LANGUAGE POLICY AND LANGUAGE IDEOLOGY: ATTEMPT TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPTS

Abstract

The article attempts to clarify the concepts of «language policy» and «language ideology». The language ideology is proposed to be considered as a set of ideas and beliefs of members of an ethno-linguistic group about the status and prestige of their language and the language(s) of other groups. The purpose of the article is to describe theoretical approaches and concepts that allow revealing the essence of language policy and language ideology. The method used in the work is theoretical analysis. The analyzed theoretical approaches made it possible to establish the relationship between the implemented language policy and the language ideology, which acts as a factor that supports or does not support the implementation of a specific model of language policy. The representations of the speakers of an ethno-linguistic group, which are the basis of the language ideology formed, form the language space which the language policy is implemented. The extent to which representatives of an ethno-linguistic group are interested in promoting their language, whether they promote their request (themselves or through parties, NGOs), whether they perceive themselves as different from the dominant ethno-linguistic group on the basis of ethnic and linguistic affiliation, affects what measures the state takes with respect to the protection and support of the language(s) in society.