Actas da - Xunta de Galicia

Language planning and the information society
concept of 'ideological state apparatus' (Althusser 1976), consisting of the
manner in which the interests of the state penetrate a variety of social
institutions. Balibar claims that it is the association of languages and their
relationship to corresponding practices such as translation and grammatisation
that institutionalises the linguistic norm, thereby serving to construct language
as a specific object by reference to state and society. Viewed in this perspective,
legitimation seems to be much broader than the concept of LP allows. It deals
with social policy by reference to the interests involved, raising doubts about
the extent to which LP serves the interests of the minority language group. This
much is clear from the inability of LP to operate by reference to the goal of
developing parity of use across both the minority and the state languages.
Every planning agency must begin from a clear understanding of the nature
and cause of change in the phenomenon which it is seeking to plan. This is the
starting point of the debate. Such perspectives relate to models that serve to link
the change orientation with the planning orientation, these models, in turn,
focus upon the customary social science input of such work, involving the
community, the market and the state. These three dimensions often tend to be
addressed by reference to the principles of spontaneous solidarity, dispersed
competition and hierarchical control. The nature of the mix between them
determines the particular configuration that motivates planning action. A further
dimension which has been labelled 'organisational concentration' focuses upon
interaction and allocation of resources. Such factors have become increasingly
important in social administration and are of particular importance because of
the way in which bargained interest accommodation and policy concentration
have become key factors within European society and administration since the
1970s.
It is clear that planning is conceived of by reference to the modern nation
state, its goals and orientations. However this situation is never static and as
these goals and orientations shift then so does the discourse of planning.
Nonetheless within industrial age governmentality the basic orientation has
remained relatively stable. We are now entering a new phase of social and
economic organisation, one involving an entirely new social formation with
new parameters of economic organisation. It is claimed that this involves a 'new
spirit of capitalism' (Boltanski / Chiapello 1999), and involves changes which
will be a profound as those associated with the industrial revolution in the 19 th
century. This being the case it obliges us to consider the nature of LP within this
new context.
Clearly, in the world of work many organisational changes are aimed at
redefining labour processes and employment practices. The crisis of the large
corporation and the resilience of SMEs as agents of innovation and sources of
job creation run parallel to these developments. Indeed, the proliferation of
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