Language Policy in Luxembourg and the German-speaking Community of Belgium: Ideologies of Language

The language policy discourses of Luxembourg and the German-speaking Community of Belgium
(GC) exhibit fundamental differences, yet interesting similarities that so far have not been subject
to a discourse analysis from a mixed framework of linguistic anthropology and discourse
linguistics (Diskurslinguistik). On the basis of a corpus consisting of current language policy texts
and semi-structured interviews with key actors involved in current policy design and
implementation, this research aims to answer the question regarding the interplay of ideology and
discourse in the design and implementation of the language policy of Luxembourg and the GC.
The bulk of the analysis is made up of three layers for each case. Starting point of the analysis is
a historical overview that identifies ideologies and language policy discourses that emerged,
predominated, and transformed from the 19th century until the 21st century in each case. The second
layer is a discourse analysis of current language policy texts with a focus on the ideologies
informing current discourses about Luxembourgish in Luxembourg and German in the GC.
Finally, the third layer is a discourse analysis of interview extracts with equal focus on ideologies.
Through a combined thematic and discourse analysis based on the social semiotics of language,
this research provides a description of the discursive patterns of the linguistic structure of passages
of each text and interview with the aim of linking these patterns to the identified ideologies that
inform the policy discourses. It was found that the connecting node between Luxembourg and the
GC lies in the tension between the two themes of standardization and multilingualism. It is shown
that standardization and multilingualism are thematic centers from which discourses about
language, identity, and nation emanate in these two cases. Through the combination of the
historical overview and the meticulous analysis of discursive patterns identified in the linguistic
structure of language policy texts and interview extracts, it is not only shown how ideology informs
current language policy discourses in Luxembourg and the GC, but also why language policy
discourses transform or sediment through time.