Book contents
- States of Language Policy
- States of Language Policy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Routes of Change
- 2 Universalism as a State Tradition in Norway and Its Impact on Language Policy Choices
- 3 Policy Change in a Language Regime
- 4 The Decline and Rebirth of Manx Gaelic
- 5 Cultural Heterogeneity and Language Regime Transformation
- 6 Language Regime Change in Peru
- Part II Dependent Relationships
- Part III Levels of Governance
- Conclusion
- Index
- References
3 - Policy Change in a Language Regime
Institutionalism, Incrementalism, and Agency
from Part I - Routes of Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 November 2024
Book contents
- States of Language Policy
- States of Language Policy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Routes of Change
- 2 Universalism as a State Tradition in Norway and Its Impact on Language Policy Choices
- 3 Policy Change in a Language Regime
- 4 The Decline and Rebirth of Manx Gaelic
- 5 Cultural Heterogeneity and Language Regime Transformation
- 6 Language Regime Change in Peru
- Part II Dependent Relationships
- Part III Levels of Governance
- Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
Path dependency relies upon historicity and context to understand how institutions sustain themselves through time and are compelled to change at critical junctures. Some consider this approach as being deterministic, focused on external shocks to institutions and better at explaining stability rather than change. Others consider that there is also agency in institutional change, that actors may seize upon opportunities within institutions to find novel solutions to new challenges, or that a succession of incremental changes may fundamentally alter institutions without any external shock. We understand language regimes as being path dependent, while accepting that various actors may work within the regime to bring forth incremental changes in language policies. These changes may occur through various policy processes rather than through major disruptions. The impetus for this process may come from within the institutions, where state actors may try to adjust policies to a new context, or from language groups who express dissatisfaction towards the regime and mobilize to demand change. The chapter first discusses the possibility that language regime can change; second, it draws upon the institutional literature to describe how a language regime may change; third, it uses the case of French in Ontario to illustrate this process.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- States of Language PolicyTheorizing Continuity and Change, pp. 49 - 65Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
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