Sylabus
Course outline 1. Introduction to the course. Details on assignments. 2. Linguistic diversity as an academic and social problem. EU language policy on linguistic diversity.
READING ASSIGNMENT (preliminary):
Blommaert, J. – Verschueren, J. (1998). Debating Diversity: Analysing the Discourse of Tolerance, Routledge, 1998. (selected chapter)
OR Blackledge, A. (2000). Monolingual ideologies in multilingual states: Language, hegemony and social justice in Western liberal democracies. Sociolinguistic Studies 1-2, p. 25-45. 3. Linguistic diversity in the Czech Republic, historical tradition and recent developments. Discussion on reading: Monolingual ideology and linguistic diversity. 4. Traditional minorities and language policy on ‘traditional’ linguistic diversity. 5. New language communities and language policy on linguistic integration.
READING ASSIGNMENT (preliminary):
Tollefson, J. (1991). Planning Language, Planning Inequality. New York: Longman. (selected chapter)
OR Johnson, D. C. (2013). Introduction: Ethnography of language policies. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 219, 1–6. 6. Critical perspective on the Czech Republic’s language policy on linguistic integration. Discussion on reading: Language policy as a theoretical construct and a research object, language policy ´beyond´ the state. 7. LP beyond the state I: Course visit to a Prague-based NGO assisting in linguistic integration. 8. Feedback on the visit. Presentations with discussion. 9. LP beyond the state II: How schools in the Czech Republic deal with linguistic integration.
READING ASSIGNMENT (preliminary):
Sloboda, M. (2016). Transition to super-diversity in the Czech Republic: its emergence and resistance. In M. Sloboda, P. Laihonen & A. Zabrodskaja (eds.), Sociolinguistic Transition in Former Eastern Bloc Countries: Two Decades after the Regime Change. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 141–183. 10. Discussion with a course guest on personal experiences with the Czech Republic’s policy on linguistic integration. 11. Feedback on the discussion. Presentations with discussion. 12. LP beyond the state III: How migrant communities in the Czech Republic deal with linguistic diversity and linguistic integration. 13. Wrap up and feedback.
Anotace
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the diversifying linguistic situation of the Czech Republic and the ways it is dealt with through various forms of language policy. Special focus will be placed on the issue of the linguistic integration of new immigrants. During the course, students will be equipped and encouraged to critically engage with language policies in different contexts.
The course is aimed at students interested in language policy and linguistic diversity from different fields of study including various philologies, general linguistics, pedagogy, sociology and political science. No particular knowledge on the situation of the Czech Republic is required.
During the semester, we will visit an NGO that assists in the linguistic integration of new immigrants, one course session will be attended by a guest with migrant background, who will discuss her experience with the Czech Republic’s language policy.