Acceso usuarios
Paul Bruthiaux
Languages in contact inevitably undergo cross-fertilization. English is no exception in that wherever it takes roots, a tension develops between a traditionally exonormative standard and the incorporation of local adaptations into the standard. Some sociopolitical motivations for restandardizing new varieties of English are explored. I argue that spoken practices are largely self-norming and thus beyond deliberate restandardization. By contrast, although written norms are potentially amenable to manipulation by language planners, successful restandardization requires the participation of influential users, especially in the print media. Thus, two factors must coalesce for restandardization to succeed: writers must agree to promote forms that diverge from prestigious transnational practice and/or institutional forces must exercise control over written norms and their users. Even in the event of the powerful agreeing on which forms to elevate to standard status, private interests will not support written restandardization beyond limited relexification because they have little to gain and much to lose from differentiating themselves from prestigious transnational practices. Moreover, the degree of coercion required to implement substantial restandardization of written norms may be undesirable because it would fall beyond limits deemed acceptable in most pluralistic societies and impractical because it would challenge the administrative capabilities of many societies.
