This poster addresses how processes of globalisation manifest in the language policies and practices of an Arctic academic institution situated in the global periphery. Peripheral contexts such as the High North are crucial for understanding the current sociolinguistics of globalisation (Pietikäinen & Kelly-Holmes 2013). Areas that may seem peripheral from a national perspective may be central, and even global, from other viewpoints. To shed light on globalisation processes in the periphery, this study analyses language policy practices at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences. The institution is located in the heart of the Sámi territory in Kautokeino, Norway, and attracts international students from Finland, Sweden and Russia.
The data analysed consists of language census data and language policy documents from the institution, on-site observation, and semi-structured interviews with people in leading positions at the institution. The data is analysed using nexus analysis (Scollon & Scollon 2004) to provide insight into the discourses and practices that influence language policy at the Sámi University.
The processes of globalisation manifest themselves at the Sámi University in ways that distinguishes this institution from many other higher educational institutions. This is particularly evident in the fact that Northern Sámi is the institution’s lingua franca, and English thereby plays a less important role. As Bull (2012) claims, languages like Sámi, Russian and Finnish may be more valuable than English for cross-border communication in the High North.
In the context of the globalisation of academia, the Sámi University represents an exception, and is thus important when trying to understand the sociolinguistics of globalisation more generally (Bull 2012). The institution’s habitus (Bourdieu 1977) or historical body (Scollon & Scollon 2004) is crucial to understand how globalisation influences language policies and practices.
Bourdieu, P. 1977. Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bull, T. 2012. Against the mainstream: universities with an alternative language policy. In: International Journal of the Sociology of Language. Issue 216.
Pietikäinen, S. & Kelly-Holmes, H. 2013. Multilingualism and the Periphery. Oxford.
Scollon, R. & Scollon, S. W. 2004. Nexus Analysis: Discourse and the Emerging Internet. Psychology Press.
