Language policies, language planning and linguistic landscapes in Timor-Leste
John Macalister | Victoria University of Wellington
Timor-Leste is a nation where three exogenous languages (Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, English) and one of many endogenous languages (Tetun) compete to be heard in public spaces. The constitution names both Tetun and Portuguese as co-official languages, and English and Bahasa Indonesia as working languages in the civil service; but official and de facto language policy are not necessarily the same. One mechanism that can mediate between ideology and practice, both as a way of imposing and of resisting official policy, is language in the public space. This paper demonstrates the insights that examining language in the public space can provide on language policy debates. It reports on the investigation of a linguistic landscape in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, and finds considerable difference between official language policy and language practices.
Keywords: linguistic landscapes, English language, Bahasa Indonesia, Portuguese language, Tetun, language planning, language policy, Timor Leste, language practice
Published online: 25 May 2012
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.36.1.02mac
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.36.1.02mac
Cited by
Cited by 8 other publications
Coluzzi, Paolo & Rie Kitade
Dewi, Anita
Leung, Janny HC
Macalister, John
McGillion, Chris
Phan, Nhan & Donna Starks
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 january 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.