Heritage Language Policies around the World

The impetus for this book comes from the noticeable increased interest in heritage language research around the world, particularly in regards to education and policy. This edited collection will take the development and establishment of heritage language policies as its primary focus and will analyze these policies comparatively through international case studies. Gathering scholars from across the globe in a broad and inclusive approach to heritage languages, this book provides a fresh resource that will be valuable in informing new directions for the study of heritage languages.

Heritage language policies define the context in which heritage languages are maintained or abandoned by communities, and this volume describes and analyzes international policy strategies, as well as the implications for the actual heritage language speakers.

This volume brings together heritage language policy case studies from around the world, foregrounding globalization by covering five regions: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The countries profiled include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Uganda, Namibia, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. This volume also highlights an expanded definition of ‘heritage language’, choosing to focus on individual and community identities, and therefore including both Indigenous and immigrant languages.

Focusing specifically on language policy relating to heritage languages, the chapters address key questions such as

• Are heritage languages included or excluded from the national language policy discourse?
• What are the successes and shortcomings of efforts to establish heritage language policies?
• What is the definition of ‘heritage language’ in official usage by the local/regional government and stakeholders?
• How are these language policies perceived by the actual heritage language communities?