Language policy and planning: from theory to practice

This chapter is the introduction to the Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. The handbook approaches language policy and planning (LPP) from an innovative and interdisciplinary angle focusing on language policy as a form of public policy. It is designed for readers that include not only scholars from a wide range of disciplines spanning the social sciences and humanities, but also practitioners and concerned citizens. We begin by locating language policy and planning first and foremost as a responsibility of governments (at the national, regional or local level) and relevant bodies across all areas of public policy. We then discuss how language policy and planning takes form using a five-stage cycle adapted from public policy studies. These steps are the emergence of language-related issues, agenda- setting, policy formulation and adoption, implementation, and evaluation. The characteristics of the LPP approach discussed in this volume, particularly its theoretical framing and interpretation as well as translation into practice, contribute to its distinctiveness from most other published works in the field.