New speakers and language policy

This chapter looks at language policy through the new speaker lens, exploring the many ways in which research on new speakers links to the discursive and ethnographic approaches that have recently come to the fore in the language policy literature. Following a brief discussion of how the new speaker concept facilitates a reconsideration of traditional approaches to language policy and planning (LPP) in minority language settings, the chapter surveys LPP research in new speaker contexts, summarizes the challenges facing research on new speakers, and discusses the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of this research. Noting that new speaker studies are not only situated in minority settings, the chapter concludes with a look at emerging areas of research beyond minority language contexts.