A Dilemma in Language Policy of a Multicultural Society : Some Suggestions from the Census Survey and Citizenship Test(<Special issue>2011 Annual Conference [Symposium] Language Education Policy in Australia: Some Advice to the Increasingly Multiculturalized Japan)

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  • 多文化共生社会の言語政策におけるジレンマ : センサス(census)と市民権テスト(citizenship test)からの提言(<特集>2011年度オーストラリア学会全国研究大会 シンポジウム オーストラリアの言語教育政策:多文化社会化する日本への提言)
  • 多文化共生社会の言語政策におけるジレンマ : センサス(census)と市民権テスト(citizenship test)からの提言
  • タブンカ キョウセイ シャカイ ノ ゲンゴ セイサク ニ オケル ジレンマ : センサス(census)ト シミンケン テスト(citizenship test)カラ ノ テイゲン

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This paper focuses on the roles and significance of Australia's census survey and citizenship test in a multicultural society. Australia has become a multilingual society through various language policies. In particular, the census survey, which aims at investigating multicultural diversity, and the citizenship test, which seeks social unity, are both recognized as major policies in this regard. However in recent years, the terms diversity, a keyword in describing a multicultural society, and unity, a keyword in upholding traditional norms, as characteristic features of both the census survey and citizenship test, are regarded to be incompatible. Australia currently faces the issue of how these two inconsistent concepts can coexist in the establishment of a post-modern multilingual society. This issue may be an important one for other societies such as Japan, which is moving towards an immigration society. The paper raises a political question by introducing census questions and citizenships test applied in other countries such as the US, Canada, UK, and New Zealand for census survey, and Germany, Denmark and Canada for citizenship test. In addition, it offers some possible suggestions with regard to Japan, which is expected to encounter similar issues in the near future.

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