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Bill: Sekowan Linguistic Policy
Details
Submitted by[?]: Imperial Pluralism Party
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: August 2486
Description[?]:
| If this bill passes, the following report of the Sekowan Linguistic Census Commission is hereby recognized by the Apella as factually accurate and as the official Sekowan government doctrine on linguistic policy: I. Preface The Sekowan Linguistic Census Commission has been funded and established by the Archonic Union of Politeia for the accurate description of the Linguistic situation in Sekowo. It is our hope that the Apella, after investigating the findings of the SLCC, will ratify this report and implement its suggestions. II. Language History and Basic Figures Before the Artanian Conquest in the 18th Century, Sekowo was inhabited by a linguistically diverse group of city states and small kingdoms that spoke between forty and seventy distinct languages and countless dialects. Scholarly description of these languages is only now beginning in earnest; unfortunately, most of this rich assortment has been lost to time. When the Artanians invaded and installed themselves as the ruling class, the influence on native languages was tremendous. Black slave languages were brought into the mix as well. However, no permanent creole or pidgin was formed, and when independence was gained in the 22nd century, two dominant tongues, both with clearly identifiable lineage, emerged from this mix of languages. These two are Modern Sekowan and Pailesian. A third important language, Davostana, was spoken by the administrative elite until the Arestist Period. Modern Sekowan is the language of the formerly enslaved natives. After independence and abolition, Modern Sekowan speakers made up 45% of the population. During the Arestist period, the classical, ancient predecessor, Tsekwon, was instated as the mandatory and official language. In effect, some 25% of the population (all younger than 30) speak a once extinct language. However, with the removal of the Aretists from power, Tsekwon is no longer taught in schools and it is generally disfavored in common registers due to its crushingly tedious complexity. Nearly 40% of the population currently speaks the much more simplified Modern Sekowan. Pailesian was the language of the middle classes during the colonial period. Only 10% of the Criollos owned slaves during the Colonial period, and the remainder spoke Pailesian, originally an Artanian language that picked up a wide range of linguistic features from various native tongues, including Modern Sekowan. Through racial mixing, Pailesian is currently spoken by Criollos and natives alike. 88% of the population speaks one of the six dialects of Pailesian. III. Further Statistics Modern Sekowan (MS) is spoken primarily by natives (that is, from full to a quarter blood) The socio-economic situation in Sekowo is such that the poorest quarter of the population is 80% native. And so, while natives who speak MS do occupy the middle and upper classes, the vast majority of the lower class speaks MS, and fluency decreases as affluence increases. Pailesian is spoken almost universally by those in the upper and middle classes. 30% of those in the lower class speak Pailesian, with about 10% bilingual. The language is, almost as a rule, spoken by anyone with less than a quarter native in ancestry. Davostana is usually a second language, with only the most isolated elite having learned it as a first language. The group of second speakers constitutes nearly 4% of the population. Greek and Latin have an unusually strong following in the upper and upper-middle classes. Most youth receiving a reputable private education or who can afford tutoring learn to speak fluent Latin and Greek. This equates to 12% of the population, an astounding amount for any nation. In private, polite company, either Classical Language is used among the well-educated. In addition, public oratory (in the Apella, for instance) is occasionally undertaken in Greek, but since it is indecipherable to the vast majority, this practice is disfavored by populist movements. 9% of Sekowans speak an other language. This group includes Gao-Showa, Welsh, French, Kazulianisk and Hulstrian. First and second generation immigrants are the primary speakers of these languages. English is almost always a second language, but due to its international importance in trade and commerce, it is spoken (or at least understood) by 72% of the population, most of them in cities and commercial centers. IV. Recommendations If the Apella finds this report factually sound, then we suggest that Sekowo adopt the following Linguistic policies. (i) Modern Sekowan, Tsekwon, Pailesian, Davostana, English, Gao-Showan, French, Greek, and Latin should receive official status. In effect, students will have the option to study any of their choice during a public education. Additionally, any citizen may communicate with or participate in their local or national governments in an official language with ease. To further this end, anyone may request translations of government documents or announcements in an official language. (ii) Modern Sekowan, Pailesian, and English are primary languages. All government documents must be released to the public in all three of these languages. In addition, all government employees must be competent in all three of these languages. (iii) Since virtually all English speakers also speak either MS or Pailesian, all public signs and notices must be published in both MS and Pailesian, but not necessarily in English. (iv) The government will never undertake the suppression of a language group and will strive to remove linguistic boundaries from economic and social success. (v) The speakers of French and Gao-Showan will be ensured ease of communication with their local governments. What this specifically entails is to be decided by the local governments. (vi) A National Language Support Commission is to be established for the support of speakers of non-official languages. The program will be detailed and overseen by the Minister of Social Services. V. Further Information (i) http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Pailesian_Dialects (ii) http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Pailesian (iii) http://particracy.wikia.com/wiki/Tsekwon |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 05:08:42, November 12, 2007 CET | From |  Imperial Pluralism Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | Is there anything anyone disagrees with? |
| Date | 16:25:00, November 12, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | Gao-Showan and French should be considered apart from other, since they are spoken by more than 1% of the population. They should have officially recognized status, and regions in which they are the most prevalent be required to print official documents in them as well. |
| Date | 16:50:50, November 12, 2007 CET | From | Sekowan Communist Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | As we understand it, speakers primarily fluent in any official language that is not one of the primary three will be allowed to request a translation of whatever recent announcement has been made. This seems to us to fall under the ability to easily participate in government. That said, we disagree with the decision to make French or Gao-Showan official languages, as little more than 1% of the population is fluent, and they've held little historical influence on the Sekowo of the past. |
| Date | 18:04:00, November 12, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | We did'nt say official status, rather recognized staus, which is different form official status. |
| Date | 18:23:25, November 12, 2007 CET | From | Sekowan Communist Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | The DSP still has not properly delineated what recognized" status would consist of. All speakers of any language can request translations of public announcements from their city or county seat (as under this law the government must strive to remove language from considerations of economic or social success), so we see not why yet another classification is required. |
| Date | 19:16:55, November 12, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | Official language: A national language in which all documents are required to be printed, as well as public services like signs, a language in which a majority of the population speak on some level. Recognized language: A language in which a large minority speaks, and which local governments with large enough groups speaking such a language must print everything in as well as official languages. |
| Date | 22:49:29, November 12, 2007 CET | From | Sekowan Communist Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | Such things can be decided upon on a local basis, and inevitably will be. This bill does not preclude grassroots movements to give a sizable and regional minority language some sort of official status. |
| Date | 02:50:11, November 13, 2007 CET | From | Imperial Pluralism Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | I think that I've dealt with both requests in sections IV (i), (v), and (vi). |
| Date | 15:23:25, November 13, 2007 CET | From | Chattes en Chaleur | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | Since the leadership of Chattes en Chaleur is overwhelmingly Francophone, and we receive strong support from the Francophone community throughout Sekowo, we demand the following: The right of persons to have all government branches, professional corporations, employee associations and enterprises doing business in Sekowo communicate with them in French. The right of persons to speak French in parliament and court. The right of workers to carry on their activities in French. The right of persons eligible for public education to receive that education in French. |
| Date | 16:51:50, November 13, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | After a party meeting, a significant section of our base has rallied for us to support making Gao-Showan an official language as well, as several million speak it. It should be noted to that the DSP has a significant Gao-Showan voting base, and the party founder was raised by Gao-Showan peoples, and the current party leader is Gao-Showan as well. |
| Date | 03:43:37, November 14, 2007 CET | From | Imperial Pluralism Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | I disagree with both of these ideas, but I'll bend into then to some extent. I've met all of the DSP requests-- Gao-Showan would be an official language. I can propose most of the CeC's requests by making French an official language: The last two are fine: The right of workers to carry on their activities in French. The right of persons eligible for public education to receive that education in French. But the first one is problematic. Government employees cannot be forced to speak such a plurality of languages. French is one of many minority languages and allowing it to be a means of communication in government while not allowing others like it is unjust and corrupt. The vast majority of officials, who do not speak French, would be forced to learn the language or hire translators just to understand their few colleagues. Or, they might resort to ignoring them altogether, in violation of these proposals. I hope that the CeC will still vote yes on this proposal. |
| Date | 07:42:31, November 14, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | We're fine with this, though we would like to see something about government created signs, but more as a seperate bill. |
| Date | 19:31:40, November 14, 2007 CET | From | 帝国公明党 (Teikoku Kōmeitō) | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | On a separate but related note, we should strive to decrease the amount of languages spoken, not in a way that obviously interferes with peoples lives, but perhaps through public advertisements and such. If/when a Dovani Union forms, we'll only be able to submit one or two languages as one of the official languages, and it would be nice to not have to have political fights about which one will be chosen. |
| Date | 05:13:44, November 15, 2007 CET | From | Imperial Pluralism Party | To | Debating the Sekowan Linguistic Policy |
| Message | beautiful unanimity! But I agree with the DSP; we should have positive incentives to decrease linguistic diversity (although we should thoroughly document all that exist). |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 750 | |||||||||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | |||||||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
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