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Part of
Advances in Interdisciplinary Language Policy
Edited by François Grin, László Marácz and Nike K. Pokorn
[Studies in World Language Problems 9] 2022
► pp. 319–342

Chapter 16
Effectiveness of policy measures and language dynamics

 | Humboldt University of Berlin
 | Andrássy University Budapest
 | University of Ulster
The effect of a given language policy can be very different in the short, medium and long run. We illustrate this, looking at the effects of language planning on inclusion given different mobility patterns. The choice is between different status and acquisition planning measures. This choice gives rise to different degrees of inclusion (in the form of bilingualism) given the costs of the policy and the linguistic environment. In a mobility/inclusion trade-off, a higher level of inclusion can be reached for a given amount of migration through a well-designed language policy. Different scenarios require different policy measures in the cost-effectiveness analysis. The effects of status and acquisition planning are modelled in a dynamic setting, where language learning depends on compulsory measures as well as voluntary decisions by the individuals involved based on their individual cost-benefit calculations (or those of their parents). The effects on inclusion are simulated in various scenarios when language skills are transferred from one generation to the next. The scenarios include migration of majority-language speakers into a region with a strong minority language (Spanish-speakers migrating into the Basque Country) and migration of speakers of a ‘foreign’ language into a country with enclaves of speakers of this language (Spanish-speakers in the USA).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Modelling language dynamics
  • 3.Key concepts and tools
    • 3.1Dynamics
    • 3.2Linguistic environment
    • 3.3Costs of different policy measures
  • 4.Dynamic language policy analysis
    • 4.1Some dynamic models
    • 4.2Case studies
  • 5.Results and discussion
    • 5.1Situation 1: Status planning
    • 5.2Situation 2: Acquisition planning
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.9.16tem
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Grin, François
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