First in-depth study of the Tunisian language situation

This book offers both an empirical examination of language ideologies and language policies in post-Arab Spring Tunisia and a detailed critical and interdisciplinary model of Language Policy and Planning (LPP). The authors present a comprehensive picture of how multiple language ideologies interact and play out as language policy against a background of political turmoil in a country with a complex history of indigenous and colonial languages. They utilise critical perspectives from Sociolinguistics and Applied Linguistics and add Critical Discourse Studies and a Discourse-Historical Approach to produce a model of LPP for scholars in other settings to describe and work to improve their own specific language contexts.

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Helal and Lo Bianco provide a powerful analysis of language ideologies underlying Tunisia’s policy struggles associated with the Arab Spring. Beyond its immediate context, this book also makes a major methodological contribution to the field of language policy analysis. It is a must read for scholars and serious students alike.

"This remarkably rich and fascinating study of language ideologies and their attendant ‘Asabiyyas in Tunisia impressively weaves together a wealth of multidisciplinary scholarship, detailed empirical analysis and original LPP model-building. Blending critique with hope, it interrogates and inspires, summoning us to place the study of language politics at the center of pluralist praxis and of reclaiming the political struggles for social justice and dignity. A landmark contribution!" - Ahmed Kabel, Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco

"In this dialogic book, Helal and Lo Bianco have come together to propose a 'Tunisian Language Compact' based on democratic deliberation, multiple perspectives, and social justice. Beyond the Tunisian case study, the Compact can provide a model for inclusive language policy and planning in societies around the globe riveted by inequality and conflict." - Ingrid Piller, Macquarie University, Australia