Resumen de Pijin at school in Solomon Islands: language ideologies and the nation

Christine Jourdan

• In this article, I analyze the reasons that have excluded Pijin, the lingua franca of Solomon Islands, South West Pacific, from being used as a medium of instruction, and why this may now become possible. Following a short sociolinguistic sketch, I present the colonial and post-colonial linguistic ideologies that shaped sociolinguistic relationships in Solomon Islands. I then analyze the dynamics between Pijin and English as expressed by various interest groups, and then outline the development of nationalist ideologies that consider Pijin in a new light. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact of PRIDE (Pacific regional initiatives for the delivery of basic education) on the possible integration of Pijin as a medium of instruction in primary schools particularly.