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Bernard Spolsky, Language policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2008

Richard B. Baldauf
Affiliation:
School of Education, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072 Australia, r.baldauf@uq.edu.au
Minglin Li
Affiliation:
School of Foreign Languages, Ludong University, Shandong, People's Republic of China

Extract

Bernard Spolsky, Language policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. ix, 250, Pb.A$59.95 / US$29.95.

In the past five years, several books (Baker 2002, Ricento 2006, Shohamy 2006) and a journal, all entitled Language policy, have appeared, attesting to the interest in this topic. Volumes in this Cambridge series, “Key Topics in Sociolinguistics,” are meant to provide “accessible yet challenging accounts of the most important issues to consider when examining the relationships between language and society” (n.p.). Spolsky's volume explores many of the debates at the forefront of language policy: ideas of correctness and bad language, bilingualism and multilingualism, language death and efforts to preserve endangered languages, language choice as a human and civil right, and language education policy. Unlike the topical collections previously listed, it suggests a sustained theoretical model of what the field might entail.

Type
BOOK REVIEWS
Copyright
© 2008 Cambridge University Press

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References

REFERENCES

Baker, S. J. (ed.) (2002). Language policy: Lessons from global models. Monterey, CA: Monterey Institute.
Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: A study of its development. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Fishman, Joshua A. (1991). Reversing language shift: The theoretical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Clevedon, Avon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
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Ricento, T. (ed.) (2006). An introduction to language policy: Theory and method. Oxford: Blackwell.
Shohamy, E. (2006). Language policy: Hidden agendas and new approaches. London: Routledge.