– The forging of postindependence language policy in Timor-Leste and diverging views on multilingualism among policy-makers

Citation

da Costa Cabral I (2024) – The forging of postindependence language policy in Timor-Leste and diverging views on multilingualism among policy-makers. In: Sociolinguistique insulaire : avantages et désavantages d’être une île. Vincennes: European Observatory for Plurilingualism. https://www.observatoireplurilinguisme.eu/les-actions/collection-plurilinguisme/17322-sociolinguistique-insulaire-avantages-et-d%C3%A9savantages-d%E2%80%99%C3%AAtre-une-%C3%AEle-ksenija-djordjevic,-fabio-scetti-jean-l%C3%A9o-leonard,-collection-plurilinguisme

Abstract
The study presented in this chapter was conducted in 2012 in Timor-Leste. It included classroom observation, audio and video recording of classroom interaction, note-taking and interviews with teachers and policymakers. In this chapter, I provide an analysis of one set of data: I show how policymakers represented languages mainly as fixed codes, and how they called for their use in formal, institutional settings such as schools, while also acknowledging that East Timorese people draw on multiple language resources in, fluid ways, in local lifeworld contexts, including communicative resources from Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and regional languages. I take an interactional approach to analyse narratives emerging from the interviews and to reveal policymakers’ ideologies about bilingualism/multilingualism in Timor-Leste. I aim to contribute to recent discussions around the notions of ‘fixity’ and ‘fluidity’ in language use.