ERIC Number: EJ746962
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 6
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: N/A
Responding Responsibly: Some Remarks on Skutnabb-Kangas, Kontra, and Phillipson (2006)
Wee, Lionel
Applied Linguistics, v27 n4 p748-753 2006
Skutnabb-Kangas, Kontra, and Phillipson's response to Wee (2005) only serves to highlight a whole new set of problems with the LHRs paradigm while failing to make any inroads towards resolving the earlier ones. For example, they adopt a "legal perspective" in relation to Singlish that is at odds with the way they would presumably wish to deal with linguistic discrimination elsewhere. The three authors also assume that levels of disadvantage can be measured, such that inter-language discrimination should be prioritized over intra-language discrimination. They treat group membership as simply a matter of individual choice, thus erasing much of the complex political negotiations involved. Finally, they collapse important distinctions between the kinds of rights that individuals, groups and languages can reasonably be considered to possess. In this contribution, I elaborate on these four points.
Descriptors: Models, Linguistics, Minority Groups, Criticism, Civil Rights, Official Languages, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Language Variation, Bias
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A