Factors Infulencing Language planning

INTRODUCTION 

It may seem scholarly unprofessional itemizing and illustrating the factors that influence language planning without examining what language is, what planning is and what language planning itself is. For this reason, we shall examine the concepts of language, planning and language planning. Language, according to oxford advanced learners dictionary, is the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country or area. Language can also be regarded as a non-instinctive system of communication which employs arbitrary and conventional symbols that are in accordance to the laid down set of rules that are used for human communication. Planning by its own definition is an arrangement especially one that has been carefully considered for carrying out some future activity.
There is common saying that “to fail to plan is to plan to fail’’. Planning cuts across many spheres of life: business, marriage, education, etc. without proper planning, human endeavor may not escape failure. With language examined and planning defined, the next thing now is to know what language planning is. Language planning refers to various ways of influencing a language either to raise its status or to modify its system and structure. Language planning could be carried out by Government, Department and Agencies, Academies committees, popular societies or an individual. The concept of language planning dates back to 1960s. Since then it has proven that it is quite possible for social groups or Government to alter the status or structure of a language and that question of desirability is a highly controversial one. It needs be said that language planning can be of various types and levels and that each level and type has various factors that has to be considered. For instance and individual planning a language may consider a factor that may not necessarily be considered by Government. Factors to be discussed below range from language planning at individual level to language planning at Government level.

THE FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE PLANNING 

 One of the factors that influence language planning is linguistic factor. 

Linguistic factors can be regarded as those that are needed to be considered on the part of a language in relation to other languages. It relates to the status and characters of a language as well as similarities between languages. Such considerations would inform why a speech community, a country for instance, would prefer language like English to language like Chinese. The former has simpler characters as opposed to the complicated characters of the latter. In Indonesia, for instance, Malay was preferred to Japanese as a national language because it is less complicated in terms of characters, though it is a minority language. The status that a language presently enjoys can also influence its preference as national language of a country. This is why many multilingual countries in Africa would choose an European language. In terms of similarities and dissimilarities between languages, it is the case that languages with common origin do share some similarities and vice versa. If a language lacks adequate lexicon for day-to-day usage, it is imperative that language planning is done so as to rectify this anomaly. In terms of its status, this has to do with the level of development as well as literary tradition. The structure, lexis and grammar of the language have to be considered too. Differences and similarities between languages are important in language planning. For example in Nigeria, the chance of choosing either Yoruba or Igbo as a national language among the major languages is high, because of visible similarities between the two languages. 

 Political factors are considerations that relate the general policy of a country to its language policy. It is not a gain saying that the Government is the Chief-actor in the process of language planning. Government uses language planning to achieve its other aims such as political stability and economical benefits from other nation(s). Government also provides funds for implementing any language policy. In maintaining political stability in Nigeria, the Government has always avoided choosing any indigenous language as the official language in order to prevent geo-political conflicts. Thus, the highest status any indigenous language has enjoyed is the status of a national language. The three major Nigeria languages recognized as the national language are: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. As an illustration, it was for political-economic reasons that General Sani Abacha imposed French on the Nigerians during his military regime. He single-handedly recognized French as an official language just because France supported his oppressive ruling while the United States and the Commonwealth of nations opposed it. Also in the time of apartheid in South Africa, the policy which promoted segregation was supported by the language policy adopted. Such language planning helped in undermining the language of the South African. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the (Nigerian) Government to fund the implementation of language planning, particularly the policy on the use of mother tongue in teaching school children in the lower primary level. The failure or success of meeting this responsibility or otherwise is one major way in which politics influences language planning. A language could also be planned for political reasons. The Government, Quasi Governmental institutions and even individuals can undertake language planning so as to give the speakers of that language a spirit of togetherness and enable them to use their numerical strength to gain political power. The political factor is a very crucial one in language planning because the existing political structure determines the direction to be taken in language planning in any given society. Politics and language planning can’t be separated. The strong effect of political factor on language planning can be elucidated with the case of bilingual education or minority language education. That is, the State national policy on education is determining the language of instruction in the school. Socio-demographic factor relates to the numbers of speakers of the languages and their geographical distribution. The actors in language planning usually consider not only the majority language but also the minority languages. Thus, ethno linguistic consideration made Tanzania chose a minority language as a national language. There are about hundred languages and none of them could compete with the official language. India chose Hindi as the official language which is language of the northern majority ethnic group. While that of Tanzania might be said to be partially successful, India has not succeeded in appeasing the other ethno linguistic groups which continue to protest the choice of Hidi: [Akinnaso, 1989]. This factor influence language planning in the sense that if the majority of people for whom the language is being planned do not speak the language, it will lead to the failure of the language planning process. Also, if the language planning does not reflect the social lives of the speakers, the planning process may not see the light of the day. The society and its geographical distributions in which language planning have to be carried out is a contributing factor that influences language planning. This has to do with the physical structure of the society in terms of its population, the number of spoken languages, its speakers and also their geographical boundaries. For instances in East Africa, Tanzania, to be precise, has more than 126 ethnic groups and each groups has its language [constituting about 126 languages]. The result is that these ethno-linguistic units were numerically small. This paved way for Swahili language as a social and political language [national language] of Tanzania. Socio-psychological factor relates to language attitudes. In language planning both the attitudes of majority language speakers and that of the minority language speakers must be taken into consideration. In South Africa, for instance, the arbitrariness of apartheid government did not obviously consult the majority for whom the language policy was designed, so it failed. Language planning must be followed by acceptance, if not, a crisis of legitimacy may arise in which authority behind the system and the policy on which it is based are questioned, challenged and ultimately rejected. The riots of 1976 in South Africa are a good example of this assertion. Hence, initial fact finding stage of language planning should be done with care because language loyalties can override all other social and political ones. Although, language attitude and language choice are very difficult to assess, yet once can observe a given population’s bilingual behaviour. It is often the case that language attitudes can be more political rather than linguistic. Code-switching can show language loyalty and group solidarity. Socio-psychological factor concerns the attitudes of people towards a language. These attitudes are related to the social distribution of languages in the speech community and the social meanings attached to the various languages. Many languages in developing African Countries are closely identified with a single ethnic group. Other ethnic groups may develop negative attitudes towards such one language if it were to become the national language. The national hegemony of one ethnic language seems to imply domination by the original speakers of that language. Socio-psychological factor is concerned with the feelings of people towards a language. These feelings are associated with the social distribution of languages in a speech community and the social importance and meaning affiliated to the various languages. The need to consider how an ethnic group will feel or react when another ethnic group’s language is been assigned a national role, most especially in a heterogeneous society, should be considered in language planning. It is always safe to consider religion when planning a language. Since a multilingual society is often not mono-religion. For instance, since Hausa is very close to the Arabic language (language of Islam) and subsequently the Islamic religion, choosing Hausa as an official language in Nigeria may be considered as a way of imposing Islam on Nigerians. Also, for example, in India, when Hindi was chosen as the national language; speakers of other language protested because Hindi is associated with the Hindu religion. And also, there have been wars in Sudan due to the imposition of Arabic language on the people. Language is also planned so as to foster the spread or a religion. It is related to the use of local languages in spreading religion. An instance is the way some Catholic and orthodox churches in Nigeria are having different section of services in different languages of the immediate environment. International factors relates to the affiliation of a country to international bodies. Continental pressures as well as global pressures can influence the language planning of a country. African Union (AU), for instance, has always called for rejection of European or colonial languages. It preaches that indigenous national languages should be adopted as the official language. On the global level, the UNESCO declaration on mother tongue education had influenced Nigeria language planning in particular. In pedagogical factor, the need for qualitative education also influences language planning. Since it is being scientifically proven that it is better to teach a child with his/her mother tongue in his early years. Language policy in Nigeria, for instance, has always reflected the need for mother tongue in education. This is not just to preserve culture but also to aid the cognitive ability of the school children. The six year primary project in the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) championed by Prof. A.B. Fafunwa is the famous of such pedagogical projects that have been considered in language planning. Another one is the Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP) in Amadu Bello University, Zaria for four northern languages – Hausa, Nupe, Kanuri, and Fulfude. In planning a language, one should consider how that planning will be effective for education system. The financial factor has to do with the consideration of finance in the process of planning a language. Language planning can be financially draining, so adequate planning of financial resources is essential. What we are actually reiterating here is that whatever one does is affected by the resources one puts into it and that one of those resources in language planning that has to be present is the financial resource. The presence of enough financial resources can make a language planning work as its absence can equally make it fail. When a government, a group of individuals, or an individual is making a plan for a language consideration has to be taken of the financial cost of the plan. For instance, if Nigeria is making a move to make Igbo, Hausa, or Yoruba a national language, the financial cost of such a move should be consider just as a husband planning for the use of Yoruba in his home would consider the cost of the materials (e.g. Yoruba dictionaries, texts written English, etc.) to be used in carrying out such a plan. So, financial factor is one of those crucial factors that have to be considered in planning a language. Another factor that has to be considered in language planning is the people. People who own languages of a particular territory should also be considered in language planning. If the argument that language is the people who use it is anything to operate by, then it will never fall out of scope to take an examination on the people who use the language to be planned for. Here, we look at the history of the people and try answering some questions such as: what have been the dealings of these people? Have they once been colonized, enslaved? ( a reason which may account for certain linguistic borrowings in their language)? Have they conquered a group or groups of people and lorded their ways of life on them? What do this people like? Hunting, Adventure, etc.? What is the current status of this people? What do these people think of themselves? What do others think of them? The essence of these raised questions is to find data on certain information that needs to be considered while planning a language. To test-run this factor by empirical justification, an example should be made here of the Fulani nomadic people in Oyo State. While planning for, as an example, an official language in the state Fulani language cannot be considered, at all, as a candidate of such planning because Yorubas’ idea of them is nothing sort of the one humans have towards animals. There is a particular saying among the Yorubas which follows thus: “Ise eniyan ni ise eranko, Fulani kose ese n seje”. This can roughly be translated to mean: ‘What happens to human beings also happens to animals, if not, how would a Fulani stumbles and blood would come out. What we are saying here in essence in that before carrying out a language planning one, key factor that also need be taken cognizance of is the people who use the language. This factor is different from socio-demographic factor in that here we do not concern ourselves only with the numbers of speakers and languages in the place where the planning is to be done. We concern ourselves with the status, the history and the dealings of the people who use the language(s) to be planned in order to enable our activity in the planning. Therefore in making plan for a language, the people who use the language are one of those crucial factors to reckon with. Cultural factor is another factor that can influence language planning. When a language exists, it does not exist alone, there is a culture attached to it. Culture refers to the beliefs, the ways of life, the custom, the art, and the social organization of a group of people. Learning the culture with which a particular language is attached is crucial to planning such a language especially in corpus planning. For instance, Yoruba people have respect as an aspect of their culture and this is shown in their language. When Yoruba is being planned either to accommodate new terminologies and discoveries, to serve as official language or for other purposes, care needs be taken so as not to temper with the culture that is reflected through it. People may rise against a language planning that tends to temper negatively with their mode of expression. As has been seen above, the respect aspect of the Yoruba culture accounts for the presence of the respect system found in the language. The respect system is such that there are words readily available to refer to some one who is older than one is. Few examples of are as the list follows: (i) Ohun – Meaning ‘he’ or ‘she’ (ii) Iwo – Meaning you (singular) (iii) Eyin – Meaning you (Plural but used to refer to someone older than one) (iv) Awon – Meaning they (Plural but used to refer to a single person older than one. When talking to one’s age mate, one makes use of items (i) and (ii) but when referring to someone older than one, one makes use of item number (iii) and (iv) to show respect to the person. Yoruba people so much value this respect that it may cause fight and animosity if not properly handled or employed. So, while planning for Yoruba, this respect system of the language must not be tempered with so as not to cause confusion and chaos. At a macro language planning level, when making move to set a national language, especially where there are numerous people of different linguistic backgrounds, one needs to study the culture of these different peoples to see their areas of divergence and convergence so as to know which ethnic groups are likely to fight or not likely to fight at the end of the day when the planning had been implemented. To put all these, in a single sentence, one factor whose consideration must also be taken in language planning is the culture attached to a language as it may contribute towards the success or failure of the planning. Time they say dictates the pace of everything we do. If language has to be planned at all, then time factor must be taken into cognizance. Time of language planning is worth considering because of the goal we want to achieve at the end. Language planners need to see that there is an absence of political imbroglio or instability in the society where they are planning the language. An attempt to overlook this may either jeopardize or prolong the achievement of set goal in the blue print. Time of ethnic clashes will not be convenient for language planning especially if the language belongs to one of the ethnic groups. However, before planning language, time-frame within which the language planning will take effect should be carefully considered. This should not be ignored; otherwise the goal of the plan might not come to fruition. Hence, there will be a waste of energy and resources spent in the process of the planning. Certain factors have been identified by researches as influencing language planning, one of which is the economic factor. Usually, for any society that is at the verge of language planning, this factor should highly be regarded else the whole process flops. In this regard, issues that have to do with the economic implications of the planning process will be raised while the economic benefits of the language that is likely to be favoured in the planning would also be considered. Take for instance, if Togo as a French-speaking nation is undergoing language planning and close attention is not paid to the second language (i.e.) which should be English owing to their economic transactions with English speaking nations like Nigeria, their economy will suffer for it. However, there is a belief that a well planned language will in a way have positive effect on the economy so also if not well planned the economy will bear the loss. In the same trend, it will be very unwise of a country whose economic relationship with a country like France to promote policies that will contribute greatly in fostering the relationship else the economy short-falls. In another regard, if the language planning process will gulp a large amount of money from the nation’s coffer than it has, such process should be redefined or reconsidered so as not to bail down negatively on the economy. It will be highly uncalled-for for a country that can boast of only $10,000,000 in her reserve to carve out 60% of such in language planning, the economy will suffer for it. In a nutshell, the economic factor can however be considered as an influence in language planning. As a matter of fact, the whole process of language planning revolves round the economy of the society that is involved. Language are planned to perform viable functions in promoting the economy of the society or nation. 

CONCLUSION 

With everything discussed so far above, it is discovered that language planning is a careful exercise. Language planners need to pay serious attention to some factors influencing language planning. Meanwhile, this work has been to justify some of these; ranging from linguistic factor to economic factor. It is therefore a crucial thing to be meticulous in analyzing those factors that determine whether the goal of language planning will be achieved or not. In a nutshell, if factors that influence and motivate language planning are well considered and addressed such that language is planned with full regard to those factors, the society will be of high benefit. Take Japan as an example today Japan as a monolingual state is enjoying high rate of socio-political development based on their well planned language. Scholars believe Japan is a living proof of what a brilliant language planning can result to.

REFERENCES 

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 7th edition
Holmes, J (2008). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. UK: passing education limited
Oyetade S. O. (2003), "Language Planning and Identity Multi–ethnic state." The Majority/Minority Dichotomy. Nudic Journal of African Studies.