The present volume, as its title suggests, examines experiences with language planning in select countries of the former ‘communist bloc,’ particularly since the ‘fall of communism’ and the transition to a new ideological-political order, in the late 1980s. Its binding theme, as the subtitle suggests, is that of disputes and conflicts that arise as a result of attempts at controlling language situations through language planning—attempts, for example, on the part of the new powers-that-be at dictating the rules of language use, or the course of language change and development in the country since the ‘fall of communism,’ via appropriate ‘language policies .’

The volume deals with a range of issues which language planning is invariably intertwined with. These include power politics , such as those being waged over language-status policy in the Russian Federation since the early 1990s, between central-government authorities and republic-level authorities; effects on language planning and policy from changes in the social, political and cultural environment, such as those that took place in Eastern Europe , Eurasia and China in the late 1980s, which gave rise, among other things, to new language-planning-and-control policies; and shifts in world-outlook, exemplified by appearance of new notions in the psyche of a speech community —the notions of national consciousness , national awakening and self-determination, for example, that spurred and accompanied the great political, social, and linguistic-cultural movements in Eastern Europe and in China in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

It is distinguished from anything written so far on the subject¹ in at least six significant ways. First, it is the only work to date to provide a fairly detailed and lucid picture of language- planning activities in sundry regions of the former communist bloc and to examine the subject in a way that offers a broader, deeper and sharper understanding of the various circumstances—ideological, political, social, economic, and psychological—with which language planning is intrinsically connected. It is also the first work of its kind to provide a clear view of the essential features of ‘language planning’ (Chap. 2) before presenting the reader with experiences with language planning in the post-communist era in Eastern Europe , Eurasia and China (Chaps. 3 to 12).

Third, it gives a contrasting view of the subject examined by shifting the focus briefly back to periods preceding the ‘post-communist’ period. This offers the reader the opportunity to observe patterns of change and continuity in language planning at different historical periods in the countries in focus.

Fourth, it gives new insights into the dichotomy in language planning between declared or overt intent (e.g., ‘reforming’ or ‘modernizing’ a presumably ‘backward language’—as in the case of the Soviet language reforms of the late 1920s in Central Asia ) and undeclared or covert motivation (e. g., promoting the political interests of the language-planning authorities in the name of, e.g., ‘reforming’ or ‘modernizing’ a presumably ‘backward language,’ as in the case cited).

Fifth, it acquaints the reader with social-political and ideological developments, such as birth of nationalism in nineteenth century Central/Eastern Europe , and debunking of the ruling Marxist ideology and political system in the late 1980s, that give rise to language-planning perceptions (e.g. the perception of ‘the need’ for a ‘unitary and purified national language ’) and attendant language-planning activities (formulation and activation of ‘language policies ,’ or ‘language reforms’ directed, e.g., at establishing a standardized ‘national language’ or ‘cleansing the national language from alien influences’). Finally, it provides the reader with interesting background information on linguistic-cultural developments at various historical periods of each of the countries discussed in the book.

The book is composed of eleven chapters, an introductory chapter on the theoretical framework of language planning , and ten case-studies, each of which gives a detailed and in-depth account of language-planning-and-control experiences in the following countries: China , the Russian Federation , the Russian Federation’s Republic of Tatarstan , the Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union (one chapter), Ukraine , Lithuania , Latvia , Poland , the Czech Republic , and Slovakia . Each case-study is authored by a scholar, or a group of scholars, with extensive knowledge in linguistic and social-political developments in the country in focus. In selecting the countries to be included in the book, the following considerations were taken into account: space restrictions, regional representation, availability of scholars with proven relevant credentials, and quality of the first drafts of each of the initially assigned case studies.

The general structure of the case-studies is as follows: a paragraph or two summarizing the chapter’s purpose and structure; a brief description of the evolution of the country’s ‘national’ language ; a brief account of attempts by language planners to standardize the country’s ‘national’ language and raise it to the status of a fully-developed administrative, literary, philosophic and scientific language, in periods before the advent of the ‘communist’ era; a brief review of language policies in the country during the ‘communist’ era; and finally, a fairly extensive examination of language planning activities in the country since the start of the Perestroika reforms in the Soviet Bloc in the late 1980s, and of the New Reforms in China in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Each chapter also examines questions related to the book’s major themes of motivation and struggle for language control in the context of this or that particular language policy or law in the country. Each case study, moreover, contains a brief section at the end, which summarizes the discussions’ major findings and predicts future of language policy in the country. Particular attention is paid in each pertinent section to influences of social, ideological, political and cultural factors in determining the direction and scope of language-planning activities in this or that period in the country in focus.²

Written in a clear and precise style throughout and crisscrossing a variety of topics, the volume should be of interest both to the general reading public and to students and scholars of such diverse disciplines as linguistics, cultural studies, political science, sociology and history.