THE MASS MEDIA'S ROLE IN PROCESSES OF LANGUAGE NORMATIVIZATION: EXAMPLES FROM PLURICENTRIC LANGUAGES

The present contribution seeks to highlight the role that both print and electronic media play in processes of language normativization. Pluricentric languages, such as Spanish, German, French or Portuguese, which are characterized by a high prevalence of normative conflicts, constitute a particularly fertile ground for investigating the way in which the media act and for uncovering the sectors where they play a prominent role with respect to linguistic norms. The following aspects will be addressed, with special emphasis being put on the last three: 1. the media as a "stage" for debates on language norms (and their violation), 2. the media as generators of new normative demands, 3. the media as accelerators of exchange between dialects of the same language and 4. the media as social actors who consolidate new norms that diverge from traditional ones. Examples are taken from the aforementioned languages.