Fundamentals of a general theory of pluricentric languages
by Rudolf Muhr
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This book is the result of my long-standing involvement with pluricentric languages, which for me personally began in 1980. Since then, I have been able to observe and, to some extent, help shape all phases of the development of the con-cept of the pluricentricity of languages. While the aim in the 1980s and 1990s was still to overcome the prevailing concept of monocentricity, which was predomi-nant in German and many other languages, this changed in the 1990s. It was mainly the many works by Michael Clyne that brought about a lasting change and helped the concept of pluricentricity to break through. This applied to German in general and to Austrian German in particular, where a positive change in reputation and usage has been observed since then. This also applied to other pluricentric languages, notably to English. Encouraged by Michael Clyne’s support, the ‘International Working Group on Non-dominant Varieties of Pluricentric Languages’ (WGNV) was founded in 2010 at the Pluricentric Conference organised by Augusto da Silva in Braga, Portu-gal. In 2011 I organised the first WGNV conference, the papers of which were pub-lished in an edited volume. A total of 11 WGNV conferences have been held since 2011, and the 12th conference will take place in May 2025 in Lisbon. Since 2011, 214 papers by 299 authors have been published. This book is an attempt to summarise the theory of pluricentricity and to re-flect the current state of the discussion. In doing so, I rely on my own work as well as on that published in the context of the WGNDV conferences and others. Of course, relevant work by other researchers has also been included. I would like to sincerely thank Juan Thomas, Maria Eugênia L. Duarte, and Gerhard Edelmann for reviewing the manuscript and feedback. The book is intended to help clarify key questions of pluricentricity and promote the further development of the concept. I hope that the book will inspire readers and help them with their research.
Keywords: General Theory of Pluricentric Languages, Pluricentric Languages
Language(s) dealt with: ALL PLURICENTRIC LANGUAGES KNOWN
Details
published by PCL-PRESS (Graz/Rotterdam)
May 20, 2025 | 328 pages | ISBN 9789403800691
hardcopy € 19,00 available at https://publishde.bookmundo.com/books/421999
The individual chapters of the publication for viewing and downloading:
Table of contents and preface
Chapter 01: Introduction
This publication is about pluricentric languages and the linguistic theory how these languages can be defined and described.
Chapter 02: The History of the Theory of Pluricentricity
This section shows, how the concept of pluricentricity of languages has developed since the 1950s. It will also look at similar developments in the centuries before.
Chapter 03: Defining the Term „Language“ and Identifying Pluricentric Languages
This chapter has two tasks: The first task of this chapter is to define the term “language”. This is done using the example of European languages. The second task is to identify pluricentric languages (PCLs).
Chapter 04: The Standard Theory of Pluricentricity – Dominance and Non-dominance in PCLs
This chapter defines and discusses the standard theory of pluricentricity. Key criteria are presented and described in detail that help to distinguish pluricentric languages from other languages. These criteria are derived from languages that are undoubtedly pluricentric by nature. Examples are: Arabic, Bengali, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, etc. The research question is: When is a language pluricentric?
Chapter 05: Key Terms and Concepts of the Pluricentric Theory
This chapter defines key terms of the pluricentric theory. The research question is: What are the terms that form the standard model of pluricentricity?
Chapter 06: Different types of pluricentric languages
This chapter deals with different variants of pluricentricity. Seven criteria for categorizing PCLs are used.
Chapter 07: Special cases of pluricentric languages – An overview
This chapter deals with a selected number of pluricentric languages and NVs that are special cases of pluricentricity where the standard criteria do not alway apply.
Chapter 08: Minority and diaspora languages as pluricentric languages
This chapter discusses minority and diaspora languages and their relation to pluricentricity.
Chapter 09: Creating and maintaining linguistic dominance in pluricentric languages
The main objective of this chapter is to identify and reflect on the mechanisms and measures that establish linguistic dominance and keep it stable and unchallenged over long periods of time, after the division into different nations has occurred. To find this out, the practice of different PCLs is examined and compared.
Chapter 10: Criteria and measures for successful status gain and for successful language planning of non-dominant varieties
This chapter defines and deals with measures and criteria that help NDVs to achieve a higher status and to carry out successful language planning. The research question is: What measures can be taken on the side of NDVs to get a higher status and better acceptance in their language community?
Chapter 11: Misconceptions about pluricentric languages and pluricentric theory
This chapter is an attempt to review common ideas – and in particular misconceptions – about pluricentric languages (PCLs) and the theory surrounding them. The reason for this is, that after more than 50 years of research in PCLs there is still substantial disagreement about how PCLs should be defined and described. It seems necessary to give an overview about the different approaches to pluricentricity in order to reflect critically on them.
Chapter 12: The description of pluricentric languages – Methods and measures – A Checklist
This chapter is devoted to the description of PCLs and their NDVs. It identifies general principles and measures. The research question is: Which methods and measures have to be taken to correctly describe PCL and NDVs? The text presents principles of research on PCLs and a checklist of features that to be researched and methodological measures to be taken.
Chapter 13: Codifying linguistic standards in non-dominant varieties of pluricentric languages: Adopting dominant or native norms?
This chapter is dealing with the codification of non-dominant varieties of PCLs. The codification of these varieties is marked by a number of specific problems. Since the 1960s, an immense amount of literature about the stan-dardisation and codification of languages has been published. However, little attention has been paid to the standardisation of pluricentric languages and non-dominant varieties (NDV) – at least not in respect to NDVs.
Chapter 14: Pluricentric languages in contact and conflict
This chapter looks at a number of selected European pluricentric languages (EPCL) and NVs where there are ongoing language conflicts. A common feature of these languages in relation to contact and conflict is the “(in)visibility in the social sphere” and “the struggle to achieve social and political visibility”.
Chapter 15: Competing Concepts: The pluriareal concept against pluricentricity
This chapter deals with the pluriareal model (PLAM) that contests the validity of the pluricentric model (PLAM). Even though all publications concerning the PLAM refer to German, the model is presented here in detail, as it claims to be universally valid for all pluricentric languages.
Chapter 16: The pluricentricity of languages in language education
The task of this chapter is to describe some solutions on how to do language education in pluricentric languages. This is linked to the problem of choosing the ‘right’ standard for teaching written language in primary school and later in the higher grades, when the norm for prose in essays and other text types is taught.
Chapter 17: References
In this section, all references mentioned in the single chapters of the book are assembled here. Double entries have been removed.
Chapter 18: The pluricentric languages of the world – A List and a description of central features of each pluricentric language
This chapter provides a list and brief descriptions of all PCLs identified so far. The length of the description varies depending on the available literature. The list is intended to provide an overview about the PCLs and their different language situations. It also addresses the difficulties that exist in some PCLs when it comes to defining their status.