ERIC Number: EJ1153533
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: N/A
Approaching Micro-Level Planning from an Intelligibility Perspective: A Case Study from Pentecost Island, Vanuatu
Schneider, Cindy; Gooskens, Charlotte
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v38 n6 p530-544 2017
The Vanuatu government has recently implemented a policy of vernacular literacy. Children are now to receive the first three years of schooling in a vernacular language. Needless to say, in a country with less than 300,000 people [Vanuatu National Statistics Office 2016 Accessed January 4, 2016. http://vnso.gov.vu/] and more than 100 indigenous languages, some classrooms have more than one L1. In such cases, the language policy recommends that the variety with the most native speakers should be promoted. This is a good solution for those speakers of the larger language, but what impact does such a policy have on the children whose L1 is not included in the curriculum, and who are instructed in a vernacular language that is not their own? To answer this question, we conducted intelligibility tests across closely related varieties of northern and central Vanuatu. We conclude that in villages where children already receive a good deal of exposure to other language varieties in their daily lives, implementation of the government's language policy is a viable option. However, we make this point with the caveat that what is practical and beneficial for literacy education is not necessarily optimal for the preservation of small endangered language varieties.
Descriptors: Case Studies, Language Variation, Native Speakers, Multilingualism, Language Planning, Language Tests, Mutual Intelligibility, Native Language, Literacy Education, Language Maintenance, Foreign Countries, Malayo Polynesian Languages, English (Second Language), French, Official Languages, Creoles, Dialects, Second Language Learning, Elementary School Students, Pictorial Stimuli
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Vanuatu
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A