English and Bislama in the Vanuatu Supreme Court
A shallow equality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.20899Keywords:
courtroom language, language policy, language ideology, Bislama, language practices, EnglishAbstract
Nowadays many postcolonial societies endorse multilingualism. But Leung (2019) observes how, in the legal process, ostensible linguistic equality may disguise substantive inequality. She characterises this as a situation of ‘shallow equality’. This article investigates the balance between substantive and shallow equality in the Supreme Court of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is highly multilingual, with over 100 languages. Although the Constitution officially supports all languages, the court ultimately demands competence in English. To investigate this tension I analyse observational and interview data from the field, using a theoretical framework which incorporates language planning, ideologies and practices (Spolsky 2004; 2012; 2021). Results confirm Leung’s thesis. The Court does support multilingualism – particularly the local lingua franca, Bislama – but a ‘shallow equality’ persists. Nevertheless, constitutional protections lead to more positive outcomes than would otherwise eventuate. Also, modest practical measures could be implemented to improve substantive linguistic equality
References
Ansah, M. A. and Darko, P. O. (2019) Justice in the mother tongue: The task of court interpreters in Ghanaian law courts. In M. K. Ralarala, R. H. Kaschula and G. Heydon (eds) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond 113–30. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
Bernstein, B. (1971) Class, Codes and Control: Theoretical Studies towards a Sociology of Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Blommaert, J. (2005) Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu. (1980) Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Retrieved on 28 October 2022 from http://www.paclii.org/vu/legis/consol_act/cotrov406/
Cooke, M. (1995) Aboriginal evidence in the cross-cultural courtroom. In D. Eades (ed.) Language in Evidence: Issues Confronting Aboriginal and Multicultural Australia 55–96. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
de Vries, A. and Docrat, Z. (2019) Multilingualism in the South African legal system. In M. K. Ralarala, R. H. Kaschula and G. Heydon (eds) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond 89–112. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
Dias, A. (2015) Language and the law: NT judges ‘on trial’ in role-playing court lesson. ABC News online, 29 August. Retrieved on 2 September 2021 from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-29/nt-judges-on-trial-in-role-playing-court-lesson/6734816
Docrat, Z. and Kaschula, R. H. (2019) Monolingual language of record: A critique of South Africa’s new policy directive. In M. K. Ralarala, R. H. Kaschula and G. Heydon (eds) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond 71–88. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
Dzahene-Quarshie, J. (2011) Language policy, language choice and language use in the Tanzanian Parliament. Legon Journal of the Humanities 22: 27–69.
Eades, D. (2010) Sociolinguistics and the Legal Process. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F. and Fennig, C. D. (eds) (2019) Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 22nd ed. Dallas, TX: SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com
Forsyth, M. (2004). Beyond case law: Kastom and Courts in Vanuatu. Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 35: 427–446. https://doi.org/10.26686/vuwlr.v35i2.5640
François, A. (2012) The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among Northern Vanuatu languages. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 214: 85–110. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022
François, A., Franjieh, M., Lacrampe, S. and Schnell, S. (2015) The exceptional linguistic density of Vanuatu. In A. François, S. Lacrampe, M. Franjieh and S. Schnell (eds) The Languages of Vanuatu: Unity and Diversity 1–21. Canberra: Asia-Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University.
Heydon, G. and Mabasso, E. (2018) The impact of multilingualism on reporting domestic violence in Mozambique. Language Matters 49(1): 84–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2018.1444081.
ICTVPlay (2012) You Understand, Don’t You? Indigenous Community Television Limited. Retrieved on 1 September 2021 from https://www.ictv.com.au/video/item/2477
Jourdan, C. and Angeli, J. (2014) Pijin and shifting language ideologies in urban Solomon Islands. Language in Society 43: 265–285. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0047404514000190
Kapama, F. (2018) Why language must be understood by parties involved in a trial. Tanzania Daily News, 10 October. Retrieved on 12 August 2021 from https://dailynews.co.tz/news/2018-10-105bbdf647297e2.aspx
Kern, C. A. (2012) English as a court language in continental courts. Erasmus Law Review 5(3): 187–209. https://doi.org/10.5553/elr221026712012005003005
Labov, W. (1966) The Social Stratification of English in New York City. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Labov, W. (1972) Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania.
Leung, J. H. C. (2016) Negotiating language status in multilingual jurisdictions: Rhetoric and reality. Semiotica 209: 371–396. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2016-0013
Leung, J. H. C. (2019) Shallow Equality and Symbolic Jurisprudence in Multilingual Legal Orders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lynch, J. (1998) Pacific Languages: An Introduction. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
Mabasso, E. (2019). Tell us the Story in your Portuguese, we can understand you. In M. K. Ralarala, R. H. Kaschula and G. Heydon (eds) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond 89–112. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
MacFarlane, J., Kurt, C. S., Heydon, G. and Roh, A. (2019) ‘Like giving a wheelchair to someone who should be walking’: Interpreter access and the problematisation of linguistic diversity in the justice system. In M. K. Ralarala, R. H. Kaschula and G. Heydon (eds) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond 51–70. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
Meyerhoff, M. (2005) Bislama reference grammar (book review). Oceanic Linguistics 44(1): 301–305. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2005.0025
Ministry of Education. (2012) Vanuatu National Language Policy. Retrieved on 1 September 2021 from https://moet.gov.vu/docs/policies/Vanuatu%20National%20Language%20Policy%20(English)_2012.pdf
Mlundi, S. (2020) Informal instant translation in the Tanzanian courts: Law professionals’ perceptions on the efficacy of English versus Kiswahili in adjudication of justice. International Journal of Law, Language & Discourse 8(1): 25–45.
Ng, K. H. (2009) The Common Law in Two Voices: Language, Law, and the Postcolonial Predicament in Hong Kong. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. (2022) Vanuatu Primary Materials. Port Vila: University of the South Pacific. Retrieved on 26 July 2022 from http://www.paclii.org/countries/vu.html.
Pennycook, A. (2017) Language policy and local practices. In O. García, N. Flores and M. Spotti (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Language and Society 125–140. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Phillipson, R. (2012) Imperialism and colonialism. In B. Spolsky (ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy 203–225. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Powell, R. (2020) Language Choice in Postcolonial Law: Lessons from Malaysia’s Bilingual Legal System. Singapore: Springer.
Ralarala, M. K., Kaschula, R. H. and Heydon, G. (eds) (2019) New Frontiers in Forensic Linguistics: Themes and Perspectives in Language and Law in Africa and Beyond. Stellenbosch: African Sun Media.
Rock, F. (2007) Communicating Rights: The Language of Arrest and Detention. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Shuy, R. W. (1997) Ten unanswered language questions about Miranda. Forensic Linguistics 4(2): 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.v4i2.175
Siegel, J. (1997) Pidgin and English in Melanesia: is there a continuum? World Englishes 16(2): 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-971x.00059
Spolsky, B. (2004) Language Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spolsky, B. (2012) What is language policy? In B. Spolsky (ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy 3–15. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spolsky, B. (2021) Rethinking Language Policy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Stemper, K. D. and King, K. A. (2017) Language planning and policy. In M. Aronoff and J. Rees-Miller (eds) The Handbook of Linguistics, 2nd ed. 655–-673. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Svongoro, P., Mutangadura, M., Gonzo, L., and Mavunga, G. (2012) Language and the legal process: A linguistic analysis of courtroom discourse involving selected cases of alleged rape in Mutare, Zimbabwe. South African Journal of African Languages 32(2): 117–128. https://doi.org/10.2989/sajal.2012.32.2.3.1140
Tanguay, J., Haberkorn, G. and Buffière, B. (2013) Hybrid survey. In the Secretariat of the Pacific Community/Vanuatu National Statistics Office, National Minimum Development Indicators, August 2013. Retrieved on 31 August 2021 from https://vnso.gov.vu/images/Special_Report/Expenditure_Patterns/2013HybridSurveyFactSheet.pdf
Vandeputte-Tavo, L. (2013) Bislama in the educational system? Debate around the legitimacy of a creole at school in a post-colonial country. Current Issues in Language Planning 14(2): 254–269.
Vanuatu National Statistics Office. (2020). National Population and Housing Census Basic Tables Report, Vol. 1. Retrieved on 29 July 2022 from https://vnso.gov.vu/images/Pictures/Census/2020_census/Census_Volume_1/2020NPHC_Volume_1.pdf
Willans, F. (2011) Classroom code-switching in a Vanuatu secondary school: Conflict between policy and practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 14(1): 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050903576038
Woolard, K. A. and Schieffelin, B. B. (1994) Language ideology. Annual Review of Anthropology 23: 55–82. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.23.100194.000415
