Language Policy

What is it about?

In Ukraine, language issue is too politicized, and language policy has become one of the central issues of national construction. Language policy is the subject of numerous philological studies and publications in Ukraine. Researchers of the language policy of Ukraine have become active especially since the spring of 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity and the occupation the Crimean peninsula and aggression of Russia against Ukraine. However, in Ukrainian philological science there are no complex analyses that looked at modern research methods for studying language policy. The aim of this article is to present the recent methods and aspects of language policy research. The article gives a definition of the concept of language policy, and also summarizes what methodological procedures are used in the field of language policy research in Western scientific literature. Contrary to the optimistic definitions that language policy serves social and economic development, equality and well-being, language policy is often an effective tool for achieving unequal distribution of social goods and political assets; it is often used for that purpose.

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Why is it important?

The main conclusion of this review may be that an interdisciplinary approach is obligatory in the study of language policy issues, which involves, first, the study of the legal framework (laws, regulations acts and orders, international agreements) relating to the regulation of language issues, and secondly, the analysis of scientific literature on the subject. In addition, census data, educational statistics, archival materials, press publications, etc. must be used. But it should be noted that a specific research method always depends on the researcher himself: there is no single ideal and effective method, everyone should find their own path that best suits the specific topic and purpose of the study.