National language policy theory: exploring Spolsky’s model in the case of Iceland

What is it about?

This paper tests Spolsky's theory that national language policies operated by governments are informed by four key forces: national ideology, the international role of English, the local sociolinguistic situation, and in interest in language rights. Iceland is sued as a case study for testing the theory.

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Why is it important?

The paper shows that government van be interested in language right in self-reflective ways whereby dominant discourses can position a majority language as globally minoritised and in need of protections, and this reconstruction of who is in need is used to justify not attending to the rights of domestic minorities.