Higher Education Across Borders: Transcultural interaction and linguistic diversity

English in Scandinavian Academia: Ideologies and Practices

Icelandic ideologies: Protecting forms of language

Ari Páll KristinssonRoskilde, April 3, 2012

• Are ideologies of international competitiveness outweighing ‘national protectionist language ideologies’?

The perception of a protectionist language culture in Iceland is primarily based on observations of and investigations into practices and attitudes of Icelanders as regards (lexical and grammatical) purism.

In Icelandic language ideologies, the protection of (what looks like) ‘genuine’ Icelandic language forms is fundamental. Domains of language use are of far less significance in common language discourses.

LANGUAGE SITUATION

2002 poll: 75%of the Icelandic population used English every week

% claiming to speak, read or write in English:

26% many times every day 24% almost every day 25% 1-4 times a week

(Kristiansen & Vikør 2006)

Foreign exchange students at Icelandic universities 1996-2010.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1996 1999 2002 2005 2008

Foreign students, first registration, Icelandic universities 1997-2009

Foreign students at the University of Iceland 2001-2011

LANGUAGE POLICIES AT UNIVERSITIES

3 out of 7 higher education institutions in Iceland have an explicit formal language policy

In addition, a separate language legislation in 2011: Icelandic is the language of ‘schools at all levels’

Parliamentary debate Universities have more leeway, to provide instruction in English instead of in Icelandic, at graduate level than at undergraduate level.

Three common themes of Icel. university language policies: • Icelandic official language / main language of instruction.

• English also if needed. Holds primarily for graduate level. At undergraduate level only if there are some particular reasons for such an ‘exception’, i.e., policy is that English is not to become default language of instruction at undergraduate level.

• Terminologies in Icelandic, in all fields of instruction / research.

UNIVERSITY PRACTICES

Not at odds with the policies described above

At undergraduate level, Icelandic is the only or the main language of instruction

In Masters’ and PhD programmes, English is used to some extent, along with Icelandic, cf. the following examples:

Random examples, 16 Masters’ programmes, at Icelandic universities 2011-2012: 4 x 4 slides….

psychology pedagogy + education

music composition nursing

Regulations on doctoral programmes at the University of Iceland, 2009: “All theses shall have an abstract in both Icelandic and English”

CONCLUSION

English used to a considerable extent by members of a speech community whose language culture is labeled protectionist in common language planning discourse.

Contradictory?

Not if we accept that the assumedly protectionist language ideologies are deep-rooted only as to the forms of language, and not as to domains of language use.