Language planning

It is standard textbook knowledge that there is no nonarbitrary division between language and dialect. Whether two partly similar speech varieties are classified as different languages or dialects of a single language is often a purely political question. Nonetheless the question is vitally important in many parts of the world. Whether a speech variety is classified as a dialect or a language may determine whether it will have a written standard, and be used as a language of instruction in schools, as a language of administration, etc. How is similarity between speech varieties determined? An obviously important criterion is mutual intelligibility. Yet there are many situations where this criterion fails. Another important criterion is peoples’s own sense of linguistic and/or ethnic identity, Yet there are many situations where this criterion is insufficient. The research that we intend to undertake will provide another criterion, that of grammatical similarity, to be used in conjunction with other criteria as a basis for rational decisions in questions relating to language planning.

Language learning

The results of theoretical linguistics can be also be applied to problems of language learning. The IGLO project based in Tromsoe (see above) is developing web-based instructional software which exploits the modern parametric theory of syntactic variation to form the basis for exercises and explanations presented to language learners. In addition, modern theories of lexical organization are applied in the IGLO software to assist learners in the acquisition of vocabulary. In these ways the research team in Tromsoe is already breaking new ground in the application of linguistic theory to practical problems.


Aim | Why? | How | Research Plan | Applications