Article published in:
Respecting Linguistic Diversity in the European UnionEdited by Xabier Arzoz
[Studies in World Language Problems 2] 2008
► pp. 73–83
Principles of policy evaluation and their application to multilingualism in the European Union
This policy analysis-based treatment of language choices in the European Union departs from usual approaches that stress educational, legal or political aspects, and attempts instead to develop an evaluative framework resting on the standard breakdowns of policy analysis, particularly the distinction between efficiency and fairness. The paper focuses on the narrower question of ensuring communication at reasonable cost in European institutions, and discusses the advantages and drawbacks of seven different models, or “language regimes”. It is shown that depending on the relative importance given to different criteria such as communicative speed, organisational simplicity, or inclusiveness, any of these models can be considered “best”. This general result points to the need to clarify policy goals, to beware of seemingly “obvious” solutions, and to develop language policies that combine different language regimes.
Published online: 09 January 2008
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.2.06gri
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.2.06gri
Cited by
Cited by 11 other publications
No author info given
Alcalde, Javier
Fiedler, Sabine
Gazzola, Michele & François Grin
Portuese, Aurélien
Pym, Anthony
Riera-Gil, Elvira
Tonkin, Humphrey
Vermandere, Dieter, Lieve Vangehuchten & Rebecca Van Herck
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 february 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.