This volume articulates a new framework for language policy research that explores the connections between language policy and political economy. The chapters are united in their focus on English, a language that has enjoyed a reputation as a "global language" over the course of the last century and that is perceived as a tool for socioeconomic mobility. The book argues that adopting a new, political economic approach to language policy research will enhance our ability to provide more consistent explanations about the status, functions, benefits, and limitations of English in its various roles in non-English dominant countries. The book poses the questions: Does English serve as a "lingua franca" and does it advance the interests of sustainable economic and social development in low-income countries? Written by leading experts in language policy research, the chapters reveal the myriad and complex ways in which government leaders, policymakers, and communities make decisions about the languages that will be taught as subjects or used as media of instruction in schools. English is often advertised as a social "good" with unquestioned instrumental value, yet access to quality English-medium education in low-income countries tends to be restricted to those with sufficient economic means to pay for it. As the capitalist world economy continues to change and grow, and assuming that translation technologies continue to improve, it is likely that the roles and relative importance of English as a global language will change significantly. Assessing the costs and benefits of acquiring English therefore takes on increased urgency. The book argues that a political economic approach is particularly appropriate in this endeavor, as it takes into account theories and empirical findings from a range of disciplines in order to assess and explain real-world phenomena that do not fit neatly into boxes labeled "economic," "social," "political" or "cultural." Together, the chapters in this volume argue for a new direction in language policy studies-grounded in political economy -- that will explain why English has been experienced as both a blessing and curse in different parts of the world, why English continues to be useful as a lingua franca for particular sectors of the global economy, and why it is a detriment to economic development in many low-income countries. The book will be invaluable to language policy scholars, policy-makers, and educators, significantly advancing research in this important field.

English is the common denominator that unites the work presented in this volume; it provides a focal point to illustrate the ways in which a political economic approach can account for a range of phenomena in diverse settings in which a "global" language has attained a special status as (an often perceived) tool for socioeconomic mobility. The findings reveal the complex ways in which government leaders and policymakers, as well as communities and individuals in those communities, make decisions within a global economy about the languages that will be taught as subjects or used as media of instruction in schools. Whether or not the "Straight for English" policy that has become popular in various countries in southern Africa and elsewhere is a good or bad idea, in terms of improving school completion and literacy rates, English is often promoted by its advocates as a social "good" with unquestioned instrumental value; yet access to quality English medium education in low-income countries is mostly restricted to those with sufficient economic means to pay for it. As the capitalist world-economy undergoes transformations, and assuming that translation technologies continue to improve, it is likely that the roles and relative importance that English as a global language has enjoyed over the past century will change significantly. Synchronic contextual analyses of English in various countries and regions are snapshots of a moving target with fuzzy boundaries; this is even more so the case when the object of analysis is "lingua franca English," a fluid, contextually realized "practice" that may be described in situ, which is not stable and likely never will be. The degree to which English serves effectively as a lingua franca depends on who the interlocutors are, the situation, and the extent to which interlocutors' interests and goals are mutually compatible and understood.

Janet Enever explores the complex forces that shape national and local language education policymaking for the early introduction of English as a foreign language at primary and pre-primary levels worldwide. This is the first book of its kind demonstrating the extent to which English is now perceived as a prerequisite for participation in the global economy, reflecting the rapid development of early start English now exploding across Asia, Latin America, and other fast-growing economies. “This is a timely and important book. Professor Enever demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of primary English policy and practice in a range of countries and, from a sound theoretical framework, draws together evidence to show how policies are all too often guided by short-term political considerations rather than sound educational practice. Whilst critiquing inappropriate practice, she also analyses the conditions which have the potential to lead to quality – and equitable – English language programmes at the primary level.” David Hayes, Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock University, Canada

Leading scholars in language policy examine the politics and policies of language in Canada and the United States.

This text examines the social and political impact of the Swahili language.

Languages have deep political significance beyond communication: a common language can strengthen cultural bonds and social trust, or it may exacerbate cultural differences and power imbalances. Language regimes that emerge from political bargains can centralize power by favoring the language of one ethnolinguistic group, share power by recognizing multiple mother tongues, or neutralize power through the use of a lingua franca. Cultural egoism, communicative efficiency, or collective equality determines the choice. As Amy H. Liu demonstrates, the conditions surrounding the choice of a language regime also have a number of implications for a nation's economy. Standardizing Diversity examines the relationship between the distribution of linguistic power and economic growth. Using a newly assembled dataset of all language-in-education policies in Asia from 1945 to 2005 and drawing on fieldwork data from Malaysia and Singapore, Liu shows language regimes that recognize a lingua franca exclusively—or at least above all others—tend to develop social trust, attract foreign investment, and stimulate economic growth. Particularly at high levels of heterogeneity, the recognition of a lingua franca fosters equality and facilitates efficiency. Her findings challenge the prevailing belief that linguistic diversity inhibits economic growth, suggesting instead that governments in even the most ethnically heterogeneous countries have institutional tools to standardize their diversity and to thrive economically.

Insights from the application of economic theories and research methods to the management of linguistic diversity in an era of globalization. In an era of globalization, issues of language diversity have economic and political implications. Transnational labor mobility, trade, social inclusion of migrants, democracy in multilingual countries, and companies' international competitiveness all have a linguistic dimension; yet economists in general do not include language as a variable in their research. This volume demonstrates that the application of rigorous economic theories and research methods to issues of language policy yields valuable insights. The contributors offer both theoretical and empirical analyses of such topics as the impact of language diversity on economic outcomes, the distributive effects of policy regarding official languages, the individual welfare consequences of bilingualism, and the link between language and national identity. Their research is based on data from countries including Canada, India, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia and from the regions of Central America, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Theoretical models are explained intuitively for the nonspecialist. The relationships among linguistic variables, inequality, and the economy are approached from different perspectives, including economics, sociolinguistics, and political science. For this reason, the book offers a substantive contribution to interdisciplinary work on languages in society and language policy, proposing a common framework for a shared research area. Contributors Alisher Aldashev, Katalin Buzási, Ramon Caminal, Alexander M. Danzer, Maxime Leblanc Desgagné, Peter H. Egger, Ainhoa Aparicio Fenoll, Michele Gazzola, Victor Ginsburgh, Gilles Grenier, François Grin, Zoe Kuehn, Andrea Lassmann, Stephen May, Serge Nadeau, Suzanne Romaine, Selma K. Sonntag, Stefan Sperlich, José-Ramón Uriarte, François Vaillancourt, Shlomo Weber, Bengt-Arne Wickström, Lauren Zentz

In this book, John O’Regan examines the role of political economy in the worldwide spread of English and traces the origins and development of the dominance of English to the endless accumulation of capital in a capitalist world-system. O’Regan combines Marxist perspectives of capital accumulation with world-systems analysis, international political economy, and studies of imperialism and empire to present a historical account of the ‘free riding’ of English upon the global capital networks of the capitalist world-system. Relevant disciplinary perspectives on global English are examined in this light, including superdiversity, translanguaging, translingual practice, trans-spatiality, language commodification, World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. Global English and Political Economy presents an original historical and interdisciplinary interpretation of the global ascent of English, while also raising important theoretical and practical questions for perspectives which suggest that the time of the traditional models of English is past. Providing an introduction to key theoretical perspectives in political economy, this book is essential reading for advanced students and researchers in applied linguistics, World Englishes and related fields of study.

Language policies are increasingly acknowledged as being a necessary component of many decisions taken in the areas of the labor market, education, minority languages, mobility, and social inclusion of migrants. They can affect the democratic control of political organizations, and they can either entrench or reduce inequalities. These are the central topics of this book. Economists, philosophers, political scientists, and sociolinguists discuss – from an interdisciplinary perspective – the distributive socio-economic effects of language policies, their impact on justice and inequality at the national or international level, as well as the connection between language choices and an inclusive access to public services. The range of social and economic issues raised by linguistic diversity in contemporary societies is large, and this requires new approaches to tackle them. This book provides new input to design better, more efficient, and fair language policies in order to manage linguistic diversity in different areas. Topics covered include: theoretical models of linguistic justice and linguistic disadvantage; the assessment of the socio-economic consequences of language policies; the evaluation of the costs, benefits, and degree of inclusion of language planning measures; the politics of migrants’ linguistic integration; as well as multilingualism and economic activities. These topics are discussed in different contexts, including the areas inhabited by linguistic minorities, cities receiving migrants, and supranational organizations.

The issue of language policies in Ukraine gained prominence in 2014 when Russia launched an armed aggression against this Eastern European country at the pretext that language rights of its Russian-speaking citizens were violated. Three language laws in particular caused outrage of the Kremlin, and all of them were related to the media. These laws include the 2016 law, "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Concerning a Share of Musical Works in the State Language in Programs of TV and Radio Organizations," the 2017 law, "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Concerning the Language of Audiovisual (Electronic) Mass Media," and the 2019 law, "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language." While language policies in Ukraine have been studied by Ukrainian and international scholars, most of their research focused on education and public administration. Additional research of the media is necessary, recognizing their place in a modern society. Media create informed citizenry in a democracy and affect meaning-making of their consumers. They are also a part of the economic market. By regulating media, a state sets up conditions for a media system that would meet its economic, political, social, and ideological goals. Therefore, by examining language policies in media regulation, this study set out to better understand processes taking place in the society. To achieve this goal, the following research questions were posed: What were the reasons for creating policies regulating language use in the media? What were the goals of the policies? What are the results of the policies? Did the policies accomplished what they were supposed to do and why? If not, what are the alternatives? The primary theoretical foundation was in the political economy of media, which recognizes a dual nature of media in a capitalist democracy as a source of information and a profit-generating industry. Using political economy allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the studied social phenomenon. In addition, theories of media regulation were used to analyze principles applied by the Ukrainian state to govern media systems. This research also operated with the concepts of language ideologies, practices, and policies, borrowing from the fields of sociolinguistics and rhetorical theory, as well as studies of nationalism. Methods of research included historical analysis, policy analysis, and semi-structured in-depth interviews. As Ukraine is transitioning from a totalitarian state to a capitalist democracy, historical analysis was used to study political, economic, and social factors that contributed to the development of Ukraine's media regulation and language use. Policy analysis focused on the review of the 2016-2019 language policies affecting media and the public discourse around them. An important part of the study included interviews with Ukrainian media workers and policymakers. Interview participants reflected on the reasons, goals, results, and effectiveness of the language policies in the media, as well as their alternatives. Their thoughts provided a much-needed insiders' perspective on media regulation in Ukraine. The research showed that the 2016-2019 language policies in the media were caused by a rapid transition of Ukraine from a republic in a totalitarian state with a dominant Russian culture to a capitalist democracy based on a Ukrainian nation state. Ambiguous language policies in the media allowed for an unrestricted use of any language while declaring Ukrainian the official state language, thus maintaining stability in the de facto bilingual country. Commercialization and consolidation of the media led to capturing of the media by oligarchs who favored Russian products and had cultural and business ties with Russia. When territorial integrity of Ukraine was threatened by the Russian aggression, the state tightened language policies to strengthen the country's national identity. Thus, the goals of the language policies in the media were to secure the dominant status of the Ukrainian language as a critical element of the nation state by opening the media market for and popularizing media content made in Ukrainian and/or in Ukraine. These goals were partially achieved as Ukrainian became more prominent in the media, but reforms are slowed down by the resistance of large media owners. Russian aggression essentially ruled out alternatives to current media policies. Considering the success of media quotas and the current government's commitment to language policies despite lobbying efforts of the oligarchs, the language provisions in the media regulations analyzed will likely endure. Based on the research findings, recommendations for policymakers and media workers include continued support to the policies, focus on localism and public media, open discussion of language ideologies, and protection of journalism.