Language Strategies and Society

Tekst raspravlja o nekim parametrima uporabe i izbora jezika, s obzirom na društvene i razvojne probleme. Nakon uvoda iznose se tri opće postavke o jeziku: 1) svaki jezik može se razviti da bi udovoljio svim potrebama svojih govornika, 2) jezici su po strukturi različiti, 3) jezici nisu samo komunikacijski sustavi. Slijedi opis odnosa između jezika zadanih od rođenja i dodatnih jezika koje pojedinac nauči poslije u životu. U središnjem dijelu članka autor kritički raspravlja o ulozi engleskoga u suvremenom svijetu kao jedinog svjetskog jezika. Bitne su postavke da engleski nije osobito lak jezik, jer je strukturalno opterećen zbog veličine leksika, složenosti frazeologije i nepredvidivosti pravopisa, ali da se uspio uvelike nametnuti svijetu iz nelingvističkih razloga. Odbacuju se teze da je engleski postao etnički, kulturno ili ideološki neutralan. Na kraju teksta, iznose se neke misli o jezičnoj strategiji (politici) u Hrvatskoj. Autor zagovara dvije temeljne smjernice: razvitak mogućnih prednosti hrvatskoga jezika i realno ali i uravnoteženo učenje stranih jezika.The paper discusses some parameters of language use and choice, in relation to social and developmental criteria. After the Introduction, three general assumptions regarding language are given: 1) any language can be developed to the level of fulfilling the needs of its speakers, 2) languages are structurally different, 3) languages are not only communication systems. After this, a description is given of the relations between languages that are a person\u27s default from birth and additional languages that he or she acquires in his or her latter life. In the central part of the paper the author gives a critical analysis of the role of English in the contemporary world as the world\u27s only common language. The most important points emphasise that English is not a particularly easy language, since it is structurally burdened by the size of its vocabulary, by the phrase grammar and by the unpredictability of its orthography. However, English managed to impose itself on the world due to non-linguistic factors. The author does not accept the claim that English has become ethnically, culturally or ideologically neutral. At the end of the paper, he presents some ideas on language strategy (policy) in Croatia. The authors insists that this strategy should be formulated along two lines: a development of the comparative advantages of the Croatian language and a realistic and balanced approach to learning foreign language