Language Management Theory as one approach in Language Policy and Planning

Abstract

Language Policy and Planning is currently a significantly diversified research area and thus it is not easy to find common denominators that help to define basic approaches within it. Richard B. Baldauf attempted to do so by differentiating between four basic approaches: (1) the classical approach, (2) the language management approach (Language Management Theory, LMT), (3) the domain approach and (4) the critical approach [Baldauf, R. B. (2012). Introduction – language planning: Where have we been? Where might we be going? Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada, 12(2), 233–248]. This paper takes up this classification and seeks to show the main features of LMT, while highlighting the features that it shares with the other approaches and the features that are unique to it. This is done against the background of Baldauf's works and their contribution to the spread of LMT.

Keywords:

• basic approaches to LPP
• emergence of LPP discourse
• history of language planning
• language management
• Language Management Theory
• R.B. Baldauf
• B.H. Jernudd
• J.V. Neustupný

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Björn Jernudd, Tamah Sherman, Marián Sloboda, and Kerry Taylor-Leech for helpful comments at various stages in the development of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jiří Nekvapil is Associate Professor at the Department of Linguistics at Charles University in Prague, where he specializes in sociolinguistics, pragmatics, and discourse analysis. His current research focuses on multilingual practices in companies, discourses of economic behaviour in times of instability, and history of language planning.

Notes

1. The connection between LMT and the linguistic thinking of the Prague School has recently been stressed by Kaplan (2011).

2. B.H. Jernudd (personal communication). See also materials available at: http://languagemanagement.ff.cuni.cz/en/node/362.

3. When presenting LMT, I use a number of introductory texts such as Nekvapil, (2006, 2009, 2011, 2014), Nekvapil & Nekula (2006) and Nekvapil & Sherman (2014). A large bibliography of further relevant papers can be found on the language management website maintained by experts working at the Charles University in Prague http://languagemanagement.ff.cuni.cz/en/, with the possibility of downloading a number of the items.

4. Lately, Johnson (2013, p. 7) was also critical of Spolsky's conception of language policy, the sub-concept of which is precisely “language management”.

Additional information

Funding

Work on this publication was supported by the Charles University Center for Collective Memory Research (UNCE 204007) and Charles University Research Development Program no. 10 – Linguistics, sub-program Language Management in Language Situations.