A critical approach to "neofalante," newspeakers of Galician and their theoretical framework, is presented. In order to do so, we take as a case study some of its documented cases as a popular notion, its transformations, and its mobilisation in the planning discourse, along with its construction and evolution as an analytical category…

The scholarly praise for linguistic diversity stands in an interesting contrast to the way diversity in standard and non-standard languages is referred to in language policy discourse. Drawing on recent debates in Switzerland, this article focuses on ideologies on linguistic varieties in the German- and Romansh-speaking areas. The two contexts…

This paper tackles the important question of practitioner engagement and is the first to present an overview of relevant Gaelic medium education (GME) research. Following the formal inception in 1985, GME is now more widely available across Scotland. An overview of GME is presented and situates provision within the other Celtic minority languages…

It has been claimed that the success of minority language policy initiatives may only be achievable if at least some degree of 'tolerability' of these initiatives is secured among majority language speakers. There has, however, been little consideration in the language planning literature of what practical approaches might be used to influence the…

The unavoidability of language makes it critical that language policies appeal to some notion of language neutrality as part of their rationale, in order to assuage concerns that the policies might otherwise be unduly discriminatory. However, the idea of language neutrality is deeply ideological in nature, since it is not only an attempt to treat…

This paper defines and provides examples of a category of linguistic minorities that we call extrinsic minorities. Three case studies are summarised to illustrate the spectrum of linguistic heterogeneity of extrinsic minorities, and the linguistic consequences. These cases show a continuum of how they fit into our definition of extrinsic…

This paper provides a historical account of post-war state language policy within education in France, examining in particular the position and status of Corsican, one of the country's regional heritage languages. This paper outlines the treatment of Corsican by the French State and how this language management impacted upon the language beliefs…

This paper suggests elements of an agenda for future sociolinguistics among minority groups, by seeing it as a mutual relationship that involves benefits to researcher and researched. We focus on two aspects of the relationship. One is the political, economic and social benefits that can accrue to a minority group as a result of the research.…

The Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs) paradigm is motivated by the desire to combat linguistic discrimination, where speakers of discriminated languages find themselves unable to use their preferred language in society at large. However, in an increasingly globalised world where speakers may feel the need or the desire to travel across state…

Who wins in sociolinguistic research undertaken in minority ethnolinguistic communities? This is a question that might at first glance seem an odd one. In fact, however, the concept of winning--with the concomitant themes of games and gamesmanship, plays and players, gains and losses, rewards and punishments, and so on--is an apposite one wherever…

After an introduction to the Italian linguistic situation, highlighting the remarkable number of language varieties present in Italy today, the paper goes on to review briefly the history of micronationalism in Italy, and to propose a classification of language planning based on the distinction between macro- and micronationalism. There follows a…

Examples of effective community-based action in defence of minority indigenous language are relatively few. However, three indigenous language committees of Northwest Cameroon, the Bafut, Kom and Nso' language committees, provide dynamic models of the role that community-based organisations can play in the development and maintenance of minority…

This paper develops a scalar or quantitative measure of the "distance" between English and a myriad of other (non-native American) languages. This measure is based on the difficulty Americans have learning other languages. The linguistic distance measure is then used in an analysis of the determinants of English language proficiency…

Research in multilingual societies often attends to the micro level of linguistic interactions, as linguistic minority speakers negotiate their way through a majority-language world. However, this research does not always engage with the social, political and historical contexts that produce and reproduce the conditions within which some…