Language Problems and Language Planning

LPLP cultivates a strongly interdisciplinary spirit. Scholars from the full range of the social sciences and humanities are invited to submit work that contextualises and analyses the ways in which language functions in modern societies, particularly as an object of regulation, management, and contestation. LPLP therefore welcomes work from a wide array of disciplines, such as (but not limited to) sociolinguistics/applied linguistics, sociology of language, political science, economics, normative political theory, psychology, geography, history and law. A clear language policy angle, however, remains indispensable. On the other hand, LPLP does not normally carry, for example, pieces devoted strictly to pedagogy and language learning. The journal invites articles in line with the journal's aims & scope. While case studies of particular national or regional issues are welcome, preference is given to work offering generalisable insights of relevance across diverse contexts.

LPLP welcomes papers combining a strong theoretical approach with high standards of empirical treatment. Knowledge claims are expected to display high standards of scientific rigour, including close attention to the definition of concepts and assumptions, methodological transparency, and the reliability and verifiability of data. Given the journal’s interdisciplinary scope, all authors are requested to explain their work in a way that is accessible to curious, open-minded scholars from any discipline in the social sciences and humanities.

Guidelines and general information

Manuscript submissions are invited in any language, and the editors welcome articles in languages other than English. Manuscripts are normally reviewed anonymously by two competent scholars. When preparing your article for submission to LPLP, please follow these Instructions to Authors.

Submissions for consideration should be sent to Dr. Michele Gazzola, Editor-in-Chief, via the Editorial Manager portal. For additional information about electronic submission, please consult the Short Guide to EM for Authors.

Editorial inquiries

Inquiries should be sent to:
Michele Gazzola, Editor-in-Chief, editor-in-chief-lplpulster.ac.uk
with copy to Fatima Zucchi, Editorial Assistant, editorial-assistant-lplpulster.ac.uk
School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, 2-24 York Street, Belfast BT15 1AP, United Kingdom

Types of publications

• Original research articles: Contributions normally between 7,000 and 9,000 words all inclusive (i.e., including tables, figures, references, and notes). These usually consist of analyses of findings from a scientific study or research project, underscoring the study's significance in advancing or challenging debates in the relevant field.
• Research notes: Contributions normally between 3,000 and 4,000 words all inclusive (i.e., including tables, figures, references and notes). These can take various forms, such as reports on work in progress or delineating the first steps of innovative, critical approaches to existing scholarship; discussions of methods or approaches that did not yield expected results; more practice-focused analyses of novel pedagogical approaches to acquisition planning, experiences by language policy-makers, or proposals for interventions in language policy and planning.
• Review articles: Contributions normally between 7,000 and 9,000 words all inclusive (i.e., including tables, figures, references and notes). These usually summarise and synthesise existing published research on a specific topic to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge, focusing on recent publications in the field (e.g, books dealing with similar topics). Unlike a research article, it does not present new experimental data but provides a critical evaluation of previously published studies to identify trends, gaps, and areas for future research. Unlike a book review, they do not focus on one book only.
• Book reviews: These contributions are normally solicited and are between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Occasionally, unsolicited reviews may be considered—in this case, please provide information about your reviewing and publishing experience and research expertise in the area of the book to be reviewed. Once the book has been received by the author, the review will usually be due within 2-3 months. The reviewer’s name, full address and a short bibliographical note (max 4 lines) should also be provided at the end of the review. Reviews should be sent to the review editor: Alice Leal, alice.lealwits.ac.za, University of the Witwatersrand, School of Literature, Languages and Media, Dept of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa.

For further details, see also the journal's Instructions to Authors.

Ethics

John Benjamins journals are committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to supporting ethical research practices.

Authors and reviewers are kindly requested to read this Ethics Statement.

Please also note the guidance on (the declaration of) the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Rights and Permissions

Authors must ensure that they have permission to use any third-party material in their contribution; the permission should include perpetual (not time-limited) world-wide distribution in print and electronic format.

For information on authors' rights, please consult the rights information page.

Open Access

Articles accepted for this journal can be made Open Access through payment of an Article Publication Charge (APC) of EUR 1800 (excl. tax). To arrange this, please contact openaccessbenjamins.nl as soon as your paper has been accepted for publication. More information can be found on the publisher's Open Access Policy page.

Corresponding authors from institutions with which John Benjamins has a Read & Publish arrangement can publish Open Access without paying a fee. Please consult this list of institutions for up-to-date information on which articles qualify.

For information about permission to post a version of your article online or in an institutional repository ('green' open access or self-archiving), please consult the rights information page.

If the article is not (to be made) Open Access, there is no fee for the author to publish in this journal.

Archiving

John Benjamins Publishing Company has an agreement in place with Portico for the archiving of all its online journals and e-books.