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Language policy mistakes in Singapore: Governance, expertise and the deliberation of language ideologies
Author(s) -
Wee Lionel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/j.1473-4192.2010.00275.x
Subject(s) - deliberation , scrutiny , ideology , language policy , mistake , corporate governance , government (linguistics) , political science , process (computing) , public administration , public relations , sociology , linguistics , law , economics , pedagogy , computer science , politics , management , philosophy , operating system
An admission of a language policy mistake from the Singapore government is a rare occurrence. In recent years, there have been two such admissions. This paper discusses these policy mistakes, and focuses on the contributions that language experts might be able to make to the process of policy construction. It is argued that language experts should not be restricted in their ability to contribute to the process of policy formulation, particularly if deeply entrenched ideologies about language are to be subjected to careful scrutiny. The paper concludes by considering deliberative polls, which provide one practical design where experts and non‐experts can engage in an informed discussion about specific policy recommendations.