Language Problems and Language Planning - Volume 28, Issue 1, 2004

The article examines the number of contributions to scientific journals by authors from various OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries in 1998–2000 according to the commonly used ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) databases SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index), A&HCI (Arts and Humanities Citation Index) and SCI Expanded (Science Citation Index Expanded). The number of contributions per million inhabitants is related to the main language of the country, the gross domestic product per capita and whether a country is a former socialist country or not. The social sciences, the arts and humanities, and the natural sciences are studied separately. It turns out that there is a tendency for a higher publication rate for English-language countries, slightly lower for countries with small languages, and even smaller for countries with large non-English languages. This is consistent with the hypotheses that there is a bias in the data bases from the ISI such that English-language journals tend to be overrepresented, that scholars from English-language countries write almost exclusively in English, and that scholars from other countries tend to publish less in English and more in their domestic language the larger their domestic language. This calls for caution in using these databases for international comparisons of research activity.

ResumenDerechos lingüísticos en las constituciones del mundoLa presente es una clasificación y un análisis de las constituciones del mundo que tiene como objetivo proporcionar ayuda legal a aquellos paises interesados en promulgar derechos lingüísticos en sus constituciones. El autor estudia 187 constituciones de todo el mundo en búsqueda de términos legales que definan las obligaciones lingüísticas del estado y los derechos lingüísticos de sus ciudadanos. Las naciones “unidas” (“undivided”), e.g. Uruguay y EEUU, adoptan una política constitucional de “manos abiertas” (“hands-off”) con respecto a sus obligaciones y derechos lingüísticos ya que estas naciones tienen (o declaran tener) un gran sentido de identidad nacional y, además, en su territorio no habitan grupos de ciudadanos que buscan la autonomía o la secesión. Por otro lado, las naciones “desunidas” (“divided”), e.g. Bélgica, Canadá y Sudáfrica, adoptan una política constitucional de “manos a la masa” (“hands-on”) ya que en estas naciones habitan grupos lingüísticos difíciles de asimilar o grupos que tienen o buscan la autonomía o la secesión.ResumoLingvaj rajtoj kaj lingva justeco en la konstitucioj de la mondoTiu ĉi klasifo kaj analizo de konstitucioj tra la mondo celas helpi naciojn, kiuj malnetigas lingvajn leĝaĵojn en la propraj konstitucioj. La aŭtoro analizas 187 konstituciojn el ĉirkaŭ la mondo por trovi jurajn difinojn de la lingvaj sindevigoj de la koncerna nacio kaj la lingvaj rajtoj de ĝiaj civitanoj. “Nedividitaj” nacioj, ekzemple Urugvajo kaj Usono, sekvas konstitucian politikon “manojn-for” rilate al lingvaj sindevigoj kaj rajtoj ĉar tiaj nacioj posedas (aŭ pretendas posedi) fortan senton de nacia identeco kaj neniuj grupoj de civitanoj, kiuj havas aŭ celas aŭtonomion aŭ malaliĝon. Aliflanke, “dividitaj” nacioj, kiel ekzemple Belgio, Kanado kaj Sudafriko, sekvas konstitucian politikon de engaĝiĝo ĉar ili posedas neasimilitajn lingvajn grupojn aŭ grupojn, kiuj ja havas aŭ celas aŭtonomion aŭ malaliĝon.

The Algerian National Constitution stipulates that Classical Arabic is the only official language of the nation, which is supposedly used by all members of the speech community. French is regarded as a foreign language and is taught starting from the fourth year of the primary level. The Algerian diglossic situation is characterized by the use of Classical Arabic and French as high varieties used in formal and public domains, and colloquial dialects, namely Algerian Arabic and Berber, as low varieties for informal and intimate situations. In public domains, Classical Arabic is present virtually everywhere and used (especially at the written level) in varying degrees. In some domains, such as education or the physical environment, Classical Arabic dominates; in other domains such as the economy, Classical Arabic is used in parallel with French. This linguistic reality is primarily the outcome of many years of intensive campaigns of Arabisation and major political and even financial decisions, beginning right after independence, aimed at promoting the status of Classical Arabic and giving to Algeria its Arabo-Muslim identity.The present paper examines the process and outcomes of Arabisation and its effects on language use, providing a brief historical sketch of the Arabisation process in various domains, including its application in public life, notably in administration, the physical environment and education. The Arabisation process has touched practically all spheres of public life previously characterized by the sole use of the French language. Also discussed is the impact of Arabisation on language use at the institutional and individual levels. The impact of Arabisation has been significant in some domains, namely education and the physical environment, but less evident in others, such as in university studies, especially in scientific and medical departments, where French remains the main medium of instruction and communication. The paper also encompasses a brief survey of the linguistic rights of Berbers under the Arabisation process, and at the same time it also attempts to address the issue of the Arabisation process in relation to other concepts, notably Islam and Islamism; ‘Arabisation’ does not mean ‘Islamisation.’ Finally, the results of the Arabisation campaigns are analyzed and critiqued. Arabisation has faced many criticisms, among them paucity of human and financial means, as well as the lack of a coherent strategy of implementation in which the political and sociolinguistic realities of the Algerian speech community are taken into consideration.

The beginnings of today’s Hector Hodler Library in Rotterdam go back to the year 1903, when the newly-founded Swiss Esperanto Society started receiving books because of its journal. Officially founded in December 1908, it was sold as early as 1912 to Hector Hodler, director of the Universal Esperanto Association (UEA) in Geneva. After Hodler’s untimely death in 1920, UEA became the owner of the collection. For the duration of a dispute about the headquarters of the Association, the UEA Library was successfully stored at the Palais Wilson, in Geneva, where it survived World War II. For personal reasons, the longtime functionary of UEA Hans Jakob held off on transferring the library to Rotterdam, where the Association established its headquarters in 1955. It was not until the period 1960–67 that the bulk of the books arrived. During that time many items of various kinds and various sources had been added. Now the Hector Hodler Library — its exact name as of 1980–serves as a working library for the Association and for many researchers interested in interlinguistics.