corpusplanning

Corpus planning is a component of language planning that concerns the deliberate shaping of a language's forms for public use. It focuses on codification and standardization, including orthography and spelling, grammar and syntax, vocabulary and terminology, and the development of standardized writing and speaking norms used in education, media, and administration.

It is distinct from status planning, which aims to alter a language's social prestige or function, and from acquisition planning, which focuses on education and learning. Corpus planning typically involves linguists, educators, government or institutional policymakers, and community representatives who draft normative guides, dictionaries, grammars, orthographic reforms, and terminology lists.

Common activities include selecting or reforming an orthography, producing grammar descriptions and usage guidelines, compiling dictionaries and domain-specific terminology, and promoting a standard language in schools, broadcasters, and public institutions. In the digital era, corpus planning also addresses keyboards, spell checkers, and the standardization of terminology in software and online platforms.

The process is usually iterative and participatory, with consultations, pilots, and staged rollouts. It can encounter resistance from speakers who rely on regional varieties or from minority language communities. Debates often center on prescriptivism versus descriptivism, the preservation of linguistic diversity, and the balance between national cohesion and local identity.

When successful, corpus planning provides a stable linguistic infrastructure that supports literacy, administration, education, and cultural development. When poorly implemented, it can generate confusion, resource waste, or exclusion of certain speech communities.