Participation and deliberation in language policy: the case of gender-neutral language

This paper investigates language policy formation through participatory and deliberative methods and, more concretely, the regulation of gender-neutral language in Barcelona City Council (Spain). Through an argumentative approach to policy, the paper examines a specific language policy idea, process and solution, and the accompanying discursive argumentation used by decision-makers. The paper (a) shows that linguistic preconceptions and power relations may constitute a potential barrier to effective deliberation on language, and (b) argues that if local modes of governance (as opposed to the centralised role assigned to language academies) are going to be used to prescribe language practices in institutional contexts, arrangements should be put in place to provide access to a full range of views about language, generate reflective judgments and promote a public exchange of arguments. The paper concludes with a discussion about the implications of this study for the inclusion of deliberation in language policy-making

Language in public participation: Understanding and overcoming language and culture barriers in the political participation of people of migrant origin

As is the case in any other social domain, political life is constituted in and by language. In the political sphere, language crucially serves as a medium of communication, encompassing the dissemination of political messages, the presentation of agendas, the discussion of ideas and the negotiation of policies. However, language is not only a neutral tool for communication. Research in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics has shown the multifaceted nature of language, which is inherently entangled with culture and identity and it is indexed to the social, cultural and economic status of speakers. Language, along with other factors such as nationality, ethnicity and race, influences how individuals are perceived by the public and how they perceive themselves in social contexts. Understanding the intricate relationship between language, culture and identity in the symbolic field of politics, a neglected area of inquiry, is essential for a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by migrant candidates standing for election to local council. This task is even more important in the Irish context where migrant people are vastly underrepresented in politics. Drawing on interviews with 13 people of migrant origin, this project documents in their own words their perceptions and experiences about the language and culture challenges they encounter in the course of their political activity at the local level in Ireland. More precisely, this study delves into the nature of linguistic and cultural barriers and their influence on the political pursuits of migrant candidates, while also exploring potential strategies that will allow greater access to public participation. The main findings of the study are: - Most of the migrant participants in this study do not consider language as a barrier to their particular political involvement. A few participants with English as an additional language (EAL) encounter minor communication issues, but believe that these have minimal political impact. However, the pressure to meet high English proficiency standards may deter other migrant individuals from entering mainstream politics. - Listener expectations regarding migrant candidates’ language, combined with factors like cultural background and ethnicity, can lead to prejudice and micro-aggressions during initial encounters, affecting perceptions of trustworthiness. These negative experiences occur primarily in informal interactions with the public, not within institutional settings like city councils or political parties. - The response of candidates to instances of language-related discrimination highlights the significance of strategies such as building the resilience and self-confidence of candidates, promoting diversity awareness among constituencies and fostering inclusive spaces for civic engagement within communities. Participants consider language-related biases and other prejudices as potential obstacles to both the electoral success of migrant candidates and the active engagement of migrant individuals in politics. Overall, the report highlights that political bias often arises from perceptions of foreignness, and that these are triggered by language and culture-related factors such as non-Irish accents and other identity markers not typically associated with Ireland. In short, migrant candidates may face prejudice irrespective of their language skills. Therefore, the report strongly recommends that legal protections and integration initiatives, such as strategies and action plans by institutions, political parties and civic organisations, should incorporate a broader perspective on language, moving beyond an understanding of the notion of the language barrier in integration being solely related to a lack of English proficiency (see Section 11 for a complete list of recommendations and proposals). This perspective entails acknowledging derogatory comments and abusive behaviours tied to accents, English varieties, speech patterns, and other distinctive linguistic features as manifestations of racism and xenophobia

Language Policy-Making in Ireland: A Preliminary Study of the Consultation Process of Languages Connect

This study aims to explore the policy-making process of Languages Connect - Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026. For that purpose, we concentrate on the consultation process adopted by the Department of Education and Skills. Drawing on a concept of foreign language competence as human capital, the aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, we investigate the extent to which the submissions to the consultation process form a sequence with the final document, Languages Connect; secondly, we examine the Irish government documents and compare the submissions reflecting the government approach to language with those problematising such discourse. The former analysis reveals how a market-led valuing of languages is embedded in the government discourse. The latter analysis further shows that linguistic diversity did not receive as much attention as language competence. Bearing in mind that participatory and deliberative procedures are meant to provide legitimacy for policy decisions, the paper concludes by discussing some of the positionings taken in Languages Connect and the role of the procedural mechanisms employed in the consultation

Autonomía y aprendizaje de lenguas

La autonomía es una de las competencias clave del siglo XXI y, por ello, tiene una importancia capital en la sociedad contemporánea. Sin embargo, es un constructo complejo, con imbricaciones en distintas disciplinas del conocimiento. En el ámbito de la lingüística aplicada, la autonomía del aprendiente ha sido un campo de gran interés investigador y teórico durante más de tres décadas. Este artículo describe el desarrollo de la autonomía en el aprendizaje desde sus concepciones filosóficas originales hasta su aplicación al aprendizaje de lenguas. Por una parte, rastrea sus orígenes en el terreno de la enseñanza y de las diferentes corrientes lingüísticas. Por otra, presenta las conceptualizaciones y los modelos teóricos elaborados en el ámbito investigador del aprendizaje de lenguas hasta la actualidad

Ideas, power and agency: policy actors and the formulation of language-in-education policy for multilingualism

The processes of formulation of language policies have not been researched thoroughly. This paper aims to explore the relationship between ideas, power and agency in language policy-making and specifically with reference to the formulation of language-in-education policy for multilingualism in Ireland. Through an argumentative approach to language policy and using a discursive institutionalist framework, the paper examines data from policy documents and interviews with policy actors in the Department of Education and Skills. The paper reports on the ways in which agentive discourses are constrained and enabled by institutional structures. The analysis shows how power resulting from asymmetric internal forces and the hierarchical architecture of institutions prevailed over the capacity of some actors to promote their ideas through discourse. Moreover, it shows how static ideational elements are powerful structural constraints on agency. The paper argues for a conceptualisation of actors in policy-making as agentive individuals who engage in a dynamic struggle over ideas to realise complex and changing policy goals. It concludes by claiming that a focus on discursive forms of power in the policy analysis at the so-called macro level would be beneficial for language policy scholarship

Language policy and the status of languages in contemporary Catalonia: a public debate

Language ideological debates are a constant feature of virtually all language contact situations, particularly in contexts of a conflictive nature. In this article, we analyse one recent debate about languages in Catalonia. In April 2016 a group of linguists and language professionals published a manifesto – the Manifest Koiné – that provoked an explosion of opinions in mass-media outlets in the region. In the article, we analyse both the content of the manifesto and the reactions that it sparked. Our analysis shows that in presenting the situation of Catalan in a rather pessimistic light, the manifesto finds itself in line with a long-solidified line of thought in the Catalan language imaginary. At the same time, the negative terms that are used to portray both Spanish and bilingualism in the manifesto are the points that gathered the strongest opposition during the debate. In addition, the single official status for Catalan in an imagined future independent state (the position implicitly endorsed by the manifesto) also was not supported in the debate. We conclude that these results are in line with the changing nature of the language ideological landscape that Catalonia has experienced over the last decades

Sociolinguists and their publics: epistemological tension and disciplinary contestation over language in Catalonia

This article aims to investigate the relationship of sociolinguists with the publics in Catalonia and to disentangle the complex interrelationships among academics within the discipline. By examining material from mainstream media outlets and data from interviews with a selected number of sociolinguist scholars, we show how the public sphere is a site in which competing epistemological and disciplinary visions contest for discursive dominance in language-in-society matters, institutional authorization, and resources. Rather than seeing the engagement of sociolinguists with publics as a disinterested activity of knowledge dissemination and the provision of facts, we argue that the publics are better conceived as a terrain toward which sociolinguists direct institutional, disciplinary, and professional interests. Ultimately, our article contributes to a more encompassing understanding of ourselves as sociolinguists. Aquest article pretén investigar la relació entre sociolingüistes i l’esfera pública (que inclou l’audiència i diversos altres agents acadèmics) a Catalunya per entendre millor la complexitat de la interconnexió entre acadèmics en la disciplina. Partint de l’anàlisi de material publicat en mitjans de comunicació i d’entrevistes amb un grup de sociolingüistes, mostrem com l’esfera pública és un àmbit en el qual visions epistemològiques i de disciplina oposades competeixen pel domini discursiu en relació amb temes de llengua i societat, per autoritat institucional i per recursos. En lloc d’entendre la dialèctica entre els sociolingüistes amb l’esfera pública com una activitat desinteressada de disseminació de coneixement i de bases factuals, argumentem que l’esfera pública s’ha d’entendre com a terreny en el qual els sociolingüistes hi projecten expectatives institucionals, disciplinaries i professionals. En definitiva, l’article ajuda a entendre’ns com a sociolingüistes de manera més àmplia

(Im)possible change: criticality and constraints in the infrastructures of the academic knowledge economy

This article examines three sets of infrastructures that give shape to the academic knowledge economy, namely: institutional infrastructures (universities and conferences); gate-keeping infrastructures (journals and publishers); and validation infrastructures (competitive assessments of individuals and institutions). We analyse the tensed interplay between critical perspectives in applied linguistics and the influence of academic neoliberalism. We develop our argument in three parts: (1) Academic critique and its emancipatory epistemologies are intertwined with established systems and coexist with mechanisms that perpetuate inequalities. (2) Inequalities in knowledge production reverberate in knowledge dissemination, where the hegemonic role of English as the language of academic publishing reinforces the unequal position of different actors in their academic fields. (3) These inequalities (that originate in institutional and gate-keeping infrastructures) extend to the validation of knowledge, which is entrenched in the audit culture that pervades academia and further reinforces neoliberal competitive dynamics. We conclude by reflecting on the possibilities for change at these three levels