Language Politics and Policies

Tensions and conflicts related to linguistic identity and security are inevitable - even necessary - in liberal democracies. However, if conflicts related to language and identity negatively impact democratic participation, and lead to social fragmentation, civic withdrawal, and lack of trust in societal institutions, then the political system itself may become suspect and unstable. Written by experts from the fields of sociolinguistics, bilingual studies, political science/philosophy, and education, this volume provides a comprehensive picture of the current political, cultural and social factors impacting language policy in the United States and Canada. The chapters cover many aspects of social life in North America, such as immigration, bilingual education, heritage languages, and linguistic identity, and explore the challenges and set-backs, along with the many positive steps taken in recent years to advance the values of inclusion amidst diversity in a variety of contexts and domains in the United States and Canada.

'A timely and important volume that goes well beyond traditional language policy analysis, in order to engage with alternatives to current policies and practices. The attention to multiple language communities in Canada and the US reveals the dramatic ways that meso and macro policy making can be affected by local and community action.' James Tollefson, University of Washington, 'A must for language mavens and policymakers alike, Language Politics and Policies provides concise, balanced and well-informed studies of the current state and future prospects of English, Spanish, French, Indigenous languages and immigrant languages in Canada and the United States. The insights offered by its comparative perspective are enlightening and sometimes surprising.' Stephen Henighan, University of Guelph, Canada

Thomas Ricento is Professor and Research Chair Emeritus at the University of Calgary, Canada. He has published widely in the field of language policy and on the politics of language in North America. His recent publications include Language Policy and Political Economy (2015), Language Policy and Planning: Critical Concepts in Linguistics (2016), and Language Policy and Political Theory: Building Bridges, Assessing Breaches (2015).