Language Policy across Continents

Decolonisation, Language Rights and Multilingualism in Education

Michael M. Kretzer, Sinfree Makoni, Russell H. Kaschula

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Edition: 1
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Print ISBN:
  9783112229569
• Subtopic: Education General
• eBook ISBN:
  9783112229576
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This unique, continent-spanning volume offers the first global overview of language policy and planning. Representing all world regions, it explores a variety of Linguistic Landscapes (LL), ranging from Creole education in Jamaica and Indigenous language revitalisation in Japan to multilingualism in Zambia, Spain and Brazil. Through rich, country-specific case studies, the book reveals common patterns, colonial legacies, and distinct challenges. It thus offers an invaluable resource for scholars, educators, policymakers, and anyone invested in language, education, and cultural identity in a rapidly changing world.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Maps, Figures and Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction Languages at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives on Policy, Rights, and Multilingual Futures
• Chapter 1 Transitioning through the Australian language in education policy landscape
• Chapter 2 Language policies in higher education – a Brazilian perspective
• Chapter 3 Language Policy and Education in Burkina Faso: Historical Processes and Potentials for French and African Languages Through Bilingual Education
• Chapter 4 Language Policy and Planning in Fiji and Implications for Fijian, Fiji Hindi and English
• Chapter 5 Language Planning in Finnish Primary Schools: An In-Depth Examination of Sami Language Education and Linguistic Rights
• Chapter 6 India’s Language Policies: Gaps and Challenges
• Chapter 7 Constitutional Reform as Language Policy Reform in Jamaica
• Chapter 8 Linguistic Culture in Japan: Examples from Indigenous Language Revitalisation and Reclamation
• Chapter 9 Game Theory and Strategic Choice among Hakka, Standard Mandarin, English, and Malay in East Malaysia
• Chapter 10 Language Policy in Education in the Multilingual, Small Island State of Malta
• Chapter 11 Language Policy in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Questions Around Visibility, Vitality, and Revitalisation
• Chapter 12 Constraints and Possibilities of Teaching Guaraní as a Second Language in Paraguay
• Chapter 13 Making Multilingual Education Work in the Philippines
• Chapter 14 Language Policy in Poland: Challenges of the New Multilingualism
• Chapter 15 Creole Languages in Education: The Case of Lung’Ie in São Tomé and Príncipe
• Chapter 16 The Politics of Language in Spain: Past and Present
• Chapter 17 Language and Education Policies and Practices in the Multilingual Nation of The United States of America
• Chapter 18 The Linguistic Pigment of National Discourses in Zambia
• Index