On the history, theory and models of language planning

The aim of this contribution is to present the development of language planning from the perspective of the central current of western sociolinguistics, i.e. sociolinguistics from the Anglo-American world, in which the concept of language planning was born (as surprising as this statement may be for researchers from post-communist countries). Following Neustupny (2006), I distinguish between four historical types of language planning: "pre-modern". "early modern", "modern" and "post-modern". More or less developed theories of language planning are also characteristic for these types. Language planning as an academic discipline has existed for about fifty years and at least two periods can be distinguished within it: "classic language planning" of the 1960s and 1970s, oriented above all toward the modernization of so-called third world countries, and the newer "ecology paradigm'', emerging from the critique of the previous period and supporting the plurality and diversity of languages in the spirit of postmodernism. I devote particular attention to the "Reversing Language Shift" model (Fishman, 1991), the "Catherine Wheel" model (Strubell, 1999) and Language Management Theory (Jernudd Neustupny, 1987). The last of these theories places language planning in a broader communicative and sociocultural context than the previous theories of language planning. and it can be expected that, clue to its constructive features, its significance will grow.