Deconstruction and Reshaping in Spolsky’s Rethinking Language Policy

Journal of Language Situation and Language Service

JLSLS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2025, pp.112-118.

Print ISSN: 3078-3755; Online ISSN: 3104-5065

Journal homepage: https://www.lslsjournal.com

DOI：Https://doi.org/10.64058/JLSLS.25.1.10

斯波斯基《语言政策再思考》中的解构与重塑

方   愈（Fang Yu）

摘要：斯波斯基（Spolsky）的《语言政策再思考》（Rethinking Language Policy，2021）是其在语言政策领域四十年研究的集大成之作。该书以其标志性的“语言实践、语言信仰和语言管理”三要素模型为基础，提出了一项重要的理论更新：通过对传统国家中心视角的解构，将语言政策分析的起点转向个体说话者。斯波斯基通过广泛的全球案例，系统考察了个体、家庭、机构、社区、政府乃至超国家层面上的语言实践、信仰和规划努力，深刻揭示了语言政策的复杂性、动态性和混沌性，并强调了非语言因素在其中的决定性作用。此书为语言政策研究提供了“权威指南”，但在理论分析深度、对“命名语言”本体论的阐释、二元对立的呈现以及引用来源的语种多样性等方面仍有改进空间。作为当代语言政策研究的奠基人之一，斯波斯基在此书中对其数十年的学术积累进行了深刻的反思、拓展与重塑，挑战了传统范式，主张从更为整合和动态的视角理解语言政策的制定与执行。

关键词：语言政策；语言管理；数字语境；个体说话者；非语言因素

作者简介：方愈，广州商学院国际学院教师，爱丁堡大学硕士，研究方向：语言政策、国际中文教育。电邮：fangyu722@icloud.com。

Title: Deconstruction and Reshaping in Spolsky’s Rethinking Language Policy

Abstract: Spolsky’s Rethinking Language Policy (2021) is the culmination of his 40 years of research in the field of language policy. The book proposes a significant advancement in theoretical framework based on its iconic three-element model of “language practice, language belief, and language management”: through the deconstruction of the traditional nation-state centered perspective, it shifts the starting point of language policy analysis to individual speakers. Spolsky systemati­cally examines language practices, beliefs, and planning efforts at the individual, family, insti­tutional, community, government, and even supranational levels through extensive global cases, profoundly revealing the complexity, dynamism, and chaos of language policies, and empha­sizing the decisive role of nonverbal factors in them. This book provides an “authoritative guide” for language policy research, but there is still room for improvement in terms of theo­retical analysis depth, interpretation of the ontology of “named language”, presentation of bi­nary oppositions, and linguistic diversity of citation sources. As one of the pioneers of contem­porary language policy research, Spolsky deeply reflects, expands, and reshapes his decades-long academic accumulation in this book, challenging traditional paradigms and advocating for a more integrated and dynamic perspective to understand the formulation and implementation of language policies.

Keywords: language policy; language management; digital context; individual speakers; non-linguistic factors

Author Biography: Fang Yu, instructor at Guangzhou College of Commerce International College, Master's degree from the University of Edinburgh. Research interests: language policy, international Chinese education. E-mail: fangyu722@icloud.com.

 Received: 30 May 2025 / Revised: 16 Jun 2025 / Accepted: 22 Jun 2025 / Published online: 30 Jun 2025 / Print published: 30 Jun 2025.