
Rethinking Language Policy
Bernard Spolsky(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 20. April 2021
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-1-4744-8546-3 (ISBN)
Description
Drawing on four decades of research, Bernard Spolsky presents an updated theory of language policy that starts with the individual speaker instead of the nation. In this book, he surveys the language practices, beliefs, and planning efforts of individuals, families, public and private institutions, local and national activists, advocates and managers, and nations. He examines the diversity of linguistic repertoires and the multiplicity of forces, linguistic and non-linguistic, which account for language shift and maintenance. By starting with the individual speaker and moving through the various levels and domains, Spolsky shows the many different policies with which a national government must compete and illustrates why national policy is so difficult. A definitive guide to the field, this is essential reading for policy makers, stakeholders, researchers, and students of language policy.
Reviews / Votes
This book is an invaluable reference to lanugage policy research and a must-read for anyone who has interest in the field. -- Yalan Wang * Language Policy * Breathtaking in scope, Rethinking Language Policy offers a world tour of language policy by a scholar whose work has defined the field. Demonstrating that language policy depends on many non-linguistic factors, Professor Spolsky leads readers from the individual, to the familial, to the myriad institutional forces that shape language policy, illustrating it all with case examples through time and across every region of the globe. Timely, fascinating, and highly accessible, this unparalleled comparative account reveals language policy as practices, beliefs, and management mediated by relations of power. * Teresa L. McCarty, GF Kneller Chair in Education and Anthropology, University of California *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 243 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
559 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-8546-3 (9781474485463)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Bernard Spolsky
Rethinking Language Policy
E-Book
04/2021
1st Edition
Edinburgh University Press
€26.49
Available for download
Person
Bernard Spolsky was Professor Emeritus in the Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Content
Introduction: The non-linguistic environmentChapter 1: The individual in language policy and managementChapter 2: The family and the homeChapter 3: EducationChapter 4: Neighbourhoods and the workplaceChapter 5: Public institutions for communication, culture, religion, health and lawChapter 6: Military language policy and managementChapter 7: Imperialism and colonialismChapter 8: Economic pressure and neo-liberalismChapter 9: Endangerment and language shiftChapter 10: Management agencies and advocatesChapter 11: Treaties, Charters and other supranational sources of rights Chapter 12: The nation state as language managerChapter 13: Some national language policiesChapter 14: Rethinking a theory Appendix - Endangered languages in five countriesTable 1 Some endangered languages of IndiaTable 2 Some endangered language of VanuatuTable 3 Selected endangered indigenous languages of BrazilTable 4 Some Nigerian Endangered LanguagesTable 5 Russian minority language