Language Problems and Language Planning

Editor-in-Chief
ORCiD logo with linkMichele Gazzola | Ulster University |
Editor
Book Review Editor
ORCiD logo with linkAlice Leal | University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Editor Emeritus
ORCiD logo with linkHumphrey Tonkin | University of Hartford, USA
Editorial Assistant

Language Problems and Language Planning (LPLP) is a peer-reviewed international and multilingual journal which focuses on language issues and the challenges they raise for contemporary societies at various levels and for various actors, with a particular emphasis on how these issues are addressed and processed through language policies. The three subject areas under which LPLP is listed in Scopus are: Linguistics and Language; Sociology and Political Science; Communication.

LPLP is particularly interested in topics such as:
• fundamental theory in language policy and planning (corpus, status, and acquisition planning);
• minority language protection and promotion; migration/mobility and linguistic integration; the management of multinational organisations and entities (whether public or private); macro-level language dynamics; multilingualism and geopolitics;
• ethnicity, nationalism and their interplay with language policy and planning;
• analyses of language policy and planning in specific domains, such as, but not limited to: education; public administration; justice system; economic life; culture; local/regional/international cooperation in those areas;
• design, implementation and evaluation of language policies in general, or of specific language policy measures;
• national or regional language policies, with consideration of their political, institutional and historical dimensions;
• representations of, attitudes towards and discourse about multilingualism and language policies;
• the political economy of language and the economics of language policy;
• historical and contemporary aspect of interlinguistics, which analyzes the development and use of planned languages, including but not limited to Esperanto. (Articles in this section have explored, for instance, the links between religion and language planning, the use of digital media in the making of the transnational Esperanto community, and Slavic constructed languages on the internet);
• the history of language policy and planning as an area of scientific investigation;
• high-level commentary of the work or other scholars on the above questions.

LPLP publishes four types of papers: Original research articles, Research notes, Review articles, and Book reviews. All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial assessment by the editorial team and, if deemed suitable for further consideration, are sent for peer review to two independent expert referees who remain anonymous. Please refer to the tab ‘Author Info’ for more details. LPLP publishes its articles Online First.

ISSN: 0272-2690 | E-ISSN: 1569‑9889
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp
IssuesOnline-first articles

Volume 50 (2026)

Volume 49 (2025)

Volume 48 (2024)

Volume 47 (2023)

Volume 46 (2022)

Volume 45 (2021)

Volume 44 (2020)

Volume 43 (2019)

Volume 42 (2018)

Volume 41 (2017)

Volume 40 (2016)

Volume 39 (2015)

Volume 38 (2014)

Volume 37 (2013)

Volume 36 (2012)

Volume 35 (2011)

Volume 34 (2010)

Volume 33 (2009)

Volume 32 (2008)

Volume 31 (2007)

Volume 30 (2006)

Volume 29 (2005)

Volume 28 (2004)

Volume 27 (2003)

Volume 26 (2002)

Volume 25 (2001)

Volume 24 (2000)

Volume 23 (1999)

Volume 22 (1998)

Volume 21 (1997)

Volume 20 (1996)

Volume 19 (1995)

Volume 18 (1994)

Volume 17 (1993)

Volume 16 (1992)

Volume 15 (1991)

Volume 14 (1990)

Volume 13 (1989)

Volume 12 (1988)

Volume 11 (1987)

Volume 10 (1986)

Volume 9 (1985)

Volume 8 (1984)

Volume 7 (1983)

Volume 6 (1982)

Volume 5 (1981)

Volume 4 (1980)

Volume 3 (1979)

Volume 2 (1978)

Volume 1 (1977)

Editorial info
Editor-in-Chief
ORCiD logo with linkMichele Gazzola | Ulster University |
Editor
Book Review Editor
ORCiD logo with linkAlice Leal | University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Editor Emeritus
ORCiD logo with linkHumphrey Tonkin | University of Hartford, USA
Editorial Board
ORCiD logo with linkAmado Alarcón Alarcón | Universitat Rovira i Virgili
ORCiD logo with linkMonica Barni | Sapienza Università di Roma
Linda Cardinal | Université de l’Ontario français
Probal Dasgupta | Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
Robert Dunbar | University of Edinburgh
John Edwards | St Francis Xavier University & Dalhousie University (emer.)
Mark Fettes | Simon Fraser University
ORCiD logo with linkGuilherme Fians | University of Manchester
Kimura Goro Christoph | Sophia University Tokyo
ORCiD logo with linkFrançois Grin | Université de Genève, Switzerland
Kathleen Heugh | University of South Australia
Francis M. Hult | University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Peter A. Kraus | Universität Augsburg
ORCiD logo with linkLisa J. McEntee-Atalianis | Birkbeck, University of London
Conchúr Ó Giollagáin | University of the Highlands and Islands
Robert Phillipson | Copenhagen Business School (emer.)
A. Giridhar Rao | University of Azim Premji (emer.)
Andrew Shorten | University of Limerick
ORCiD logo with linkLuc Turgeon | University of Ottawa
Editorial Assistant

Past General Editors/Editors-in-Chief:
Richard E. Wood, General Editor 1977–1984
Humphrey Tonkin, General Editor 1985–1989
Humphrey Tonkin, Probal Dasgupta & Klaus Schubert, General Editors 1990–1997
Humphrey Tonkin, Probal Dasgupta & Marc van Oostendorp, General Editors 1998–1999
Humphrey Tonkin & Probal Dasgupta, General Editors 2000–2010
Humphrey Tonkin, Editor-in-Chief 2011–2013
Timothy Reagan, Editor-in-Chief 2014–2018
François Grin, Editor-in-Chief 2019–2025

Subscription Info
Current issue: 50:1, available as of June 2026
Next issue: 50:2, expected November 2026

General information about our electronic journals.

Subscription rates

All prices for print + online include postage/handling.

Online-onlyPrint + online
Volume 51 (2027): 3 issues; ca. 300 pp.EUR 261.00EUR 371.00
Volume 50 (2026): 3 issues; ca. 300 pp.EUR 253.00EUR 350.00

Individuals may apply for a special online-only subscription rate of EUR 65.00 per volume.
Private subscriptions are for personal use only, and must be pre-paid and ordered directly from the publisher.

Available back-volumes

Online-onlyPrint + online
Complete backset
(Vols. 1‒49; 1977‒2025)
147 issues;
14,400 pp.
EUR 10,211.00EUR 10,886.00
Volume 49 (2025) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 246.00EUR 330.00
Volume 48 (2024) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 239.00EUR 300.00
Volume 47 (2023) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 232.00EUR 273.00
Volumes 44‒46 (2020‒2022) 3 issues; avg. 300 pp.EUR 232.00 per volumeEUR 268.00 per volume
Volume 43 (2019) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 227.00EUR 263.00
Volume 42 (2018) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 220.00EUR 255.00
Volume 41 (2017) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 214.00EUR 248.00
Volume 40 (2016) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 214.00EUR 241.00
Volume 39 (2015) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 214.00EUR 234.00
Volume 38 (2014) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 214.00EUR 227.00
Volume 37 (2013) 3 issues; 300 pp.EUR 214.00EUR 220.00
Volumes 4‒36 (1980‒2012) 3 issues; avg. 300 pp.EUR 208.00 per volumeEUR 214.00 per volume
Volumes 1‒3 (1977‒1979) 3 issues; avg. 200 pp.EUR 139.00 per volumeEUR 143.00 per volume
Author info

LPLP cultivates a strongly interdisciplinary spirit. Scholars from the full range of the social sciences and humanities are invited to submit work that contextualises and analyses the ways in which language functions in modern societies, particularly as an object of regulation, management, and contestation. LPLP therefore welcomes work from a wide array of disciplines, such as (but not limited to) sociolinguistics/applied linguistics, sociology of language, political science, economics, normative political theory, psychology, geography, history and law. A clear language policy angle, however, remains indispensable. On the other hand, LPLP does not normally carry, for example, pieces devoted strictly to pedagogy and language learning. The journal invites articles in line with the journal's aims & scope. While case studies of particular national or regional issues are welcome, preference is given to work offering generalisable insights of relevance across diverse contexts.

LPLP welcomes papers combining a strong theoretical approach with high standards of empirical treatment. Knowledge claims are expected to display high standards of scientific rigour, including close attention to the definition of concepts and assumptions, methodological transparency, and the reliability and verifiability of data. Given the journal’s interdisciplinary scope, all authors are requested to explain their work in a way that is accessible to curious, open-minded scholars from any discipline in the social sciences and humanities.

Guidelines and general information

Manuscript submissions are invited in any language, and the editors welcome articles in languages other than English. Manuscripts are normally reviewed anonymously by two competent scholars. When preparing your article for submission to LPLP, please follow these Instructions to Authors.

Submissions for consideration should be sent to Dr. Michele Gazzola, Editor-in-Chief, via the Editorial Manager portal. For additional information about electronic submission, please consult the Short Guide to EM for Authors.

Editorial inquiries

Inquiries should be sent to:
Michele Gazzola, Editor-in-Chief, editor-in-chief-lplp at ulster.ac.uk
with copy to Fatima Zucchi, Editorial Assistant, editorial-assistant-lplp at ulster.ac.uk
School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, 2-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AP, United Kingdom

Types of publications

For further details, see also the journal's Instructions to Authors.

Ethics

John Benjamins journals are committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to supporting ethical research practices.

Authors and reviewers are kindly requested to read this Ethics Statement.

Please also note our statement on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Rights and Permissions

Authors must ensure that they have permission to use any third-party material in their contribution; the permission should include perpetual (not time-limited) world-wide distribution in print and electronic format. For more information, consult our Rights & Permissions page.

For information on authors' rights, please consult the Author Rights page.

Open Access

Articles accepted for this journal can be made Open Access through payment of an Article Publication Charge (APC) of EUR 1800 (+ VAT/tax if applicable). To arrange this, please contact as soon as your paper has been accepted for publication. More information can be found on the publisher's Open Access Policy page.

Corresponding authors from institutions with which John Benjamins has a Read & Publish arrangement can publish Open Access without paying a fee. Please consult this list of institutions for up-to-date information on the criteria for articles covered under the agreement.

For information about permission to post a version of your article online or in an institutional repository ('green' open access or self-archiving), please consult the rights information page.

If the article is not (to be made) Open Access, there is no fee for the author to publish in this journal.

Archiving

John Benjamins Publishing Company has an agreement in place with Portico for the archiving of all its online journals and e-books.

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