Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

Provides an accessible account of the history of language policy
Studies significant figures from different periods in history and from different cultures
Contains imaginary interviews serving as valuable summaries of each figure's approach

Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

Description

This book provides an accessible account of the origins and conceptual foundations of language policy. Florian Coulmas discusses the influence of twenty intellectuals from medieval to modern times, and from a variety of cultures, who have taken issue with language, its use, development, and political potential. These 'guardians of language' range from renowned figures such as Dante, Noah Webster, and Gandhi, to less well-known individuals such as the Spanish grammarian Antonio de Nebrija and Senegalese politician and poet Leopold Sedar Senghor. Each chapter begins by providing background information on the scholar whose work is being reviewed and ends with a summary of his key thoughts on language in the form of an imaginary interview.

Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

Preface
Introduction: The Politics of Language
1. Alcuin of York
2. Sibawayhi
3. Dante Alighieri
4. King Sejong the Great
5. Elio Antonio de Nebrija
6. Cardinal Richelieu
7. Catherine the Great
8. Adamantios Korais
9. Noah Webster
10. Jacob Grimm
11. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda
12. Ludovik Lazarus Zamenhof
13. Ueda Kazutoshi
14. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
15. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
16. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
17. Zhou Enlai
18. Pope Paul VI
19. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana
20. Leopold Sedar Senghor
Lessons learnt
Bibliography
Index

Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

Author Information

Florian Coulmas is Senior Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Duisburg-Essen University. From 2004 to 2014, he served as director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo, and he has held appointments at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, Tokyo, and Chuo University, Tokyo. He is the author of Writing and Society (CUP, 2014) and editor of Language Regimes in Transformation (Mouton de Gruyter, 2007) and The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Writing Systems (Blackwell, 1999). He is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language.

Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

Reviews and Awards

"In depth and at the same time highly enjoyable, it will spark the interest not only of researchers in the field, but also of undergraduate and graduate students, and of general readers who want to know more about one (or more) of its charismatic protagonists."-- Federica Guerini, Linguistica e Filologia

"This book may be the first and possibly the last in which one sees Sejong the Great (15th-century king of Korea), Spanish Renaissance scholar Antonio de Nebrija, Kemal Atatürk (founder of the Republic of Turkey), and 20th-century Indonesian author Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana between the same covers. Each chapter includes some biographical notes and historical context followed by a fictionalized interview highlighting the individual's key thoughts, a conceit that allows the reader to have it directly from the horse's mouth. The writing is elegant with some wisely chosen droplets of humor. One can read the book cover to cover, but those interested in particular topics--e.g., Esperanto, the revival of modern Hebrew, Bahasa Indonesia--can read select chapters. However approached, the book is a delightful read." -- Choice

"The writing is elegant with some wisely chosen droplets of humor. One can read the book cover to cover, but those interested in particular topics-e.g., Esperanto, the revival of modern Hebrew, Bahasa Indonesia-can read select chapters. However approached, the book is a delightful read."--Choice

"The scholarship and erudition of the book are outstanding, and the book makes language planning and policy issues accessible to a broader public of expert and nonexpert readers from all fields... an easy, enjoyable read."--Iair Or, Elana Shohamy, Language

"Coulmas uses his ingenious format to draw our attention to certain neglected aspects of the historical record... The book presents a sheaf of individual, idiosyncratic facts, ranging over triumphs and setbacks, both immediate and long term." --Probal Dasgupta, Language Problems and Language Planning

Guardians of Language

Twenty Voices Through History

Florian Coulmas

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