potential
adopters, it is sometimes claimed that instrumental considerations have been paramount
109
in the adoption of H e b r e w by immigrants

w h o arrived after the establishment of the
state, but that, in contrast, ideological motivations were paramount in the early days of
the revival m o v e m e n t . Certainly the relationship between participation in the workforce
and the use and knowledge of H e b r e w which
w e have seen in the modern population
suggests the importance of material incentives
today to adopt H e b r e w .
It is true that the immigrants of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
differed from their successors. Those w h o arrived before the 1930s tended to be younger,
with a better Jewish education and thus
greater prior knowledge of at least literary
H e b r e w , and with greater commitment to
Zionist ideals than those w h o came thereafter.
Thus the idea of reviving H e b r e w as the chief
language of everyday life a m o n g the Jews of
Palestine was consistent not only with their
nationalist aspirations but also with their
previous education. Certainly m a n y difficulties were encountered by those w h o used
H e b r e w as a vernacular in those days. T h e
terms for everyday items and activities were
missing, requiring an extensive modernization
and elaboration of H e b r e w vocabulary. W e
read in Rabin (1973, p . 72):
The lack of words was m u c h felt at the beginning
of the Revival Period. A s long as Hebrew was
something of a luxury, a writer could refrain
from mentioning something for which he did not
know the Hebrew word, or could circumscribe it
in several words, or even simply use the foreign
word. But someone w h o used Hebrew for
everyday speech required a short and exact
Hebrew word for everything, and the better
Hebrew became established in the speaking
habits of teachers and pupils, the greater was the
need for words.
In the light of these difficulties, it can be
claimed that ideological commitment was an
important component in the H e b r e w revival
and this claim is probably correct. O n the
other hand, one can argue that increasing
linguistic heterogeneity of the growing Jewish
population demanded a lingua franca and that
110
Robert L. Cooper
H e b r e w w a s the 'natural' m e d i u m for this

purpose.
tion c o m m o n to all Jews throughout the world.

The
It w a s natural, at least with the
benefit of hindsight, because m o s t
idealistic young immigrants of the
Jewish
late O t t o m a n and early Mandatory periods
males and m a n y Jewish females of that time
laid the m o d e r n foundations of the state and
had had the benefit of a religious education
ensured the
which
The
made
them
familiar
with
literary
H e b r e w . A n y of the other chief possibilities as
success of the H e b r e w revival.
question
can b e asked,
however,
whether the revival might not have occurred
lingua francaYiddish, Arabic and Ladino
a n y w a y , had these immigrants c o m e for the
would have had to be learned by a substantial
s a m e reason as their successors, for refuge
portion of the population. In contrast, most
rather than for rebuilding. If this is the case,
Jews k n e w s o m e H e b r e w from the start. A n d
then ideological incentives might have been
of course H e b r e w did not have the c o m m u n a l
less important than material incentives for
associations attached to Yiddish, Arabic or
the spread of H e b r e w even in those early days
Ladino. Indeed it symbolized the great tradi-
of nationalist fervour.
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Adoption among N e w
Immigrants to Israel: The First
Three Years. International
Journal of the Sociology of
Language, Vol. 41, pp. 115-30.
ROSENBAUM, Y . ; NADEL, E.;
C O O P E R , R . L . ; FISHMAN, J. A .
1977. English on Keren

Kayemet Street. In: J. A .
Fishman, R . L . Cooper and
A . W . Conrad, The Spread of
English: The Sociology of
English as an Additional
. 1983. Learning Lingua

Francas and Socioeconomic
Integration: Evidence from
Africa. In: R . L . Cooper (ed.),
S O R E N S E N , A . P . , Jr. 1967.
Multilingualism in the
Northwest Amazon. American
Anthropologist, Vol. 69,
pp. 670-84.
W I G O D E R , G . 1972. Israel,
State of (Cultural Life).

Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 9,
pp. 996-1020. Jerusalem, Keter
Publishing House.
Z E I D N E R , M . 1978. Aspektim
psicholingvistiim shel mishlav

sefat hatinokot beivrit
[Psycholinguistic Aspects of the
Hebrew Baby-Talk Register].
Iyunim bexinuch, Vol. 20,
September, pp. 105-22.
Socio-cultural conflict and

bilingual educationthe case
of the Oto m Indians in Mexico
Rainer Enrique Hamel
minority cultures and languages, then one of

the greatest challenges for the educational
system is to provide for effective teaching of
For several decades, the concept of bithe national language to speakers of minority
lingual-bicultural education has been at the
languages, without harming the subsidiary
centre of a controversy. Each n e w experlanguages and cultures.
iment, whether it succeeds or fails, gives rise
A second problem arises w h e n curricula
to n e w solutions, to original arguments, but
are being drawn u p , and concerns the
also to problems. T h e discussion centres
question of whether the priority social
mainly o n two questions.
objective of fluency and literacy in the
T h e first, which is
national language can be
socio-political and culacquired
without exRainer Enrique Hamel is Associate
tural in nature, concerns
cluding development of
Professor at the Centro de Enseanza
whether
it
is really
the mother-tongue, or
de Lenguas Extranjeras of the
possible to build a multiwhether
the
motherUniversidad Autnoma de Mexico,
lingual
and
multicul04510, Mexico, D . F . H e has pubtongue can only play a
lished Un modelo de anlisis del transitional
tural nation. It m a y be
and supdiscurso: Elementos de una teora
feasible, under plans to
portive role.
sociolingistica pragmtica (1983), is
establish national states,
In this article, based
co-editor (with H . Muoz) of the
to reconcile the forging
on the findings of a caseproceedings of the Tenth World Congress of Sociology concerning socioof a national identity
study in Mexico, an atlinguistics in Latin America, and the
with the preservation of
tempt will be m a d e to
author of several articles.
linguistic and cultural
show h o w the socio-culdiversity. T h e second
tural factors that shape
question, which is psythe
language conflict
cholinguistic and pedabetween Spanish (the
gogical, is concerned with the ways in which a
national language) and O t o m i (a minority
second language is learned and the co-ordiIndian language) have a direct effect on
nated or conflicting use of two languages.
bilingual education. A n analysis will be ofW h a t effects does learning a second language
fered of s o m e of the contradictions between
have o n the development of the motherofficial primary-school bilingual programmes
tongue? W h a t effects does the use of two
and the sociolinguistic conditions under which
languages have on the psychosocial identity of
they are applied, in an endeavour to bring out
an individual?1
the close relationship between the socioIf it is accepted, at least in principle, that
political and cultural and the psycholinguistic
a nation can be built without eradicating
and pedagogical aspects.
Introduction
114
The linguistic and educational

policy pursued in regard to the
Indians
Throughout its history, Mexico has found
answers of its o w n to these questions. Ever
since the Conquest, there has been a clash
between two basic positions: one considering
that the extinction of the indigenous peoples
is a prerequisite for building u p the national
state, and the other fighting for the preservation of indigenous cultures and languages
in this nation-building process. Without any
doubt, thefirstopinion has in practice nearly
always had the upper hand, m u c h m o r e than
provided for in the programmes. 2 A s Salom o n N a h m a d , an outstanding civil servant
dealing with Mexican Indian affairs, has said
(1982, p . 25):
It is quite certain that the ideals of unity are
confused with those of uniformity . . . ; the
teaching-learning process is used as an instrument, not to educate and to acquire knowledge,
but as a substitute for arms to achieve ethnocide
or evangelization. It is also claimed that education leads to the destruction of ethnic and
linguistic identity, as if that identity has anything
to do with the learning process.
In general, the sociolinguistic situation a m o n g
the Indian3 population is characterized by an
increasing loss of ground by the vernacular
languages. T h e national language and culture
are increasingly making inroads into the
indigenous communities, 'to such an extent
that it is difficult to determine h o w m a n y
cultural features of the indigenous groups are
really of prehispanic origin' (Stavenhagen,
1979, p . 13).
Particularly during the twentieth century,
the period of nation-building, the main
instrument of Indian policies has been generalized primary education, in which the rural
teacher is used as a promoter of change to
further the p r o g r a m m e of integrating Indian
ethnic groups into the racially mixed national
society.
During the six-year term of President
Jos Lpez Portillo (1978-82), w h e n the

author's research w a s conducted, preference
was given in the programmes to the multicultural variant of integration and this led to a
redefinition of bilingual-bicultural education
(Scanion, 1982). 4 In order to 'ensure that
monolingual pre-school Indian children start
learning Spanishwithout detriment to their
cultural and linguistic identities' (Secretara
de Educacin Pblica, 1979, p . 56), the Secretariat for Public Education explicitly took
up the challenge of achieving integration by
teaching the national language and culture
while trying, at the same time, to preserve
ethnic and linguistic identity in the school
system.
The language conflict

S o m e findings will n o w be presented of a
collective sociolinguistic research project
carried out between 1979 and 1982 in the
Mezquital valley, one of the areas where
m u c h of the O t o m i group is concentrated.5
T h e overall sociolinguistic relationship
between Spanish and O t o m i in this region can
be characterized by the concept of substitute
diglossia (partial bilingualism), that is to say,
an unstable and skewed conflictual relationship between a dominant and a dominated
language (Vallverdu, 1973). 6 T w o historical
trends in the language conflict were noted: the
growing expansion of Spanish and the displacement of O t o m i as the main trend, and
language and cultural resistance by the O t o m i
group as a subsidiary trend. T h e main trend,
which is the outcome of a long historical
process, can be seen at various levels: Spanish
is displacing O t o m i geographically, from the
irrigated zones in the valley towards the arid
areas in the sierra, functionally, since the
national is replacing the indigenous language
in an increasing n u m b e r of communicative
situations, and in the very linguistic structure
of O t o m i .
T h e subsidiary trend of language and
cultural retention and resistance finds expression in the persistence of a traditional
system of communication and internal organization in the villages. In fact, O t o m i is still
Socio-cultural conflict and bilingual education
115
ft
Aztec place-name representations: Coatepec ('Snake-mountain-place'), Quauhnaruac ('Near-the-woods'),
Itztlan ('Obsidian-place') and Tollantzinco ('In-the-small-place-of-the-cyperus'). From cmiex Mendoza, Cooper
Claik, London. l'J3f<.
highly important in day-to-day verbal c o m munication, as well as in traditional cultural

activities (fiestas, celebrations, ceremonies,
oral literature, etc.)- In general, an affective
identification with O t o m i is found: ' O t o m i
will never disappear because w e have always
spoken it here'; Spanish o n the other hand, is
connected in the speakers' minds with its
functional value as a language of c o m m u n i cation ( M u o z , 1981fl,>).7
The bilingual-bicultural school

In this situation of conflict and historical
change, the rural primary school and the educational system as a whole play an important
role: during the phase of transition and
curricular experimentation w h e n the team w a s
studying the schools (1979-82), there is n o
doubt that the school w a s reinforcing the m a i n
trend towards the displacement of the indigenous language. This is reflected in the
educational system's function as the vehicle of
modernization and a link with the national

c o m m u n i t y , and also in the teaching activities,
m e t h o d s , materials and use of languages in
the classroom.
In order to c o m p r e h e n d fully the internal
functioning of bilingual schools and relate it to
the out-of-school use of languages, four c o m munities w e r e selected with different socioeconomic and cultural characteristics ( M u o z
et al.. 1980; Sierra, 1981a) but alike in having
a high proportion of Indians in their p o p u lation and in providing a complete course
of primary education (six grades). 8
Although the schools form part of the
system of the General Directorate of Indian
Education ( D E G E I ) and have been designated as 'bilingual' for forty years, they d o not
apply a truly bilingual curriculum. Until 1983
at any rate, national textbooks in Spanish
were used in these schools for the four m a i n
subjects (Spanish, mathematics, natural science and social sciences).9 These books are
designed from the linguistic point of view, to
116
teach reading and writing and to develop
Spanish as a mother-tongue. They are not in
any w a y useful for the learning of Spanish as a
second language. T h e main difference between this type of 'bilingual' school and the
ordinary primary school lies in the fact, very
important in itself, that all the teachers are
themselves bilingual Indians from the region
w h o use the vernacular language as a means
of instruction and communication.
A s the children start school with very
slight or n o knowledge of the national
language, a pre-school year of hispanization
was introduced in 1979 with a view to teaching pupils enough Spanish to enable them
to follow primary-school classes in that
language. H o w e v e r , this goal w a s not
attained because the method w a s not
adapted to sociolinguistic needs (Lopez,
1982a) and the pupils continued to enter the
primary schools with very little knowledge
of the national language.
There is a marked break between the
pre-school curriculum and that of the first
grade, owing to a radical change in goals and
methods which affects the entire primaryeducation system in the area.
O n e of the main problems, and one
which largely accounts for the poor scholastic
performance, lies in the conflict between
the official goal'literacyand the requisite
goalhispanization and the teaching of Otom i during thefirstyears. A s it is practically
impossible for O t o m i children to follow curricula designed for monolingual Spanishspeaking pupils, the teachers use the Indian
language as the language of instruction while
it is necessary to do so, and introduce curriculum content and Spanish in a disjointed
manner. In fact they have tried to combine
attempts to achieve literacy (the teaching of
reading and writing) creatively with hispanization (the teaching of Spanish as a
second language), in an endeavour to teach
Spanish through the written language. This
means that they try to achieve literacy in a
language which the pupils do not k n o w , a
practically unattainable goal that is in open
contradiction to all modern methods of teach-
ing. This is w h y educational practice in m a n y

cases takes the form of a mechanical and
repetitive exercise, devoid of any pragmatic
semantic content and communicative value.
Literacy
T h e success of the literacy drive has been
limited for several reasons: some are of a
methodological nature and will not be m e n tioned here (Hamel, 1983), while others, of a
sociolinguistic character, concern the relationship between learning to read and write and
the usefulness of that attainment in daily life.
It is well k n o w n that the most successful
programmes, methodology aside, have been
those that have established close links between the learning of the alphabet and its
immediate functional and social use.10 T h e
situation is very different in the schools in the
Mezquital valley. Although it was noted that
great importance is given to Spanish and its
written form, it cannot be said that there is a
well-defined functional use of written Spanish.
A s stated by Garza et al. in a recent study on
the region, 'the introduction of the system of
writing, as a social practice, cannot yet be
considered in these communities to be a
cultural and socially determined goal' (1982,
p . 69). O t o m i children have m u c h less contact with written language than their urban
peers, w h o are in daily contact with a large
n u m b e r of posters, advertisements, signs,
etc., and thus possess a m u c h greater knowledge of reading w h e n they enter school.
In fact, the teaching of reading and
writing is oriented m u c h m o r e towards the
social value and prestige of the written
language and the desire to stop being illiterate than towards its functional use. Consequently, the contradiction between the high
value attached to the teaching of reading
and writing and the low yields obtained strengthens, at the level of linguistic
awareness, the concept of Spanish as a
refined language with its o w n script, mastery
of which is a privilege and a symbolic asset
for a few a m o n g the Otomi, especially the
teachers.
117
.y i / i
"?'ufo :*tz?:i%i
tftmmwiifrWE**
' fWrimjM&iMi
T h e T e n C o m m a n d m e n t s : four pages from an early nineteenth-century catechism in Testerian picturewriting developed by a Spanish friar to be deciphered in any Indian language. It is a formulaic sequence
likely to have been learnt previously by oral repetition used by Catholic missionaries for instructional
purposes. R o w s of circles represent numbers marking off the end of each C o m m a n d m e n t . Princeton University
Library.
118
Hispanization
A s previously stated, hispanization is not
officially part of the primary school curricula,
though paradoxically it constitutes one of the
pillars of the entire language policy in respect
of the Indians. T h e teachers w h o try to meet
both goals are forced to reintroduce the
teaching of Spanish in an almost 'clandestine'
m a n n e r in spite of the curriculum. T h e need
to emphasize reading and writing and to
transmit the contents of the textbooks h a m pers the teaching of Spanish primarily as a
m e a n s of communication. Rather than encouraging verbalization in the target language as
m u c h as possible, with role-playing and the
acting-out of communicative situations, the
teachers introduce isolated Spanish words as
exercises in reading and writing. In this w a y ,
content is presented which is not only of n o
use for communication, but is also beyond the
cognitive capabilities of the pupils at this stage
of their development, as can be seen from the
example below, taken from a first-grade
natural sciences class at San Andrs.
Teacher: Oviparous animals . . . W h a t are they
called?
Pupils (in chorus): Oviparous!
Teacher: N o w let's see . . . W h a t did w e say
that animals hatched from eggs are called?
First pupil: O o . . .
Second pupil: O o . . .
Teacher: Oviparous!
Third pupil: . . . vi . . .
Fourth pupil: . . . vi . . .
Teacher: What?
Teacher: N o w let's see,fivetimes . . .
Pupils (in chorus): Oviparous, oviparous, oviparous, oviparous, oviparous . . .
Teacher: W h a t are they called?
Teacher: W h a t are oviparous animals? Those
which are hatched from eggs . . . those
which are hatched from eggs . . . W h a t
are animals hatched from eggs called?
Pupils: ???
O n e of the most worrisome phenomena is
undoubtedly poor verbalization by the pupils
in Spanish. Except for highly routine interactions connected with the organization of
activities in the classroom ('May I leave the
r o o m ? ' , 'Present!', etc.), pupils during their
first years at primary school do not use words
of any syntactic and semantic complexity in
Spanish.
The functional distribution of the two
languages can be presented in the following
way:11
OTOMI
Teachers
Introduction and development of content.
Explanationtranslation of n e w lexemes, expressions, sentences, grammatical problems and reading and writing in Spanish.
In part, organization of the class: introduction
and changing of activities, complex instructions, group dynamics (except for
stereotyped phrases).
Pupils
Replies to general questions.
T h e handling of phrases dealing with classr o o m activities (to a lesser extent, with
lesson content).
Practically all verbal communication a m o n g
pupils that is not supervised by the
teacher.
SPANISH
Teachers
Introduction and pronunciation of lexemes,
expressions, etc., as subject-matter for
the teaching process.
Repetition of explanations and instructions
given first in O t o m i , or which are subsequently repeated in O t o m i .
S o m e patterns of formal organization (going
over lists, etc.).
A series of stereotyped instructions.
Pupils
A m i n i m u m of verbalization in Spanish consisting almost entirely of repetitions or
the insertion of lexemes in sentences

read out by the teacher.
S o m e cut-and-dried phrases ('May I leave the
r o o m ? ' , 'Present!', etc.).
T h e distribution of the languages in verbal
communication reflects the methodological
concept held by the teachers with regard to
the teaching of Spanish: the main instruments
used are translation, repetition and m e m o r ization through reading and writing. T o s u m
up, it m a y be said that one of the main
problems that account for poor performance
in learning Spanish is the discrepancy between
the sociolinguistic circumstances of the pupils
and the primary-school curricula. This contradiction is reflected, especially in first-grade
classes, in a conflict between the mutually
obstructive goals of hispanization and literacy,
with the result that neither goal is satisfactorily m e t . N o one in Mexico would object
to Indian children learning to speak, read and
write Spanish properly. T h e champions of the
indigenous languages are only demanding that
hispanization should not be used to the
detriment of vernacular languages. In the
schools that the team studied, there is good
reason to believe that the curricula not only
result in poor performance in respect of the
objectives set, but also contribute further to
the decline of O t o m i , on account of its
subordinate function and because it is not
used to develop subjects or curricula.
119
has been used in the study to describe this use
of the Indian language.
In this sense it is possible to speak of a
p r o g r a m m e that in reality is a transitional one
( C u m m i n s , 1980), m o r e compatible with the
historical plan to bring the Indians into the
national society and language and in the final
analysis to destroy their ethnic roots (Stavenhagen, 1979) than with the 'bilingual-bicultural education' tag of the official p r o g r a m m e ,
which aims at a stable sociolinguistic relationship between the two languages.
Despite these mainly adverse factors, the
Indian teachers have, in m a n y cases, achieved
a creative syncretism which gives curricular
elements, methods and materials n e w functions in the context of Indian culture.12 This
p h e n o m e n o n m e a n s that the Indian schools
play a good teaching and socializing role, so
that they could b e c o m e m o r e successful if the
curricula themselves were reformulated.
Sociolinguistic features in
bilingual schools
Various socio-cultural factors are involved in

the functioning of education for the Indians.
In turn the school as an institution plays a
prominent role in the language conflict.13
In this connection, the collective research
reported here brought out at least three
factors: (a) the socio-cultural effects of the
historical project for national constitution
In the small world of the school the
and the integration of ethnic minorities; (b)
distribution of the languages corresponds to
the lack of c o m m o n measure in the social
the dominant trend in the language conflict:
values attached to O t o m i and Spanish and
the courses start with practically monolingual
in people's concepts of them as languages;
O t o m i instruction, moving on to an alterand (c) the position and social function of bination between the two languages and finally
lingual Indian teachers.
towards increasingly dominant use of Spanish
For want of space, only the last point will
in thefinalprimary-school years. It appears to
be dealt with at length.14
the authors, of course, that the qualitative
distribution and the historical background of
The social position of teachers
each language is m o r e important than quantitative distribution. It was noted that O t o m i
M a n y of the sociolinguistic characteristics of
was used in schools as the language of
the Indian schools can be accounted for by the
instruction while it was necessary to ensure a
social position of the teachers in the interm o d i c u m of understanding but was discarded
ethnic conflict and by their ideological concept
as soon as possible; the term 'crutch function'
of it. Their profession allows them to rise in
120
the social scale because, unlike most of the
other Indians, they are paid a fixed salary.
This regular and relatively high income enables them to start up small businesses, to buy
land and thus increase their property. In this
w a y , their bonds with their ethnic group of
origin (their culture of orientation) are weakened, and they draw increasingly closer to
the state administration and groups holding
agrarian power (their culture of adjustment).
This fact objectively places them in a position
where their class interests conflict with their
ethnic loyalty (Baez-Jorge and Rivera B aideras, 1982).
Rural teachers in Indian areas are unlike
their urban counterparts in that they are the
only 'intellectuals' in their communities and,
on account of their training and good mastery
of Spanish, they have greater opportunities
of holding administrative and political posts;
they therefore hold posts as judges, municipal
chairmen, secretaries of co-operatives, etc.15
In fact, most of the teachers act as direct
agents of the historical assimilation project,
since their social position gives them a link to
the national society that allows them, in the
short term, greater advantages than the sociocultural defence of their ethnic group. 16
W e will n o w deal with a sociolinguistic
feature that has a direct influence o n the
educational process and explains, to a certain
degree, the w a y in which the languages are
used in the schools, the relationship between
hispanization and literacy and the actual
situation in regard to the transitional bilingual
education p r o g r a m m e : the point in question
is the teachers' o w n concept of the language
conflict between Spanish and O t o m i and their
attitudes towards the two languages.
T h e contradiction between the teachers
as O t o m i , living in the context of the beliefs
and experience of their people, and as recognized representatives of the national culture
accounts, at least in part, for three striking
p h e n o m e n a in their teaching work.
T h e first point that attracts the attention
is the high value placed o n Spanish as a
written and codified language; O t o m i , o n the
other hand, is viewed as a language lacking
these qualities, since neither the written form

established 'from outside' by linguists nor still
less the grammatical form of O t o m i possesses
a functionally and socially accepted usage.
This gives a first clue as to w h y the
teachers identify with the main objective of
the second language being acquired, according
spite the practical problems arising from their
daily attempts to teach writing and reading
without adequate prior hispanization; it can
be deduced from the practice of the teachers
and from their interpretation of the educational process that they hope to achieve
hispanization as an almost automatic consequence of literacy, ability to communicate in
the second language being acquired, according
to this view, through the written word. T h e
children have to learn the n e w language o n
the basis of the alphabet, since the civilizing
mission inherent in the educational process
can only be accomplished through writing.
Let us see h o w afirst-gradeteacher (at
San Clemente) explains the process of learning Spanish to his pupils:
O n the basis of the letters which you can see on
the board, w e are going to learn little by
little to speak Spanish . . . with the help of
these letters, w e are going to learn h o w w e
are going to ask for things, h o w w e are
going to greet a person, h o w w e are going
to ask for things w h e n w e go to a store . . .
h o w w e are going to ask for a cake of soap,
a pound of salt, a quarter of corn . . .
W e are going to learn on the basis of
these . . . let's see, children, read!
Pupils (in chorus): A . . . E . . . I . . . O . . .
U . . .
In this example, the teacher is trying to
capture the attention of the pupils by evoking
situations where there is a real need for
communication in Spanish, as suggested for
the pre-school method. But this introduction,
very useful in itself, serves to justify the
teaching and practice of the letters in isolation, without explaining, which would in
any case be impossible, h o w learning letters
can help the children to solve their oral c o m munication problems in Spanish.
121
Otomi dancers on the Cerrito pilgrimage. Muse de rH o m m e ,
Secondly, a preference for the standardized form of Spanish a n d a resulting tendency

towards 'hypercorrection' were noted (Labov,
1966) in the teachers' linguistic w o r k . J 7
In the bilingual schools in the Mezquital
valley a relationship of symbolic tension is
established not only between Spanish and
O t o m i , but also between the linguistic standard imposed b y textbooks a n d aspired to b y
the teachers a n d the regional variant of
Paris.
Spanish. This regional Spanish is affected by

the O t o m i substrate and b y the fact that it is
the second language of m a n y speakers w h o
have only a partial mastery of it.18
There is, therefore, a triangular conflict
between O t o m i as the starting point for the
pupils, the regional variant of Spanish, which
in general meets the needs of oral c o m m u n i cation, a n d the standard form of the national
language as reflected in the textbooks.
122
T h e preference for the standard language
can also be seen in the extracurricular activities of the teachers. In discharging their
functions as community leaders, they are
required to perform ceremonies and m a k e
formal speeches in which they try to use
formal and complex language. T h e use of a
turgid style conflicts, on such occasions, with
the need to communicate and this means that
the audience does not understand the formal
speech, the main function of which is to
reflect the social status of the teacher-leaders.
Thirdly, it was noticed that the teachers
had an ambivalent attitude towards Otomi as
a product of the generalized system of values
and beliefs. O n the one hand, they go along to
a certain extent with the arguments of the
supporters of Indian culture emphasizing the
value of the O t o m i culture and language.
O n the other hand, their civilizing mission,
closely linked to Spanish, forces them to
combat the Indian language in the areas
under their control, that is, the schools and
the political and administrative apparatus.
Undoubtedly, the treatment of Otomi as
a subsidiary language has a decisive cultural
effect on the socialization of the school:
the teachers succeed in transmitting to the
students the notion that the languages in
conflict are of unequal value, reaffirming the
school's role as a hispanized institution and
thus supporting the main trend towards the
displacement of the Indian language.
Apart from the specific curricula, the
opinions of the teachers concerning the
conflict between the two languages are also
worth considering since they largely determine
the possibilities of hispanization in the schools
and the development of the mother-tongue.
Final remarks
W h a t conclusions can be drawn from this
situation?
B y any reckoning the situation is a c o m plex one that rules out any facile solution or
simplistic recommendation. It is not enough
to point out that the bilingual school is part
of its socio-cultural contextthat m u c h is self-
evident. Problems arise w h e n it comes to

demonstrating in detail what factors are interrelated and in what w a y a given set of
sociolinguistic factors fosters or thwarts certain educational processes. S o m e observations
on this relationship emerge from the research
reported here.
It seems obvious that the historical,
socio-economic and ideological factors that
c o m e into play in the schools are stronger
than the curricula themselves, so that the
school cannot dissociate itself too m u c h from
these processes. It would be hard, for it to
b e c o m e the driving force behind a historical
process. In this sense it has been shown that
the school as an institution is in itself incapable of preserving or eradicating a minority language; it could however contribute to
these processes.19
In respect of bilingual speakers themselves, there seems to be a need to define
m o r e clearly the function and historical
prospects of each language in the conflict
between the two. T h e social relationships of
domination are not adapted to a simplistic
model: Spanish = dominant language,
O t o m i = dominated language. Dominant
ideas can be expressed equally well in the two
languages: o n the other hand there is an
'Indian' w a y of using the national language
with its o w n socio-cultural patterns. These
uses of Spanish and O t o m i with changed
functions form part of a kind of passive,
diluted cultural resistance which is able to
preserve s o m e ethnic values of the group
precisely because it does not openly question
the integrationist policy of the state and does
not provoke a violent reaction (Stavenhagen,
1979, p . 22). All educational policies will
have to be based on this complex reality. A
bilingual p r o g r a m m e would be of little use if it
focused on the 'pure', standardized forms of
Spanish and O t o m i w h e n the objective is the
development of communicative skills in both
languages.
If greater integration of the school into
the community is to be achieved,20 it seems
necessary to b e c o m e aware at least of the
obvious contradiction in the concepts of
123
^M
:
t t
ATO;
?8J-
*'.'*-
'^ ^ X ? C ^
v W V " '-tfCxi
Nk"*,*
' ;."&*"* '

.t*
Otom girl. Muie de l'Homme. Pans.
Spanish as a national language. In the schools,

refined standard Spanish is set as an indicative
goal (not as an attainable one); in other
words, Spanish and the written word are
considered primarily as an asset that confers
prestige o n those w h o uphold them. O n the
other hand, in out-of-school situations bilingual speakers quite clearly recognize the
communicative value (use-value) that the
regional variant of Spanish represents for
them. 2 J This contradiction doubtless supports
the functioning of the school as a linkage and
means of transmission of national culture;
however, it does not allow the community as a
whole (not merely the teachers) to take over
the schools as their o w n preserve, linked to

their o w n interests and needs.
The functions of each language will have
to be defined m o r e clearly within the schools,
since the 'intermediate' curricula used in
those studied do not permit the attainment
of any of the possible goals (hispanization,
literacy, encouragement of the mothertongue). 22 It will certainly be necessary
to teach Spanish for purposes of c o m m u n i cation as well as for the acquisition of
knowledge and academic skills. However,
the two objectives should not be confused
as is n o w the case (pre-school and first
grade, hispanization and literacy). A t any
124
rate, it will b e necessary to design a programme
for
d e p e n d o n the capacity for ethnic resistance of
second language a n d the m e t h o d s to b e used
the Indian people a n d presupposes a redefini-
will have to
be
to
tion, o n the basis of the conflict of 'divided
the
in
subjects
identities' (Stavenhagen, 1979), of the role of
(mathematics,
teaching of Spanish
in the schools. In the final analysis, it will
as a
language
the
determined
which
social
the
according
other
sciences
and
natural
sciences) are taught. 23
the
Otomi
Mexican
H o w e v e r , the m o s t critical problem in re-
as
specific ethnic group
society in
all
its
in
socio-economic,
political and linguistic aspects.
gard to preserving or revitalizing the indigenous language and culture24 will not b e solved
[Translated from
Spanish]
Notes
1. A n y bilingual education
programme runs up against the
old but persistent belief that
education in a minority mothertongue is detrimental to learning
the official national language
and thus slows d o w n the
learning of reading and writing
and other academic skills. For
that reason, the argument goes,
balanced bilingual education is
harmful for children belonging
to minority groups and hampers
theirrisein the society. This
argument is one of the powerful
weapons which have been used
against bilingual education by its
most conservative opponents
(Cummins, 1980; Tucker, 1977).
2. There is no room here for a

detailed account of the history
of language policy in Mexico
(Brice Heath, 1977; Scanlon and
Lezama Morfin, 1982). T h e first
position was reflected in the
use of direct hispanization
methods (submersion
programmes in modern
parlance), while the second
could be better classified as an
indirect assimilation
programme, in which the Indian
language would have, at least, a
supportive educational role
(Hamel, 1979).
3. Mexico n o w has a population
of approximately 7 to 8 million
Indians (10 per cent of the total

population) w h o speak one of
thefifty-sixindigenous
languages of the country. T h e
very fact that there is such a
variety of languages reduces
their chances of being
preserved, since there is no
language in such a commanding
position that it could become the
second national language and
thus serve as a basis for a unified
educational programme, as in
Peru, Bolivia or Paraguay.
4. This choice of programme
cannot be explained only as a
result of an ideological debate.
It is rather due to socio-
economic and political factors

that leave some latitude for the
preservation of Indian languages
and cultures. A s the national
economic system cannot absorb
the entire labour force available
in rural areas with a low
agricultural yield (especially
Indian areas), the system tends
to assign n e w functions to
traditional forms of production
and social organization in order
to offset migration towards the
cities and avoid the collapse of
the rural system of social
organization (Sierra, 1981a).
5. Five linguists and one

sociologist took part in this
project and, working as an
interdisciplinary team, covered
the following subjects: the socioeconomic, political and cultural
structure of the region (Maria
Teresa Sierra); distribution and
functions of the two languages in
different situations of
communication (Rainer Enrique
H a m e l , Jose Antonio Flores);
the use and learning of Spanish
and teaching practice in
bilingual schools (Rainer
Enrique H a m e l , Gerardo
Lopez, Hector M u o z ) ; the
attitudes and linguistic
awareness of O t o m i speakers in
respect of the language conflict
(Hector M u o z ) ; the ideology
and form of the economic
debate (Victor Franco); the
establishment and retention of
power through public speaking
(Maria Teresa Sierra). In the
area studied, 60 per cent of the
population is Indian; the
majority (more than 70 per cent)
are bilingual and the remainder
speak only Otomi, whereas the
majority of the urban population
speak only Spanish. T h e
Mezquital valley, in Hidalgo
State, is one of the most
disadvantaged rural areas by
reason of geographical and
economic conditions. In its
semidesert climate the
predominant form of agriculture
is seasonal and carried out o n
smallholdings; the percentage of

irrigated lands is very low.
6. O f course, the term
'diglossia' was coined by
Ferguson (1959) to indicate a
stable relationship between two
functionally differentiated
variants of a given language
(standard G e r m a n
(Hochdeutsch) and Swiss
G e r m a n (Schweizerdeutsch) in
Switzerland for example). This
term in n o w being increasingly
used to describe situations in
which languages in contact
conflict, as is the case in this
study. For further discussion,
see Marcellesi (1981) and
GRECSO (1982).
7. It must be realized that the
distribution of attitudes varied
from one area to another. There
were Indian areas where the
indigenous language and culture
were highly rated and where
various aspects of resistance had
developed m u c h more than in
the Mezquital valley.
Furthermore, the factors that
indicate resistance are m u c h
more difficult to pin d o w n , since
they are masked by the
assignment of n e w functions to
elements in the dominant
culture and rarely take the form
of open resistance. It should not
be forgotten, moreover, that
scientific research tends to be. in
one w a y or another, part of the
dominant trend itself (see
studies in G R E C S O , 1982).
8. In regard to methods of data
collection and analysis, the main
approach was of an
ethnographic and pragmatic
nature and concentrated on
verbal communication and a
series of interviews with
teachers (Lopez 1982, >;
H a m e l , 1983).
9. T h e use of the same
textbooks throughout the
republic is justified according to
teachers and educational
authorities under Article 3 of
the Constitution which
125
mandates equal education for all

Mexicans. In this case, it can be
seen h o w , in practice, unity is
confused with conformity to the
obvious detriment of the Indian
population ( N a h m a d , 1982). A
plan is emerging for the
establishment of a national
identity, in which education will
play a defensive role against
external influences and a
homogenizing role at h o m e .
10. T h e enormous success of
the methods proposed by Paulo
Freir is due precisely to the
relationship that he established
between the promotion of
literacy and the promotion of
awareness.
11. This outline is valid for the
pre-school course and for first
gr"de in three of the four
schools studied. T h e fourth
community is m u c h more
hispanized and the school uses
Spanish practically from the
very beginning.
12. A very important
characteristic of the "school
society' in these schools is the
absolute absence of violence or
aggression o n the part of the
teachers. T h e pupils have great
liberty of action and freedom to
take part or not to take part in
school activities; this is in
considerable contrast with urban
schools (Hamel, 1983).
13. M u c h of the research on
bilingual education and the
learning of second languages has
traditionally focused on
psycholinguistic and pedagogical
factors (Tucker, 1977; Felix,
1980), relating scholastic
performance to methods,
materials and social factors; in
such research, sociolinguistic
factors were taken into account
as one of several variables. In
the study reported here, the
sociolinguistic problem was a
central theme and so the school
was analysed primarily as a
factor in the socio-cultural and
language conflict, while
126
psycholinguistic and pedagogical

factors were relegated to second
place (Hamel and M u o z , 1981,
1982a).
14. T h efirsttwo aspects can be
s u m m e d up as follows. First,
although plans have been drawn
up recently for a truly
bicultural-bilingual education
programme (Lezama Morfin,
1982; N a h m a d , 1982), it is not
certain that they will prevail
against the old-established
strength of the historical real
plan for national integration
through the eradication of
ethnic differences. This doubt
arises because the vision of
assimilation as a dominant
ideology has proved capable of
winning wide acceptance a m o n g
the Otomi in the Mezquital
valley. In fact they have
separated ethnic claims from the
struggle for justice and
improved social status and are
seeking to fulfil their socioeconomic expectations through
greater integration into the
national culture, as 'peasants'
and 'Mexicans' (Hamel and
M u o z , 1983a, b). It is therefore
not surprising that school is held
in high esteem by the Otomi,
not for its supposedly bilingual
nature, but as a hispanizing
factor that offers greater
opportunities of better social
status for its graduates.
T h e second factor that
justifies hispanization in schools
is related to differences in the
way the Otomi themselves
conceive the two languages. A s
demonstrated by the research
work done under the project,
Spanish is held in very high
esteem, while Otomi is
considered to be a 'dialect', with
no grammar and of very little
use for communication outside
the Otomi communities. In the
minds of the speakers,
recognition of the actual decline
of the Indian language is
hampered by a stereotyped
belief that there is no need to
teach Otomi in the schools,
since, it is widely held, it will

remain alive for the simple
reason that it belongs to the area
and has been spoken there since
time immemorial (Muoz,
1981a, b; H a m e l and M u o z ,
1981, 1982a).
15. Maria Teresa Sierra (1981Z>)
is carrying out research work on
this relationship as a specific
subject under the project.
16. H o w e v e r , there are a large
number of Indian professional
workers w h o have become
aware of this situation. They
have created an autonomous
association, the Alianza
Nacional de Profesionales
Indgenas Bilinges, A . C .
( A N P I B A C ) , with the main
objective of involving teachers
and Indian groups directly in
language policies and
educational planning for the
Mexican ethnic groups
( A N P I B A C , 1981). Under the
present government, A N P I B A C
members hold key posts in the
Indian education section of the
Secretariat of Public Education.
17. This phenomenon is not
restricted to Indian teachers; on
the other hand, it is undoubtedly
a recurrent practice among
m a n y primary-school teachers,
w h o usually c o m e from the petit
bourgeoisie or the lower classes
and w h o seek by their
preference for refined standard
Spanish to attain a double
objectiveto invest their
professional capital in the
schools and to increase their
chances of gaining access to and
being successful in the linguistic
and social markets where usage
of the standard language is an
asset (Bourdieu, 1977, p . 27).
In other words, they are
interested in climbing the social
ladder, by adjusting to the
cultural values of the social
classes of which they want to
become members.
18. Subjective tension, that is to
say, the discrepancy between
recognition and domination of

the standard, is compensated for
to a certain degree by the fact
that its use in speech in such
situations is an important
symbolic asset for the teachers
vis--vis their audience (Otomi
pupils and peasants), w h o have
m u c h less c o m m a n d of Spanish
and consequently accept the
symbolic superiority established
by the teachers.
19. The experience reported
here, like experience in other
cases, would seem to suggest
that the schools could contribute
more 'effectively' to eliminating
rather than promoting minority
languages.
20. It is to be hoped that
current Indian policies, based on
decentralization and the concept
of 'integrated ethnic
development', will support
initiatives in this direction
(Lovera, 1983).
21. Research work by M u o z
(1981a, b) points precisely to its
value for communication
purposes as a major reason w h y
Spanish is considered superior
by those w h o speak it.
22. M a n y of these problems
have, at least, already been
recognized by the educational
authorities (Scanlon and
Lezama Morfin, 1982).
23. It will be recalled that
C u m m i n s (1980) has m a d e
a fundamental distinction
between what he called 'basic
interpersonal communicative
skills (BICS)' and 'cognitive/
academic language proficiency
( C A L P ) ' . H e maintains
that the use of the vernacular
language for academic
activities has a positive
cumulative effect on the
development of the academic
linguistic abilities (reading and
writing, etc.) in the second
language. H e therefore
proposed that bilingual
programmes be developed in
127
which educational content is

taught in the mother-tongue, at
least at the beginning. For
further discussions on this
subject, also see Swain and
Lapkin (1982).
1A. Discussion on the

ethnolinguistic vitality of a
minority group is becoming
increasingly important in
sociolinguistics, social
psychology and related fields
(Eckert, 1983; Johnson et al.,

1983; L o w y et al., 1983; for
Mexico, H a m e l and M u o z ,
1983a, b).
Trends and Issues. Tbingen,

Narr.
les communauts indignes

bilingues au Mexique In: N .
Dittmar and B . SchliebenLange (eds.), Die
Soziolinguistik in
romanischprachigen LndernILa
sociologuistique dans les pays de
langue romane, pp. 249-70.
Tbingen, Narr.
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Barcelona, Edicions 62.
S o m e aspects of linguistic
variation in one-language societies
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
measures in language policy are determined

by the principles of equality and the advancem e n t of minorities, a clash between conflictToday, m a n y people live under conditions of
ing views and interests cannot always be
bilingualism or multilingualism. In one w a y or
excluded. Therefore it comes as n o surprise
another, their social life involves using m o r e
that language problems are often pretexts to
than one language. Language contact and
vent quite different and m u c h more basic
with it the constant confrontation with a
conflicts between social or ethnic groups. 1
language different from one's mother-tongue
B y comparison with the problems of biis, of course, a very old problem in the history
or multilingualism, which, due to their socially
of mankind. W h a t is n e w
and politically disruptive
is its present dimension,
potential,
persistently
Professor Wolfdietrich Hrtung is
due to the permanent
disrupt large sections
Chief of Department at the Academy
cohabitation of different
of mankind, the linguisof Sciences of the German D e m o ethnic groups in compretic problems of onecratic Republic, Otto-Nuschke-Strasse
hensive political struclanguage societies at first
22/23, 1080 Berlin, German D e m o cratic Republic.
tures like states and
glance appear to be more
nations, or as a conseor less irrelevant and
quence of the mass exharmless. Undoubtedly,
odus of labour from less
the social and economic
developed countries to a
strains resulting from
few highly developed inlanguage problems here
dustrial countries. Here,
are m u c h less severe.
the coexistence of difH o w e v e r , this first imferent languages can no
pression of a possible
longer be characterized
lack of points of conflict
in terms of the problem of mutual understandin the field of language is misleading. W h a t
ing. There are far-reaching social consedoes it m e a n , after all, to speak one language?
quences if people live in a linguistic milieu
That one and the same language is spoken is
dominated by a language that is not their o w n ,
an abstraction, at least in the sense that every
if they try, as is often the case, to maintain
m e m b e r of a one-language society has the
their ethnic identity by the very use of their
repeated experience that even in such a
language, or if, in such a situation, they must
society people do not always speak in the
acquire such competence in the languages
same w a y . While there is only one language,
surrounding them as is necessary for their
there exist nevertheless various means of
social relations. E v e n if decisions and
expressing the same thing, and there are
The problem
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
130
divergent 'ways of speaking' which are determined by reasons m o r e deeply rooted than a
simple preference for one style or another. A
certain proportion of such divergencies can be
characterized as idiosyncrasies or as being
bound u p with certain psychic states. Individuals have their characteristic articulatory
bases, and w h e n they are excited their ways of
speaking differ from the ones they use in a
neutral state. For the organization of c o m municative processes such peculiarities are of
great importance. In this article, however, w e
are m o r e interested in divergencies that are
m o r e or less clearly linked with factors characterizing a speaker as a m e m b e r of a particular
social group, or to typical properties of
situations. If there really are such linksand
sociolinguistics has provided sufficient evidence for their existence in the last fifteen
yearsthen two basic questions have to be
asked:
W h a t is the role of divergent speech peculiarities in constituting a situation and for the
social self-identification of the speakers?
W h a t is expressed by such differences,
and what can be gathered from them?
A r e these simply differences at the level of
linguistic signs, e.g. the choice between a
standard pronunciation and a regional
pronunciation or the choice between a poetic expression and everyday language,
or is something m u c h m o r e complex
hidden behind such differences? If the
latter is the case, it becomes important to
k n o w h o w far speakers are bound to use
these ways of expression, whether they
can 'evade' them, and what range of the
ways of expression existing in a society
is accessible to them. A n d from that
follows a deeper social significance:
linguistic variants and 'peculiarities' are
not just indicators of social characteristics but rather part of the social nature
of the individual; they b e c o m e social
characteristics themselves. Being bound
to linguistic peculiarities can be part
of being bound to social structures; the
continuation of the one link can have its
effect on the continuation of the other.
This is the point where linguistic variation

becomes relevant not only for the speaker
concerned but for society as a whole, which
for all its heterogeneity is based on consistent
co-operation and communication. T h e resulting tasks of societal dimensions concern questions of standardizing and guiding language
behaviour as well as questions of language
teaching: which ways of speaking, which
variants, are to be preferred for which
reasons? O r can they simply be accepted side
by side without evaluation? This cannot be
decided on the basis of subjective views or
prejudice (even if the latter played no small
part in the history of the problem). Such
decisions must be based on appropriate conceptual frames, o n well-founded values and,
of course, on relevant studies.
T h e fact that one-language societies c a m e
into existence is due to specific constellations
of historical conditions, foremost a m o n g
which are certain convergences in the processes of development of nations and states
and the provision of the linguistic means of
coping with the communicative tasks preceding or accompanying such historical processes. If such conditions were not given, the
result w a s (and still is) the coexistence of several languages within the borders of one
state. O n the other hand, certain languages
were often spread over m o r e than one state.
B y and large, the G e r m a n Democratic
Republic is a one-language society.2 O u r
studies and experience draw heavily on the
linguistic situation in this country.
Linguistic concepts
T h e forming of linguistic concepts is not
restricted to the level of texts or of ways of
speaking. Rather, it relates the latter to a
m o r e general level, to the competence behind
the actual behaviour of the speaker, or to the
languages that can be seen as representing
certain properties of such competence. In case
of divergent language use in a society it would
be possible to assume that it corresponds to
different kinds of competence distributed
G r a m m a r entering the fortress of the other sciences, illustration from Reisch's Margareta philosophica,
1504.
Caboue/Edimages.
132
a m o n g the m e m b e r s of this society or even
side by side within one and the same individual. These different kinds of competence
could then be represented as parts of the
comprehensive and relatively abstract concept
of a specific language ( G e r m a n , English,
etc.). T h e exact and consistent definition of
such concepts is, however, of considerable
difficulty, which has had its effect o n discussions a m o n g linguists for decades. There
is relative agreement o n the idea that
languages consist of something like subsystems or varieties, or manifest themselves to
us in the form of varieties, whereas the
concept of, say, 'the G e r m a n language' has a
m o r e abstract content anddepending on the
view takeneither refers to the totality of all
existing varieties or to an average of certain
features. W h a t constitutes a variety is the fact
that it is characterized by a sufficient number
of linguistic features and is thus suited to fulfil
certain communicative functions (understandably enough, this vague definition provides a starting-point for divergent views). A s
regards functional conditions, a distinction is
usually m a d e between regional, social and
situative varieties, which can be referred to
regional dialects, sociolects and languages for
special purposes. A s a matter of course, such
varieties d o not differ in all their elements;
they overlap in various ways.
A fundamental problem concerning this
set of concepts is that, to a large extent, it
disregards the actual heterogeneity and also
the relative significance of the individual
varieties. This is m o r e adequately met by a
different concept, which was developed in
dialectology and owes a lot to the work of
Soviet linguists: one and the same language
appears in several 'forms of existence', e.g. as
standard, as colloquial language(s) and as
dialects. T h e forms of existence are, as it
were, primary or fundamental means of c o m munication in certain social domains. T h e
special difficulty pertaining to this concept is
to relate the multitude of differentiations in
language use to the system of the basic forms
of existence, or to differentiate these forms in
such a w a y that they can correspond to this
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
multitude. This task has not yet been solved in

a satisfactory w a y . 3
H o w is it that there is such variation in
language and in speakers' competence? After
all, w e not only want to describe the variation
but also to incorporate it into a comprehensive concept of h u m a n communication. A
widespread view is based o n the idea that
every h u m a n being has his or her peculiar
communicative experience, and therefore all
h u m a n beings differ s o m e h o w w h e n they externalize their experience in actual c o m m u n i cation. B u t this covers only the subjective
and individual side of the problem, reducing
differences in the ways of speaking to different degrees of participation in a collective
possession of language.
T h e basic d e m a n d to begin with is, of
course, that the means of communication
(signs and their structures) show a certain
uniformity and coincidence. Otherwise, not all
participants in communication could understand them in a sufficiently similar w a y . O n e
can imagine that uniformity does not have to
be a total, that there is a tolerance for
divergencies. B u t what defines the limits of
this tolerance? Obviously it is not the criterion
of mere intelligibility. Generally, uniformity
goes m u c h further, and the speakers do m u c h
m o r e than they would have to if their only
objective were to be understood by their
partners. O n the other hand, the development
of variety is often seen in connection with the
fact that the tasks to be solved in c o m m u n i cation are becoming m o r e and m o r e c o m plex, which leads to various differentiations
and specializations in solving them and in the
m e a n s used for that purpose. This, too,
cannot be seen as a straightforward connection. T h e differentiation of communicative
tasks certainly goes m u c h further and is
stricter than the corresponding differentiation
of the m e a n s of communication. Consequently, there must be factors restricting
variety that go beyond intelligibility and that
cannot be eliminated by the differentiation
of communicative tasks.
A t this point it seems appropriate to ask
what exactly is to be understood by linguistic
Advertisement for a G e r m a n public scribe, 1699. Edimedia.
134
communication. It is, above all, a special w a y ,
peculiar to h u m a n beings, of organizing c o m munity. This is realizedin unity, not in
isolationthrough adapting what exists in the
individual mind to collective consciousness,
through the actual transfer of information,
and through establishing social contact. F r o m
this it follows that the d e m a n d for intersubject
coincidence of the m e a n s of communication
does not so m u c h aim at the content behind
them but at an approximately similar control
of the various procedures of organizing c o m munity b y m e a n s of communication. This
provides, as it were, a functional frame to
language variation and its social significance:
not every difference in the communicative
experience is of the same relevance.
With this view of communication as a
background w e can easily envisage a basic
polarity between tendencies of specification
and even individualization, on the one hand,
and trends towards unification on the other,
which provides a framework for the development and the functioning of variation. Specification results from developing c o m m u n i cative d e m a n d s , from the division of labour
and other activities, from emerging 'favourable'
ways of communicating in a specific situation, which include principles for the formation of texts as well as specific inventories of
symbols. Unification is rooted in the function
of communication to organize community, in
the resulting integrative and identifying function of the 'same ways of speaking', which are
instrumental in effecting the coherence of
groups and communities of different kinds
and complexity, from vocational groups to
ethnic groups or to communities linked by
history, culture, etc. A s a consequence, the
uniformity of the means of communication is
given m u c h closer attention than would b e
necessary for mere mutual understanding.
Variants in language use can have two
basic sources: they can either result from
(external) conditions of communicating or
from general properties of the speakers.
T h e conditions of communicating, if
viewed under the aspect of producing variants, fall under two distinct divisions:
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
T h e differentiation of communicative tasks

mentioned above leads to the formation
of appropriate m e a n s , e.g. means for a
m o r e differentiated expression of relations in states or events (which becomes essential for solving certain c o m municative tasks), m e a n s for increasing
syntactic complexity, for a m o r e sophisticated
conceptual
(terminological)
differentiation, for situative marking,
for an increase in efficiency or for a
ritualization of certain communicative procedures, etc.
Groups of speakers exist of necessity in certain areas defined in terms of territories.
Such areas have borders providing
limits for possible communication. Historically, these borders were instrumental
in the formation of languages. Vacillation and relative neutralization of the
borders, which depend on the stability of
language communities and o n the degree
and the conditions of the territorial
mobility of the speakers, have effected
the spread of languages, assimilation and
various influences. U n d e r present conditions in particular, such borders are
frequently permeable; therefore the
strata of territorial differentiation within
larger areas have been partly stirred into
motion.
T h e general characteristics of speakers fall
into two analogous divisions:
Speakers participate to various degrees in the
division of labour and other activities in a
society. This determines the range of
experience accessible to them, irrespective of further individual limitations.
Accordingly, they have historically limited access to means of linguistic c o m munications.
Speakers are at least to a certain extent and
to varied degrees limited to areas defined
in terms of territories. In any case, they
gain their primary communicative experience in those areas, and they always
live in one of them. Their territorial
mobility, however, varies depending o n
their occupation, social status and the
Some aspects of linguistic variation in one-language societies
general opportunities in a society. This

accounts for a n u m b e r of differences in
the behaviour of territorially defined
groups of speakers, but also for differences in individual behaviour. In a w a y ,
the division of labour is the decisive
factor; its effect cannot be completely
neutralized
by extensive territorial
mobility.
T h e interaction of the various sources is
mainly such that task-motivated differentiation is based o n a certain regional differentiation; a widespread dialect, for example, becomes the basis for the development of a form
of a language that can be used in written
communication as well. If several forms (varieties) exist side by side there is usually a
differentiation of communicative functions.
Regionally limited varieties mostly specialize
in certain everyday situations, whereas those
that are valid over larger areas and are linked
with written communication b e c o m e compulsory for numerous official situations. This
leads of necessity to differences in their
communicative potential, which are not of a
principal characteron the basis of their
inherent linguistic potential, all varieties are
capable of the same development, given the
stimulating conditions necessarybut which
are nevertheless evident in a given period of
development.
Research results
Particularly in the last decade in sociolinguistics, which has rapidly established its position
as a n e w and promising linguistic discipline,
numerous questions arising from the concepts
outlined above have been examined o n an
empirical basis. T h e crucial methodological
point in these investigations was to relate
features w e find in texts to the non-linguistic
or non-textual environment of these texts.
In this environment two domains must be distinguished: the speakers and the situation.
T h e latter can be subdivided again into the
situation of the act of communication
proper and into a wider, m o r e complex situ-
135
ation. Establishing the interrelation between

elements (data, variables) of the various
domains, however, proved to be far m o r e
complicated than expected at the outset.
Situations, for example, can be d e c o m posed into an extremely large n u m b e r of
factors or components. Nearly every scholar
dealing with this problem has suggested a
different kind of analysis. B e y o n d a certain
point of detail, however, such independently
conducted analyses of situations lose their
relevance. They can n o longer be coped with
methodologically, the results gained from
them b e c o m e questionable. T h e point is,
rather, to determine precisely those properties of situations that are of communicative
relevance. This would m e a n providing betterfounded definitions of situations from a c o m municative point of view.
It is not m u c h simpler to establish a
connection to social groups. W h i c h groups can
s h o w a definite connection to linguistic peculiarities and differentiated ways of speaking?
A r e the characteristics usually taken as a basis
not m u c h too coarse for this kind of connection? W o u l d it not be possible, as well, in
s o m e cases to define social groups on the basis
of their linguistic usage and only then seek
further group characteristics? It is a longestablished fact that there are n o self-evident
correspondences between social structure in
the usual sense and the varieties of a language.
But not even the linguistic units proper
can be used without close scrutiny of connections. T h e basic problem is that, up to n o w ,
language has mostly been examined from a
completely different point of view: as the
inventory of symbols to express certain (conceptual, propositional) meanings. This approach leads to concepts of syntactic and semantic structures. Units that derived this w a y
cannot, without further reflection, be related
to social and situative elements in the hope of
finding out something about the social functioning of language. Obviously, an important
part is played here by properties of language
that have been given little attention so far, or
at least certain of these properties gain a
136
different significance. Despite its rapid development in the 1970s, sociolinguistics (or
linguistics in general with a social orientation)
is, in m a n y respects, still at its very beginnings.
W e have, in the last few years, conducted
a n u m b e r of studies on linguistic variation in
a field that can be characterized by the
linguistic terms standard on the one hand and
colloquial language or dialects on the other.4
Speakers were examined in various situations,
in occupational ones as well as in family
situations, that were to a greater or lesser
extent institutionalized. These situations were
very genuine and not created for the sake
of an experiment. T h e speakers c a m e from
different social strata, they had different
regional backgrounds, and they also differed
in education, age and other characteristics. In
all cases tape-recordings were produced which
were processed with the help of methods
c o m m o n l y applied in sociolinguistics.
In certain respects, the results of these
studies m a y not c o m e as a surprise. S o m e
correspond to intuitive experience, others
roughly correspond to the results of similar
investigations. W e have used some differentiated methods and approaches to confirm
and, of course, s o m e differentiation and
specification of previous results as well. T w o
examples of such specification are principally relevant in this context.
Usually one starts from the assumption
that speakers have a c o m m a n d of several
varieties of a language (similar to the possible
c o m m a n d of several languages) and that, in
their communicative behaviour, they shift
between the varieties at their c o m m a n d so as
to speak in one w a y or another in accordance
with the situation and their competence. In
doing this, however, the speakers actually
m o v e over a relatively widefield.It is hard to
draw exact limits for this kind of shifting.
With regard to variety, the texts very often
appear homogeneous. Nevertheless, there do
seem to be certain regularities. Speakers
arewith regard to varietycharacterized by
something like preferred or 'normal' ways of
speaking. These depend o n their c o m m u n i -
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
cative practice and history (which can be correlated to data about occupation, education,
background, etc.). In addition, speakers have
a certain capacity for diverging from this
normal w a y of speaking, in several directions.
T h e range of this capacity again correlates
with various features characterizing the individual. Actual behaviour is determined to a
large extent by situative factors, which show a
certain hierarchy, the dominance of s o m e
factors over others. It is also possible to say
something about the extent to which individual linguistic features are involved. There
are features of a particularly signalling character, which are the first to be avoided or to
be used. T h e basis of orientation for this is a
certain knowledge of linguistic norms, which
is often linked with divergent evaluations.
A second important result was the following: it is often assumed that linguistic
processes in this field lead to progressive
assimilation, so that a unified language at a
relatively high level will emerge, whereas
regional varieties die out. O u r studies, h o w ever, provided n o evidence that these are
continuous processes. Despite all assimilation
and despite the changes in the traditional
forms of dialects there remains a genuine
need for variety in ways of speaking and to
preserve regional peculiarities. This need
bears upon differences between spoken and
written communication, and consequently between official and non-official communicative
situations as well. It is in any case alive and
shapes a wide range of everyday c o m m u n i cation.
It is at this point that a number of
practical and socially relevant consequences
arise. A s long as there are differences in
access to the standard, and the standard is the
language form with the highest c o m m u n i cative potential or at least with the highest
prestige, a society must give thought to those
differences and to reducing their effects if it
feels bound to the principle of equal opportunity for all. A t the beginning of this line
of thought there should be a deeper c o m prehension of the historical dimension of
language variation.
137
T h e physiognomy of eloquence: Mirabeau (mobile features, great resonance, the complete orator),
Robespierre (set features, head wide at the top, narrow at base, a thinker not an orator). Gladstone (a
born orator). F r o m A . Wicart: L'orateur, ditions V o x . Paris 1935. D . R
138
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
w o n ground but gradually, and an abundance

of regional varieties on the other, which were
at every speaker's c o m m a n d , in use over a
W h a t precisely is the standard? W h a t could be
wide range of communicative domains and up
the reasons for promoting it or making it
to requirements, except perhaps the requireprevail over other varieties? In principle,
ments of supraregional communication, which
the development and gradual predominance
in addition demanded the written form. T h e
of linguistic standards is embedded in profurther development of the standard was in
cesses of economic or social integration, at a close correspondence with social developlater stage at state level. Such processes reach
ment. It w a s important to adapt it more
far back into the past. With the development
closely and better to the numerous emerging
of capitalist relations of production, they
situations of written communication. It was
attain a n e w quality. G e r m a n development
also in the interest of social development to
which is by no means an exceptional case
spread the standard as widely as possible in the
was such that it w a s not the language of a speech area, which involved limiting regional
particular region that launched on straightpeculiarities and required the possibility of
forward development to become the standard,
oral use, so that the supraregional variety
but the standard version which incorporated
became 'speakable' and the rigid limits bem u c h by w a y of assimilation and hybridiztween spoken and written use more relaxed.
ation, and was used, to a large extent, only in This meant extending the communicative
written communication. It w a s not from the
validity and at least a certain widening of the
very beginning that the developing standard
social base. But it was also in the interest of
was also used by larger groups of speakers. Its
social development to create and spread a
very narrow social base comprised those w h o
language form which could rank as the exhad access to the communicative domains
pression of a community feeling reaching
demanding standardized forms or to corbeyond small-state communication areas, and
responding educational facilities. For this
which was a suitable focus of orientation for
reason the emerging standard had an elitist endeavours of unification as a nation, though
trait from the very beginning. It differed from
at first on an ideological level. All this prothe w a y the simple people spoke, and it had a vided the basis for practical activities as well
written rather than an oral bias, which in
as theoretical and ideological efforts.
view of the fact that for a long time even
During the emergence of the standard
passive participation in written c o m m u n i this was, however, relatively distant from the
cation was very rare was one more reason for
communicative needs of the majority of
its social limitation. O n e additional fact w a s
speakers; it hardly corresponded to their
that in G e r m a n y there were always several
ordinary communicative experience. T h e recentres, so that regional features often enquired knowledge of the n o r m could hardly
joyed relatively high prestige in linguistic
be acquired spontaneouslyit had to be
usage. Therefore, there was n o motivation taught, and this in the context of a language
for banning regional features from ways of
policy aimed at preserving existing power
speaking. O n the contrary, for the purpose
structures, or in the w a k e of ideas of general
of spoken communication a number of re- education that were mostly short-lived or
gionally coloured hybrid language forms desoon deprived of their Utopian and progressveloped, in G e r m a n linguistics often termed
ive elements.
'colloquial languages'.
This corresponded to the production of
The historical dimension and

social relevance
Thus, in the system of varieties a characteristic polarity developed between a unifying

tendency o n the one hand, which had only
w e a k roots in the mass of the speakers and
guidelines and evaluation systems. Their basic

principle w a s the confrontation of sophisticated, elaborate and rich ways of speaking on
the one hand with unsophisticated, coarse and
139
'Language guarantees a certain kind of community.' Dialogue in a church in Guanajuato, Mexico. Bernard
G . Silberstcin/Camera Press.
140
poor ones on the other. T h e former realized
or approximated the standard, the latter
represented regional varieties and their hybrids in the speech of simple ('uneducated')
speakers. T h e school as the institution primarily concerned with implementing language
education n o w had the chief task of imparting
to the mass of the speakers something of the
sophistication, the elaborateness and the richness of standard ways of speaking, even if it
was generally merely as m u c h as was d e e m e d
'appropriate' to social status.
Such binary systems of evaluation
emerged in m a n y societies under m o r e or
less comparable conditions. They are a w a y
of coping ideologically with the problem of
conflicting interests of social strata in the
linguistic variation characterizing a given society. Naturally such evaluation systems also
shape the language consciousness of the m a jority of speakers, mediated through school
and public opinion. A n d they become part of
the picture that m a n y linguists have of their
object, which between them m a y differ widely
as to the kind of values and their distribution
but is the same in principle. Right into the
twentieth century and even u p to the present
day the standard has remained somewhat
alien or at least less familiar to a considerable
proportion of speakers. Access to c o m m a n d
of the standard was and is not gained easily. It
depends, a m o n g other factors, on the social
position of the speakers, on their regional
background and on the characteristics of their
dominant activities.
U n d e r these conditions the question
arises whether it could not be left to every
speaker to decide h o w he or she speaks,
particularly sinceand this was also clearly
shown by our studiesthe original gap between standard and non-standard varieties has
considerably diminished lately; or one could
ask whether it would not be sensible to raise
the m o r e widely spread colloquial language to
the status of standard. Such questions do not,
of course, contribute to a solution of any
problems; at best they transfer them to
another level. In trying to find an orientation
for the approach to reducing existing differ-
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
ences in the c o m m a n d of certain varieties,

the criterion of the communicative potential
ought to be of s o m e relevance. W h e r e , then,
does the special potential of the standard
lie by contrast with other varieties?
Before w e can answer this question it
must be stated from which point of view the
potential of a language should be assessed, for
such an assessment proves to be m u c h m o r e
complicated than it m a y seem at first glance.
W h a t does a language do? It guarantees a
certain kind of community, by means of
the linguistic externalization of the speakers'
interior states (which result from cognitive
processes) and the subsequent internalization
of such verbalized interior states by other
individuals. This, to a certain extent, provides
collective traits to the inner world of the
individual; it greatly facilitates the relation of
concepts, ideas, etc., in individual consciousness to those in the minds of others, which in
turn radically improves conditions of co-operation. (All this is characterized most imperfectly and vaguely by phrases like 'exchange
of information' or 'effect on the partner'.) In
order to guarantee this, language (as an
individual capacity) must have at least the
following characteristics:
It must be able to function as a sufficiently
secure and flexible (expandable) means
of storing and structuring knowledge and
experience.
It must be capable of introducing experience
and knowledge into communication, not
only in the sense of externalization but
also in the sense of creating and shaping
a system.of social relations that can be
characterized in terms of willingness to
co-operate, attentiveness or cognitive
coincidence. (This is only vaguely expressed by 'relation aspect' or 'recipient
design'; what is meant is that, in c o m munication, there must be means suited
to create, topicalize and improve the
conditions of their o w n realization.)
T h e development of the standard o n the
language side corresponds to the advance of
writing and to supraregional developments
on the communicative side. This connection

results in the fact that a major part of the
knowledge available in a society is stored with
the help of the means developing within the
standard, and in the same w a y is acquired by
individuals. This also has its effect on the w a y
of speaking, particularly since the storing of
knowledge not only concerns expanding the
vocabulary but also ways of presenting information (e.g. degrees of explication, ways of
developing and treating a theme) or of describing differentiated relations between the
items of information presented (which is
subject to higher demands than in everyday
oral communication). A s a further result, the
connection between the development of the
standard and long-term communicative processes explains w h y in most official situations
that w a y of speaking is preferred which adopts
certain features of the written standard and
follows a written model, even in pronunciation, repressing regional features to a
certain degree.
Certain ways of introducing experience
and knowledge into communication are definitely peculiar to a number of varieties, or to
all of them. Most probably diverging ways
are also connected to the difference between
spoken and written communication. There
seem, however, to be certain connections so
that everyday communication elicits mechanisms which facilitate a regulation of social
relations on a private and individual level,
whereas public communication demands and
produces mechanisms aiming at more comprehensive social relations. Another example is
the preference for metaphorical or metonymical forms of discourse,5 which are not
just 'stylistic means', but reflect certain divergent attitudes towards coping with c o m municative situations.
In this w a y the various varieties are
particularly suitable for certain performances.
They can be superior to other varieties in a
certain respect. This definitely holds for the
standard with regard to storing collective
knowledge and collective experience and
introducing them into communication in a
socially relevant w a y . For the development
141
of the speaker into a social being, however,

there is undoubtedly more of importance
than what the standard has to offer by w a y of
communicative potential. Such development
must also draw o n the potential of other
varieties. T h e problem is that, to a considerable extent, forms of everyday and oral
communication are acquired spontaneously,
whereas the standard and written forms of
communication must be acquiredto a large
extent or even exclusivelythrough instruction.
Conclusions
For the reasons mentioned above, public
efforts in a one-language society taking
account of the variation of this language
should pursue the following aims:
T h e standard, which has developed historically andbeing the result of the efforts
of m a n y generations to solve c o m m u n i cative tasks of a social character
cannot simply be abandoned, should be
stabilized and spread. This involves, in
particular, codification, usage according
to the n o r m and the promotion of
teaching standard language c o m m u n i cation.
It must be taken into consideration that the
historical development of the standard
was carried by constellations of social
forces which differ m o r e or less markedly
from the constellations of today. This,
above all, had its effect on the conceptualization of values, so that there ensues
the long-term task of neutralizing traditional values and establishing n e w
ones.
A t the same time it must not be forgotten that
specific means of coping with c o m m u n i cative situations have not only developed
within the standard and that the standard, at least in its current stage, does
not exhaust total communicative potential. Consequently, non-standard varieties retain a certain value for personal
integration with social environments.
142
Wolfdietrich Hrtung
Notes
1. Recently, language conflicts
resulting from language contact
have also been given increasing
attention at international
conferences; cf. the two
symposia (1979 and 1982) held
by the Research Centre on
Multilingualism at Brussels
University ( U F S A L ) , or the
numerous conferences and
research projects on language
problems of immigrant workers.
2. Strictly speaking, the
G e r m a n Democratic Republic is
not a one-language society in the

purest sense of the term. There
is a relatively small ethnic group
in the counties of Dresden and
Cottbus, the Sorbs, speaking a
Slavonic language, Lower or
Upper Sorbian. They enjoy
specialrights,particularly in the
fields of culture and language,
but in other respects they are
fully integrated into the society
of the G e r m a n Democratic
Republic, so that they no longer
have the status of an oppressed
minority.
3. O n further aspects of the

basic concepts, see Hrtung and
Schnfeld (1981); also Ferguson
(1971), w h o in some cases
makes slightly different
distinctions.
4. See in particular Hrtung and
Schnfeld (1981) and HermannWinter (1979). O n some aspects
of the research background see
also Mattheier (1980).
5. Cf. most recently Gessinger
(1982).
References
F E R G U S O N , C. A . 1971.
Zeitschrift fr
Language Structure and

Language Use. Stanford,
Stanford University Press.
Literaturwissenschaft und
Linguistik (Gttingen), N o . 47,
pp. 119-45.
H E R R M A N N - W I N T E R , R.
Studien zur gesprochenen

Sprache im Norden der D D R .
Berlin, Akademie-Verlag.
1979.
G E S S I N G E R , J. 1982. Vorschlge
H R T U N G , W . ; SCHNFELD,
MATTHEIER, K . J.
zu einer sozialgeschichtlichen
Fundierung von
Sprachgeschichtsforschung.
H . , et al. 1981. Kommunikation

und Sprachvariation. Berlin,
Akademie-Verlag.
Pragmatik und Soziologie der

Dialekte. Heidelberg, Quelle &
Meyer.
1980.
The language problem

in international organizations
Jean-E. Humblet
T h e growing number of international organdiplomacy. H o w e v e r , what is generally left

izations, both governmental and non-governunsaid is that this was the case only in Europe.
mental, which m a y be counted in their
This shows the subjectiveness so frethousands, the tens of thousands of perquently to be found even in scientific circles,
sons w h o work in them, the regionalization
ignoring the important role played for cenof m a n y recent problems (Europe, Latin
turies by Chinese and Arabic. O n c e this
America, the Arab world, etc.), the c o m point has been recognized, one m a y rightly
munication difficulties resulting from the
emphasize the considerable services renuse of different languages and the administradered by Latin which, for almost eight centive andfinancialproblems entailed by bi- or
turies, was the language of the educated in
multilingualism have for
both
medieval
and
a
number
of
years
Renaissance society.
Jean-E. Humblet is professor at
given cause for concern
Even the Treaty of
the University of Mons, Belgium, a
and food for thought.
Westphalia (1648) was
Belgian Senator and member of the
drafted in Latin, and it
In order to gain an
International Committee of Social
was in Latin that, right
Science Information and Documenoverall view of these
tation. H e is a former functionary
up to the French Revolquestions, w e shall first
of the European Economic C o m ution, relations between
present a few historical
munity and administrator of the
France
and the Holy
considerations, following
Centre International de Formation
Roman
Empire
were
these with an analysis
Europenne. Address: Avenue de
Lasne 26, 1320 Genval, Belgium.
conducted. However, the
of the relational situaimportance of Latin was
tions arising from the use
overestimated, since it
of languages in interwas a language spoken
national organizations; a
only by the initiated, the
third section will be
clergy and particularly
devoted to a tentative
well-educated m e m b e r s of the laity, whereas
inventory of the problems involved. Finally,
the vast majority of the populace spoke a
w e shall discuss possible measures to be taken.
dialect in daily life and were very frequently
illiterate.
Historical considerations
It was moreover the sheer variety of
W h e n speaking of an international language
dialects that fostered the rise of Latin,
and international relations, mention is fretogether with the fact that it was the official
quently m a d e of Latin, which in effect served
language of the R o m a n Catholic Church,
from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth
at least after the schism with the Eastern
century as the sole language of learning and
Church. In France, to give but one example,
144
Franois I found it necessary to proclaim the
Edict of Villers-Cotterets in 1539 in order to
impose French as the sole language of official
deeds and writs in place of Latin and the
langue d'oc, or old Provenal. T h e decline of
Latin as the lingua franca of scholars and
diplomats set in very rapidly from the
eighteenth century onwards parallel to the
progressive spread of French.
Peter the Great and Catherine II saw to
it that French became the language spoken by
the ruling classes of their empire, which
'despised' Russian; 'even the instructions to
foreigners, to the diplomats of Imperial
Russia, were written in French'. It was
agreed that French 'opened the door on to
the whole world'. 1
French became the predominant language
of international relations and negotiations,
used currently in the drafting of treaties,
even if reservations were voiced in this
regard, particularly on the part of Great
Britain. For example, the Treaty of Paris of
10 February 1763 contains the following
clause: 'It has been agreed and decided that
the F R E N C H L A N G U A G E , used in all copies of
this Treaty, shall not constitute an example

that m a y be adduced or serve as a precedent
or be in any way prejudicial to the interests of
any of the Contracting Powers'. 2 Ivo Lapenna
draws attention in his study to the incident
that occurred in March 1753 between France
and Great Britain. During negotiations, Great
Britain declared itself willing to accept a
'neutral language' for negotiating purposes,
but refused to conduct negotiations solely in
French.
It was the First World W a r that put an
end to the pre-eminence of French as the
language of international relations, with the
failure of France's attempt to have French
recognized as the sole official language of the
Versailles negotiations. Finally, and for practical purposes, French and English were used
on a strictly equal footing both in the conduct
of negotiations and in the drafting of the
treaty. T h e same equality of status was
conferred on the two languages in the League
of Nations, as stated quite clearly in Article 16
Jean-E. Humblet
of the League of Nations' Rules of Procedure.
In D e c e m b e r 1920, the League of
Nations became the forum of a debate on
the recognition of internada lingvomore
commonly k n o w n as Esperantoas an official
language, in addition to French and English.
It is instructive to note the French delegates'
radical opposition to this proposal, which
went hand in hand with the absolute ban
placed by the French Minister of Education
on the teaching of Esperanto, in whatsoever
form, in French schools.
The French position was supported in
particular by the President of the Assembly,
Louis H y m a n s , the Belgian Minister for
Foreign Affairs, whereas one Walloonspeaking Belgian delegate, Pierre Lafontaine,
proposed on the contrary that Esperanto
should be accepted as an official language.
Clearly, it was a conflict between m e n with
a broader vision of the future and those w h o
saw it only in terms of a particular language.
The position of the French delegation
and of those w h o supported it was based on
fear of a rival to the French language. A m a n
like Henri-Marie Lafontaine, on the other
hand, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1913),
the inventor with Paul Otlet of the universal
decimal classification system in 1895, an advocate of a system of international organizations, also a socialist senator and as such
perhaps aware of the value of a tool of
communication that was not restricted to
the privileged few, was more alert to the
language obstacles in the w a y of communication resulting from the world situation
and the gradual emergence of nations outside
Europe. 3 Finally, the
only
concession
m a d e to Esperanto was its recognition as a
language that might be used by the International Telegraph Union. 4
The next stage was bound up with the
Second World W a r and the spread of English
as the language of science, telecommunications and aviation, and above all as the
principal language of the Western victors
of the war. Throughout this period m u c h
thought was devoted to the possibility of
promoting 'Basic English' as an international
A m o d e r n international code (Hallstatt, Austria). Georg Gerster/Rapho.
145
146
language, proving that the promotion of
French in the 1920s had been a mistake.
Concurrently, the globalization of problems, the development of worldwide intergovernmental organizations and the accession
of dozens of n e w states to independence
posed the problem in entirely novel terms.
This led the United Nations in 1946 to recognize not only French and English as'' official languages, as in the League of Nations,
but also, from the outset, Spanish and
Russian, and a little later Chinese and Arabic.
A s for European intergovernmental organizations, it was doubtless because the Council
of Europe was founded in 1949 that it
has English and French only as its official
languages.
The status of the languages of the European Communities marked a striking n e w
departure. True, the Treaty of Paris of
18 April 1951 setting up the European Coal
and Steel Community ( E C S C ) was drawn up
in a single version only, in French. French is
admittedly the official language not only of
France but also of Luxembourg, as well as
being one of Belgium's official languages; in
1951, it w a s the main language spoken in
Belgium in the coal and steel industries, since
at that time there was no steel industry in
Flanders and three-quarters of all coal-mining
was still in the hands of the Walloons.
Nevertheless, the Federal Republic of Germ a n y was too important in terms of its coal
and steel industries for G e r m a n not to be
recognized as an official language. B y contrast, in 1951 Italy and the Netherlands were
relatively minor partners in the E C S C .
It was probably therefore a mistake for
the European Coal and Steel Community to
adopt all the official languages of its m e m b e r
states, i.e. not only French and G e r m a n but
also Italian and Dutch, which are official
languages of no other international intergovernmental organization, with the exceptionin the case of Dutchof Benelux,
which in any case was superseded by the
coming into being of the European C o m munities.
There was however one argument that
Jean-E. Humblet
militated in favour of granting all these

languages the status of official Community
languages. It is historical circumstances,
sometimes by chance, which give a particular
language international importance, as Michel
Taille has clearly highlighted.5 Take the
example of Italian and Castilian Spanish:
while the cultural importance of Italian is
comparable to that of Castilian, and Italy has
provided a considerable flow of immigrants to
both North and South America, Italian is
today an official language only in two states,
namely Italy and Switzerland. B y contrast,
Spanish is the official language of some twenty
Latin American states.
F r o m the standpoint of 'a people's right
to its language', it is natural that all languages
should be recognized, this being the only way
of preventing the alienation of populations
whose language is not widely spoken.
While valid in theory, this line of reasoning is fraught with practical difficulties for the
institutions belonging to the United Nations
family; even in Western Europe, it has led to
the present-day impasse, with seven and a half
official languages for ten m e m b e r states.6
It should moreover be pointed out
that, contrary to Article 100 of the Treaty of
Paris, Article 248 of the Treaty of R o m e of
25 March 1957 places the G e r m a n , French,
Italian and Dutch languages on an equal
footing as regards the interpretation of the
treaties establishing the European Economic
Community and the European Energy C o m munity.
If tomorrow Spain and Portugal were to
become full m e m b e r s of the European C o m munities, the number of official languages
would rise to nine and a half for twelve
m e m b e r states; nor would there seem to be
any reason w h y the Catalans' claims should
not be granted, there being more Catalan
speakers than speakers of Danish or Irish!
147
^4%ejr#f^
While considerable progress has been m a d e with machine translation since its beginnings in the 1950s it is
still not possible to dispense entirely with h u m a n intervention. Automatic translator with instruction to
break glass in case of breakdown to release the multilingual translator, imagined by L a m o u c h e (1983).
Lamouche/La Recherche.
148
Specific nature of the relational

situations arising from the use
of languages in international
organizations
This problem must be considered not only in
the light of the daily life of international
institutions but also with regard to official
meetings and relations with the populations of
the host countries. A major distinction needs
to be drawn between regional international
organizations and those whose scope is worldwide. Clearly, in the case of the Organization
of American States, virtually everyone is
satisfied with two official languages, English
and Spanish, bearing in mind that all educated
Brazilians have a 'passive' knowledge of
Spanish and that the remaining indigenous
Indian languages, some of which are official
languages in one or two states, are not
widely spoken.
In Western Europe, despite a c o m m o n
culture, the language pattern is a mosaic. This
is obviously also the case for worldwide
organizations. In most international organizations, the majority of officials, employees
and experts attending committee meetings
are led to use a language^ that is not their
mother-tongue. In most cases, therefore,
they will be speaking a language such as
'Basic English' that is relatively simplified as
regards semantics, phonetics and grammar.
The environment of international organizations can lead to a narrowing of the gaps
between people in ways that transcend
nationality, for example in the case of the
European Communities between Germans
from northern G e r m a n y whose mother-tongue
is L o w G e r m a n and their Dutch-speaking
colleagues, or between the Piedmontese and
Provenal French-speakers. Oppressed and
despised though they m a y b e , regional
languages, dialects and cultures are none
the less implicitly present; witness the establishment in Brussels of a committee on
stateless peoples to consider the situation
of, inter alia, a number of Celtic peoples.
The world of international organizations
Jean-E. Humblet
is moreover a revealing example of the

theories propounded by J. A . Fishman, 7 with
two languages very frequently spoken side by
side. In one directorate-general or department there will be a preference for speaking
one language, and elsewhere another.
A s a newly appointed official in a European organization, I found myself sharing an
office with a G e r m a n colleague w h o was older
than myself. O u r c o m m o n language was
Dutch, since m y colleague's knowledge of
French was nil, as also his knowledge of
English, while I have only a smattering of
German.
Daily life illustrates both the risks and the
advantage of multilingualism. H o w many
misunderstandings have arisen, sometimes
even a m o n g experts, as a result of the fact
that, in English, the word 'army' denotes the
land forces, in contradistinction to the 'navy'
and the 'air force'; because in English the
word ' d e m a n d ' is m u c h stronger than the
French demande, meaning only a request, or
again because to 'nominate' means to put
forward as a candidate, and not, as the
French term nommer, to appoint. Examples
are legion, and are to be found in any single
linguistic area, even one straddling state
boundaries. T o be sure, the Conseil International de la Langue Franaise performs a
useful role in vetting n e w words; however,
alongside Spanish, English or French terms
that have currency wherever these languages
are spoken, there are others that, while
perfectly correct, are used only within a
particular region. Clearly, terms such as
bordier, used by the Romansch-speaking
Swiss, and drocher, used by the inhabitants
of the Val d'Aosta, are to be preferred
to riverain and dvisser.
The use of several languages nevertheless
has the advantage of making for greater
precision: all too often, it is the translator w h o
spots inaccuracies, nonsense and woolly thinking or slovenly drafting in the process of
translating documents. However, in everyday
life, there is still a tussle between languages,
or between individuals depending on their
relative mastery of a particular language. In

this regard, it is well k n o w n that language
skills vary considerably from person to
person; and it m a y be argued that those with
little linguistic ability have n o place in international organizations.
It should be pointed out, moreover, that
international schools, in particular those
based in Europe, catering for over 10,000
pupils, are an ideal place in which to
acquire a thorough knowledge of a second
language.
H e r e , a few remarks must be m a d e about
contacts with the local population. Clearly, in
any international organization, the language
of the country in which it has its headquarters
will always enjoy pride of place. There are
two reasons for this. First, the locally recruited staff, whose status is frequently less
privileged than that of other categories,
necessarily speak the language spoken in
the area in which the institution is established.
Second, in everyday social intercourse, one is
obviously bound sooner or later to use that
language. Clearly, for example. French
has
greater currency in Unesco (Paris),
W H O and I L O (Geneva) than it does in the
United Nations in N e w Y o r k .
Problems of multilingualism
and artificial languages
T h e introduction of n e w official languages in
the organizations of the United Nations
familya well-known case being that of
G e r m a n and Arabic in the International
Labour Organisationand
the transition
from four to seven languages, and perhaps
shortly to nine, in the case of the European
Communities, have sharply highlighted the
problem of multilingualism. In 1979, for
example, M r Coppieters, a Flemish nationalist and m e m b e r of the European Parliament,
tabled a proposal that led to the drafting of
the Patterson Report. 8 Subsequently, a proposal by M r von Habsbourg gave rise to the
Niborg Report, 9 while in its report for 1981
the Court of Auditors of the European
Communities dwelt at length o n the language
problem.
149
Lengthy discussions in the European

Parliament culminated in the adoption, on
14 October 1982, of a resolution reaffirming
both respect for the various official languages
and a determination to reduce costs by applying computer technology to translation. T h e
resolve to reduce costs at a time w h e n the
European Communities are contending with
extremely serious budgetary problems w a s
perfectly natural in the circumstances; but
there is n o text which permits discrimination
in any form against Danish or Dutch in
relation to French or English. H o w e v e r , it is
important to have a clear picture of the
situation as it really is within the European
Communities. In everyday practice, two
languages, French and English, are the ones
most used. In the case of French, this is due,
firstly, to the fact that the initiative for the
Treaty of Paris w a s taken by France as early
as 1950, w h e n the European Communities
n u m b e r e d only six m e m b e r s , and that French
was therefore de facto the major language;
and, secondly, to the fact that French is the
main local language of the two principal
headquarters of the Communities, first Brussels, then Strasbourg.
T h e prominence that English has gradually acquired since the entry of the United
K i n g d o m into the C o m m o n Market in 1973
perhaps owes less to the British themselves
than to the fact that it is the most widely
taught second language in the Federal
Republic of G e r m a n y , D e n m a r k and the
Netherlands, and increasingly in Italy, not
to say Greece.
G e r m a n ranks next, occupying an intermediary position; Italian is at the head of the
'minor languages', as they are unofficially
t e r m e d ^ G r e e k , Dutch and Danishwhile
Irish, as w e have pointed out, enjoys its o w n
particular status.
These facts d o not preclude an evaluation of the high cost of using several
languages: translation and interpretation
services and publications account for at least
one-third of the operating budget of the C o m mission of the European Communities.
In institutions mainly concerned with
Jean-E. Humblet
150
The interpreter: an unknown face between famous ones. Keystm
organizing meetings, which have neither large

statistical nor legal offices and which do not
engage in a wide range of studies and negotiations, the cost of using several languages is
reckoned to be not far short of three-quarters
of their budget; w e are thinking here of
the European Parliament and the Economic
and Social Committee. O n e m e m b e r of the
European Parliament, M r N . Patterson, has
in fact evaluated the cost at 40 to 45 per cent
of the Communities' entire budget, i.e.
$45 million.10 H o w e v e r , he continues to
maintain the principle of treating all languages
on an equal footing, even if compromises
must on occasion be accepted. It is as a
result of this principle that no precise statistics are available today regarding the
relative costs of using the various languages,
which could in any case easily be calculated
in so far as translations are concerned, since
the translation services are organized on

an individual language basis.
Archduke Otto von Habsburg, pleading
for respect for cultural heritages,11 suggests
that a distinction be m a d e between major and
minor languages with a view to instituting a
system whereby all m e m b e r s of the European
Parliament would be required to express
themselves fluently in either French, English
or G e r m a n . His proposal has not been
adopted notably in consideration of the
need to ensure democratic recruitment of
such m e m b e r s .
It is self-evident that academics and
businessmen have had far greater opportunity
to study and to speak major international
languages than active m e m b e r s and leaders of
trade union organizations. A senior official
in the Commission of the European C o m munities pointed out to m e in this connection
that, assuming the number of full official

languages was raised to nine, it was unthinkable for interpretation to be provided
on a systematic basis from and into all nine
languages. Thus sooner or later a distinction
would have to be drawn between first-ranking
and
second-ranking languages. It should
moreover be pointed out that, during the
early years of the Communities, when n e w
states were admitted, the recruitment of translators and interpreters to provide a communication link between Greeks and Dutch, for
example, or between Danes and Italians, was
by no means easy.12
This prompted the Commission of the
European Communities to set up two programmes. In 1975 S Y S T R A N , a system for
automatic
two-way
translation between
English and French, was tried out in the
specificfieldof food technology. A systematic
evaluation was carried out of the accuracy

and reliability of the translations.
The experiment is an important one,
since the S Y S T R A N system can process
300,000 words per hour. It has the further
advantage of making economical use of typing
services, the terminals producing such correct
print-outs that they need simply be photocopied.
The few years during which S Y S T R A N
was
operational revealed the difficulties
encountered by m e m b e r states in their o w n
attempts
to
introduce computer-based
translation, prompting the idea of launching a
larger-scale research project. This led to the
setting up of E U R O T R A . The E U R O T R A
project is based on a translation machine
designed to operate on a multilingual basis,
the product of a considerable amount of work
on the part of both computer scientists and
152
linguists. T h e aim here is not, as before, to
analyse one language in relation to another,
but to break d o w n the very essence of a
language into what is k n o w n as a tree system,
and to identify its major characteristics.
Moreover, the system will be required progressively to assimilate other languages and
to take account of future advances in the dataprocessing field.
The programme that has been adopted
extends over a five-and-a-half-year period,
during which a team of eight officials from the
Commission of the European Communities
will work together with computer scientists
and linguists with specialist knowledge of the
seven current official Community languages.
It should be noted that the Commission has
acquired considerable experience in this field,
having compiled a computerized dictionary,
E U R O D I C A U T O M , which provides equivalents for 150,000 terms in the seven official
languages. This is not the only multilingual
thesaurus that has been produced. There is
also a software programme, A S T U T E , which
is extremely effective for the updating and
printing of thesauri, particularly in the fields
of metallurgy, food, veterinary medicine and
agriculture, and which is used by the Council
of Europe for its E U D I S E D thesaurus.13
The future-oriented nature of this interdisciplinary work, involving linguists, c o m puter scientists and documentalists, makes it
an exciting project. A s regards its considerable cost, it is calculated that it will ultimately generate savings of at least 50 per
cent on translation costs.
The question must nevertheless be considered of the possible use of an artificial or
semi-artificial language. Previously, the C o m mission of the European Communities' Directorate-General N o . Ill, responsible for
market and industrial affairs, had in fact
concluded a contract with Esperanto specialists with a view to using the language for the
purpose of abstracting documents. However,
any mention of an artificial languageparticularly Esperantoinevitably triggers off
deep-seated sociological resistance, the chief
arguments against it being bound up with the
Jean-E. Humblet
need to safeguard national cultures. S o m e
critics point out that, were Esperanto to be
spoken currently, it too would become a living
language, evolving in all the ways that living
languages evolve. There is no very apparent
willingness to integrate an artificial or semiartificial language such as Esperanto in the
research n o w being carried out. T h e champions of national languages in each state look
upon artificial languages as potential enemies,
as though their o w n natural language were not
itself involved in a power relationship.14
Conclusions
The Tower of Babel so strikingly depicted by
Brueghel is still standing, even if h u m a n
intelligence and the sophisticated equipment
available to it provide some hope of an
improvement in the situation.
Inevitably, however, the efforts that are
m a d e by various international organizations
are geared to their o w n needs and limited to
their official languages. N o artificial language
being as yet an official language, the organizations of the United Nations system
can work only in relation to their five or six
official languages, the Council of Europe in
relation to its two official languages and the
European Communities in relation to their
seven, eight or nine official languages.
Moreover, the cultural argument in effect
ignores the fact that culture today integrates
technology, in particular data-processing, no
less than the natural languages, in all their
richness and infinite shades of meaning.
There can be n o sense in defending natural
languages against artificial languages w h e n
the culture of the educated m e n and
w o m e n w h o might be speaking them is n o
longer historical or literary, but imbued with
the culture of the computer age.
In conclusion, w e should like to reformulate the problem in politico-sociological terms.
Considering that the various intergovernmental organizations gear their analysis of the
problem to their o w n short- and medium-term
needs, it is vital to take stock of the issue with
rather greater detachment, in other words to
153
Delegates, the press and interpreters in their cabins at a meeting of the European Communities in
Brussels. Van Parys/Sygma
view it in the longer term, looking towards the

horizon of the end of the century. This also
implies seeing it in its worldwide context.
Finally, it is vital to situate it in a world that is
changing ever m o r e rapidly in view of the
increasingly global dimension that social life is
tending to acquire.
T h e main subjects of communication
obviously relate to scientific, political, diplomatic, religious and commercial fields, including tourism and sport.
T o present the problem in these terms is
to consider it not in relation to s o m e 500,000
politicians, diplomats, businessmen or civil
servants, but rather in its implications for over
500 million m e n and w o m e n , whose daily
lives involve travel and receiving visitors from
abroad. Looking towards the end of the
century, this figure will in fact have risen to
1,000 million, corresponding roughly to the
n u m b e r of those having completed their

secondary education.
T h e second problem is that of the worldwide power wielded by certain languages, due
to their successful spread. T h e most striking
instance throughout the world is that of
English; however, there are other cases of
languages serving as linguae francae, to the
detriment of local languages. T h e status of
French and Spanish in relation to English in a
worldwide context is n o different, all things
considered, from that of Italian in relation to
French in the European context.
T o take a particularly characteristic
example, Finnish is somewhat subordinate in
Finland to the prestige of Swedish, but even a
Swedish-speaking Finn remains strictly confined to the Scandinavian world. B y learning
G e r m a n , another prestige language in Finland, he remains limited to the countries of
154
Central Europe. In he chooses English, he
will have a world language at his c o m m a n d ,
but will still not be able to communicate with
his neighbour, the U S S R .
W e therefore consider that only an artificial language can prevent the stranglehold
of one language over another with all its
economic and cultural consequences.
With the possible exception of Englishspeaking communities, all other nations and
speakers of other languages will benefit from
the creation of a neutral artificial language.
Contrary to what is all too frequently claimed,
this is the only reliable w a y of safeguarding
specific, geographically limited cultures, as for
example Catalan, or cultures such as French
that once enjoyed and still enjoy considerable
prominence.
In this w a y there will still be r o o m ,
alongside a local language, for the use in
schools of an international language, serving
as a veritable m e d i u m of culture; to this it will
be sufficient to add the teaching of an artificial
language, two hours of instruction per week
over a two or three year period being ample in
view of the ease with which such a language
can be learned and the m i n i m u m c o m m u n i cation skills that it guarantees.
Thus as regards major world languages,
there will remain, for example, the Englishspeaking, French-speaking, Spanish-speaking,
Arabic-speaking
and Russian-speaking
spheres. In addition, however, w e shall be
certain of possessing a tool of communication
of worldwide scope, with at the same time
Jean-E. Humblet
safeguarding languages that are not widely

spoken: a Georgian, for example, while continuing to speak his ancient mother-tongue,
will continue to learn Russian. Thirdly, an
official artificial world language will enable
him to communicate with the world at large.
This is, in our view, a major argument in
favour of acquiring this entirely n e w outlook.
T h e artificial language would gradually
c o m e to play a major role in international
organizations, without raising false expectations in any quarter.
Here, a technical problem arises. C a n
Esperanto serve this purpose? T h e author of
this article is not an expert in the matter. H e
is familiar with the virtues of Esperanto,
including that of being readily rendered into
Chinese. H e is also aware of the technical
criticisms that are sometimes levelled at it.
It is indeed to be regretted that, in its all
but forty years of existence, Unesco has not
m a d e m o r e headway in solving this problem
of artificial languages. It is to be hoped that,
on the basis of the vast operation launched by
E U R O T R A , it will be possible to generate a
n e w , wholly up-to-date artificial language. If
this cannot be achieved, then, on the principle
that it is best to leave well alone, the wise
course must be to use Esperanto as our
universal language.
W h a t is required is a wholly n e w , forward-looking approach to the problem.
[Translated from French]
155
Notes
1. See Ivo Lapenna, ' L a
situation juridique des "langues
officielles" avant la fondation
des Nations Unies', Monda
Lingvo-problemo, Vol. I,
N o . 1, 1969, pp. 6-7.
2. Ibid., p . 9.
3. See m y article, 'Paul Otlet
and Henri Lafontaine, Inventors
of the U . D . C . and Founders of
the International Institute of
Bibliography', International
Forum on Information and
Documentation, Vol. 1, N o . 2 ,
1972, pp. 6-8.
4. See Ivo Lapenna, ' T h e
C o m m o n Language before
International Organization',
Monda lingvo-problemo.
Vol. II, 1970, pp. 83-102.
5. 'Problmes linguistiques dans
l'Europe des neuf. Etudes,
N o . 4 , 1974, pp. 601-19.
6. T h e 'half language is Irish,
which is theoretically an official

language of the treaty, though it
is agreed by the Irish that its use
will be very limited.
7. In particular,
Sociolinguistique, pp. 87-102,
Brussels/Paris, ditions
Labor/F. Nathan, 1971.
8. European Parliament, D o c .
P E 64.563/Rev., 21 M a y 1980.
9. European Parliament, D o c .
P E 73.706/Rev., 22 March 1982.
10. N . Patterson,
'Multilingualism in the
European Community',
Multilingua, Vol. I, N o . 1,
1982, pp. 9-15.
11. O . von Habsburg,
'Vielsprachigkeit und
Fortschritt', Multilingua,
Vol. 1, N o . 2 . 1982, pp. 71-5.
12. With regard to the practical
problems and language policies
within the Commission of the
European Communities, the

reader is referred to the speech
by T . Holtz Councellor to the
Royal Irish A c a d e m y on
24 October 1977, reproduced in
Der Sprachmittler, N o . 1,
February 1979, pp. 7-21. With
regard to the use of G e r m a n in
the United Nations and the
great number of language
versions of basic texts, see
R . Paque, 'Deutsche
Sprachentscheidungen im
politischen Umfeld der
Vereinten Nationen',
Multilingua, Vol. II, N o . 1,
1983, pp. 19-26.
13. See L . Rolling, 'L'Europe
en action', Multilingua, Vol. I,
N o . 1, 1982, pp. 16-20.
14. This is the case at each level
of society, the social pressure of
dialect in a village is of the same
nature as that of English in the
United Nations building in N e w
York.
Sociolinguistics
and language teaching
Mary-Louise Kearney
alized, thus becoming a characteristic of

each person, whose unique identity m a y be
established partly through
his ability
Sociolinguistics is the n a m e most commonly
to express himself. This essential digiven to the study of w h o speaks (or writes)
chotomy w a s examined at length by the
to w h o m , w h e n , where, h o w and w h y . 1
celebrated Swiss linguist, Fernand de SausThis succinct yet very comprehensive
sure, w h o used the terms 'language' and
definition of the discipline will serve as a point
'speech' to label the global and personal
of departure for this article, the main objecp h e n o m e n a . It became a tenet of linguistic
tive of which is to establish the links between
analysis because it placed language inside its
the theory of sociousual context, namely
linguistics and current
that of communication.
Mary-Louise Kearney is a N e w Zeapractices
in
modern
In the early 1960s,
lander who has recently been active
language teaching. O f
sociolinguistics emerged
in the Centre de Perfectionnement
particular
interest
is
as a n e w domain of
Linguistique of Air France in Paris
the relevance of sociostudy, largely due to the
and as a consultant to Unesco. She
has specialized in the elaboration of
linguistics to an interacwork of such eminent
multilingual terminologies and pubtional course design,
scholars as Edward Sapir
lished French Bloodstock Terminwhich allows the learner
and B . L . Whorf, w h o
ology as well as articles on aspects
to improve his c o m m u n i based
their research on
of language teaching and autodidactic
learning.
cative competence in the
anthropological studies
target language.
of ethnic communities
and
their
particular
A s the term itself
linguistic codes. Hence,
suggests, sociolinguistics
right from its inception,
is the marriage of two
sociolinguistics has been
distinct but inevitably
linked to the p h e n o m e n o n of h u m a n c o m linked domains: sociology and linguistics. If
munication. Over the years, the implications
the former is defined as the study of h u m a n
of situation and usage began to gain attention
and, more specifically, of social problems and
within the arena of applied linguistics, which
the latter as the scientific analysis of language,
seeks to establish the practical applications of
then the association between the two discilanguage research and implement these by
plines m a y be more clearly perceived.
means of pedagogical programmes designed
Language is a global phenomenon and
to facilitate the acquisition of communicative
the attribute that allows m a n to communicate
competence in the target code.
with his peers in a particular context.
Moreover, language can also be individuFurther research proliferated in the area
Introduction
158
of language as used by specific social groups,
the pioneers in this field being Bernstein,
Bright, Labov and H y m e s . H e r e , the goal was
to identify the key characteristics of the
language of certain subjects, as manifested by
their everyday speech, and thus to d e m o n strate the reflection of socio-cultural factors
in linguistic performance. Consequently,
linguists became interested in areas such as
creles, dialects and bilingual communities.
Thus, the diversity of linguistic research
over the past twenty years has served to
consolidate the importance of sociolinguistics as a discipline and to identify its numerous applications. In particular, its relevance
to the domain of foreign- or second-language
learning is n o w indisputable in so far as code
and context are viewed as an indivisible
duality.
Theoretical considerations
It is important to situate sociolinguistics
within the broader field of applied linguistics,
which seeks to relate research to a practical
methodology for teaching languages. While
the philologists m a y concern themselves with
the numerous problems of pure linguistics,
including the questions posed by semantics
and phonology, applied linguists and, m o r e
particularly,
language
researchers
and
teachers are essentially interested in two basic
areas.
T h efirstof these is content: the selection
of material to teach, based o n descriptive
rather than prescriptive phonetic, grammatical and lexical items, as well as their patterns.
In this respect, current usage and not rigid
adherence to a theoretical n o r m must be the
principal criterion for correctness. Moreover,
pertinence to the learner's needs is the guide
to the actual selection of content.
M e t h o d , the second basic area of
interest, refers to the m a n n e r in which this
pertinent content m a y be taught and learned.
This includes recourse to associated disciplines such as pedagogy, psychology and
technology in an effort to elaborate an
Mary-Louise Kearney
effective system of language instruction for

a variety of clearly defined publics.
Today the discipline of applied linguistics
has reached a certain maturity, which is
reflected in its diverse developments resulting
in the proliferation of m a n y areas of research.
For example, quantitative linguistics, the use
of computerization in language research, bilingualism, ethnolinguistics and the growing
interest in the value of standardized terminologies in specialized areas of professional
activity demonstrate the wide-ranging applications of the discipline itself.
M u c h water has passed under the
bridge since the initial conflict between the
schools of behavioural and cognitive learning.
In the view of the American psychologist,
B . F . Skinner, a behaviouralist approach to
language acquisition should be based o n the
learning of one's mother-tongue. In contrast, the supporters of N o a m C h o m s k y believed in the m a x i m of rule-governed creativity, thereby emphasizing the importance
of cognitive learning as the foundation
for an acceptable performance in a foreign
or second language.
Since the 1960s, numerous methods have
been researched and employed with varying
degrees of acclamation and durability. There
have been the audio-visual and audio-lingual
approaches, based o n the activation of the
senses, while the structural, functional and
notional schools have enjoyed measures of
success. Fairly recent methods include the
technique of total immersion in accelerated
courses, the silent w a y and suggestopedia,
which is a strategy for language acquisition
during periods of mental relaxation. H o w ever, this plethora of methods has a single
objective: to improve the learner's c o m m u n i cative competence in the target language.
There can be little doubt that the concept
of communicative competence is the principal
aim of all language learners, because their
efforts are based o n their need and wish to
communicate in another linguistic code. This
necessitates their acquisition of an active skill
which is often complemented by its passive
counterpart: for example, the speaking and
159
Sumerian-Accadian dictionary for the instruction of scribes,firstmillennium B . C . The Sumerian words are
in the central column; to the left, their pronunciation in Accadian expressed in simple syllabic signs, to the
right their translation into Accadian. From the library of the great temple of Uruk in lower Mesopotamia.
Muse du Louvre, Paris.
listening skills or the reading and writing skills.

In recent years, m u c h research has been
devoted to the learning of a language for a
specific purposea field k n o w n as L S P . This
type of acquisition, though limited, frequently
requires mastery of the active skills. Concrete
examples would include the linguistic needs of
hotel and restaurant staff dealing with foreign

clients, airline personnel, customs officers, air
traffic controllers, and specialists in any professional d o m a i n attending an international
conference where they must follow proceedings and express their opinion. Clearly
these people can m a n a g e to communicate
160
adequately, though notflawlessly,by using a
restricted corpus of structures and vocabulary in the target language.
H o w e v e r , whether the learner wishes to
gain a limited knowledge or whether he is
aiming to achieve a sophisticated level of
spoken or written excellence in another
language, his goal is to give a performance
of his linguistic ability which is correct and
acceptable to a native speaker of the target
code. This is the essence of standard c o m m u nicative competence and the real axis of
m o d e r n language learning for teacher and
student alike. Implicit in the objective is the
fact that linguistic ability goes far beyond the
mastery of the actual target code. This must
be balanced by an appreciation of the appropriate usage of the linguistic forms in context,
which requires a knowledge of the society in
which the language originated and the character of the people w h o are its native speakers.
This axis of code and context raises the
question of discourse analysis, which insists
upon the fact that speech is the result of a
combination of individual utterances. A s
the British linguist H . G . W i d d o w s o n has
noted, 'Grammatical competence remains
in a perpetual state of potentiality unless
it is realized in communication.' 2
Evidently, further and far-reaching research will be undertaken in the field of
foreign- and second-language learning. H o w ever, it is certain that the acquisition and
improvement of the four fundamental c o m municative skills and their use in various
social contexts will remain central issues,
thereby confirming the practical orientation of
sociolinguistics.
The praxis
H o w does sociolinguistics affect language
teaching and learning? T h e answer is that the
discipline provides a clear guide as to the
appropriateness of the student's use of the
target code. In order to measure the degree of
appropriateness, the most reliable criterion
must be the acceptability of the linguistic
Mary-Louise Kearney
performance in the opinion of a native

speaker.
Concrete examples of this criterion can
easily be cited. For instance, ' H e speaks
French like a Frenchman' can be construed as
the ultimate compliment of linguistic prowess.
Similarly, ' H e speaks English better than the
English' indicates that the user has an excellent c o m m a n d of the n e w language. H o w e v e r ,
these compliments are acknowledging m o r e
than grammatical correctness, comprehensible pronunciation and a broad vocabulary.
M o r e importantly perhaps, there are recognizing the user's ability to select structure and
lexical items that are appropriate to a variety
of communication contexts. Such examples
help to emphasize that communication and
the degree of its acceptability are linked to
the reality of a language in use. Thus, sociolinguistics becomes the component that
illustrates the authenticity of communication
for the learner.
In practice, second or foreign-language
acquisition comprises three major related
elements: linguistics (where the locus is the
language itself); sociolinguistics (where the
locus is the context); and psycholinguistics
(where the locus is the mind). B y applying
these three elements to the learning process,
it is possible to develop a matrix to guide the
student towards appropriateness, which is
itself a combination of correctness, accuracy,
register and impact.
First, the learner must have access to a
descriptive g r a m m a r of the language in order
to solve any questions regarding the correctness of standard forms as well as to check
idiomatic usage which m a y differ considerably
from that of his mother-tongue. Since idiom
can seldom be reliably acquired by translation
from one's o w n language, a reference becomes essential in order to learn and use
these frequent patterns in the target code.
Secondly, the learner should be able to
relate forms to their real semantic weight in
the language and thus assess their accuracy.
For example, T was shocked w h e n he c a m e
alone' has a different semantic force from T
was surprised w h e n he came alone.' T o
Language laboratory in A b u Dhabi.
161
Peter Carmichael/Cnsi
confuse the two goes beyond a mere linguistic

error because the user has not gauged the use
of each adjective.
Thirdly, the learner acquires his understanding of appropriateness by his familiarity
with register and his ability to link forms to
contexts; for example, ' M a y it please the
court' signifies formal register and a legal
context; ' H i , cats' indicates informal register
and a context where slang is used. If these
forms are misused by being applied to the
wrong context, then the learner will probably
receive a clear signal from his interlocutors
that the form is inappropriate.
Lastly, the student arrives at an appreciation of the impact of his utterance in
terms of the resulting action: ' D o n ' t you
find it w a r m in here?' can be translated as
'Could y o u open the w i n d o w ? ' and m a n y
achieve the desired reaction.
Each of these examples shows that the
language must b e used in a specific social
milieu, which must be k n o w n by the learner in

order to select certain forms for proper use. It
was this idea which dominated the theory
advanced by the British linguist J. L . Austin,
w h o contrasted locution (what is said), illocution ( h o w it is said) and perlocution (the
reaction to what is said and its style of
utterance).3
Therefore, a sociolinguistic approach requires the language to be tangibly linked to a
situation demonstrating usage, which should,
in turn, be perceived by the learner while he is
busy with the acquisition process. While his
success in this area will depend o n three
variablesmotivation, aptitude and occasion
his ultimate c o m m a n d of the target code
can only be improved through his capacity to
use the language in context.
Furthermore, a sociolinguistic approach
has o n e distinct advantage in that both
teacher and student are obliged to concentrate o n authentic situations of c o m m u n i -
162
Mary-Louise Kearney
volvement in the communication situation

(e.g. neutral or committed); (d) implicit and
explicit communication (suggestion and inference as opposed to direct statements); and
(e) the evolution of the communication situation (e.g. a change of attitude as a result of
the discourse).
Until n o w , research in these areas has
been generally limited to the more theoretical
aspects of communication, including the
Interactional course design
identification of the n e w orientations per se
and the elaboration of a suitably esoteric terHere, the concrete applications of sociominology
to designate the concepts. Inlinguistics help to realize the principal
evitably
applications
have filtered through
objective, which is to provide learning situinto the domain of pedagogy to enable
ations of an authentic character so that the
language teachers and learners to understudent will be exposed to the target language
stand h o w interactional sociolinguistics can
as it is used in communication contexts.
assist in the task of foreign- and secondToday the overall concept governing
language acquisition.
course design is that of interaction. Since
If a sociolinguistic course design should
communication supposes that the sender of
aim at teaching students to communicate in a
the linguistic message (i.e. the speaker or the
variety of situations pertaining to their specific
writer) has a receiver in view, then the various
needs in the target code, then one area where
components of course design (i.e. level,
a considerable amount of innovation has been
content, method, activities and evaluation)
achieved is in the teaching of English as a
must consider interaction as the fundamental
foreign or second languageTEFL and
criterion for establishing the quality of the
T E S O L . In fact, this type of instruction has
learner's linguistic performance.
grown into a real industry over the past fifteen
Leading researchers in this field have
years in terms of the worldwide demand and
included Giglioli, Pride and Holmes and, in
supply. It has been necessary to elaborate an
particular, Bright, W i d d o w s o n and G u m p e r z
efficient and often pragmatic methodology to
and H y m e s w h o co-authored the important
meet
the needs of the numerous learners
reference work Directions in Sociolinguistics,
whose mother-tongue profiles are widely
the Ethnography of Communication in 1972.
diverse.
Thus, the 1970s witnessed a proliferation
Teachers w h o are familiar with the chalof research in which discourse analysis (used
lenge involved in course design for rapid
in the broadest sense of the term to describe
language acquisition have learnt to identify
any utterance, however simple or complex)
the essential components facilitating the
emerged as the focal point of attention for
student's task. These m a y be listed as follows:
examination.
cation, which reiterate the concept of appropriateness. For this reason, sociolinguistics
has m u c h to contribute to the area of course
design in so far as the components of language
and milieu must be taken into account and
balanced with regard to both the acquisition
and the activation phases of the learning
process.
Another area in which interest has rapidly developed is the dynamics of c o m m u n i cation, which borrows significant elements
from the domain of group dynamics, including
a strong emphasis o n the psychology of the
learner. S o m e important elements are: (a) the
purpose of communication (to persuade, to
object, to compliment, etc.); (b) the roles of
the interlocutors (strangers, family, friends,
professionals, etc.); (c) their emotional in-
The acquisition phase

It has been proven that a second language can
be acquired faster than the mother-tongue
through the process of content selectivity.
This allows the student to identify what he
needs to k n o w , thus enabling him to establish
priorities in his learning. Adult students in
particular have an almost innate capacity to
identify their priorities, developed by a c o m -
parison of the n e w language with their o w n .

H o w e v e r , the advice of the teacher is usually
necessary to distinguish the key structures,
phonetic patterns and frequently used vocabulary. Therefore, learners can quickly perceive
the important situations of communication,
according to their needs, but they still rely on
the teacher to use the linguistic code in its
appropriate context.
163
authentic communication situations in both

the acquisition and activation phases.
While familiarizing himself with the
target code, the learner should deal with a
reference text which describes the language as
it is used. T h e n , in the activation period,
exposure to the media in all its forms is a
successful strategy for ensuring that the content is authentic.
In terms of activities, it is interesting to
The activation phase
examine the attitudes of adult learners to roleplaying, a fundamental element of an interO n c e language acquisition has been sufactional course. Research suggests that
ficiently consolidated (often a matter of a few
students are m u c h m o r e likely to accept this
weeks only, depending o n the talents of the
strategy (which is borrowed from group
learner), activation can c o m m e n c e . While
dynamics) if the roles relate directly to their
nothing can replace actual exposure to a code
needs in the target language.
used in its o w n environment, an interactional
H e n c e , authenticity transforms the learncourse design can give the learner practice
ing situation into a real instance of c o m m u n i in the types of communication situations that
cation and this interaction is appreciated by
he will encounter in his contact with the
the student as an acceptable means of increaslanguage, for example, business discussions,
ing exposure to the n e w code.
debates and conferences, impromptu speaking, meetings and social repartee. Inherent in Native speaker instruction
this component is the ability to use language
Interaction depends greatly o n this factor
to achieve a certain purpose in the target
because it ensures the authenticity of c o m code, to persuade, to criticize, to insist, to
munication.
suggest, to defend, and so on.
While the non-native speaker can always
These notions clearly relate to the purteach the code with success, he m a y be
pose of communication per se, which has
less capable of teaching appropriateness. H e
already been mentioned in relation to group
needs to have spent a considerable period in
dynamics. Thus a sociolinguistic course design
the actual environment of the language in
reiterates the dimension of interaction in the
order to understand its more sophisticated
communication process. Consequently, the
nuances and to correct inappropriate usage
learner associates utterance with a context:
with a degree of authority.
for example, the context of persuasion ('Do
O n the other hand, the native speaker
change your mind and c o m e with us'); the
instructor has a double advantage:firstly,he
context of criticism (T really don't think you
is always correct in his use of the language;
handled the matter in the right w a y at all'); or
secondly, his ability to link code to context is
the context of insistence ( ' W e must have your
intuitive because of his background.
answer by this afternoon as w e have n o time
T o run an interactional course, the into lose'). T h e learner seeks contexts in which
structor should not only be a native speaker
he can use these types of utterances with the
of the language but also a trained teacher and
correct impact and desired result through his
an animator. These last two functions are
interaction with his interlocutors.
complementary in the teaching process:
as a teacher, he corrects the code; as an aniAuthenticity of content and
mator, he is skilled in the strategies of
activities
group dynamics so that all students participate
T h e interactional course design includes
in the interactional activities of the course.
Mary-Louise Kearney
164
Learning strategies
Interactional courses emphasize the student's
capacity to develop his o w n learning abilities:
Learning and teaching should not be regarded as
converse activities at all, [and] the logic of a
communicative approach calls for an emphasis
on the learner's development of abilities
through his o w n learning processes which the
teacher should stimulate rather than determine.4
Six strategies are useful in terms of developing
a sound appreciation of a language in use:
T h e acquisition of a solid knowledge of the
grammar of the target code and its
patterns through consulting descriptive
reference texts.
T h e necessity to activate this knowledge even
at the risk of frequent errors in the early
stages and persistent mistakes as c o m petence increases.
T h e development of current vocabulary
through reading and listening to authentic extracts of the language as used in
the media.
T h e monitoring of speechthe learner can
check his o w n and that of native speakers
to gauge his ability to reproduce what he
has heard; this helps him to separate
errors (what is u n k n o w n ) from mistakes
(what he has probably seen but forgotten
through insufficient use).
A n awareness of register in the language so as
to identify formal, slang or everyday
consultative speech.
T h e development of intelligent guessing techniques w h e n faced with an u n k n o w n
item, plus the polishing of the circumlocution skill which can allow the learner
to avoid too m a n y hiatuses in his c o m prehension and production of discourse.
Therefore, by being aware of the interaction
between himself and his interlocutors, the
student develops effective learning strategies
to assess and improve his performance.
determine the learner's level of acquisition

and thus the degree to which he can be
expected to activate the language; (b) periodic examination of his performance in contexts requiring the demonstration of increasingly sophisticated linguistic ability; and (c)
a final evaluation of his overall communi"cative competence at the end of his course.
Whether the learner is aiming to improve his spoken or written discourse, he
should be evaluated by a native speaker instructor and be asked to perform linguistic
tasks related to his o w n communication needs.
Thus complex evaluation procedures are
of little practical use w h e n evaluating discourse in an interactional context. T h e principal criteria are the degrees of correctness and
appropriateness of the learner's spoken or
written performance.
Conclusion
With regard to future developments in the
field of sociolinguistics, it should be noted
that an interactional course design helps to
situate language pedagogy within the broader
domain of the ethnography of c o m m u n i cation, which is a concept conceived by the
American linguist, Dell H y m e s . This discipline seeks to describe the linguistic p h e n o m ena of a particular society. Clearly this has
implications in terms of language teaching in
so far as the learner wishes to acquire the
standard code of a given language.
T h e interactional course, which aims at
teaching communicative competence, m a y be
described in terms of the following axis:
Language
Teacher
Learner
Situation
Evaluation procedures
Three types of procedure relate to the interactional course: (a) the initial assessment to
H e n c e , standard discourse is the result of

the interaction between the code and its
165
Accelerating language acquisition by content selectivity: dramatization of an exchange in a travel agency.

From an English-language instruction book. D>>. Ra.
context, which function as an integral unity

facilitating communication.
T h e latest direction in language pedagogy
attempts to devise better methods of teaching
communicative competence, based o n standard discourse, by activating the linguistic
skills during the learning process.
It is obvious that language pedagogy has
progressed far beyond the lock-step process,
which fragmented the code itself and supposed that correctly learned units would ultimately result in flawless discourse in c o m municative contexts. D u e to the influence of
sociolinguistics, the code is n o longer considered in isolation but always in relation to a
situation. T h u s , communication becomes a
specific p h e n o m e n o n .
B y approaching the target language from
the point of view of its usage in specific

contexts, the learner gains access to a sociocultural vision of its native speakers, and even
insights into their psychology as a people.
Consequently, he learns to appreciate their
communication techniques and reproduces
these himself in discourse which is acceptable
to his native speaker interlocutors.
Another crucial factor of interactional
course design is its importance in terms of the
contract it establishes between teacher and
learner. T h e latter wishes to acquire the code
of the former, w h o acts as m o d e l , interlocutor
and assessor. H e n c e a pedagogical partnership is put into operation.
Since pertinence to the learner's needs is
the criterion governing the content and
m e t h o d of an interactional course the socio-
166
Mary-Louise Kearney
linguistic emphasis o n language and situation is reiterated yet again as the proper
axis for teaching communication.
If sociolinguistics is n o w viewed as an
entity in the broaderfieldof the ethnography
of communication, the links between the two
domains remain very close, due to their
mutual insistence o n the relationship between
language and society. While the ethnography
of communication seeks to depict a global
p a n o r a m a of language within a given society,

sociolinguistics has assumed a n e w value
because of its specificity, which facilitates
the analysis of discourse within a pedagogical perspective.
It is in this respect that sociolinguistics
has particular relevance for language teaching
today, thereby reaffirming that c o m m u n i cation consists of code plus context,
Notes
1. J. B . Pride (ed.),
Sociolinguistic Aspects of
Language Learning and
Teaching, p. ix, London,
Oxford University Press,
1979.
2. H . G . Widdowson,
3. J. L . Austin, How To Do
Directions in the Teaching of
Things With Words, Cambridge,
Discourse in Explorations in
Mass., Harvard University
Applied Linguistics, p. 90,
Press, 1962.
London, Oxford University
Press, 1979.
4. Widdowson, op. cit., p. 6.
167
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Language modernization
in the developing world
Since the Second World W a r m a n y countries

characteristic of less developed modernizing
in Asia and Africa have been going through
societies, whereas 'the fast growth of functraumatic experiences of language transition.
tional homogeneity' within a language is
These countries were submerged under one or
associated with m o r e developed industrialized
another dominant European language at a
societies (Neustupny, 1974, p p . 43^1).
time w h e n tremendous scientific and technoHomogenization processes in the language
logical progress was being m a d e . They are
behaviour of m a n y European societies, stimun o w becoming keenly conscious of their
lated by trends begun during the Renaissance
linguistic needs in a m o d e r n world. A s
and Reformationsuch as the creation of
a consequence of the shift in emphasis
n e w standard languages and the assimilation
from colonial languages
of neighbouring dialects
(English, French, Dutch,
and unwritten languages
Dr Lachman Khubchandani is DirecPortuguese), m a n y inof
minorities (Breton
tor of the Centre for Communication
digenous languages are
in France, Frisian in
Studies, 270 Sind Society, Ganesh
being assigned n e w roles
the Netherlands,
etc.)
Khind, Poona 411007, India. H e has
in contemporary society
are regarded by m a n y
been a teacher and journalist in
several countries and has published
(as a m e d i u m of edulanguage lites as invery widely on different linguistic and
cation, in administration,
evitable in the
concommunication questions, including
and in other spheres of
temporary
stages
of
Language, Education, Social Justice
formal communication).
modernization in Asia
(1981) and Plural Languages, Plural
Cultures (1983).
and Africa as well.
This approach to
Dichotomy
language
development
of languages
relies to a large extent
With the n e w forces of
on the 'centre-periphery'
modernization penetrathypothesis of politicoing all walks of life, the issues of identity and
economic development. According to this
development of different languages have achypothesis, the so-called developed and
quired a political dimension. S o pervasive in
underdeveloped stages of language can be
our time is the distinction between developed
determined in accordance with certain ecoand underdeveloped (euphemistically called
logical, social and projectional dimensions, as
'developing') stages of economies, societies
shown in Table 1 (Khubchandani, 1983a).
and even cultures that m a n y language experts
Guided by such imported models, the
are led to employ the same dichotomy for
Westernized language lite in m a n y developlanguages. ' A high degree of arbitrary social
ing countries, in their thrust for modernity,
and linguistic heterogeneity' in a region is
either seek to have their speech recognized as
Lachman M. Khubchandani
170
T A B L E 1. Dimensions of language development
Dimension
Ecological
Utilization
Population strength
Social
Legitimization
Domains of use
Projectional
Graphization
Literature
M e d i u m of education
Technologization
'Developed' languages
'Underdeveloped' languages
Wider communication 'world'

languages
Dominant 'majority' languages
Languages limited to a region

(national, local languages)
Dominated 'minority' languages
(often treated as 'dialects' in
policy-making)
Standard languages (acceptable to

the lite)
Non-standard varieties,
substandard languages (slangs,
hybrids)
Languages with restrictive use
(vernaculars in diglossia
situations)
Fully fledged 'autonomous'

languages
Written languages
Literary languages
Advanced 'cultivated' languages
Languages suitable for typing,
shorthand and
telecommunication purposes
a developed, 'absolute' language or abandon

the 'handicapped' speech altogether in favour
of the o n e represented as the privileged
variety, as through newly established politicoeconomic institutions. In this dichotomous
process, m a n y less favourably placed speech
varietieswhich m a y be dialects, vernaculars
or minority languages, or m a y have non-lite
stylesstand in danger of becoming extinct.
In a w a y , the dichotomous approach to
language development parallels the futility of
trying to keep u p with the Joneses, as is
evident from a m o r e than century-old prog r a m m e of 'refining the vernacular dialects'
expounded in the 'Macaulay Minute' of 1835
(Sharp, 1920, p . 116):
T o that class [Indian in blood and colour, but
English in tastes, in opinions, in morals, and in
intellect] w e m a y leave it to refine the vernacular
dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects
with terms of science borrowed from the W e s tern nomenclature, and to render them by
degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to
the great mass of the population.
Unwritten languages
Colloquial 'bazaar' languages
Preparatory 'ethnic' languages
Languages not extended for
technological tasks
T h e controversy concerning the establishment

of a 'vernacular' university at Lahore during
the British regime in 1867, which involved
using Indian languages for higher education,
and virtually the s a m e objections raised again
by certain Indian lites over a century later,1
provide a classic case of the tendency to dodge
the issue by illusory d e m a n d s , which can be
likened to expecting mastery in s w i m m i n g
before entering the water (for details, see
Khubchandani, 1978).
In the long drawn-out socio-political and
legal squabbles over the language m e d i u m ,
various shades of opinions lie between the two
extremes'developed' English versus 'developing' vernaculars. Ultimately those upholding the status q u o (i.e. developed English)
seem temporarily to have succeeded in their
strategy by insisting that the Indian vernaculars should first be cultivated through translations from advanced languages and, even
before that, must equip themselves with
scientific terminologies in different subjects.
In this situation teachers, particularly of the
171

higher levels of education, guided by the idea
that language is a precision instrument of
thinking and communication through which
students can be trained in logical processes
and in the disciplined use of words, remain by
and large uninvolved in the developmental
processes of language media. This attitude
leads them to d e m a n d the cultivation of
Indian languages on a platter; they prefer to
wait until 'developed' textbooks are conveniently produced by the language experts.2
Assumptions
In the context of language development,
experts have suggested taxonomical classifications of sociolinguistic types of languages as
'tribal, early modern (developing), modern
(developed), contemporary', etc. In this taxon o m y linguistic modernization is plotted as 'a
process the sense of which is to remove the
inadequate premodern features from language' (Neustupny. 1974, p . 35). But the precise features characterizing inadequacy or
modernity in a language system (lexical,
syntactic, etc.) are left to subjective evaluation by extra-linguistic dimensionsecological, social, projectional and so on, as presented in Table 1.
T h e languages of newly emerged nations
are considered to be deficient communication
systems with all 'the unprecedented disadvantages of the latecomers' (Fishman, 1974,
p. 84). According to this evolutionary scale of
development, it is assumed that newly independent societies are to strive for 'secondary
modernization' by trailing behind the path
already taken by advanced societies (along
with the targets of reproducing their achievements). Consequently, m a n y of the transformations sought through language modernization in these societies (such as targets of
language learning, language standardization,
coining technical terminologies) are externally
induced rather than internally generated,
unlike the classical European modernization
processes stimulated during the Renaissance
and Reformation. Hence, the Westernization
of languages in the developing world is pro-
Hindi. Urdu and English on a street vendor's sign

in Delhi. Josephine Powell, Rome
jected as a further intensification of modernization based upon both methods and substance overtly borrowed from successful
foreign models.
In this vein, modernization in traditional
172
languages is compared on the scale of 'intertranslatability' with the languages of already
industrialized, secularized and differentiated
societies (Ferguson, 1968). Intertranslatability
is regarded as an adequate rendering of lexical
and grammatical features, along with conversational as well as literary styles, which are
already accurately and easily expressible in
one or another language of reference c o m m u nities considered to be modern.
These processes eliminate m a n y interim
stages, involve rapid transformations, sudden
thrusts and dramatic reconstructions, and also
have to cope with pressures from politicized'
masses (Das Gupta, 1970). Consequently, in
this unending pursuit of a mirage, by the time
the vernaculars have finished struggling to
acquire the credibility of developed languages, the latter will have m o v e d on to additional heights, such as usage with c o m puters, space satellites and so on.
T h e simplistic projection of education in
a mother-tongue as a means of establishing
equality of opportunity for individual selfadvancement (Unesco, 1953) has led to dem a n d s for languages' autonomy, that is, 'the
promotion of full-fledged or autonomous
status for a language as an exclusive vehicle
for full expression in differentfieldsof knowledge and in all walks of life' (Khubchandani, 1974ft). It is taken for granted that the
highbrow values of speech communication
uniformity, precision, elegance, purity of
form, allegiance to literary tradition, and the
elaboration of language through the coinage
of technical termsare essential means of
developing a language. In this context, intellectualizationa tendency towards increasingly definite and accurate expressionis
equated
with
language
modernization
(Garvin, 1973).
This aim encourages two types of activity
in a speech community guided primarily by its
language lite:
Language codification: prescribing 'standards'
(i.e. authentic versions) for a language
through a writing system, spelling and
g r a m m a r manuals, dictionaries, style
sheets and so on.
Language elaboration: expansion of language

domains, especially for formal c o m munication (education, administration,
mass media, etc.), by devising n e w
terminologies, providing translations,
encouraging original writing in the n e w
domains and so o n , under modernization
programmes.
Taking their cue from the path of development as envisaged by the high priests of economic and technological planning in developing nations, m a n y experts concerned with
language policies of traditional societies tend
to equate the range and quantity of c o m m u n i cation projections achieved through technology (cf. Table 1) to the communication
quality in these languages. In this regard, 'predevelopmentaF societal characteristics as revealed by European experience are assumed
to be universal characteristics of underdevelopment: Polish ethnic groups, for example, are identified as belonging to the
landholding class, embracing the Catholic
faith, and speaking Polish as their mothertongue, Ukrainian ethnic groups are identified
as peasants, of Eastern Orthodox faith, with
Ukrainian as their mother-tongue, and so on
(Fishman, 1974, p p . 87-91). In this framework, one notices an evident bias towards
evaluating language development in terms of
increasing rates of role mobility, wider range
of functional domains, and clearly categorized
'insular' distinctions in speech varieties
labelled as registers, dialects and languages.
Such implications in the language-planning literature, by and large, form a basis
for developing language communications on a
universal level through the initiation of deliberate change in the speech behaviour of
traditional societies. Concern for elitist standardization and monistic commitments to
'modernize' a language, in the n a m e of
bringing order to chaotic diversity, generally
dominate the interests of language-planning
investigators. T h e functional relevance of
these changes for the 'oral-titled' mass c o m munication needs (radio, television and other
sound-transmitting and sound-reproducing
devices) of the twentieth century has not been
l , ; v . | g g j i
Indian history, mythology and legend is being m a d e available in cartoon-strip form, as well as o n cassettes.
Illustration from the A m a r Chitra Katha continuing series (over 180 titles) to acquaint children with their
Cultural heritage. India Book House Education Trust, Bombay.
174
seriously attended to. Garvin (1973) hints
at the handicap of looking at languageplanning problems from a European perspective, and of duplicating the European experience in other parts of the world. H e is
also apprehensive of the possibility of the
developing nations rejecting this approach
and 'passing directly into a " M a c L u h a n esque" period where oral mass c o m m u n i cation in the local traditional style would be
m a d e possible by the electronic media'
(p. 32).
In this regard, Neustupny's (1974) four
indices of modernizationhomogeneity, development, equality and allianceseem to be
based primarily upon 'analytical developments' in contemporary European languages.
In the absence of anyfirmcommunicative evidence, such generalizations should be regarded merely as 'rationalization of a basically
modern system' (p. 43). T h e magnitude of
various linguistic and education problems in
newly independent nations appear to be quite
beyond the experience of most European
countries in the past or the present. A t the
present stage of language-planning theory, the
universality of such modernization processes
in mobilizing deliberate changes in speech
behaviour has yet to be proven.
O n e also finds similar parallels in the
linguistic scholarship of the eighteenth
century, w h e n overt similarities between
language and extra-linguistic traits in changing
societies attracted the attention of m a n y IndoEuropeanists (Max Mller and others) w h o
sought to correlate language development
with the realities of everyday life. T h e IndoEuropean languages of agricultural settlers
were assumed to be superior by virture of
representing 'perfect morphological inflection'
compared with the agglutinative Mongolian
languages of the nomadic races and the
monosyllabic Chinese languages. Influenced
by the dominai theory of genealogical development, m a n y Western philologists at that
time regarded the characteristics of their o w n
speech as the epitome of language development, and believed that 'exotic' features like
agglutination or monosyllabicity characterized
'frozen'
languagessomewhat
primitive
languages which never blossomed into IndoEuropean! 3 H e n c e , in the context of formulating a theory of language development, it is
all the m o r e necessary to examine critically
the assumptions representing socio-political
trends of modernization and Westernization
as superior tools for enriching communicative
competence.
Sociolinguistic realities
The South Asian experience provides a
unique model of plurality in verbal and nonverbal communications which has withstood
the test of time over the centuries. A critical
appraisal of these patterns demonstrates the
magnitude of functional heterogeneity in
language use. S o m e of the salient characteristics out of which the edifice of linguistic
plurality in the Indian subcontinent has been
built over the ages are relativity, hierarchy
and instrumentality.
Relativity
The verbal repertoire a m o n g m a n y c o m m u n i ties in India is characterized by its relation to
identity and purpose of interaction. It brings
to the fore the non-congruence and crisscrossing of identity affiliations, segmented in
overlapping groups, on the basis of occupation, caste, religion, mother-tongue, region
and so o n . This characteristic is in sharp
contrast to the prevailing tendency in h o m ogenized societies (such as those in Europe),
where a high premium is placed o n the
cultivation of an 'absolute' standard of
language through positive or negative attitudes to specific usages in the verbal repertoire. A s an illustration, in Sanskrit plays
during the classical period, royal male characters speak formal standard Sanskrit (etymologically, 'well-cultivated' speech), royal
females speak colloquial standard Prakrit
('natural' speech) and commoners speak grassroots Apabhramsha ('contaminated' speech).
Hierarchy
A system of linguistic stratification forms the
175
basis of channeling the promotion (or even

cultivation) of speech diversity in the everyday repertoire through diglossic patterning,4
folk multilingualism (as distinct from elegant
bilingualism or trilingualism learned through
conscious effort), code-switching, pidginization and similar processes of language
contact.
In a hierarchical patterning of speech
variation, n o single variety can be associated
with the dominant role of a standard language
appropriate for all m e m b e r s of the speech
community at all times and o n all occasions,
as 'high' Hindi and 'high' U r d u are spoken in
formal settings, and 'bazaar Hindustani' is
identified with informal interaction. Sanskritic
Hindi is used in elegant writing, and its
anglicized version in urban oral speech; vernaculars like Bhojpuri and Maithili are spoken
with elders, and Khariboli with peers and
juniors a m o n g m a n y communities in Bihar. In
Hindi literature during the late nineteenth
century, the preferred vehicle for poetry was
Braj, and for prose Khariboli.
T h e selective development of one or a
few languages (or speech varieties) o n the
basis of certain societal and projectional
dimensions (such as standardization, orthography, literature, m e d i u m of instruction)
goes against the grain of harmonious patterning of variation in the verbal hierarchy
of plural societies.
Instrumentality
Speech variation in everyday settings in a
pluralistic society, as in India, is explicated as
an instrument of an ongoing redefinition of
relationships, merely accentuating one's identity to a particular group, criss-crossed by the
imperatives of context and purpose. In this
process, affiliations with a particular language
as mother-tongue, with a regional language,
or with a language of superior culture are
treated as given or ascribed, and their manifestation in a repertoire is marked by a certain degree of flexibility and manipulation in
adjusting
to situational needs (as noticed a m o n g the speakers belonging to the
Hindi-Urdu-Panjabi amalgam in India and
Pakistan).5 In contrast, m a n y homogenized

nationality groups, as in Europe, regard
affiliation with their mother-tongue as a defining characteristic, not leaving m u c h r o o m for
manipulating the primary group identity. In
such contexts, any departure in its verbal
manifestation is regarded as an 'outward'
shift; in a w a y , one is aspiring to enter
another club.
T h e different characteristics of Indian
plurality in the context of speech c o m m u n i cation convince us that assertions of language
identity vary at different times and in different places. Language identity alone cannot
universally be regarded as defining m e m b e r ship in an exclusive group.
In heterogeneous plural environments, a
child acquires language from everyday situations where speech behaviour is guided by
implicit pressures based o n close-group, regional, supraregional and out-group identities.
These socialization processes identify the
characteristics of a speech stratumlocal
speech, subregional varieties, supraregional
varieties, lingua franca, highbrow dictions
associating them with a variety of interactions
along the continuum: close in-group > wider
in-group intergroup > mobility mass
communication urban contact formal
(model for prestige).
A plural society as an organic whole is
strengthened by a measure offluidityin the
use of language according to consideraof
relativity, hierarchy and instrumentality.6
Indian heterogeneity in speech, marked by
implicit etiquette andflexibility,can best be
viewed within an overall organic unity of
communications (Chatter jee, 1945). This
proposition questions the assumption that
m a n y languages in one 'space' (city, state,
nation) pose a communication problem, and
leads us to consider that variation in speech
m a y be a significant contributing factor to
richness in verbal and non-verbal skills.7
Language standardization
M a n y stratificational characteristics, emerging
from intense social contact, play a significant
176
role in explicating full meaning in a discourse.
These characteristics are markedly different
from those of regional differentiation, which
result from isolation or lack of interaction
a m o n g different groups. In this respect, the
cultivation of caste dialects a m o n g traditional
societies o n the subcontinent signifies a system of linguistic stratification a m o n g different
castes, in the midst of a fuzzy diversity in the
everyday repertoire (Pandit, 1969). It results
from the handling of complex tasks of social
stratification. Rigid adherence to caste dialects in certain parts of India, characterized by
acute awareness of propriety and deference
considerations to higher castes, greatly resembles the obsession with propriety evident
in the pervasive use of so-called standard
diction in m o d e r n , technologized societies.
O n e does not find any conclusive evidence for assuming that such codes represent
deficient communication systems, as implied
by m a n y social scientists dealing with contemporary societies (Fishman, 1974; Neustupny,
1974). In making such an assumption, w e m a y
be committing an error similar to that of the
eighteenth-century Indo-Europeanists swayed
by ethnocentric bias.
M o s t of the languages in the subcontinent
cultivated through the plural character of the
society have not been subjected to the pressures of standardization as practised in the
W e s t , and have not been explicitly formulated through spelling and grammar manuals,
dictionaries and so o n . For m a n y major
Indian languages standardization imperatives
and literacy drives have been introduced so
recently that they have not yet seriously
challenged the dominance of implicit identity
pressures.
In standard usage, emphasis shifts from
an 'event-centred' discourse to an idealoriented,
'expression-concentrating'
discourse. Correct expressions (as ultimately
defined by a language lite) attain precedence
over expressions that actually occur spontaneously (in response to a situation or
event). T h u s , rigidly standardized societies
can turn the effortless gift of social verbalization into directed efforts to learn the diction
acceptable to the lite. Language boundaries

b e c o m e sacred, and spontaneity and creativity
leading to hybridization are filtered through
the standardization processes. In such situations the contextual and functional fluidity in
speech, which manages to cross the boundaries of languages and diction, is deprecated
by the custodians of language.
T h e qualities of language for literary
creation are quite different from those required in actual communication. In a sense,
a literary creation comes closest to being regarded as an artefact or an entityutilizing
speech as its raw material and crystallizing
it with a language boundaryand is distinguished from everyday life communication,
which is regarded as 'fact'. M a n y so-called
underdeveloped speech communities, in their
drive for modernization, also share such
aspirations, just as they accept m a n y other
institutions and values from the developed
societies in attempting to transform their o w n
economic and technological patterns. M a n y
visionaries of language, by accepting language
as a social artefact instead of as an ongoing
activity, commit themselves to applying the
authenticating apparatus to the chosen one or
m o r e speech varieties around them. This
leads to crystallizing the preferred speech
m o r e or less arbitrarily, guided mainly by
literary styles and pressures from the lite,
and proclaiming the autonomy of this variety
(or these varieties) in all domains of c o m munication.
Contrary to the traditional Indian accommodation to linguistic heterogeneity based o n
grass-roots multilingualism, which readily responds to situational needs, recent decades
have seen strong drives for languages autono m y in the n a m e of language development.
M a n y modernization processes in contemporary societies have been undermining the
multidirectional, interactive, participatory
processes in h u m a n communications, as
revealed by the current targets of language
standardization and language teaching and
also by the overwhelming concerns of m a n y
media agencies at the global level.
For a better understanding of speech as a
111

ALTAIC FAMILY 1.6/0.3 %
EUROPEAN
BRANCH
0,4/0.07%
Proportions
PAKISTAN (including
Pakistani-held portions
of Jammu and Kashmir)
BANGLADESH
NEPAL, BHUTAN
A N D SIKKIM
SRI LANKA
Strength Of language families a n d m a j o r languages Of S o u t h A s i a . From Historic Atlas of South Asia, by kind permission of
the Regents of the University of Minnesota.
living phenomenon, it m a y be useful to

examine the distinction between speech process in everyday life and the 'normative entity'
upheld by language lites. A n interplay of
centripetal and centrifugal factors in a c o m munity's verbal repertoire as a communication device and strategy of control provides a base for the natural growth of a living
language (Khubchandani, 1983a, pp. 30-4,
Table 6). It makes us aware of the apparent
paradox in the speech behaviour of plural
societies, and at the same time helps us to

grasp the complementarity of speech variation
and language standardization in a speech
community. This should go a long w a y to
formulating a sound basis for language-planning theory.
Language cultivation
Language is a complex multilateral p h e n o m enon,
manifested
through physiological,
178
psychological, institutional and other forms.
Various overt and covert characteristics in
verbal communications point to at least three
distinct contours of speech behaviour: (a) what
people do with speech, that is, language
usage; (b) what people think they d o with
speech, that is, language image; and (c)
what people claim they d o with speech, that
is, language posture. Since language is primarily a time- and space-bound institutional
reality, it would be rather idealistic to subject
language claims to a universal standard
interpretation in all regions and for all times.
Communication patterns in South Asia,
characterized by a plurilingual hierarchy, pose
a serious challenge to the monistic norms of
underlying invariability in interpreting diverse
speech behaviours. O n e speech variety can be
distinguished from another in a n u m b e r of
ways; varying degrees of boundedness between languages, dialects or speech varieties
can be explained only through a pluralistic
view of language. In this regard Steiner
(1975), in rejecting a theory of language in
favour of a theory of languages, makes a
decisive break with both traditional and
fashionable linguistics. In his view, a metamathematical universalist view of language is
bound to fail to account for the nature of
relations between languages (or speech
varieties) as they actually exist and differ.
' A genuine philosophy of language must
grapple with the p h e n o m e n o n and rationale
of the h u m a n "invention" and retention of
anywhere between five and ten thousand
distinct tongues.' 8
O n e notices m a n y instances in the pluralistic societies of Asia and Africa where the
boundaries distinguishing two languages, two
castes or two religions are not sharply delineated. Linguists and social scientists have
m a d e m a n y attempts to distinguish 'language'
from 'dialect', 'register' and other speech
labels by applying various parameters, such as
percentage of cognates, mutual intelligibility, autonomy of morphological systems,
functional
dominance,
literary achievements, writing systems, lexical and stylistic
elaboration, standardization and even juridi-
cal considerations. B u t w e are still far from

having any objective criterion for quantifying
linguistic differences and for determining the
boundaries between language and dialect.
In the course of history, language boundaries b e c o m e stabilized, not primarily because
of the barriers of intelligibility between two
speech varieties, but because of considerations of identity and value systems a m o n g
the speakers of those varieties. T h e highbrow
registers of Hindi and U r d u are sharply
marked by the polarization in the patterns of
borrowing, whereas at the lowbrow level the
distinction between the two is not regarded as
so significant. Identification through a particular language label is very m u c h a matter of
individual social awareness.
T h e entire variability p h e n o m e n o n in
language activity has been regarded in sociolinguistic studies as a conditioning process,
reflecting the underlying constraints exerted
by social relations in different interlocutions.
With this approach, one finds that various
repetitive and innovative faculties in an individual's performance leading to fluidity in
his verbal repertoire d o not receive adequate
attention. There are variable characteristics in
a repertoire, o n the one hand, with the
demands o n interactional roles (such as transitional versus stable, sociocentric versus egocentric), of setting ( h o m e , market, work
situation, etc.), and of channel of c o m m u n i cation (spoken, written, interpersonal, group,
mass media, etc.); but, at the same time, a
repertoire is also structured by various regulating processes of selection (relevant to a
presupposed knowledge of the theme, individual disposition to interaction, and ethos
of communication in general). A speech, that
is to say, is designed to achieve the desired
effect o n the audience in a covert manner by
applying several selection mechanisms of
pragmatic use in a specific communication
task or tasks.
A m o n g traditional speech communities,
interactional settings characterizing inherited
(or ascribed) roles are generally marked by a
certain amount offlexibilityin adjusting to
situational needs, as speakers' identities are
Sikhs demonstrating for linguistic autonomy. Marc Riboud/Magn
179
180
stabilized irrespective of maintaining propriety in speech; whereas in an interaction
characterizing achieved (or mobilized) roles,
one notices a marked difference in the degree
of expectancy of the standardized n o r m a
sort of prerequisite for entry into the desired
club. H e n c e societies structured around role
ascription need not necessarily be handicapped by their communicative restrictions, as
is assumed by m a n y language-planning experts (Fishman, 1974). Similarly, the restrictive range of experience in the traditional
repertoire is at the same time compensated by
the absorbing qualities of depth in 'personalized' interaction. O n the other hand, a wider
range of experience in modernistic societies
tends to promote 'transitional' characteristics
in speech, with insistence o n explicit norms
for standardization. In the present context,
language-cultivation programmes for m a n y
technologically developing societies are being
r e c o m m e n d e d o n the assumption that the
imitation of communication models of affluent
societies is inevitable (Neustupny, 1974).
M a n y language experts, concerned with
language primarily as a system of informational signalling, tend to regard explicit
and intentive use of speech and its overt
correlations as functional, but stratificational
and pragmatic manifestations through implicit
and instinctive suggestions and covert design
in speech as non-functional (Neustupny, 1974,
p . 39). In this sense, elaborate networks of
address and reference systems in m a n y oriental languages, identifying generation, sex,
group and other social hierarchies, are interpreted as non-functional, 'early m o d e r n '
characteristics in language (for a discussion
of the address system in Japanese, see
Neustupny, 1974).
In several studies of pronouns in different
languages, there seems to be m u c h concern
over clear-cut categorization of the m o d e s of
address. Attempts have been m a d e to dichotomize these m o d e s o n the universal plane of
'power' and 'solidarity', and to show h o w
these universal characteristics can distinguish
feudal and m o d e r n pronominal patterns to
suggest the static and dynamic stages of
different speech groups (Brown and Gilman,

1960).
In a plural society, such as India, the
same language speakers are not necessarily
part of the same social group. It is a distinct
characteristic of m a n y Indian languages that
the semantic content of pronouns keeps shifting according to the setting and the c o m m u n i cative task of a speech act. Fluidity in the use
of the Hindi-Urdu pronominal system provides a strong testimony to the interplay of
formal (cognitive), institutional (identifying)
and
pragmatic (focusing) factors which
m a k e it necessary for a speaker to operate
in various speech matrices (Khubchandani,
1978).
Selection mechanisms of pronouns reveal
the elasticity of the address and reference
system in Hindi-Urdu, malleable to diverse
settings, and susceptible to manipulations in
negotiating optimal pay-off in everyday c o m munication. Different focuses in conceptualizing the address and reference system a m o n g
different social groups speaking the same
language show m a n ' s ingenuity in abstracting
or transcribing everyday reality through
speech. T h e collapsible nature of the pronominal system in m a n y Oriental languages
provides a basis o n which critically to
examine the characteristics of social variability and expressive fluidity in language
activity.
Contemporary trends
M a n y newly independent countries have been
acquiring a fresh order of pluralism in cultural
and linguistic expression. There has been
growing acceptance of cultural pluralism
throughout the world. Diverse profiles of
speech communication in different countries
and at different times m a k e us realize the
futility of pursuing illusory goals of universal
order in the n a m e of efficient communications.
In the campaign for autonomy in the
Indian context, language-elites try to push
forward elaborate instruction and orientation
programmes in order to introduce n e w values
and induce what they consider to be desirable
181
changes in the speech habits of the masses.

These include:
Prescribing urban-based lite standards for
literacy drives even in remote rural areas.
Promoting highbrow diction for regional
languages (sprinkled with Sanskrit,
Perso-Arabic, Old (Tamil) or Medieval
(Telugu) flavours for formal and public
meetings.
Prescribing compulsory teaching of two, three
and even four languages in the schools,
and other mandatory language requirements for various careers.
The elitist education system does not seem to
take account of the complexity of speech
variation across dialects in flux (and in plurilingual societies, often across languages) at
the folk level. U n d e r such a system the development of language is erroneously linked
with the clear-cut demarcation of language
use. Thus, a continuum of language hierarchy becomes compartmentalized, and the
diglossic
complementation of
different
languages signifying different communicative
tasks does not receive enthusiastic support
from language experts.
So far, the Indian response to the onslaught of modern (mostly alien) institutions
has been to accept divergence between the
'folk' reality in communication and the formal
postures for claiming privileges through
language affiliations. In the Indian situation
this paradox is expressed in a widening gulf
between the highbrow content of language
utilized for the purpose of identity, and
pragmatic considerations of language as a
means of communication. A classic example is
of lingua franca Hindustani on the one hand,
and pedantic Hindi and U r d u for formal
domains on the other. T h e differences lead to
inherent anomalies in the patterns of language
use, and also to discrepancies in conscious and
unconscious attitudes about speech activity,
that is, language images and language postures (Khubchandani, 1975). This p h e n o m enon explains, to a large extent, the conspicuous gap between the perceptions about
language a m o n g everyday users and a m o n g
language lites (those w h o control the chan-
nels of language use or of its promotion,

including
grammarians,
lexicographers,
language teachers, copy editors, language
reformers and policy makers).
M a n y of the languages in the South Asian
region have reacted to influences of foreign
languages as a composite linguistic unit. M a n y
major languages of the subcontinent appear
to be very susceptible to borrowing from
different classical and modern languages. T w o
significant trends are noticed a m o n g contemporary major Indian languages to suit their
n e w roles in the changed conditions: classicalization and Westernization. These modernizing drifts have greatly affected the phonological, grammatical and lexical patterns of
the languages involved and have also contributed to the widening gulf between their spoken
and written styles (Khubchandani, 1969).
T h e first trend, classicalization, refers to
borrowing and reborrowing from classical
languages. M a n y Indo-Aryan and Dravidian
languages depend on Sanskrit; U r d u , Kashmiri and Sindhi on Perso-Arabic elements;
and Tamil on Old Tamil stock. This trend has
led to highbrow literary, academic and administrative writing styles. T o equip Indian
languages for n e w roles in administration,
technical occupations, higher education and
research, classicalists have begun a n e w trend
of translating technical terms and concepts
from the Sanskrit stock; for example, jalayn
for 'ship', drvniyantra for 'telephone'. T h e
chances of success in this direction appear to
be rather slim, since Indian speakers are
prone to borrowing terms from living situations, rather than to coin artificial terms
from the classical stock.
With regard to Westernization, the second
trend, the impact of urbanization and technological advancement has accelerated the trend
of borrowing from European languages, especially from English. This tendency has given
birth to a highbrow spoken style which is
gaining popularity a m o n g educated people
in various Indian languages. C o m p o u n d
bilingualism of Indian languages and English
(Two or more languages being used in fused
contexts for referring to the same environ-
182
mental event) led to code-switching, which

scale industries. O f course, for the discussion
has further escalated this process. It bears
of high-technology-oriented subjects Indian
s o m e connotations of sophistication and inti- languages d o not have a well-sustained tram a c y in spoken register, and m a n y contempodition, and most of the conceptualizations
rary writers have started using this in avantconcerning these subjects are continuously
garde literature.
borrowed from Western experience, mainly
through English.
In recent years there have been sharp
T h e second category concerns abstract
reactions against these two diametrically o p subjects dealing with h u m a n phenomena:
posite trends: first, as literacy is increasing,
most of the arts, religion (theology) and
the c o m m o n m a n is reacting sharply against
social sciences, such as history, philosophy,
highbrow styles, which are rather unintellipolitics, economics, sociology and psygible to him. Secondly, as prose styles in varichology, Creative literature and aesthetics
ous major languages acquire stability, writers
also fall into this category; these are further
realize the potentialities inherent in indigensupplemented with expressions of emotions
ous patterns of their language, instead of
and personal feelings.
looking to outside sources for refining and
In these subjects, language needs mature
polishing their diction. Thirdly, by taking
expression to be able to portray the c o m chauvinistic pride in their native language,
plexities of h u m a n nature, but information
writers are making a conscious effort to give
tends to be less rigorously formulated, the
prestige to the elements indigenous in the
likelihood of ambiguity is greater, and inlanguage and even to revive the obsolete
terpretations are relatively less precise than
forms with modernistic connotations.
in hard-core scientific subjects.
F r o m the viewpoint of language cultiM o s t of the Indian languages with litervation, educational subjects can be classified
ary standing possess a long tradition in m a n y
into three broad categories, requiring a difof the arts subjects through classical literaferent type of preparation for a change in
tures. With the development of prose styles
the m e d i u m , particularly at the higher eduin various major languages, these languages
cation level.
are gradually catching u p in the process of
T h e first category comprises d e m o n so-called modernization through borrowings
stration-oriented subjects largely dealing with
and loan translations from classical literatures.
concrete visual or extra-linguistic symbols:
subjects of 'hard-core' science and technoInto the third category fall subjects in
logymedicine, engineering, physics, zoolowhich the object of interpretation is language
gyalso subjects depending o n non-linguistic
itself, such as law, logic, semiotics and
symbols, such as mathematics or astronomy.
linguistics. These subjects develop a kind
In these subjects language expression
of metalanguage by exploiting" subtleties of
tends to be somewhat simplified, since it is
the
language structure for sophisticated
usually supplemented by visual d e m o n and well-formulated communication. S o m e
stration; they generally exploit only rudimajor Indian languages, through sustained
ments of language structure. Information in
contacts with the classical heritage of Sanskrit,
these subjects tends to be autonomous,
Arabic and Persian, have been equipping
well-formulated and unambiguous.
themselves with the nuances necessary for
S o m e of the prominent Indian languages such meta-inquiries. B u t so far these
with written traditions, drawing upon the languages have been scantily utilized for
m o d e r n scholarship.
heritage of classical Sanskrit, have acquired
T h e handicap in language transition,
adequate expression for subjects such as
mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, horti- particularly in the domains of science and
technology, is not due to inadequate culticulture, forestry, chemistry, ayurved (Indian
medicine), archery and cottage and small- vation of Indian languages to the extent that
183
Rehearsing facial expressions: one way of transcending language barriers. Henri Canicr-Brcsson/Magnum.
is generally presumed but to the purists' reluctance to accept borrowed expressions for n e w
concepts from living situations. Development
of highbrow tatsamized styles,9 based o n
artificial coinage from non-native classical
stock, has been a great deterrent to adopting
Indian languages for this purpose. Because of
highbrow elegant values in formal language
behaviour, the cultivation of urban-based
standards has been the prerogative of the socalled purists of language. Ironically, in lite
parlance, m o d e r n languages saturated with
instant derivative terms from non-native classical and neoclassical stocksSanskrit, PersoArabic, or classical Tamilare regarded as
shuddha ('pure'), but those mixed with everyday-life terms borrowed from other living
languagessuch as English, Bengali and
Marathi, matching the newly
acquired
concepts from different culturesare regarded as khichrii ('hotchpotch, pot-pourri').
A majority of the newly coined terms

have n o sanction in prayoga (usage), and
therefore remain dysfunctional. T e r m s can be
standardized after they have withstood the
test of prayoga; language develops through
usage, not through ivory-tower coinages. O f ficial efforts in this direction so far have put
the cart before the horse. T h e use of newly
coined terms serves not so m u c h to promote
communication between author and reader
as to demonstrate publicly the author's
pride in the n e w pedantry. Instant derivation
of terms from the classical or neoclassical
stocks o n a large scale can only enlarge the
gulf between the speech of the masses and of
the intelligentsia in the same linguistic region.
Developing the resources of a language
to fulfil its role in n e w situations, such as
administration, law, journalism, broadcasting, higher education and research, cannot be
done in isolation. It is due mainly to active
184
bilingualism and the use of English a m o n g the
educated classes over the past few decades
that various stylesandexpressioiirtave been
added to the stock of Indian languages to
qualify them for their n e w roles in society.
Also, important reference works such as
grammars, dictionaries, encyclopedias, translations and other teaching aids have been
published in these languages. It is evident
that such active bilingualism is playing a very
significant role in the standardization of the
major Indian languages.
Deliberate behavioural change

In the language development programmes of
m a n y Asian and African countries, modernizing imperatives of education, mass c o m m u n i cation, industry, sciences and arts influence,
in a significant manner, the position of
languages and the patterns of speech behaviour through the processes of creolization,
standardization, drives for language shift and
language maintenance, diglossia,
multilingualism and so on. M a n y of these prog r a m m e s seek to advance sweeping changes in
mass speech behaviour without recognizing its
innate characteristics, discussed in the preceding section o n language standardization. T h e
requirements of elegance in education, apart
from slowing d o w n the pace of the switchover from 'developed' media to 'emerging'
media, also inhibit the introduction of literacy
in an economical manner. 1 0 T h e c o m m o n
m a n must be educated to use the language in a
w a y that is quite unrelated to the academic's
facility in communication.
T h e issue of language development
merits close scrutiny in considering the
chances of success of the present aspirations
of language lites in newly independent
nations, shaped in the language-autonomy
mould, to meet the needs of their heterogeneous, pluralistic communities. T h e contemporary values of autonomy and standardization (Ray, 1963) have lured m a n y
language reformers towards the exclusive
development of the dominant languages in
each region.
N o one would deny the value of standardization for ensuring efficiency and precision in: craifflurrication, but most of the
standardization devices in Indian languages
today serve only to extend the traditioninspired value system of small lites over all
domains in the entire speech community. In
standardizing languages for a pluralistic society, it is, essential to inculcate an entirely
different set of values in order to build o n the
resources inherent in the wide range of speech
settings characteristic of intricately segmented
communities. T h e tradition-inspired norms as
professed by grammarians are also valuable in
broadening the range of intellectual experiences and in sharpening awareness of the
various societal expectations of verbalization.
These are thus complementary to the c o m munity's implicit situation-bound propriety
controls in speech.
In South Asia today a host of language
development agencies, isolated language institutes and individual language advisory boards,
insulated from each other by sharply defined
jurisdictions and committed to diverse traditions, seem to be pulling in different, at
times contradictory, directions in the n a m e of
modernization. B y and large, languageplanning agencies do not seem to be sensitive to the fact that the speech behaviour of
a heterogeneous community is guided not
so m u c h by the dicta of insulated traditions
as by the demands of ecosystems. A n individual or a speech community responds to
the verbal needs of heterogeneous situations spontaneously by means of several
'echo' processes, such as convergence, assimilation, maintenance, creativityknow in
linguistic parlance as analogy, interference,
pidginization, code-switching and so on.
Several developing countries have occupied themselves with gigantic programmes for
'language codification' and 'language elaboration' in a manner utterly unmindful of the
natural sensitivities of plural speech c o m m u n i ties. U n d e r the influence of purists' tradition
in philology and pedagogy, m a n y languageplanning agencies seem to regard concepts
like language hybridization, grass-roots folk
185
Bengali poet reciting in the Muktamela, Calcutta. Sunil Kumar
multilingualism, and other such processes

arising from contact situations as serious problems of h u m a n adjustment. Guided by such
assumptions, agencies concerned with social
planning analyse linguistic heterogeneity as
a serious challenge to them.
Studies promoted by language-development programmes, such as devising orthographies, technical terminologies and similar issues dealing with language planning in
newly emerged nations have, no doubt, had a
significant impact on the formulation of sociolinguistic theories. T h e problems of language
modernization and shift away from colonial
goals in newly independent countries, the
tension relating to White and Black English
in the United States, the language-engineering processes on the Indian subcontinent as
well as in Israel and Indonesia/Malaysia, the
demands on language emanating from computer and mass communication agencies
Dult/Camera Press.
these and similar challenges can certainly

sharpen the understanding of language activity in different dimensions.
Sociolinguistics as a discipline can count
upon certain advantages from the relatively
high degree of formalization and rigour
achieved in formal linguistics. So far, however,
the social and behavioural sciences have not
developed the conceptual tools with which to
evaluate social planning strategies. B y closer
scrutiny of the language-planning processes,
one can gain insights into deliberate behavioural change, patterns of areal and
social propagation of linguistic innovations,
as well as the motivational or rationalizing
behaviour behind decision-making processes for language development.
Language-planning theory at this stage
seems to be largely concerned with language
problems, paying little regard to the language
assets in traditional speech communities.
186
M a n y studies seem to assume the handicap

model to achieve the determined targets
of development. O n e general concern of
language planners seems to be to adjust the
speech behaviour of a community to the
demands of modernization. Language studies,
being heavily biased in favour of elitist written
cultures, put a high premium on highbrow
values of speech, and assume without question that standardization, elegance and other
such demands of 'sophisticated' c o m m u n i cation are essential paths for development.
N o serious attempt is m a d e to justify these
elitist values in the context of changed situations and changed times. T h e educated construe change as the replacement of values,
instead of as an increment in the existing
order. It is time w e started looking at the
possibility of adjusting the values of c o m m u nication and not just at the adjustment of
h u m a n beings tofitthe n e w demands. It might
be m o r e fruitful to consider the adaptation
model and to take into account the given

assets as well as handicaps in meeting the n e w
challenges. In order to counter fractionalizing
tendencies, it is essential to draw upon the
traditional virtues of language tolerance promoted through language hierarchy, grassroots multilingualism, andfluidityin speech
behaviour.
In the formative stages of a theory one
would expect m o r e debate on the perspectives
of language planning as a h u m a n phenomenon
and o n the basic tenets with which the
planning agencies concern themselves. Surprisingly, one does not find m u c h attention
being given to the rationale for various processes undertaken under the heading of
'language planning', such as the need for
standardization and for coining elaborate terminologies, and the mechanisms of language
choice in actual behaviour. In the basic
concepts of language manipulation, too, m u c h
seems to be taken for granted.
Notes
1. 'Unless an Indian language
has grown up to its full stature,
with a good literature in science
and other subjects, the m o v e for
its acceptance as the m e d i u m of
instruction immediately would
be a retrograde step'
(Government of India, 1965,
p. 71).
2. T o quote an instance, at the
annual conference in 1952,
university teachers in Madras

state expressed their reluctance
to m a k e any change until 'a
large variety of books and
journals in the national and
regional language become
available'.
3. R . Austerlitz, in his
presentation on internal
reconstruction of Altaic and
Uralic languages at the
Linguistic Club of Hawaii,

University of Hawaii, Honolulu,
March 1975.
4. Diglossic complementation
refers to a functional
compartmentalization by a
society of its linguistic resources,
such as the use of a vernacular
and a classical variety of the
same language or several
distantly related (in some cases,
187
even unrelated) languages

(Khubchandani, 1983e). T h e
term 'diglossia' was originally
introduced by Ferguson (1959)
in the sense of 'a relatively
stable language situation in
which, in addition to the
primary dialects of a
language . . . there is a very
divergent, highly codified
superposed variety, the vehicle
of a large and respected body of
written literature' (pp. 325-40).
5. T h e issues pertaining to the
fluctuating claims of language
identity in the Hindi-UrduPanjabi ( H U P ) region
are discussed at length in
Khubchandani (1974a, 1979).
6. For an elaborate treatment of
the subject, see Khubchandani
(1983a).
7. In the context of the
interdependence of m a n and
society, Gandhi explains

individual units in terms of
'concentric circles' in an ocean
which keep on widening to the
outer periphery, but never
ascending like 'a pyramid with
the apex sustained by the
bottom'. In such a plural pattern
the 'inner' circle forms an
integral unit of the 'outer'
oceanic circle, and will not be
crushed by the overwhelming
power of the outer periphery; on
the other hand, each should give
strength to the other (Gandhi,
1958, pp. 110-11).
8. In this context, Ross's (1975)
observations concerning the
definition of social borders are
very apt: 'Just as geographical
borders vary from discreet signs
announcing the existence of a
boundary to the intricacies of
customs, inspections and
military checkpoints, social
borders vary in degree of
definition from minimal

acknowledgement of social
similarity to its public and
formal proclamation' (p. 54).
9. Loan words from Sanskrit
retained in a language without
any phonological adaptation are
termed tatsama (unassimilated)
words, in contrast to those
adapted to the phonological
system of the borrowing
language, which are called
tadbhava (assimilated) words.
10. T h e state of affairs can be
visualized from a report of the
Directorate of Education
in Nagaland, stating that
textbooks (even for primary
education) are being 'originally
written in English and then
translated in local languages'
since 'authors in the local
languages are not available'
(Sharma, 1971).
References
Solidarity. In: T . A . Sebeck

(ed.), Style in Language.
Cambridge, Mass., M I T Press.
Fishman, C . A . Ferguson and

J. D a s Gupta (eds.), Language
Nations, pp. 27-36. New York,
Wiley.
C H A T T E R J E E , S. K .
F I S H M A N . J. A . 1974. Language
B R O W N , R.; GILMAN, A .
1960.
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[37]
Past topics1
F r o m 1949 to the end of 1958, this Journal appeared under the n a m e of International Social Science
Bulletin, not all issues of which were devoted to a main topic.
Microfilms and microcards are available from University Microfilms Inc., 300 N . Z e e b R o a d , A n n
A r b o r , M I 48106 (United States of America). Reprint series are available from Kraus Reprint
Corporation, 16 East 46th Street, N e w Y o r k , N Y 10017 (United States of America).
Vol. XI, 1959
Vol. XVII, 1965
No.
No.
No.
No.
N o . 1. M a x W e b e r today/Biological aspects of
race*
N o . 2 . Population studies
N o . 3 . Peace research*
N o . 4 . History and social science
1. Social aspects of mental health*

2 . Teaching of the social sciences in the U S S R *
3 . T h e study and practice of planning*
4 . N o m a d s and n o m a d i s m in the arid zone*
Vol. XII, 1960

N o . 1. Citizen participation in political life*
N o . 2 . T h e social sciences and peaceful
co-operation*
N o . 3 . Technical change and political decision*
N o . 4 . Sociological aspects of leisure*
Vol. XIII, 1961
N o . 1. Post-war democratization in Japan*
No. 2. Recent research on racial relations
No. 3. The Yugoslav commune
N o . 4. The parliamentary profession
Vol. XIV, 1962
No.
No.
No.
No.
1. Images of w o m e n in society*
2 . Communication and information
3 . Changes in the family*
4 . Economics of education*
Vol. XV, 1963

No.
No.
No.
No.
1. Opinion surveys in developing countries

2 . C o m p r o m i s e and conflict resolution
3. Old age
4 . Sociology of development in Latin America
Vol. XVIII, 1966

N o . 1. H u m a n rights in perspective*
N o . 2 . M o d e r n m e t h o d s in criminology*
N o . 3 . Science and technology as development
factors*
N o . 4 . Social science in physical planning*
Vol. XIX, 1967
No.
No.
No.
No.
1. Linguistics and communication*

2 . T h e social science press
3 . Social functions of education*
4 . Sociology of literary creativity*
Vol. XX, 1968

N o . 1. Theory, training and practice in
management*
N o . 2 . Multi-disciplinary problem-focused
research*
N o . 3 . Motivational patterns for modernization
N o . 4 . T h e arts in society*
Vol. XXI, 1969
Vol. XVI, 1964
No.
No.
No.
No.
1. Innovation in public administration*

2 . Approaches to rural problems*
3 . Social science in the Third World*
4 . Futurology*
N o . 1. D a t a in comparative research*
N o . 2 . Leadership a n d economic growth
N o . 3 . Social aspects of African resource
development
N o . 4 . Problems of surveying the social sciences
and humanities
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
No.
XXII, 1970
1. Sociology of science*
2 . Towards a policy for social research
3 . Trends in legal learning
4 . Controlling the h u m a n environment
1. The asterisk denotes" issues out of print.
Vol. XXIII, 1971

N o . 1. Understanding aggression
N o . 2. Computers and documentation in the social
sciences
N o . 3. Regional variations in nation-building
N o . 4. Dimensions of the racial situation
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
No.
XXIV, 1972
1. Development studies
2. Youth: a social force?
3. The protection of privacy
4. Ethics and institutionalization in social
science
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
XXV, 1973
1/2. Autobiographical portraits
3. The social assessment of technology
4. Psychology and psychiatry at the cross-roads
Vol. XXVI, 1974

N o . 1. Challenged paradigms in international
relations
N o . 2. Contributions to population policy
N o . 3. Communicating and diffusing social science
N o . 4. The sciences of life and of society
Vol. XXVII, 1975
N o . 1. Socio-economic indicators: theories and
applications
N o . 2. The uses of geography
N o . 3. Quantified analyses of social phenomena
N o . 4. Professionalism in flux
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
XXVIII, 1976
1. Science in policy and policy for science*
2. The infernal cycle of armament
3. Economics of information and information
for economists
N o . 4. Towards a new international economic and
social order
Vol. XXIX, 1977
N o . 1. Approaches to the study of international
organizations
N o . 2. Social dimensions of religion

N o . 3. The health of nations
N o . 4. Facets of interdisciplinarity
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
XXX, 1978
1. The politics of territoriality
2. Exploring global interdependence
3. H u m a n habitats: from tradition to
modernism
N o . 4. Violence
Vol. XXXI, 1979
N o . 1. Pedagogics of social science: some
experiences
N o . 2. Rural-urban articulations
N o . 3. Patterns of child socialization
N o . 4. In search of rational organization
Vol. XXXII, 1980
N o . 1. The anatomy of tourism
N o . 2. Dilemmas of communication: technology
versus communities?
N o . 3. Work
N o . 4. O n the state
Vol. XXXIII, 1981
N o . 1. Socio-economic information: systems, uses
and needs
N o . 2. At the frontiers of sociology
N o . 3. Technology and cultural values
N o . 4. Modern historiography
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
No.
XXXIV, 1982
91. Images of world society
92. Sporting life
93. Man in ecosystems
94. Makings of music
Vol.
No.
No.
No.
No.
XXXV, 1983
95. Burdens of militarization
96. Political dimensions of psychology
97. The world economy: theory and reality
98. W o m e n in power spheres
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339
Perceiving, analysing and coping with the local-global nexus
Development. In R . M c C .
LISSNER, J., 1977. The Politics of
Netting, R R . Welk and
Altruism: A Study of the Political
E.J. Arnould (eds.), Households:
Behavior of Voluntary
Comparative and Historical Studies Development Agencies. Geneva:
of the Domestic Group. Berkeley,
Lutheran World Federation.
C A : University of California
L O V E , J., 1985. The VS AntiPress, pp. 187-216.
Apartheid Movement. N e w York:
Praeger.
H I L L , R . C . , 1984. Urban Political
Economy: Emergency,
M A M A L I , C , 1979. Societal
Consolidation and Development.
Learning and Democratization of
In P. Smith (ed.), Cities in
the Social Research Process.
Transformation: Class, Capital,
Bucharest: Research Centre for
State. Beverly Hills, C A : Sage.
Youth Problems, pp. 13-14.
H I L L , R . C . , 1987. Comparing
Transnational Production Systems:

The Automobile Industry in the
United States and Japan. Paper
for the 28th Annual Meeting of
the International Studies
Association, Washington, D C ,
April 14-18.
Hr Tai Li, 1983. The Emergence
of Small-Scale Industries in a
Taiwanese Rural Community. In
J. Nash and M . P . Fernandez-Kelly
(eds.), pp. 387-406.
KATZ,
N . , 1983; K E M N I T Z E R , D . S . ,
1983. Fast Forward: The

Internationalization of Silicon
Valley. In J. Nash and
M . P . Fernandez-Kelly (eds.),
pp. 332-44.
K O T H A R I , R . , 1983. Party and
State in Our Times: The Rise of

Non-Party Political Formations.
Alternatives, Vol. IX, pp. 595-618.
LABELLE,
T.J., 1976. Nonformal
Education and Social Change in

Latin America. Los Angeies, C A :
University of California at Los
Angeles, Latin American Center.
L I M , L . , 1983. Capitalism,
Imperialism and Patriarchy. In
J. Nash and M . P . Fernandez-Kelly
(eds.), pp. 70-92.
LINDROOS,
R . , 1980. Disarmament
Employment and the Western

Trade Union. Current Research on
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Published quarterly by Unesco

Editor: Peter Lengyel

Mexico City: Pablo Gonzalez Casanova

Topics of forthcoming issues:

Cover and right:

Editorial: the ISSJ in Chinese, Arabic and Turkish

Sociolinguistic theory and research

Social progress and sociolinguistics

Shirley Brice Heath

Oral and literate traditions

Textually mediated social organization

Portuguese Creole dialects in West Africa

A framework for the description of language spread:

Socio-cultural conflict and bilingual education: the case

S o m e aspects of linguistic variation in one-language

The language problem in international organizations

Sociolinguistics and language teaching

Language modernization in the developing world

Recent Unesco publications

W e are most pleased to announce that,

4 rue 7101 M a n a r II, B . P . 1104, Tunis, for

Turkish translation has appeared under the

The study of language in society

August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845), w h o

language m a y be old, but the systematic study

publication of Auguste C o m t e ' s Cours de

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835). diplomat and

Sanskrit and, perhaps even m o r e important,

Coll. prive nvel

nineteenth and then in the twentieth century,

foremost examples, only one was placed in

D u r k h e i m . de Saussure and Meillet language

w h o decisively changed the general (and

ity refers to the regulation of whatever in a

T h e immediate antecedents of languages

control from the beginning, that is, with the

of significations, it determines the main dimensions of the acts of social communication.

language is used in communicative acts. It

munication, it is clear that in the present

For the purpose of communication within

A society, however, is not only a system

Princeton University Press.

Edouard Champion, 1948

similar publications are

Credit for the discovery of the

P. Janet and G . D u m a n s (eds.),

sociologie. Paris, 1966. (First

philosophie positive. Paris,

Frankfurt a m Main, S. Fischer,

Human Ethology: Claims and

Constitution of Language in the

Consciousness: Essays for Aron

(eds). The Ethnography of

remarques sur les rapports de la

Psychologie du langage. Paris,

. Life-World and Social

O f all the acquisitions of h u m a n beings and of

going to try to unravel this intricate w e b that

cally opposed recognized the social nature of

Social progress and sociolinguistics

OSS PJtMl*S DVJELOPFEMKS

JEUNE 8AOTAGB D L'AVEYBON.

teenth and beginning of the twentieth century

departure in Russian linguistics emerged from