Abstract

The study of language policy and planning (LPP) is a relatively recent phenomenon. However, the process of intervention into language as social practice has had a long history. As Ricento (2000) mentioned, the history of LPP can be examined in terms of three main stages. The first stage was characterized by optimism in which any language problems were resolved by the implementation of systematic procedures. The second stage is considered as the period of disillusionment but with a more critical rise of the role that linguists could play in the society. Nevertheless, in this chapter I am interested in the third stage in which the aim of the study and analysis of the LPP is to reconstruct it “as a multidisciplinary and politicised approach, since the issues it grapples with are complex and represent interests that can pervade multiple levels” (Wee 2012, p. 11).