The present study investigates the possible impact of language ideologies on second language proficiency. Based on interviews and a thematic analysis, we explored language ideologies among French long-term residents in Stockholm, Sweden. The participants had contrasting proficiency levels in the host community language: five were categorised as…

Despite recognising multilingualism as a reality and multilingual workforce as an advantage, language policies continue to favour certain languages over others. Using a case study of Canada's language-in-immigration policy related to three federally administered immigration programs, this study is an attempt to understand how the macro-level…

According to the latest report of the (Office for National Statistics [2018]. "Births by Parents' Country of Birth, England and Wales: 2017." UK: Statistical Bulletin), 34% of children born in Britain have at least one parent from another country. With nearly 20% of children in primary schools categorised as speakers of English as an…

In Bourdieusian theory, the use of so-called 'legitimate' language serves to maintain dominant power structures, with 'legitimacy' determined by an array of economic and social conditions inherent in speech communities. Standard languages function as normalised products and are imbued with a greater degree of legitimacy than non-standard varieties…

When conducting interviews with multilinguals, researchers make (often invisible) decisions about the interview language(s). Whilst the research design may require a particular approach in some cases, linguists generally recommend giving participants a choice or interviewing them in their first language. There are ethical and methodological…

Linguistic nationalism in Western Europe most commonly takes a monolingual form, involving the promotion of one dominant national language. This is not the only form of linguistic nationalism possible, however, as the link between language and nation can also be constructed in more multilingual ways. This article looks at the case of Luxembourg, a…

This article concerns Northern Catalonia, the part of the Catalan-speaking area that today is in France. A Catalan-speaking region until the first half of the twentieth century, the effects of Frenchification -- the acceptance of the French political and economic project in the contemporary era -- and the multiple demographic changes of the…

The many permutations of spoken English have called for an interrogation into the notions of 'standard English' and 'native accents'. Despite their problematic nature, these terms remain commonly used, and familiarity with 'standard', inner-circle varieties of English is typical among L2 English speakers, differences in education and language…

The Vanuatu government has recently implemented a policy of vernacular literacy. Children are now to receive the first three years of schooling in a vernacular language. Needless to say, in a country with less than 300,000 people [Vanuatu National Statistics Office 2016 Accessed January 4, 2016. http://vnso.gov.vu/] and more than 100 indigenous…

This paper addresses the complex multilingual linguistic landscapes (LLs) of three strategically-chosen areas in global city Brussels by examining how language displays on public signage in these areas are used for different purposes, functions or intentions. The focus will be on meaning-construction in the post-Fordist globalised era as shaped by…

Language-in-education policies are developed and implemented within contexts of great complexity. Where policies appear less than perfect on paper, this presents a valuable opportunity to examine the contextual factors that have led to their development, helping policymakers to understand the conditions under which policy change must take place.…

This article examines the distributional pattern of signs in the linguistic landscape of a neighbourhood in the commercial district of Phonm Penh, Cambodia. Informed by the frameworks of ethnolinguistic vitality and ethnocultural stereotypes, it discusses the developing multilingualism from socio-economic and historical perspectives. An analysis…

The connections between immigration and language policy and planning in Quebec and Canada are long established. With the continuing upward trajectory in levels of immigration to Canada and Quebec the linguistic integration of these new arrivals remains an important topic. In recent years, Asia has overtaken Europe as the leading source of…

Rwanda has experienced major changes during the last decade due to the genocide in 1994. After the civil war, in addition to establishing political and economical stability, peace and reconciliation, the government was faced with the return of refugees from neighbouring, mostly English-speaking, countries. The new socio-demographic conditions…

Globalisation processes, often accused of imposing uniformity the world over, also open up opportunities for minorities (including linguistic ones) to exploit a variety of spaces for self-definition and self-expression. The expansion in the use of minority languages in public signage is one consequence of this present phase of reorientation in…