Contemporary Perspectives on Language Standardization

Abstract

As the usage and spread of digital and online forms of communication have grown, so has their impact on the formation, implementation and dissemination of language standards and norms. The bulk of existing linguistic research on such technological developments has focused on 'bottom-up' practices, especially on how online literacies provide new spaces for a greater variety of writing practices and how digital domains enable policies 'from below' in the regulation of language usage. Other lines of enquiry have addressed the implications for agency with regard to both the increasing role of crowdsourcing for lexicographic purposes and the ease of becoming a popular authority on 'proper' language use through social media. Section 26.2 discusses the surge of scholarly interest in these areas, followed by a more specific look at how this is illustrated by the expansion of written Luxembourgish in digital and online spaces. The Luxembourgish language is a particularly interesting case in this respect because its orthography is undergoing another official revision, but it is debatable how aware Luxembourgish speakers are of the spelling norms. Both sides of this policy-practice spectrum are played out in online and digital spaces. Therefore, this chapter will complement the more established view 'from below' with fresh perspectives on the role of these technologies in the standardization process 'from above' by looking at actions from both the state institutions and private organizations in the top-down diffusion of this research was funded by the Multilingualism: empowering Individuals, transforming societies (MeIts) project, which is part of the AHRC open World Research Initiative (AH/n004671/1). I would also like to thank the reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments on the initial draft of this chapter. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations JB.

Modern Languages Research: Towards a Challenge-Based Interdisciplinary Model

“…This raises questions about equality of opportunity and access to education, qualifications and testing in pupils' L1. While dictionaries and spelling guides for Luxembourgish have been published since the nineteenth century (Bellamy forthcoming), as well as several official orthographies in the twentieth century, there is a general lack of knowledge of spelling rules, leading to insecurity about writing the norm "properly" (Bellamy 2021). A partial mitigation is provided by emerging online and digital resources for language standardization, which are more accessible, and by the increasing use of Luxembourgish in informal domains such as text messaging and social media between friends, where speakers feel freer to use non-standardized varieties.…”