This course is conceived as a kind of follow up to certain aspects of L23A. It starts off with an analysis of the links between language and national identity. It also deals with the role of language in official communication networks. Against this background, it analyses the various kinds of efforts made to plan language and which consciously affect its use in human society.

The course then looks at the Caribbean Creole speech communities and the various current developments in language policy in these societies, e.g. Haiti, Suriname, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Jamaica etc.

Finally, L331 aims at giving students some practical experience that is related to Language Planning or the development of the resources of languages for official use. This will be done via small research projects, which students would select in consultation with lecturer.

Learning Outcomes:

1. An awareness of language planning and language policy issues as they have played themselves out historically, and in a variety of language situations around the world.
2. An ability to design national language survey research and to analyse the results in relation to their implications for national language policy.
3. A critical appreciation of areas of the literature relevant to language policy issues in the Caribbean.
4. The ability to function within a real life language planning agency, and become involved a practical national language survey and follow up activities relating to the dissemination of survey results and their use in language policy change.
5. The ability to clearly and effectively express the knowledge and insights gained from 1, 2 and 3.

Essays should no more than 2,000 words (1½ line spacing for typewritten papers). Essays are expected to go beyond the required reading for the course to consult additional work of relevance for the topic. Essays must be written in accordance with the departmental guidelines for linguistics essays, as outlined in the department’s linguistics handbook. Essays will be accepted during week nine beginning 20 March 2006, but no later than the beginning of the lecture in week ten (27 March 2006) in accordance with the Faculty’s policy on deadlines