Bernard Spolsky è un eminente studioso di linguistica applicata, che concentra il suo lavoro sull'acquisizione della seconda lingua e sulla politica linguistica. La sua ricerca approfondisce le condizioni che facilitano l'apprendimento delle lingue straniere, esaminando le dimensioni sociolinguistiche dello sviluppo linguistico. Le indagini di Spolsky contribuiscono a una comprensione più ricca di come individui e società interagiscono con la lingua. Le sue pubblicazioni, presso prestigiose case editrici universitarie, offrono preziose intuizioni sia ai linguisti che agli educatori.
Sociolinguistics is the study of the different ways in which different groups of people use language. This book provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the field, making links with related disciplines such as history, politics, and gender studies.
Over the last 50 years, language policy has developed into a major discipline, drawing on research and practice in many nations and at many levels. This is the first Handbook to deal with language policy as a whole and is a complete 'state-of-the-field' survey, covering language practices, beliefs about language varieties, and methods and agencies for language management. It provides a historical background which traces the development of classical language planning, describes activities associated with indigenous and endangered languages, and contains chapters on imperialism, colonialism, effects of migration and globalization, and educational policy. It also evaluates language management agencies, analyzes language activism and looks at language cultivation (including reform of writing systems, orthography and modernized terminology). The definitive guide to the subject, it will be welcomed by students, researchers and language professionals in linguistics, education and politics.