Introduction

Abstract

This is a book about language planning and language policy, and naturally deals with the core issues of the discipline. There is, of course, much on the legal process of making a language official (status planning). There is also discussion of the linguistic changes planned in language institutes or among elite model givers (corpus planning). There is inevitably consideration of the policy measures and management, which ensure that the chosen and planned language is taught and learnt in school (acquisition planning). However, there is also more. There is reflection on political events, economic and social processes, which are not always seen as within the scope of the subject. My argument is that, although formal language policy making and language planning is a relatively recent development in terms of human history, as an informal activity it is as old as language itself, plays a crucial role in the distribution of power and resources in all societies, is integral to much political and economic activity and deserves to be studied explicitly from these perspectives.