Author Description

This books examines two ideological clashes underlying contemporary political theories of linguistic justice (instrumentalism/constitutivism; monism/pluralism) with the aim to elucidate (a) why languages matter to people, in terms of communication and identity-related interests, and (b) how these interests work in mixed societies, where members of different language groups live intermingled. It combines theoretical analysis and empirical evidence obtained through the study of 112 linguistic regulations adopted in western democracies. First, it critically analyzes current theories. Second, it contributes a typology of valued ends for language policies and a comparison of their uses in language acts. Finally, it develops the concept of mixed society, identifies and characterizes some cases and suggests lines of suitable language policies for them. The thesis concludes that linguistically plural societies require pluralist solutions, grounded both on communicative and identity interests, and argues that in mixed societies policies should foster a reciprocal bilingualism, sustainable over time, to favor fair conditions of choice.