Language policy in multi-level systems: A historical institutionalist analysis
| Date | 01 November 2019 |
| Author | Huw Lewis,Elin Royles |
| Published date | 01 November 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148119845341 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148119845341
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2019, Vol. 21(4) 709 –727
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1369148119845341
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Language policy in
multi-level systems:
A historical
institutionalist analysis
Elin Royles and Huw Lewis
Abstract
Efforts are underway to develop a stronger political science perspective regarding the practice of
language policy to establish language policy as a distinct field of public policy studies. The article’s
original theoretical contribution is to develop a framework, grounded in historical institutionalism,
to analyse the multi-level institutional factors that influence language policy choices relating to
regional or minority languages within European multi-level states. The framework is tested by
applying it to analyse the multi-level factors that condition language policy decisions regarding the
Welsh language, and through further investigating the framework’s significance and robustness to
analyse language policy trajectories in two contrasting European cases. Overall, the article makes
the case for the strengths and adaptability of the framework in producing convincing explanations
of the multi-level dimensions of language policy development in different institutionalised contexts
and calls for greater investigation of its ability to analyse other regional and minority languages in
Europe.
Keywords
historical institutionalism, language policy, multi-level governance, public policy, regional or
minority languages, Wales
In sociolinguistics, language policy is conceived as a diffuse mechanism guiding lan-
guage use patterns in varying social contexts (Johnson, 2013). From this perspective,
language policy can encompass any deliberate attempt to influence linguistic behaviours,
general social attitudes regarding different languages and patterns of linguistic interaction
(Splosky, 2004: 5). Nevertheless, as Grin (2003: 30) posits, language policy can also be
viewed as a form of public policy. This article focuses on this more specific understand-
ing of language policy.
When viewed as a form of public policy, language policy can be understood as any
intervention by government (state, sub-state or local) seeking to influence a society’s
Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
Corresponding author:
Elin Royles, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth SY23 3FE,
Ceredigion, UK.
Email: ear@aber.ac.uk
845341BPI0010.1177/1369148119845341The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsRoyles and Lewis
research-article2019
Original Article
710 The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 21(4)
linguistic milieu, and thus influence the language practices of individuals. The exact
objective can vary (Kaplan and Baldauf, 1997). Yet, given the need to communicate with
citizens, every modern government must engage with language policy in some way
(Patten, 2001), including decisions regarding which language(s) to use in public adminis-
tration, education and on road signs. Furthermore, over recent years, a series of trends,
including immigration, sub-state nationalism and cultural globalisation, have underlined
the extent that linguistic diversity characterises most modern societies. These circum-
stances have increased awareness of the political, economic and cultural significance of
governmental language policy decisions.
Despite its growing political salience, political science efforts to study language policy
as a distinct area of public policy have been limited. Grin (2003: 38) argues that language
policy ‘ought to be approached in the same way as health, education, transport or energy
policy’. Yet, in contrast to extensive literatures in these policy fields, political scientists
specialising in policy analysis have paid little attention to the subject of language policy.
This article responds to this research gap by seeking to advance a distinctive political
science approach to the study of language policy. More specifically, it seeks to deepen
understanding of the political origins of distinctive language policies by identifying the
types of factors that drive particular language policy choices. The article’s key theoretical
contribution draws on historical institutionalist ideas to develop an original analytical
framework to demonstrate its usage to rigorously analyse the multi-level institutional fac-
tors that influence language policy choices in relation to European regional and minority
languages (RMLs).
In terms of its structure, the article is organised as follows. First, it reviews the cur-
rent literature focusing on language policy and highlights the little attention to date to
the specific task of explaining the political factors that underpin language policy
choices – in other words, the how and why of language policy. Second, the article
develops a framework to analyse language policy choices taken in relation to RMLs.
Third, it tests the framework’s ability to identify the multi-level factors that influence
language policy choices in a particular case, the Welsh language in Wales. Fourth, in
order to enhance its contribution to the literature, the article tests the framework’s
broader applicability by briefly investigating its explanatory ability in two other
European contexts. Finally, the article concludes by highlighting the framework’s
strengths and adaptability in producing convincing explanations of the multi-level
dimensions of language policy development in different institutionalised contexts. The
framework captures the main impact of institutional and agency interactions at the
state, sub-state and local levels that drive language policy choices, influenced by the
broader context of continental and global level structures and the impact of historical
development on institutional change.
Language policy analysis and political science
As indicated above, despite the political salience of language policy in many locations
across the world, political scientists have largely been reluctant to engage in detail with
the subject. A substantial amount of the published literature concerning language policy
is associated with the broad field of sociolinguistics. Much of this work has focused on
describing the consequences of different language policies. On the one hand, scholars
have examined the degree to which language policy choices promote certain linguistic
processes, such as language spread, language shift and language death (in particular
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