Managing multilingualism on state websites: how institutional employees explain language choice

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to understand how institutional language managers make and legitimize decisions about language choice on state websites. The focus lies on state institutions in two technologically advanced European nation-states: Estonia and Norway. The analysis is empirically based on interviews with employees at the institutions who are involved in the implementation and appropriation of state language and communication policies. A qualitative study focusing on these language managers helps to reveal the way they make sense of their policy environment, and brings out their priorities and challenges. The interview data show that institutional language managers explain language choices not just by referring to explicit policy statements, but also in relation to a broad range of other factors, such as economic, pragmatic, and technical considerations. The article sheds light on the language ideologies underpinning these factors by demonstrating how various languages are valorized differently in the institutions and reveals a complexity of intertwined reasons behind the prioritization of certain languages over others. Finally, the article aims to show that it is important to go beyond analyzing policy documents and websites as finished products, and to talk with the institutional actors in order to gain insights into the multiple conditions that influence language policy.