Higher Education Across Borders: Transcultural interaction and linguistic diversity
English in Scandinavian Academia: Ideologies and Practices
Icelandic ideologies:
Protecting forms of language
Ari Páll Kristinsson
Roskilde, April 3, 2012
• Are ideologies of international competitiveness
outweighing ‘national protectionist language ideologies’?
The perception of a protectionist language culture in
Iceland is primarily based on observations of and
investigations into practices and attitudes of Icelanders as
regards (lexical and grammatical) purism.
In Icelandic language ideologies, the protection of (what
looks like) ‘genuine’ Icelandic language forms is
fundamental. Domains of language use are of far less
significance in common language discourses.
LANGUAGE SITUATION
2002 poll: 75%of the Icelandic population used English every week
% claiming to speak, read or write in English:
26%
24%
25%
many times every day
almost every day
1-4 times a week
(Kristiansen & Vikør 2006)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1996
1999
2002
2005
2008
Foreign exchange students at Icelandic universities 19962010.
Foreign students, first registration, Icelandic
universities 1997-2009
Foreign students at the University of Iceland 2001-2011
LANGUAGE POLICIES AT UNIVERSITIES
3 out of 7 higher education institutions in Iceland have an explicit
formal language policy
In addition, a separate language legislation in 2011: Icelandic is the
language of ‘schools at all levels’
Parliamentary debate  Universities have more leeway, to provide
instruction in English instead of in Icelandic, at graduate level than at
undergraduate level.
Three common themes of Icel. university language policies:
• Icelandic official language / main language of instruction.
• English also if needed. Holds primarily for graduate level. At
undergraduate level only if there are some particular reasons for
such an ‘exception’, i.e., policy is that English is not to become
default language of instruction at undergraduate level.
• Terminologies in Icelandic, in all fields of instruction /
research.
UNIVERSITY PRACTICES
Not at odds with the policies described above
At undergraduate level, Icelandic is the only or the main language
of instruction
In Masters’ and PhD programmes, English is used to some extent,
along with Icelandic, cf. the following examples:
Random examples, 16 Masters’ programmes, at Icelandic
universities 2011-2012:
4 x 4 slides….
psychology
pedagogy + education
music composition
nursing
Regulations on doctoral programmes at the University of Iceland, 2009:
“All theses shall have an abstract in both Icelandic and English”
CONCLUSION
English used to a considerable extent by members of a speech
community whose language culture is labeled protectionist
in common language planning discourse.
Contradictory?
Not if we accept that the assumedly protectionist language
ideologies are deep-rooted only as to the forms of
language, and not as to domains of language use.