States of Language Policy

Explains how and why language policies change in a wide variety of contexts using tools from historical institutionalism.

Based on case studies from a wide range of countries, this book explores how language policies are chosen and subsequently evolve, looking at patterns of stability and change in state action, and incorporating both colonial and postcolonial contexts. It is essential reading for researchers and students in sociolinguistics, language policy.Why do some countries have one official language while others have two or more? Why do Indigenous languages have official status in some countries but not others? How do we theorize about continuity and change when we explain state language policy choices? Combining both the theory and practice of language regimes, this book explains how the relationship between language, politics, and policy can be studied. It brings together a globally representative team of scholars to look at the patterns of continuity and change, the concept of state traditions, and notions of historical legacies, critical juncture, path dependency, layering, conversion, and drift. It contains in-depth case studies from a multitude of countries including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Norway, Peru, Ukraine, and Wales, and across both colonial and postcolonial contexts. Wide-ranging yet accessible, it is essential reading for practitioners and scholars engaged in the theory and practice of language policies.