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Language Policy and Identity in a Diverse Society View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives Language Policy and Identity in a Diverse Society: The Impact of Language of Instruction on Social Group Identity. A Comparative Case Study from Ethiopia Sophie Küspert-Rakotondrainy Master of Philosophy in Comparative and International Education Institute for Educational Research UNIVERSITY OF OSLO April 2013 II Language Policy and Identity in a Diverse Society: The Impact of Language of Instruction on Social Group Identity. A Comparative Case Study from Ethiopia Sophie Küspert-Rakotondrainy Master of Philosophy in Comparative and International Education Institute for Educational Research UNIVERSITY OF OSLO April 2013 III © Sophie Küspert-Rakotondrainy 2013 Language Policy and Identity in a Diverse Society: The Impact of Language of Instruction on Social Group Identity. A Comparative Case Study from Ethiopia Sophie Küspert-Rakotondrainy http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Abstract This study addresses the impacts of the Ethiopian policy on educational language of instruction on social identity processes of two ethnic groups in Ethiopia. The aim of the study is to identify the in- terplay between socio-political changes in a diverse society, language planning and group identity formation. The study is placed within the conflict perspective of society and uses Bourdieu’s concepts of power relations and social reproduction in education. Furthermore, language planning is not only seen as a communicative and pedagogical matter but also as a political affair, which is apparent in the concept of ‘identity planning’. As a basis for the operationalisation of group identity, Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory and researchers using his initial theory have been employed. The design used is a comparative case study. Within one national language policy two ethnic groups have been studied and compared. The two groups are the Gumuz and the Shinasha from Benishan- gul Gumuz Regional State. These two groups were chosen because they, on the one hand, live in the same area and share certain historical similarities, but on the other hand, their social conditions dif- fer. The Shinasha, although having experienced displacement and assimilation by other ethnic groups, have a quite strong position in society, whereas the Gumuz, despite being much more nu- merous, remain marginalised after centuries of domination by other ethnic groups. The results from the study shows the differences in impact of the policy on the social identity of these two groups, although both report an increased value and pride in their language and see the policy as a means to achieve more desirable characteristics of their own group. The Shinasha want to use the policy to bring back their traditional culture and language which is on the brink of being lost. They therefore aim at becoming more distinct from other groups. The Gumuz see the policy as a means to become more similar and thus more equal to other groups by changing some of the group characteristics that are perceived as negative or inferior. These micro-level processes are linked to the emergence of the language policy and the strong po- litical drive behind its rationales, aims and also its implementation. The study finally concludes that it is not only the changed socio-political environment in Ethiopia that has led to this specific lan- guage policy which has influenced social identity, but the changes in different ethnic group’s iden- tity are likely to have an impact on the socio-political environment, which again might lead to changes in language planning. Thus, the relationship between these factors is assumed to be circular. V VI Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Wim Hoppers for his time and effort to share from his vast knowledge and experience, and his unlimited encouragement for me to believe in my ideas and ‘think big’. I further owe all my thanks to my parents Sonja and Dr. Klaus-Christian Küspert who have supported me emotionally, financially and with practical help. I am especially grateful to my father who drove me all the way from Addis Ababa to my re- search site in the far West and also helped me with countless preparations for the fieldwork. Without my parents’ support I would never have been able to finish my education. My warmest thanks are extended to my interpreter and travel companion Andinet Arega for fruitful cooperation and an amazing time in Ethiopia. Also a great thanks to Andreas Neudorf and Fekadu Deressa for welcoming me at the Regional Education Bureau in Assosa and assisting me in planning and completing the fieldwork – and especially Fekadu for additional interpretation work. Further- more, I wish to thank all the informants in the study for giving me their time and sharing their thoughts with me. I am indebted to Alexander Meckelburg for reading and commenting many of my drafts and giving me invaluable feedback especially concerning the Ethiopian historical and political context. Further, special thanks to Kara Schaffler for reading the entire final draft and doing language corrections. All remaining mistakes are entirely mine. Other people I want to thank are Agaje Bedemo and Fessaha Abadi for helping me to get started. I would also like to acknowledge the professors and my fellow students in the CIE programme at the University of Oslo. The discussions in class and the feedback on presentations of my work in progress have been very helpful. Above all, my deepest thankfulness goes to my dear husband Mparany Rakotondrainy for his con- tinuous love and support, and to my two sons Markus and Jakob who had to accept to see less of their mother during the course of accomplishing fieldwork and thesis. Sophie Küspert-Rakotondrainy Toliara, April 2013 VII VIII Table of contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... V Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... VII Table of contents ........................................................................................................................ IX List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... XII List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ XII Abbreviations............................................................................................................................ XII 1- INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Purpose and Justification ............................................................................................ 4 1.3. Research Questions .................................................................................................... 5 1.4. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 5 1.5. Significance of the Study............................................................................................ 6 1.6. Study Scope and Limitations ...................................................................................... 6 1.7. Structure of the Thesis................................................................................................ 6 2- LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 7 2.1. Multilingualism and Diversity .................................................................................... 7 2.2. Language and Identity in Society ................................................................................ 8 2.2.1. Language Planning ............................................................................................. 9 2.2.2. Identity Planning .............................................................................................. 10 2.3. Bilingualism and Multilingualism in Education......................................................... 11 2.3.1. Language of Instruction, Identity and Empowerment .................................... 12 2.3.2. Language of Instruction and Identity: Some Empirical Findings ......................... 13 2.3.3. Language of Instruction and Identity: Two studies from Ethiopia ....................... 15 2.4. Summary ................................................................................................................. 16 3- ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................... 17 3.1. Socio-Political Change ............................................................................................. 17 3.1.1. The Conflict Perspective: Bourdieu ................................................................... 17 3.1.2. Models for Diversity Management .................................................................... 18 3.1.3. Diversity and social cohesion ............................................................................ 19 3.2. Planning for language and identity ...........................................................................
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