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2018 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel

Language and Translation Policies in Context of Urban Super-Diversity

verfasst von : Reine Meylaerts

Erschienen in: Language Policy and Linguistic Justice

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The basic argument sustaining this paper is that in today’s complex, multilingual democracies, there is no language policy without a translation policy. Yet, these translation policies have not been subjected to a systematic investigation for their own sake nor in their relation with language policies. The analysis of the creation and evolution of translation policies fills an important gap in our knowledge about language rights, the relationship between the citizen and the state, the treatment of allophone minorities, their political and societal integration and their social inclusion, and their internal cohesion and cultural identity. As an example of the importance of language and translation policies in contemporary society, this paper will concentrate on the region of Flanders, a region that has been historically dominated by language struggles and by the shifting power relations between the languages and cultures in place.

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Vorheriges Kapitel The Economic Value of Mastering Languages: The Case of Ethnically Mixed Areas in Slovenia

Nächstes Kapitel Language Policies for Migrants in Italy: The Tension Between Democracy, Decision-Making, and Linguistic Diversity

The monarchy had its reasons to resemble to the tower of Babel; in democracy, leaving citizens ignorant of the national language, incapable of controlling the authorities, is to betray the fatherland… For a free people, language must be one and the same for all (my translation from French).

Citizenship is traditionally used in its “broad political meaning that refers to individual membership, rights and participation in a polity” (Bauböck 2006: 15). Obviously, this conventional definition of citizenship is challenged by migration, multiculturalism, and multinationalism. We therefore need an expanded definition of citizenship, separated from the nation-state, in terms of “active citizenship” as “any kind of productive contribution that the individual makes to society” (Bauer 2010: 129). On citizenship and immigration, see Joppke (2008).

A discussion of the vast literature on this topic would lead too far here. For an overview, see De Schutter and Robichaud (2015).

See Skutnabb-Kangas (2012).

Integration is a concept with many definitions. For this paper, the working definition of integration is a process where individuals and society are brought closer through increased participation in the public life of the state.

International migrants are equated either with the foreign born or with foreign citizens. See United Nations (2013).

In Flanders, the community and regional institutions were merged into one parliament and one B.

According to the Lokale Inburgerings- en Integratiemonitor 2015, “of foreign origin” means that the current or first nationality of a person is not Belgian or that the first nationality of mother or father is not Belgian (Bestuur 2015: 3).

On the importance of the temporal aspect, see Wickström (2014: 228).

Since the eleventh century, Old Dutch (also called Old Low Frankish) was the term used for the collection of dialects spoken in the Low Countries (the territory that of the actual Netherlands, Flanders, and some other regions). See Quak (1997 : 37).

“Art. 23. L’emploi des langues usitées en Belgique est facultatif; il ne peut être réglé que par la loi, et seulement pour les actes de l’autorité publique et pour les affaires judiciaires.”

Applied to language, the territoriality principle means that the official language of an individual is not a matter of personal choice but of the territory she or he lives in.

Since the last language count was held in 1947, it is impossible to know how many Francophones live in Flanders. Since they are mainly found in municipalities around Brussels and along the linguistic border with Wallonia, their number will be rather low.

Persons who are living legally and prolongedly in Belgium and who at birth didn’t have Belgian nationality or of whom at least one of the parents didn’t have Belgian nationality.

On the similarities and differences between Dutch and Flemish, see van den Toorn et al. (1997).

In 2014, there were 17,213 applications for asylum of which 4805 or 36.6% were granted refugee status. This is less than 1% of the Belgian population. During the so-called asylum crisis of the last few months, Belgium received 22,266 asylum applications between January and September 2015, of which 4621 20.7% were granted refugee status. Again this is less than 1% of the Belgian population (Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons 2015).

For all these percentages, see Bestuur (2015: 25–26).

Let me stress once again that the federal government has no competences in this domain (cf. supra); the Flemish Parliament and Government are the highest authorities here.

Of course, as already indicated, this monolingual ideal accounts in principle for many other regions or states, e.g., the Netherlands, France, and Germany, just to name a few; see Meylaerts (2011).

For a historical overview, see Préaux (2012).

“Art. 2. 14° integratiebeleid: het beleid dat met onderling afgestemde initiatieven inspeelt op de situaties en dynamieken die verbonden zijn met de gevolgen van migratie, met als doel zelfstandige en evenredige participatie, toegankelijkheid van alle voorzieningen, actief en gedeeld burgerschap van eenieder en het verkrijgen van sociale samenhang” (Vlaamse Regering 2013; all translations from Dutch are mine).

A citizenship course is compulsory for foreigners who are 18 years or older, registered in the national register, live in a municipality in Flanders, and have for the first time legal residency for more than 3 months. It is also compulsory for Belgians who are 18 or older, who are not born in Belgium, and who have at least one parent who is not born in Belgium and who is for the first time not longer than 12 consecutive months registered in the national register. See also Homans (2014: 26).

Flanders is no exception at this point. Also in the UK, e.g., translation and English-language learning are presented as opposites; see Buckley (2012).

“Community interpreting takes place to enable individuals or groups in society who do not speak the official or dominant language of the services provided by central or local government to access these services and to communicate with the service providers. Typical community interpreting settings are social services such as e.g., welfare, housing, employment or schools; medical settings such as child care centres, hospitals, mental health clinics; or legal settings such as prisons, police stations or probation offices” (Hertog 2010: 49). As far as translation is concerned, the community translator translates informative documents: texts in Dutch produced by public authorities or social services for an allophone target audience. The community translator also translates official documents: lawful documents for public bodies or services. These official translations usually have to be legalized by a court.

All the following beliefs and practices were presented in a special issue of Provinciaal Domein Welzijn, the journal of the province of Antwerp on Sociaal Tolken en Vertalen in Antwerpen [Community Interpreting and Translating in Antwerp] (Antwerpen 2011).

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty” (United Nations 1948).

“Art. 23: Ieder heeft het recht een menswaardig leven te leiden. (…) Die rechten omvatten inzonderheid:

1° het recht op arbeid (…); 2° het recht op sociale zekerheid, bescherming van de gezondheid en sociale, geneeskundige en juridische bijstand; (…) 5° het recht op culturele en maatschappelijke ontplooiing” [Everyone has the right to a dignified life. (…) These rights include in particular: 1 ° the right to work (...); 2 ° the right to social security, health protection, and social, medical, and legal assistance; (…) 5 ° the right to cultural and social development] (Juridische Dienst van de Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers 2014).

Definition as given by the Kruispunt Migratie – Integratie. Expertisecentrum voor Vlaanderen en Brussel [Crossroad Migration—Integration. Expertise centre for Flanders and Brussel] which is part of the Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering [Agency Integration and Citizenship], an organization that supports the Flemish integration policy. See Kruispunt Migratie – Integratie. Expertisecentrum voor Vlaanderen en Brussel (2014).

Babel. Vlaamse Tolkentelefoon

Sociaal vertaalbureau van Brussel Onthaal

“Geïntegreerd actieplan integratiebeleid 2012–2015” (see Decoster 2012)

All the quantitative data are courtesy of the Kruispunt Migratie—Integratie. Expertisecentrum voor Vlaanderen en Brussel [Crossroad Migration—Integration. Expertise centre for Flanders and Brussel]. I wish to thank Mr. P. Rillof, policy coordinator language and diversity, for providing me these materials.

As is shown by González Núñez (2014: 85–136), there is no explicit international or EU law obligation for states to provide translation in public service or health-care settings. The most explicit obligations to translate under international and EU law (e.g., Directive 2010/64/EU) are to be found in criminal proceedings, but this domain is beyond the scope of the present paper (see González Núñez 2014).

The three regions were Ghent, West Flanders, and Flemish Brabant. Although Antwerp was not included and thus the numbers themselves do not apply to Antwerp, the tendencies shown by the study can be deemed representative also for the province and (even more so) for the city of Antwerp.

The province of Antwerp, e.g., provides community interpreting by certified interpreters in 34 languages for some 45 €/hour of which 2/3 is reimbursed afterward to the service who has made use of it.

So, e.g., in the UK, the annual cost for translation and interpreting services was estimated at more than 100 million pounds sterling; see Easton (2006).

Studies in the USA have revealed that the use of professional interpreters in hospital reduced length of stay of patients and that the failure to provide CIT resulted in financial claims against health-care providers. See (González Núñez 2014: 321). With regard to the EU, Gazzola and Grin have shown that non-translation (monolingual English) would be less effective and probably more expensive than multilingualism (Gazzola and Grin 2013).

Official instruments for measuring integration have only been in place since 2012!

All these data were taken from Bestuur (2015).

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Titel: Language and Translation Policies in Context of Urban Super-Diversity
verfasst von: Reine Meylaerts
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Buch: Language Policy and Linguistic Justice
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75261-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-75263-1

Copyright-Jahr: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75263-1_15