List of language regulators
This is a list of bodies that regulate standard languages, often called language academies. Language academies are motivated by, or closely associated with, linguistic purism and prestige, and typically publish prescriptive dictionaries,[1] which purport to officiate and prescribe the meaning of words and pronunciations. A language regulator may also have a more descriptive approach, however, while maintaining and promoting (but not imposing) a standard spelling. Many language academies are private institutions, although some are governmental bodies in different states, or enjoy some form of government-sanctioned status in one or more countries. There may also be multiple language academies attempting to regulate and codify the same language, sometimes based in different countries and sometimes influenced by political factors (see also: pluricentric language).
Many world languages have one or more language academies. However, the degree of control that the academies exert over these languages does not render the latter controlled natural languages in the sense that the various kinds of "simple English" (e.g. Basic English, Simplified Technical English) or George Orwell's fictional Newspeak are. They instead remain natural languages to a considerable extent and are thus not formal languages such as Attempto Controlled English. They have a degree of standardization that allows them to function as standard languages (e.g. standard French). The English language has never had a formal regulator anywhere.
Natural languages
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Auxiliary languages
Esperanto
Apart from the Akademio de Esperanto, most auxiliary languages, also known as constructed languages (Conlangs) have no true linguistic regulators, language academies.[11]
Esperanto and Ido have been constructed (or planned) by a person or small group, before being adopted and further developed by communities of users through natural language evolution.
Bodies such as the Akademio de Esperanto look at questions of usage in the light of the original goals and principles of the language.
| Language | Regulator(s) |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Akademio de Esperanto |
| Ido | Uniono por la Linguo Internaciona Ido |
| Lingua Franca Nova | Asosia per Lingua Franca Nova |
| Lojban | Logical Language Group |
| Volapük | Kadäm Volapüka |
Other constructed languages
| Language | Regulator(s) |
|---|---|
| Klingon | Marc Okrand |
| Talossan | Comità per l'Útzil del Glheþ |
Interlingua
The auxiliary language Interlingua has no regulating body, as its vocabulary, grammar, and orthography are viewed as a product of ongoing social forces. In theory, Interlingua therefore evolves independent from any human regulator. Interlingua's vocabulary is verified and recorded by dynamically applying certain general principles to an existing set of natural languages and their etymologies. The International Auxiliary Language Association ceased to exist in 1954, and according to the secretary of Union Mundial de Interlingua "Interlingua doesn't need its Academy".[11]
Other bodies
These bodies do not attempt to regulate any language in a prescriptive manner and are primarily concerned with aiding and advising the government on policies regarding language usage.
Hong Kong: Official Language Division Civil Service Bureau Government of Hong Kong – concerned with matters concerning government language policy
Macau: Departamento dos Assuntos Linguísticos of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau of the Government of Macau –concerned with matters concerning government language policy
See also
References
- Thomas, George (1991) Linguistic purism p.108, quotation:
Whereas a number of the puristically motivated language societies have assumed de facto responsibility for language cultivation, the decisions of the academies have often had the force of law. ... Since academies are so closely associated with the notion of purism, a brief word on their history may not be out of place. The first academy to deal expressly and exclusively with language matters was the Accademia della Crusca ... Its orientation was essentially conservative, favouring a return to the Tuscan language as cultivated in the fourteenth century over the innovations of contemporary renaissance poets such as Torquato Tasso. ... One of its first tasks -- as with so many academies to follow -- was to produce a large-scale prescriptive dictionary of Italian
- "Organizations Attached to the Department of Humanitarian Sciences and Arts". National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
Field of Activities: ... compilation of the Belarusian language dictionaries including Belarusian – the other Slavonic languages and the other Slavonic languages – Belarusian dictionaries; ...
- Council of the Cherokee Nation
- "Pontificia Academia Latinitatis" (in Latin). Vatican.va. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- "Хуулийн нэгдсэн портал сайт". Legalinfo.mn (in Mongolian). Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- "Lo Congrès". locongres.org. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- "Reconeishença der Institut d'Estudis Aranesi coma academia e autoritat lingüistica der occitan, aranés en Aran - Conselh Generau d'Aran". conselharan.org.
- "Scots Language Centre". Scotslanguage.com. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- "Scottish Language Dictionaries - Home". Scotsdictionaries.org.uk. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- "YIVO Institute". Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- Johan Derks, Prilingvaj institutoj de 18 naciaj lingvoj (Language Institutes of eighteen states), Interlingvistikaj Studoj, UAM, 2014/17, Esperanta Interlingvistiko 1